As the group of Scrawl-fueled vehicles rumbled toward Kharon proper, large clumps of moss spirits hopped out of the trailing sandstorm like flying fish. Those emerald bodies flashed in the midafternoon sunlight and then dipped back into the swirling wall of dust and sand that Randidly’s slipstream of natural energy had created.

The kids were shouting and surfing up and down the slightly elastic and invisible ripples that Randidly maintained at the edge of the sandstorm, keeping the brewing powder keg of natural forces from exploding outward. The whole procession moved out of the low hills to the West of Kharon and started rumbling toward a vast parking lot of vehicles squatting in a vast field around Kharon.

As Randidly considered how he wanted to proceed, he could feel several individuals with middling images lock onto his exact position. It was slightly amusing to watch them mentally bring their wills against him to force out his image and fail to find any flaws in his control they could exploit. He assumed they must be members of the Order Ducis because there was an inherent suspicion to them as they examined the approaching phenomenon.

Randidly?

Randidly’s lips twitched when Tatiana so quickly sent over a message to him. Don’t worry. I’m just having a little bit of fun.

He could practically hear her sigh from her office inside of Kharon. He imagined that she reached into her secret cabinet and removed a bottle of high-quality liquor.

But still, Randidly understood Tatiana’s concerns. He didn’t want to unnecessarily damage property either. As they ripped through the sky, his left hand spread out. His fingers twitched and toyed with the ripples in front of him. Rapidly, those ripples that Randidly altered increased in power and scope until they sent rumbles through the howling sandstorm trailing behind him. The kids noticed it immediately, quickly losing some of their height and cruising near the ground as the natural disaster trembled behind them.

Congratulations! Your Skill Ripple of Amenonuhoko (M) has grown to Level 367!

Now, as long as I don’t fuck this up… Randidly’s left hand flickered. His fingers twisted back and forth as he focused on his desired result.

Congratulations! Your Skill Ripple of Amenonuhoko (M) has grown to Level 368!

Within the core of the sandstorm, the powerful slipstream was reversed upon itself. Massive fronts of wind and airborne particulate ground against each other, constantly weakening the internal integrity of the storm.

Then, right up against the edge of the enormous parking lot, the sandstorm popped. Most of its sand drifted for a little bit on the remnant air currents, but all of the force and ferocity was gone. The disturbed dirt drifted down, some of it settling on the faces of the many individuals that had rushed out of their vehicles to stare at the strange sight.

And above them, the S.S. Yggdrasil zipped forward toward Kharon. A split second later, Randidly and Todd’s pursuers followed. It seemed that without the sandstorm, they finally remembered their original purpose.

Influence +22!

As he guided the vehicle with his toes, Randidly idly wondered whether there were laws that they were currently breaking by streaking freely across the sky like this. Considering Tatiana’s message, they probably were. And Randidly understood the dangerous sort of effect a wild leader could have on a political entity.

Yet at the same time… Randidly felt the duality of Kharon’s current spirit. Kharon Academy had increasingly become the hotbed for the adventurous spirit that he wanted to cultivate. From what he had sensed, the Order Ducis continued to serve its purpose as the spine of Kharon, but now Randidly was concerned with the other half of the city. So many people had survived the System’s arrival… and now they wanted to settle down and return to something that could be described as ‘normal’.

For that, Randidly couldn’t fault them. The world that he wanted to create would include the ability to choose not to constantly live in a constant state of strained tension, worrying about the next life-threatening occurrence.

At the same time, Kharon was his city. Just as surely as he had planted banana trees in that first Safe Room to feed himself, he had planted the ‘seed’ of Kharon onto Expira to prepare for the Calamities that were coming.

I could stop those Calamities… Randidly’s expression steadily stiffened as they cruised above the sprawl of transportation vehicles, floating tin cans, and mobile homes that clustered in Kharon’s shadow. I could make Expira peaceful. My interference with both Aether and Nether should make it very difficult for anyone from the Nexus to return here… but also… The spirit that I sometimes sense growing in the Zones… the people who would most benefit from my protection…

They aren’t the kind of people I want to protect.

The thought was a harsh one, filled with a grim coldness. Yet Randidly also knew that it was completely true. He wanted the Nexus to acknowledge the value of life… but that didn’t mean that ‘life’ was the only thing worth defending.

Perhaps more to distract himself than anything else, Randidly shifted his feet on the smooth wooden board beneath him. The S.S. Yggdrasil immediately responded, curving to the left around the base of Kharon. The duo began to ascend, rising rapidly toward the dense web of emerald highways that existed near constantly in the space above Kharon.

The main four industrial skyisland orbited slowly outside of Kharon’s circumference, about a hundred meters above the city. These formed the base of the paths made by moss spirits, quickly becoming transient as you moved beyond these four constant hubs. With his emerald eyes blazing, Randidly guided the canoe/surfboard up into the thickest cluster of emerald thoroughfares.

Randidly also shifted his focus slightly as they gained altitude. He could sense more and more people sensing their disturbance in the sky and pressing their noses against windows and paused in their determined walks to look upward. They had an audience. Now they needed a show. Randidly turned and tapped Todd’s shoulder. “I think we are about to get away. Now’s a good time for a classy taunt.”

Todd’s expression brightened. He took several tentative steps back away from Randidly toward the end of the S.S. Yggdrasil, keeping one hand tightly gripping on Randidly’s shirt. Then he did a poor imitation of Eileen’s earlier pose and shouted down at their pursuers. “Eat our dust! Heh, you look so tiny Eileen… which of us was lucky to obtain access to the legacy, huuuuuuh? You-”

“Arcane Orb!” Eileen’s eyes were bulging as she unleashed a projectile up toward them. Randidly’s lips twitched and his left hand flicked sideways. And here comes the show.

Once again, all it took was for a single individual to break and suddenly there was a wave of Skills shooting up through the air toward them. Some went wide left, some run, all of them spraying in apparent randomness around their position. Randidly’s hand wove back and forth, guiding the ripples to where he would need them to neutralize the strikes. Then he leaned forward and accelerated, earning a yelp from Todd.

They skidded on an air current and whipped around one of the largest of the emerald moss spirit highways, Eileen and her minions in hot pursuit.

The slipstream began to emerge again to drag their pursuers within twenty meters of them, but Randidly was more concerned manipulating the ripples. As more Fireballs and Arcane Orbs zipped past, he twisted the wind currents and smashed the projectiles to nothing before they could go wide and hurt a bystander.

The duo and their ambushers wound their way up through the air around the emerald highways, spitting colorful and bright projectiles in every direction. At first the antagonism from the clueless Order Ducis agents observing him spiked upward, but it gradually began to sink downward as Randidly guided the ripples around them.

Congratulations! Your Skill Ripple of Amenonuhoko (M) has grown to Level 369!

“It looks like fireworks…” Todd muttered behind Randidly. The bright and eye-catching display that ended in a smothering pop… did indeed look quite a lot like fireworks. A dragon of wind and multicolored projectiles continued to slither upward through the airspace above Kharon, dragging more and more eyes upward.

Reminding his city about the wild and magic spirit that had founded it.

Randidly, who had intended for just such a display, tried to display the sort of wild, joyful grin he had on his face earlier when they had escaped the original ambush. But as his senses spread outward to manipulate the ripples, he couldn’t help but sense more of Kharon. He felt some of the leeches that had come to his city, saw how they had wedged themselves into small spaces to try and hide the effects of their images from authorities.

Randidly’s lip curled upward. But for now, he did nothing to those people. Instead, he tapped into Reign of the Eidolon Crucible and released the radiating waves of the joy of these kids throughout all of Kharon. Hopefully, that would begin to push these people to understand what sort of city this was.

His purpose accomplished, Randidly leaned forward and let loose his tight control of the S.S. Yggdrasil. As they continued to gain altitude, their speed kept climbing upward. Without much fanfare, they smashed through the sound barrier. Their pursuers dropped like flies behind them, the bright Skills ceasing as the duo moved out of range. The wind howled around them as Randidly leg go of the ripples and simply road the S.S. Yggdrasil; he had seen enough.

It was now time to simply feel.

Behind him on the vehicle, Todd was laughing maniacally. “This is frickin’ amazing!”

They kept climbing, moving past agricultural and residential skyislands until they even passed the highest skyisland, Randidly’s own floating home. And from there, they didn’t stop. The two of them pierced straight upward through the cloud layer and intruded upon a different world. Soft, rounded hills ambled below them in an endless sea. Inflated, cotton edges pearls rolled endlessly all the way toward the horizon.

The light reflecting off the clouds was almost blinding.

“Wow…” Todd blinked several times.

Randidly nodded slowly. “Yea. If you make the effort to search this world… there are some pretty amazing things you can see.”

*****

Sam crossed his arms.

Sunan stood very, very still between Regina and Sam while the three of them stood on the roof of one of the main commercial buildings and looked upward at the strange display going on in the sky. A crowd had gathered on every roof in the surrounding area, watching the rogue band of vehicles ignore the emerald thoroughfares and simply fly in a random and spectacular pattern.

The Fireballs, Ice Blasts, and Arcane Orbs seemed to be shooting sideways to impact other flying vehicles or one of the surrounding skyislands, but at the last moment, they would always explode in a starburst of color. But even more than the visual display, the image that radiated off of everything...

Looking at it, Sam could only let out a chortle. This really takes me back, Randidly. Even at the beginning, you were a bit odd. But your heart… you always saw so clearly what we should be fighting against.

When the leading vehicle began to accelerate and the rest fell away, some of the people surrounding Sam and his family began to clap politely; perhaps they thought of it as some show, a preface for the Kharon Academy Auction that would be happening later tonight.

And it might very well be, Sam reflected as he glanced around. But I doubt y’all understand the sort of show that this city’s founder will make…

Sunan nodded seriously after everything was over. “Kharon is the coolest city in the world. Where did they get that cool tree surfboard?”

Regina could only sigh and shake her head. She looked at Sam. “These are your genes at work.”

Sam shrugged; he couldn't deny it.