Randidly’s skin tingled. Small bits of desiccated stone tumbled slowly through the air. His pupils dilated. He released thin streams of Nether and attempted to rationalize what he saw now with what he had sensed before he had opened the portal.

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Sensation (L) has grown to Level 362!

Time seemed to slow, giving him his ponderous mind the opportunity to absorb the majesty of a Nether King.

Congratulations! Your Skill Grand Perspective (R) has grown to Level 220!

...

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Sensation (L) has grown to Level 364!

Congratulations! Your Skill Grand Perspective (R) has grown to Level 249!

For several seconds, Randidly couldn’t even must up an emotional reaction to what he saw; he threw every bit of his attention toward memorizing the aura of the Nether King. He saw the complex currents of Nether that wound around his shadowy body, guiding in foreign Nether in a delicate way through the space around him so that others’ senses would be fooled in believing nothing was there.

Despite the fact that he was aware of what was occurring, Randidly numbly watched his Nether continually being unobtrusively misled. He flared and flexed its Nether, but the way the Nether King had positioning himself turned the natural forces of the world against any force trying to observe him.

Damnit, I need to learn this. Randidly gulped.

Even more profound was the way that the pattern was slightly imperfect and constantly shifting, as though the weight and force of the Nether veins running through the air eroded the space until the whole immaculately balanced system had no choice but to roll into an entirely new form. Like a gyroscope, the pattern continually overbalanced and transformed.

And the Nether King’s Penance-

Randidly winced and swayed. For a brief moment as he peered at the crown of starlight on the Nether King’s head, something dark and intent revealed itself in the Nether King’s baleful gaze. The force of that touch caused Randidly to flinch. That tight intensity that had orchestrated the immaculate patterns issued a warning.

Yet only a second later, as Randidly steadied himself and saw the Nether King looking so intently at Don Beigon, Randidly wondered if he had imagined that bit of piercing deterrent.

A Pinnacle Seeker in a worn brown cloak stepped forward into the silence left by Don Beigon’s words. Tusks jutted out of the corner of his mouth, but he otherwise seemed to be a typical humanoid. He glared at the Don, but Randidly knew that he had suspicion directed at him, as well. “Leave immediately, you snake. Otherwise-”

But the speaker fell silent as the Nether King raised a hand. His body was sleek and shimmering, an abyss edged in mysterious light. Then flipped his arm and performed a beckoning gesture at Don Beigon, allowing him to come closer. Both Randidly and the Pinnacle Seekers behind the Nether King stiffened.

Seeing that, Randidly wondered if the Pinnacle Seekers were just as exhausted as he was. They probably had to be, defending against the Swacc Family forces.

Don Beigon rolled forward with a knowing smile on his face. “We might be constructed of different energies, but there is no reason that there can’t be commerce between our peoples, yes? The free exchange of goods and ideas is the bedrock of civilized society! Now, Mr. Nether King, let’s not beat around the bush: you have no use for the Skull of Truth and I very much want to possess such a valuable piece of history. And I believe that I have something you will be very much interested in…”

The Nether King flicked his left hand; his movements stuttered slightly, as though space had trouble framing him when he moved. Suddenly his fingers held a woman’s head. Her long white hair cascaded down almost a meter in length, long strands giving some definition to the otherworldly physique of the Nether King. The cascading and gleaming hair was buffeted slightly by the gravitational forces of the nebula above them. Randidly wouldn’t have considered the woman beautiful, but with her closed eyes and the ghost of a smile curving her lips, she looked truly at peace. A sense of serenity spread through Randidly just by viewing her, easing the tension and exhaustion that he had brought with him through these rapidly developing situations.

And, with that clarity, Randidly looked around the Nether King’s person for his Fatepiece. Unfortunately, it seemed that it existed in the same sub-space where the Skull of Truth had previously been hidden. While Randidly considered whether it was worth it to try and get his hands on the Fatepiece, while he still had so much more to go through in the Hierarchy of Burden, the Nether King looked at Don Beigon with a Cheshire grin.

He didn’t speak, but the meaning was clear: This is what you want, yes? Give me your best offer.

The Don spread his arms wide. “Of course, I know that you have sophisticated tastes. I’ve prepared a truly unique item that I’m sure will arouse your attention. In exchange for the Skull of Truth, I offer you Randidly Ghosthound, a being of Aether who has organically condensed his own Nether Core. Although it hasn’t had much time to develop, I think his body will help you acclimate fully to the Nexus.”

What-

Randidly gulped as the Nether King’s eyes shifted to him and began to smolder. Suddenly, he could see the shape of Don Beigon’s plot. He offered Randidly the hook into him earlier, but he wasn’t someone that liked being on the receiving end of his own powerful image. Even if Randidly proved not to be sufficient in value to trade for the Skull of Truth, he could be a sweetener. To Don Beigon, it would probably be quite humorous to use the Nether King to avoid paying his debt.

Because if Randidly fell into the Nether King’s hands… he still remembered those times that he had attempted to observe the Fifth Cohort to locate Vualla and been pursued by that Nether being. Even now, he vividly remembered the hunger with which he had been pursued.

Randidly’s gaze hardened. Necessity shook off the clinging strands of exhaustion from his wits. His heartbeat quickened. I don’t like it, but the easiest way to avoid this is to inform the Don that his daughter is within my body. If he truly is as committed to Claudette as he claims, he will retract his offer.

The immaculate formation of Nether around the Nether King expanded and contracted, as though it was breathing. Randidly felt a chill run down his spine as he saw some of his exploratory Nether flows have portions of them sheered away without him noticing and absorbed toward the Nether King.

As though it was tasting him.

Randidly grimaced. Explaining Claudette’s current position might reveal the Alpha Cosmos, but-”

“A shallow Core. Not interested.”

The Nether King’s words, and the bored tone with which he said them, put an immediate halt to Randidly’s thoughts. The voice sounded younger than he expected. And higher pitched. Don Beigon stared blankly at the Nether King, genuinely lost by the rejection. The Nether aura lurched and spun more tightly about the Nether being, as though he had tugged it closer around himself.

Randidly wondered if the Nether King needed to maintain that aura constantly, to avoid the observational forces of the Nexus.

But perhaps the most important shift after the rejection came between Don Beigon and Randidly. Three more thick threads wove themselves along the connection between them. The sense of influence Randidly possessed grew more palpable.

The man’s powerful image had understood that he had attempted to avoid paying back his debt. Since that ploy failed, the account between them deepened as self-inflicted punishment. Randidly felt a small thrill of schadenfreude, even while remaining confused at how immediately the Nether King dismissed his value.

The Don was unwilling to give up easily. “But Mr. Ghosthound can also-”

The Nether King shook his head once. His delicate Nether aura lurched again, pulled into spinning more quickly. “We trade. Your Citizenship Fabricator for the Skull of Truth. Final offer.”

Immediately, the Don Beigon shook his head. “I don’t know what you’ve heard, but there is only a single Citizenship Coin Fabricator and it is in the hands of the NLC-”

“Final. Offer.” The Nether King’s smile stretched and lengthened, like a cat waking after a long nap. With those jerky motions, he flicked his wrist again and the Skull of Truth vanished. Even while shaking his head, Don Beigon’s expression grew increasingly pale.

Does the Don actually possess a device that can make citizenship coins? Randidly glanced sideways at the man, torn between trying to make sense of these events and observing the movement of Nether. Perhaps I can cash in some of this favor for a few genuine coins. After, of course, I let him stew with this debt for a while.

Congratulations! Your Skill Grand Perspective (R) has grown to Level 250!

...but not too long. Something tells me that he will find other ways to avoid paying…

Eventually, Don Beigon went very still. If emotions were the flesh of his persona, the current Don let all that rot and fall away. His eyes were intense and stark, the bare lines of his personality’s skeleton on display without any dressing. His features burned with an inner emotional fire, giving Randidly newfound respect for the man. He observed the controlled frequency of his affect, making a mental note to experiment with his own emotions later.

When he was away from these dangerous individuals with barely controlled hostility. When he had time to rest and recover.

“Fine,” Don Beigon pushed the word out through his teeth in a hiss. He gestured and produced a golden plate, covered with esoteric lines. The central portion of the plate, in the size of a Nexus Citizenship Coin, was hollow. The Nether King reproduced the Skull of Truth and both tossed the valuable items toward each other at the same time.

Both items released imperceptible waves as they moved through space. Powerful images and materials had clearly gone into both. Honestly, Randidly was taken aback that the presence of the Citizenship Fabricator didn’t lose out to the Skull of Truth, which was apparently a mutated chunk of Aetherium.

What exactly are citizenship coins, then…?

Randidly felt a strong temptation to step forward and grab one or both of the items, then began to sweat as he realized that the subtle tug came through the threads between himself and Don Beigon. As soon as he noticed the source, the impulse vanished and the items safely landed in the hands of their new owners.

I might be in the advantageous position, but that doesn’t mean I can let my guard down against him. Randidly sucked in a breath.

The Nether King laughed and waved a hand casually. A rift of pure darkness appeared in front of him and expanded to swallow him whole. In the next moment, he was gone, leaving the animated Nether he had influenced to slowly lose its momentum and turn sluggish in his wake. Gradually, those flows would settle back to normal with no one the wiser about his movements.

Don Beigon gnashed his teeth, gave Randidly a meaningful look, and said. “As you requested, the restrictions on the Frost Matriarch will last for twenty-four hours. Thank you for your business.”

Then the Don vanished too, leaving Randidly alone beneath the grey nebula with three Pinnacle Seekers and their subordinates. Randidly’s mouth twitched. I don’t remember making such a request… and was there really a need to announce it? Asshole.

However, the subtleties of the interactions was completely lost on the Dusk Jackal, who bounded over to Randidly with a wide grin on his face. “Ha! Ghosthound, I noticed your duel against the Swacc forces! You single-handedly kept one of their elite squads at bay, then fought to a draw against a high-level combatant. Have you grown stronger since I’ve last seen you? You have, haven’t you? How about a spar, for old times sake?”

The Dusk Jackal turned to glare at a sallow-skinned woman who held an orange fan. “Hmph, my allies were too greedy, hogging all the interesting fights for themselves and their subordinates. Ahhhh-! My blood started to really pump, but there was never that thrill, you know? So? Are you free for a duel?”

Randidly felt truly exhausted. But fighting seemed easier than trying to parse apart the meaning of this meeting, so he nodded.