Neveah chuckled as she looked at Randidly’s face. She walked up next to him and poked him in the side. “What’s with that reaction? Did you think I wouldn’t finish the Engraving?”

“Well no, but…” Randidly blinked. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, feeling awkward that he had been seen through so easily. It made sense; Neveah could detect his thoughts through their Soulbond. Hiding his thoughts from her was basically impossible. But still… “I’m just… the Engravings are great. I didn’t realize you had so much progress in understanding Yystrix’s murals recently. I had sorta thought-”

“Randidly,” The corners of Neveah’s expression turned downward. “We… both know what this is really about. The pain I suffered when we fought Kaan… It was a lot. I… haven’t ever encountered anything like that. Not personally. I’ve seen some of your memories, but this was… Even now, I still have nightmares about his hand squeezing my soul. The sounds of bells or wind chimes make me flinch. That’s why… I think it’s for the best if I don’t go to the Nexus with you this time.”

Randidly stood very still as Neveah was speaking, but the words still hit him with more power than he had expected. He pressed his hands down against the counter in front of him. His fingers tensed, but he was careful not to grip with too much strength. This cabin of Neveah’s was only made with basic materials.

Neveah put her hands behind her back and continued to speak. “We each have our own strength. This… the Engraving, understanding the secrets of Aether… that is my strength. And here on Earth is the place where I can take advantage of it best. So… I really think staying here will benefit both of us. I can remain here and deepen my understanding of Yystrix’s teaching.”

As Neveah turned to look at him, Randidly was very careful to control his emotions. He didn’t want his response to that to taint their relationship. But simultaneously, there was no way that Randidly could hide his feeling of disappointment. To have long anticipated them both going to the Nexus together to become strong and fight against the System… Randidly was sad for that to change.

For several seconds, he simply stood and looked at Neveah. His heart ached. His metallic hand twitched.

But then he shook himself slightly and showed Neveah a fragile smile. “...although it’s not what I had planned before, it might be for the best. Besides, the beginning period of the Kharon Academy will be the most dangerous. So with you present there-”

“Oh please,” Neveah interrupted him. She rolled her eyes and waved her hands as though to push what he said away. “Are you trying to leave that pile of work in my lap? Nuh-uh, no way. Besides, if we intervene too directly in the Academy, won’t we be spreading your image too widely? I hope you’ve realized how quickly the scale of your Kharon Academy is growing.”

“Ah… hummm.” Randidly immediately frowned. Actually, he hadn’t thought about that problem. Originally, Kharon Academy had been relatively small. He had assumed there would be maybe five hundred students within its walls. But with the huge population of children in Kharon, he had expanded his schematics to be eight times the original size. Even then, things looked like they were going to be a tight fit.

But Randidly had been so caught up in scaling Kharon Academy up that he had forgotten about the latent threat that his image presented to Earth passing the Second Calamity. In the end, Randidly could only shake his head at Neveah’s words. “...I honestly don’t know. I hadn’t thought about it. But even if ten thousand is a lot of people, have you seen the most recent reports? A conservative estimate of the population of all the bubble cities in the Wildlands and Zones is about 100 million people. Compared to all those growing images… ten thousand isn’t too much.”

“Heh. Don’t try and say that with a straight face. Based on the work that you are doing, those ten thousand images will grow faster and with a better foundation than most. Those images are much more likely to become elites. They will influence other images.” Neveah walked over to the stove of her cabin and picked up the pot of stew. She brought over a ladle and then carefully poured some into his bowl. “You are gathering some of the most talented people on Earth right now, Randidly. You need to handle this carefully.”

“Do you have a solution?” Randidly asked with a frown.

Neveah nodded slowly. “Part of it is that I won’t just stay here and mind your Academy. But most importantly… you need to leave before it opens. Or perhaps… even more drastically than that. The connection to you, or more specifically your image, cannot be too strong.”

Randidly slowly tilted his head to the side. “What are you suggesting?”

*****

Theodora Greyman looked at the neat font of the report sitting on her desk. Even the looming problem of the impeachment vote was pushed to the side as she scanned through the briefing with wide eyes.

Her first response was that this was a joke. No one would be this erratic. But her desk was covered with similar reports. The Order Ducis had made a very public announcement of the upcoming changes to Kharon’s government. They were rather considerate of the fact that the Zones were watching the Wandering City’s movements very closely.

“But to make the government random…? And switch several of the people in charge every two months…?” Theodora drummed her fingers against her desk. The tempo of the percussion continued to increase, but no answers emerged in her heart. There was a very obvious loophole in the arrangement, too.“Is this some sort of trap? What the hell is Randidly Ghosthound thinking…?”

There was a knock at the door, interrupting Theodora’s thoughts. She grunted and the door swung partially open. An aide poked her head through the doorway and glanced meekly around. “Uh… President Greyman? Congress has… refused to push the date of the impeachment vote back.”

The drumming ceased immediately. Theodora could barely pry her teeth apart to force the words out. “For what reason?”

“They… they say that as you are not the one participating in the duos tournament, the vote will proceed as previously scheduled. Your presidency and that tournament… are entirely independent events.”

Theodora suppressed the urge to snarl. Really? After everything I have done for this Zone… They wish to push me out before I can win this for the Zone…?

“That’s fine. Thank you Victoria,” Theodora Greyman responded. The aide hurriedly nodded and closed the door with a sharp click, perhaps worried about Theodora’s temper in response to the news. But Theodora remained very still even after the aide had been gone for several minutes. Her mind was buzzing, carefully turning over possibilities in her mind.

The obstinance from congress… the duos tournament to name the Earth… the strange changes in Kharon’s government… They were like strange puzzle pieces in her mind. No matter how Theodora arranged them, she couldn’t figure out the larger picture.

Finally, she stood. Touching a painting that hung in the back of her office, Theodora opened up a secret passage and descended into the bowels of the building. The long corridors were dark but Theodora’s Perception allowed her to navigate them flawlessly. Besides, Theodora Greyman had taken this pathway down into the sub-basements quite often in the past week and a half. At this point, she had every corner memorized.

She reached out and brushed her fingers along the wall. The cool stone was reassuring. Heh, if I had known how things would end up… I was once the Chairperson of the World Council. I was the most powerful woman in the world… and now…

...now I wonder how much I really ever had...

Eventually, she reached a door that was guarded by two muscular men. In the dark passageway, it was almost impossible to distinguish their features even with high Perception. But Theodora didn’t pay them any attention. They inclined their heads as she walked forward through the door. Within the small chamber beyond the door, Richter was sitting in his wheelchair with his eyes closed. Strange energy filled the surrounding air and, most intimidatingly, the stone ground beneath him rippled like it was the surface of a pond in a rainstorm.

Wary of the energy he was releasing, Theodora stopped only a few steps past the threshold and didn’t proceed deeper. Instead, her eyes searched Richter’s face for hints of his waning longevity. She was relieved that there were no signs of corruption to be seen there, but she didn’t doubt that the strange corrosion of Richter’s skin was slowly spreading from his legs to the rest of his body. Her eyes went to his torso, wondering how much of his pale flesh had been twisted and warped.

However, Theodora didn’t dare disturb him. So she waited silently.

Soon after Theodora arrived, Richter opened his eyes. “Ah, it’s you. Still worried about me? Didn’t I tell you that I have it under control?”

“Richter, all of the other experiments have resulted in failure. Is it strange that I would be concerned about you?” President Theodora said slowly. She did her best to imbue her voice with warmth and authority.

Richter chuckled darkly. “True. Plus, without me… it will be difficult for you to hold onto the seat of the President.”

Theodora’s fingers twisted as though they were squeezing the last breath out of someone’s throat, but she kept those hands behind her back. Richter should not have so casually spoken of such things. Yet her emotions seemed to have been devoured by her circumstances; Her face was extremely neutral as she replied. “As it turns out, your efforts won’t matter at all. Congress will not delay the impeachment hearing. I suspect, even if I were to refuse to attend…”

That got Richter’s attention. He raised his head slowly, studying Theodora Greyman. “Perhaps. To think it has come to this point. You have not made many friends with your recent string of… actions.”

You were about to say failures, weren’t you? Theodora thought rather distantly. Her fingers twisted and wiggled around each other like blind worms searching for food. Ironic. Considering the energy that currently is devouring your body is exactly one of my actions. If I hadn’t decided on ignoring the words of the Ghosthound at that time…

Theodora’s expression tightened, but then her powerful self-control smoothed out those lines. Well, it is too late now. All of my most loyal followers have already been sacrificed. Congress has made up its mind in regard to my fate. Due to their participation in these experiments, the Order Valorem has fractured… heh. All I have left…

“Perhaps,” Theodora replied very calmly. In fact, she felt rather at peace with herself. After struggling for so long and trying to control things from the shadows, it was something of a relief to reach out with her own hands to try and defy destiny. “But I think Congress will find it quite difficult to be rid of me.”

Richter raised his eyebrows. “You have a plan?”

“A gamble,” Theodora Greyman whispered in response.