The intensity in Edraine’s eyes after her question about Randidly’s experience gave him pause. Her sharp gaze hinted that this wasn’t something she asked casually.

Randidly cast his mind back to his time down in the depths of the shaft and then shook his head as he came out of that fog with only a blank impression. “The situation at the base of the spine… I was pretty deep down there… but there is a spatial distortion to go along with the dilated time within that area. So… I really don’t have any idea how close I was to the bottom. I’m pretty confident that there was still a significant distance between me and the bottom. But I will say that there are a lot of Nether Gatekeepers down in that area. And it looked like those beings were born there. That place… was extremely strange.”

Not that I wouldn’t be able to handle it now, but I hope you aren’t going to ask me to go back down there to explore, Randidly tensed as he looked at Edraine.

Edraine raised her hands and rubbed her temples. “The presence of Nether Gatekeepers is… interesting, to say the least. But it paints an even more confusing picture of that place. For the moment… let’s set the Nether Gatekeepers aside. Your long experience away might have meant that you’ve forgotten this, but we’ve been trying to figure out why Octavius was to be framed for embezzling Aether and why Military High Command chose not to pressure the Nexus Labor Council with the information regarding the frame job.

“To that end, we went to Military High Command’s greatest prison.” Edraine stood from her chair, causing some nearby scrolls to roll down from their pile and further clutter the floor. She ignored the shift as she walked across the study to the far wall. There, she picked up an extremely thick scroll from a cluttered shelf and scanned through it. Then she looked at Randidly and gestured to the scroll. “We met with the former, disgraced Overseer of the Sixth Cohort. Luckily, it seems like Military High Command still hasn’t noticed her… situation, due to the developments of the Nether attack. This is a copy of her autobiography.

“Essentially, she got wind even earlier than Octavius that someone was trying to frame her. Instead of bringing the evidence forward like we did, she decided to spring a trap on her enemies. Yet as she started investigating, all her allies began to die. No matter how powerful an individual she hired to investigate, they would be killed before the mission was accomplished. By risking her own life… she was able to discover something very interesting, right before she was captured and imprisoned for life with only a sham trial. That the Aether Refinery at the base of the Nexus… doesn’t actually produce Aether at all.

“Instead, it absorbs raw Aether constantly. At a pace that has beggared even the grand Nexus.” Edraine set the scroll back down and raised her hands to her temples once again. Randidly could see the long hours spent examining records in the dark bags under her eyes. “Whatever is down there, its more important than almost anything else in the Nexus. Its the reason that we need to repeatedly ration the raw Aether allotments in the Nexus. And considering the presence of Nether Gatekeepers in the shaft… I suppose that maybe what sits at the base is some sort of powerful leader of the Nether forces, and the raw Aether is required to imprison that individual.”

Randidly frowned. “I only know this second hand… but I had heard that when someone dies in the Nexus, their consciousness and images were taken down there. We had someone on Expira who returned after being exposed to that… what he saw were the dismembered limbs of a baby, floating at the core of the significance. So is the significance separate from the refinery? Because-”

Edraine raised a hand. “You are correct. And honestly… I have no idea whether the significance is related to or caused by the same phenomenon that requires the Aether. What I can do is hypothesize that the Nether Gatekeepers are a by-product of the Nether Being down there trying to escape. Which is why the Nexus has been sending increasing amounts of raw Aether down there over the past thousand years.”

“The real conundrum,” Octavius Shrike finally spoke up. “Is why it is raw Aether that is sent down there. If the goal was truly to imprison a Nether Being, wouldn’t refined Aether be superior? In addition, even if it isn’t actually an Aether Refinery, so much raw energy and emotion floats upward… there are too many mysteries regarding that place.”

“... and from the situation of the previous Overseer, it’s clear what happens to individuals who meddle casually with that place,” Edraine sighed.

Randidly scratched his cheek and nodded in agreement. He was still somewhat light-headed as he listened to these two talk about their theories; it had been less than an hour since he had returned to his normal body after being ridden by the Visage of Obsession for almost five years. At least for the moment, Randidly wasn’t able to make any sense of the information they provided.

Congratulations! Your Skill the Golden Roots of Yggdrasil (L) has grown to Level 322!

I know, Yggdrasil, you are doing your best, Randidly felt a ghost of a smile settle across his face. But there are limits to everything, including my Stamina...

Apparently, Edraine noticed his dazed expression because she waved her hand at him. “Go. Leave the worrying to us. Even if this information hints at a deep secret in the Nexus, our main plan is still to earn enough Nexus Citizenship Coins to steal Elhume’s body. This is just a diversion to see if we can take advantage of the situation.”

Somewhat relieved, Randidly nodded again. Then he glanced sideways at Neveah.

She grinned at him. “As fun as this was, I really do want to head back to Expira. If you could open me a portal…”

After sending Neveah back to Expira with another long hug, Randidly returned to the Fifth Cohort Rally Station. He opened the portal with the Philosopher’s Key directly back to his penthouse apartment. Then, although there were many demands his body had, Randidly turned on the stove and walked to the window.

He closed his eyes and released his senses to feel the images and beliefs of the recruits present. Plus, his presence restarted the constant flow of Nether between him and his recruits. The previously motionless energy gradually began to build up momentum as it began circulating through the surroundings.

With his improvements to Nether Sensation, the amount of information he could gather about the entire situation amongst his recruits just from the Nether was amazing. The energy was filled with soft but lingering memories that hinted at the struggles of the past ten days.

The recruits had proceeded with their training as though their Head Drill Sergeant hadn’t vanished. Based on the time Randidly had been gone, it seemed that the group had also Engaged in one of the group training sessions with the other Drill Sergeants. He could sense the impression their sense of triumph had left on their Nether. The corner of Randidly’s mouth twitched. Seems like they had won the challenge.

Good. That just goes to prove that they are mine. Randidly opened his eyes and raised his fingers to press against the glass pane of the window. Even as the Nether was stepping up its invasion, the recruits were in their last month of training. Soon the Aether would begin their counterattack.

Influence +1!

The notification brought Randidly back to himself, where he then rubbed his chin and wandered back over to the lit stove. He drizzled oil into the pan to heat while producing some meat and vegetables from his interspatial ring. In this case, he wasn’t going to bother with any fancy recipes; he would fry everything up in an enormous iron wok and then just devour it all. He might even make seconds for himself.

Still feeling exhausted, Randidly’s attention turned to the eviscerated Aether defenses he had erected around his portion of the Fifth Cohort Rally Station. Most of the anchors he had left had been smashed to bits. In addition, the arrays around his personal training areas had been methodically demolished. Randidly pressed his lips together into a thin line as he tossed onions and peppers into the pan. It seems like Commandant Wick wasn’t just willing to take Heiffal’s word for it when he told him I wasn’t present…

Still feeling fuzzy, it was difficult for Randidly to feel too worried about the dangerous Commandant. Part of it was his growth and part of it was how distant the threat currently felt. He dumped the raw pork into the pan with the vegetables and began stirring the concoction around. In fact, it was difficult to force his body to wait until the food was fully cooked to begin eating. Very quickly, Randidly decided that his stomach could handle just about anything, so he used the spatula to shovel the piping hot food into his mouth.

I planned on improving my training array anyway, so I guess it really doesn’t matter… Soon, Randidly finished the meal and licked his lips. He produced more meat and vegetables, heating more oil for his next serving. This time, he would likely have enough patience to fully cook the food before eating. Randidly raised his gaze and peered through the wall toward the edges of his domain. But I should work on the defenses as soon as possible… I’m definitely stronger, but I don’t want to find out exactly how strong I’ve become by immediately fighting someone like Velio Dunn…

But he also couldn’t deny that even through his exhaustion, the wild part of himself raised his head and grinned at the prospect. But the restored Soulbound connection quickly restrained those impulses with Neveah’s reasonable approach.

Randidly continued to make vague plans while finishing the prep and devouring his second, giant-sized helping of food. Although he wasn’t truly full, he did feel a great bit of satisfaction from the warm sustenance in his stomach. Then he walked into his room and laid down on a bed he had never truly used before and closed his eyes.

Randidly Ghosthound breathed out a long breath, as though he could shed his worries just by exhaling them.

Sleep took him immediately. It came softly and buoyed him away to a dreamless silence, where all the accumulated mental fatigue Randidly had built up from near five years of training, the latter portion without any rest whatsoever, could finally begin to heal. Randidly’s breathing became increasingly even as tension seemed out of his muscles and joints.

His heartbeat slowly by powerfully, as though the force of its contractions could refine and enhance Randidly’s blood.

One by one, Randidly’s three images settled into a relatively deep slumber as well. Their edges turned foggy and their cores began to churn. Thin threads of Nether stretched from Randidly’s Nether Core to all three. Each had been changed during the time in the shaft, but there was never an opportunity to stabilize and reinforce those changes. In addition, Randidly’s massive growth in his understanding and use of emotions hadn’t truly begun to influence those images.

From those blurry edges, viciously sharp details began to emerge. The heart and soul of each of the images began shining with radiant emotions.

The changes didn’t stop with Randidly’s images. With this long-awaited rest, the various abilities that Randidly had gathered during his frenetic time in the shaft subconsciously began to gather and weave together. His confused senses gradually brought themselves back into alignment. As he slept, Nether and Aether began mirrored flows of each other, gradually changing his physical body.

Even as his heart began to pound more loudly and Randidly’s eyelids twitched, he remained in that coma-like sleep. A strange energy field seeped outward through his person as both Aether and Nether circulated through him.

The blankets on his bed burned away as the ethereal flames of Weight that he could now wield began to unconsciously manifest. The bedframe underneath Randidly creaked and groaned. As the Weight was more fully released, tremors ran through the air from Randidly’s body. His heartbeats seemed to echo to fill the whole room. His powerful Weight seemed to grip the air. The entire building beneath him began to tremble.

With the dramatic sound of a tree hollowed out by forest fire collapsing in a charred clearing, on his first night in this new bed frame, the piece of furniture steadily cracked and disintegrated beneath him. Now on the floor, the still sleeping Randidly stretched and rolled over to find a more comfortable position.

The plush carpet near Randidly’s body began to sizzle and wither. Luckily, Randidly woke before the situation could escalate much further. As he opened his eyes, he found three notifications waiting for him.

Influence +1!

Influence +1!

Congratulations! Your Skill Absolute Timing (Ru) has grown to Level 183!

That’s another PP. Less than forty more before the tithe. Randidly thought with a grin. Then he realized the situation and glanced around him. His bed had vanished, leaving only scraps of fabric in the surroundings. Somehow, he had created a bald spot on the carpet.

But before he could investigate the situation in detail, his Grim Intuition told him why he woke up after only seven hours, though his body might prefer to sleep for an entire day.

Commandant Wick had once more returned to the Fifth Cohort Rally Station. With a groan, Randidly got to his feet.