In a place that was mainly defined by its stillness, a change occurred.

The meditating Nether Gatekeeper was rather surprised when the strange being above its head began to drop at a speed that was visible to the naked eye. Although that being had rather rudely stared at the Nether Gatekeeper early in its arrival to this place, the Nether Gatekeeper was also clear that this being was not in its right mind. There was something mentally… deficient about the new arrival.

Even for a being of Aether, its behavior was unusual.

And, unlike the usual fools who came from above, that being was not immediately dragged downward by the inexorable current of significance. It clearly had some mastery of Nether. Since all those trapped down here were basically laboring under the same curse, the Nether Gatekeeper ultimately decided not to mind this strange being’s behavior.

Besides, that being had persisted in this place for nearly three years. Just for that accomplishment alone, the Nether Gatekeeper was willing to show some respect for it. Most arrivals who made it that long were here to stay; those that lacked conviction were quickly eliminated.

So the sudden descent was confusing. And as the Gatekeeper looked up at the approaching creature, it only grew more confused.

It seemed that the thing’s mental schism had worsened since last the Gatekeeper had checked its situation. At this point, most of its psyche appeared to be asleep within the body, while a remnant will utilized Nether to support both itself and the body. The Gatekeeper immediately assumed that this strange separation had gone too far and now it was weakening, but to its surprise, the Nether surrounding the remnant will was lively and thick.

Even thicker than the Gatekeeper’s own. This remnant will’s capability was somewhat frustrating.

The Gatekeeper’s expression shifted toward a frown as the remnant will slowed its descent speed with the body and very obviously approached the Gatekeeper. Did it… want to continue the study of its Nether Core? The Nether Gatekeeper considered this. It supposed that it was somewhat flattering to be an inspiration for the next generation, regardless of how unusual such an examination was.

Before the Nether Gatekeeper had decided exactly how he felt, the other arrived. Then, rather inanely, the remnant will smiled at it.

Greetings, The Nether Gatekeeper said awkwardly. It wondered when was the last time it had conversed with another.

The remnant will nodded cheerily in return and then began gesturing quickly. First to the body it supported, then to the Nether Gatekeeper, then to itself, and then upward. The remnant will flapped its hands, signaling freedom.

The Nether Gatekeeper’s frown deepened. You… want me to support this body while you journey out of this place? I refuse. Besides, do you take me for a fool? You need to be at the tier of a Nether Prince in order to resist this-

The remnant will offered the Nether Gatekeeper the body it was holding, as though indicating that it could demonstrate its ability if it simply wasn’t burdened by this anchor any longer. The Nether Gatekeeper hesitated and examined the remnant will’s state once more. Its expression remained cheery. And indeed, the Nether flowing around it was extremely potent. But even the Nether Gatekeeper, who had been born inside of this shaft and had never seen the might of a true Nether Prince, could tell the remnant will was incomplete.

There was no core, despite the will’s strength. And due to that absence, the Nether Gatekeeper felt a great deal of pity for the thing.

The guardians will not let you leave. The Nether Gatekeeper tried a different persuasion tactic. You might not have seen them in the past, but they are-

It couldn’t continue talking because it was frozen by the expression of pure, malicious anticipation that suddenly appeared on the remnant will’s face. That expression loudly broadcasted the will’s affection for the guardians. The Nether Gatekeeper suppressed a shiver. Certainly, this being possessed plentiful bloodlust… and it was also more powerful than the Nether Gatekeeper itself.

Perhaps…

The Nether Gatekeeper shifted uncomfortably. Maintaining its current situation while also conversing was an unfamiliar challenge, so it took a few seconds to stabilize its own significance before the conversation continued. Then, after a few seconds of hesitation, it reached out and took the body from the remnant will.

It was an unfamiliar act of faith on the Nether Gatekeeper’s part.

Immediately, the Nether Gatekeeper grimaced. Its fingers tightened on the body to prevent itself from dropping it. The flesh was even more troublesome than it looked. You… truly, how have you managed to persist with this…?!? Ah, hey! Wait a second!

The remnant will had already turned its head to stare sideways, then turned and rotated slowly. It seemed to have some difficulty orienting itself. But at the Gatekeeper’s words, the remnant will looked back down and tilted its head to the side.

The Nether Gatekeeper licked its lips. The being’s trouble to determine which direction was up did not instill very much confidence. But at the same time, the truth was floating in the air above it; clearly, the remnant will was immune to the pull from below. The Nether Gatekeeper’s heart fluttered. If I do this for you… what will I receive in exchange?

The remnant will smiled again and gestured sharply. The meaning was clear: it would take the Nether Gatekeeper out of this place when it returned.

The Nether Gatekeeper couldn’t help it; it began to cry.

*****

Ultimately, the only way for the shade to find its way out of the shaft was by waiting for a flow of emotions and simply following in those energies’ wake. Riding on the back of a violent wave of rage, the shade accelerated upward. The current of significance parted before it, pushed back by just the basic form of the three-layered Nether Engraving it had created. The shade wondered how powerful it would be when it finally created its own physical core.

With speed came the tingling sense of momentum in the shade’s body. The sensation of freedom was intoxicating. A previously undiscovered urge to explore the Nexus bloomed in its heart; it wanted to run the gamut of this shaft, to truly see if this was an enormous skeleton. In addition, it was curious about the Aether Refinery at the base of this location.

But a steely and partially forgotten part of itself stopped the shade from straying; it had a mission to accomplish first.

So the shade rose through the darkness, closely following the emotions. After only a short amount of travel, it sensed the familiar subsonic buzzing of the automatons during their internal communications. The porcelain dolls immediately converged toward his location; their detection capabilities were quite sharp.

Yet that only made the shade even more excited.

The shade reached out and seized a fistful of emotions. Its incorporeal fingers began to stroke the energy, refining it with one of the lingering images that it remembered. More and more emotions spiraled together in its hands. It would make these fucks pay for the disgraceful way he had fallen in the past.

As though formally declaring a challenge to the shade, one of the automatons screeched and shot at the shade from the left. Although the shade still didn’t have an extremely strong ability to detect his foes, his improvements with detecting changes in Nether allowed him to feel their approximate locations. Just naturally, these automatons suppressed Nether around them. So where they were, the Nether was weak and listless. Those suppressed areas broadcast their presence to the shade’s sharp senses.

With a smile on its face, the shade sidestepped the first charging automaton and ripped open its central body with its clawed fingers. It didn’t bother to use either Neither or Aether, simply taking advantage of brute force.

CHIIIIIIIIIRRRRRPPPPPP

CHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRPPPPPPP

Unlike the impression from the shade’s foggy memory, it experienced no pain from the noise. In fact, it could grasp that opportunity more directly, shooting forward and ripping through three more automatons in the surrounding area. The shade’s Nether Nebula, although it hadn’t reached the power of a Nether Core, was still a dominant force in the areas of memory and connection. Here, it was near-unbeatable.

In this Nether-rich environment, the shade could practically teleport at will. It wasn’t a matter of speed, but all the connected space was within its reach.

But these automatons obviously had dealt with Nether beings in the past. In fact, they were probably designed especially to combat rogue Nether elements more than force random fools in the shaft down to their deaths. So while a dozen more automatons spiraled around to form a dense killing web around the shade, they began to devour the Nether in the air. Which, as the machines created larger and larger voids, masked the automaton’s position relatively well. It’s ability to instantly bridge between separate space vanished.

Still, the shade grinned like a wolf. Its had squeezed on the tight ball of emotions it had been steadily gathering and refining. That ball began to glow as the shade mobilized its abilities beyond just Nether.

That tiny core became a seed, which bloomed and grew rapidly. Wild rays of energy erupted from between the shade’s fingers. Sharp emotional knives lashed outward, cutting through the void and destroying the automaton’s bodies just as surely as the shade’s fingers had. The machines stalled in the air confused. The shade’s smile widened; a beast of Nether could not wield emotions so well as it could.

There was a hanging moment of confusion where the shade slaughtered all the close automatons.

And, as the shade had suspected, the automatons shifted their strategy. More flew closer, ceasing their absorption of Nether to spin and smash him downward. Those that were further away released pulses of energy that reinforced the reality of this place and dispersed the emotional bloom. In response, the shade spread its arm and released an enormous wave of Nether that replenished the energy in the air. Again, the spinning automatons stalled slightly. The split second that the automaton’s recognized again they were fighting a Nether Beast, the shade was among them, reaping their lives with its fingers.

The automatons had engagement modes for both Aether and Nether beings, but they had no way to handle both at once.

However, the shade grew bored after destroying around a hundred of the automatons; they continued to come endlessly, flying out from some distant location on the walls of the shaft. So when the next emotional current shot upward, the shade followed it, leaving the pursuing automatons in the dust.

Still, that shame and dissatisfaction in its heart had been finally laid to rest. The shade was much cheerier after having its revenge.

Unfortunately, it was soon stopped again; as the Nether content in the air rapidly dropped, the shade felt increasingly numb and stuffy. After having grown accustomed to the extremely detailed information it could gather with its senses, losing those senses was somewhat disorienting. Especially because it made the shade more reliant on its hearing.

Still, the shade had a mission. It must find a place for its Nether Core. So although it was uncomfortable, it rapidly acclimated and shot upward once more. The Nether content in the air continued to fall, dipping under 50% and even going so low as 20%. Here, again, the shade needed to stop and reevaluate itself. After some meditation, its senses began to compensate for the lack of Nether Sensation. Its ears twitched and flicked.

Gradually, vibrations revealed the surrounding space just as well as vision, and then Nether Sensation had. Grim Intuition was extremely adaptable.

Feeling pleased with itself, the shade left the shaft. It didn’t spare a single thought for the body it left behind.