A martyr for the Nexus, huh… Randidly’s gaze turned complicated as he looked down at the pyramid in his hand. He tightened his grip, pressing the skin of his fingers against the surface as though more surface area between them would give him more insight into the Hierarchy, and what it meant that it was one of his Fatepieces. Unfortunately, the pyramid remained completely inscrutable to his tense hand.

“Do you know how to activate it?” Randidly finally asked as he loosened his grip.

The history-obsessed Seeker Thunder Wing was practically beaming at this point. “Ahem. Well, I’ve read a few treatises on the subject… but I believe it is best for us to wait until after we address the current issues, yes? I’ll send you all the information I have when we have finally figured out who is orchestrating this spatial farce.”

Randidly tilted his head to the side as he looked at the Seeker. Then he nodded slowly and once more put away the Fatepiece. Even if he obtained nothing else, that much information was already invaluable. He offered the man his hand. “Alright, you have a deal.”

They shook for a few seconds and then parted. Seeker Thunder Wing removed the strange electromagnetic barrier around them that blocked sound and began to call out orders for his troops. Randidly didn’t intend to waste any more time; the Seeker was right that they had already dallied enough. He walked up the slope, past where Claudette looked at him with pleading eyes while accosted by Eashen and several other enthusiastic Pinnacle Seekers.

You’ve got a headstart now, Shal. Randidly breathed out as his skin began to tingle from the disintegration energy released by the two-part defenses. But this time when I catch up, I won’t wait for you to show me your spear this time. You’ll regret a half-hearted defense.

At about ten meters away from the spatial wall, Randidly was forced to stop. He grimaced as he felt even his Uncommon Metabolism start to balk at the amount of Health he lost as he simply stood near to the wall. As Claudette had said, the defenses were tough. A powerful Nether Array weakened and inverted the approach of all images and this disintegration barrier destroyed any physical objects that approached. The combination was a headache.

Watching his Health, Randidly took several small steps forward. Although you couldn’t see it when you weren’t with the area, as Randidly moved deeper into the space governed by the disintegration barrier, the surroundings darkened. The unstable space made it more difficult for light to pass through. At about eight and a half meters from the barrier, Randidly’s prodigious Health Regeneration perfectly equaled the amount of Health he lost from standing there.

Congratulations! Your Skill Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil (L) has grown to Level 329!

Congratulations! Your Skill Emerald Sap of Yggdrasil (L) has grown to Level 284!

The constant disintegration finally spurred some growth in some of Randidly’s original Yggdrasil Skills, but unfortunately, he couldn’t remain here for very long. Randidly took another few steps forward, trembling as the amount of Health he lost exponentially increased. Then he slowly began to walk parallel along the wall, looking for a very specific location. The darkened space made it more difficult to find what he was looking for.

Influence +5!

Congratulations! Your Skill Chimeric Impunity (M) has grown to Level 364!

…

Congratulations! Your Skill Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil (L) has grown to Level 342!

Unfortunately, the clues had been annihilated by the disintegration. He could only use his body to test the waters. After about five minutes, Helen wandered over to where Randidly was calmly walking along the wall. She put her hand on her hip and frowned back toward the waiting group. “The Pinnacle Seekers are getting antsy. One of the stronger Seekers is taking her subordinates away. Everything all right here?”

Randidly adjusted where he was standing and then smiled. He raised his finger and natural energy spiraled around it. “Tell them not to worry. I’ve found it.”

He thrust his finger forward, tracing along a line of Ripple of Amenonuhoko, causing the wind to gather behind him and rush forward. The disintegration barrier flickered uneasily, causing Randidly’s smile to widen. He carefully watched the way the energy flowed, seeking the path of least resistance. He adjusted his position again and made another attack.

Honestly, it was just a coincidence that he had weakened the array with his final attack against Shal. Even Randidly hadn’t expected how potent that gushing natural energy would become if he allowed it to accumulate for a while. But the real kicker was that the elites of the Engraving Guild were lurking at the back in order to defend against any stray attack while they put the finishing touches on the defenses. But they had let his attack past without a second thought.

It was beneath them to block such an attack.

Because it hadn’t been formed with an image. It was just a Skill that had been honed to a ridiculous point by the emotional significance that Randidly and Shal carried, further empowered by Randidly’s ridiculously high Stats.

A harmless Skill activation became the key they needed to proceed forward. But of course, even if the array was weakened, most others still wouldn’t be able to take advantage of such a weakness.

In that thin passage where the disintegration was weaker, Randidly proceeded carefully forward, eventually standing only five meters from the Nether Array. And at that distance, his eyes began to glow. He reached forward and tore down the carefully designed array like he was ripping off chunks of old wallpaper. His skin burned and sizzled, but he had plenty of health to spare.

Congratulations! Your Skill Left Hand of the Nether Oracle (M) has grown to Level 263!

Congratulations! Your Skill Yyrwood Body of Yggdrasil (L) has grown to Level 343!

Like a wave of dominos falling, the destabilized array fizzled and ceased to operate. Without the protection of the anti-image Nether Ritual, the spectral hand of the Grim Chimera slashed left and right, destroying the core components of the disintegration barrier. There was a horrid sound of air being sucked away in the barrier’s frantic last few moments, but then it was gone. It took him about seven minutes, but the defenses had been neutralized.

“Good, good!” Seeker Thunder Wing walked forward laughing. “Heh, the Lady of Talons is going to be extremely disappointed that she had such little faith in you! Thank you, Mr. Ghosthound. Please, allow me to head through first and pacify the surroundings.”

Without waiting for an answer, Seeker Thunder Wing strode confidently forward and pressed his hand against the spatial wall. In the next instant, a group of six individuals who wore tan jerkins with a Crimson Eagle stitched across the front marched past Randidly to follow their leader. The individual at the head of the column, the woman who Randidly had seen fighting against the yellowed skeleton during their arrival on this spatial island, gave Randidly a look of warning.

Inwardly, Randidly could only chuckle awkwardly. Do you think I expected Seeker Thunder Wing to become such a chatterbox when I showed him this Fatepiece? If you are jealous, blame yourself for not stumbling across any artifacts in your travels…

Helen leaned casually against her spear next to Randidly and nodded toward the departing Pinnacle Seekers. “Want me to challenge that woman for you? I cannot think of a single thing I’d rather do than defend your honor repeatedly against all the people you offend. Every hour of the day would be so fulfilling.”

“You would do that? How thoughtful.” Randidly grinned at Helen. “And here I thought I would need to exhaust myself just to make sure everyone respects me.”

Helen snorted. “Yea, fat chance of that ever happening. You don’t scowl nearly enough to be respected in the Nexus.

DiOrtho and Raymund wandered over, followed by Kerwin and a still horror-stricken Lay’mel. But just as Randidly was about to say something to his other subordinates, two other figures passed by the minor festival orbiting around Claudette and made a beeline for Randidly.

Randidly looked at them solemnly. The two figures were rather similar to each other, the first an older woman with long white hair and bushy, black eyebrows while the second was a young man with similar features. Both wore long white cloaks.

The older woman smiled at Randidly. Her teeth were slightly yellowed. “Well met, Mr. Ghosthound. I am Pinnacle Seeker Ozaer. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Your ability to defeat the barrier… truly astounding. It is an honor to witness your potential.”

Randidly chewed on his lip for a second as he considered this woman; she was the Pinnacle Seeker in the group other than Seeker Thunder Wing that made him nervous. He couldn’t see through this woman’s power. “The pleasure is all mine, Pinnacle Seeker Ozaer. I would assume based on your aura… you two utilize the image of the cloud with black raindrops?”

The woman nodded in satisfaction. “Truly a discerning eye. Yes, our image is that of the Final Storm. It is a myth of my people that when the end of our existence approaches, there will be one last storm when the heavens will cry tears of black blood to see us go.”

After such a friendly opening, Randidly didn’t suppress the question that occurred to him. “Have you ever considered then whether you are fulfilling the prophecy of your own doom? That your image might very well become so powerful that it will spell the end of your people?”

The woman showed Randidly a different smile this time, still centered around those yellowed teeth. There was altogether too much relish in the expression for Randidly to be comfortable. “Oh, yes. That thought has crossed my mind.”

Further conversation was interrupted by the return of one of Seeker Thunder Wing’s underlings, who informed the group that the Seeker had established a beachhead, but that there was significant Nether resistance on the other side. Randidly politely disengaged with Seeker Ozaer and walked away.

As he did so, Helen poked Randidly in the side with her elbow and spoke in a near-inaudible voice. “You can defend your own honor with that one. She’s got the look of a woman who likes to suck the marrow out of bones.”

“Then should you two get along?” Randidly flashed a smile at Helen but inwardly agreed. When they reached the spatial wall, Randidly’s group was given the honor of being the second party to travel through to the next area. His subordinates linked hands and they headed deeper.