Randy sat in the back portion of the kitchen at B’s Crossing, looking up from an eclectic mixture of carrots and parsnips they were supposed to rid of image fragments before the dinner rush began. Nrorce leaned against the stove, humming tunelessly to himself while he pulled out the morning’s scones. From what Randy could tell with their nose, the scones were blueberry walnut.

The goblin made a frightful face when he meticulously examined the baked goods. The steady darkening of his expression indicated that he was deeply unsatisfied with the result, even as an incredibly appetizing aroma spread throughout the kitchen. After activating their image and absorbing for a bit, Randy moved to the long window that let the kitchen staff see the restaurant; they hadn’t opened yet, but there was already a long line of people waiting at the door for their scones.

Even if they didn’t meet Nrorce’s impossible standard, Randy guessed they would sell just fine. They certainly looked good.

“So after the tournament is over,” Randy began slowly. Lately, they had been getting increasingly anxious about the future. “Are we going to be okay? Can we stay here? Bethyl has been so stressed. And she says the only reason we get so much business is because of the tournament-”

“These things tend to work themselves out.” Nrorce shrugged without even looking at Randy. Then he swept over to the carrots and parsnips and inspected them. “Did you do your job properly?”

Randy nodded and shrugged at the same time. “But what if they don’t work themselves out. What are we going to do?”

“We just do it somewhere else. You think I can only cook in this kitchen?” Nrorce grumbled and gestured with his hand. Some Skill of his levitated the vegetables so they marched in a neat line after him as he walked over to the cutting board. With practiced ease, he began to chop the vegetables into thin slices. His hand moved so fast it looked like a blur to Randy. “We can always make another restaurant. Maybe someplace with goblin-sized bathtubs.”

Randy’s expression twisted, thinking of the house they shared with Bethyl, tucked away in the hills. “But I like it here.”

“Which do you like more, here or this? This atmosphere with the people” Nrorce paused in his chopping long enough to wave his gleaming knife around at the restaurant. “Sometimes, life makes you choose.”

“I don’t want to choose,” Randy continued stubbornly. But now, Nrorce just shrugged and continued his task.

The conversation ceased as Randy tried to make sense of that. Eventually, Nrorce cleared his throat. “So, who do you think is going to win in the tournament?”

Randy shook their head. “I’m not sure. But everyone keeps bringing up the challenge that happens after. Is this Ghosthound really so powerful he can fight eight people at once? The same Ghosthound that visits us sometimes, while I’m not here?”

The squat blue goblin gave Randy a strange look. Then he chuckled and rubbed his chin. “Heh. The people in this world don’t understand what sort of monster sits at their head. The Ghosthound is too distant, in some ways. Yes, he will defeat them all. I suspect it won’t even be very much fun to watch.”

“That seems impossible,” Randy remarked. “These people can crack the ground with punches.”

Nrorce barked out a laugh. “You know, most people from the Nexus could manage something like that with just a single finger. If I had participated in the tournament, I would have probably won it single-handedly.”

Randy considered this, examining the goblin. Some of their skepticism must have shown on their face because Nrorce began to scowl. “Damnit, kid, just go in the back and bring me a box of shallots. You have no idea how scary I can be when I’m mad.”

*****

Congratulations! Your Skill Philosophy Within the Boundless Deluge (M) has grown to Level 860!

Congratulations! Your Skill Right Hand of the Nether Polymath (M) has grown to Level 793!

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Sensation (L) has grown to Level 949!

Randidly released a breath and opened his eyes. His Nether Core hummed with the conflux of energy that pulsed through his veins and through the Tournament Island around him. He was a piece of something greater, the beating heart of the Alpha Cosmos. Every breath pulled energy in and every exhale exchanged it out in the universe around him.

It was the morning of the final and he spent his time honing all the raw significance he had gathered over the course of the tournament. In retrospect, waiting so long to do this had been a bad decision.

He hadn’t realized how much had been embedded in the energy he absorbed. In a way, Alana’s blazing display and collapse had been at a convenient time. It reminded him to go back through and thoroughly inspect all the energy he had ingested. The nature flow of Nether through his body smoothed over the worst of the strangeness, but it didn’t iron out the flaws completely. The process had revealed some unexpected texture to the energy that generated some small amount of friction. Now, essentially combing through his Nether with a mental rake, he refined his energy further.

In addition, he had unlocked a new Path he was currently examining: Keyholder to the Infinite Nether Passages 0/50000

Randidly couldn’t help but click his tongue. On the one hand, he wouldn’t even consider the Path if the cost hadn’t been showing; too often he had thrown himself down Paths without being able to tell when he would finish. Even still flush in the aftereffects of a Tithe, he was wary of the unknown. Currently, Randidly had a little over eighty thousand PP remaining from his haul and the Skills he had gained since; the tournament had been a rather fruitful period for training.

The Keyholder could possibly be related to my fate, Randidly mused. And the Infinite Nether Passages… that’s related to the perspective shifts I’ve been forcing myself to go through recently. But what will I earn by completing this Path…?

He waffled back and forth for a short time. However, in the end, he decided to complete this Path. He wanted to spend most of his PP before he returned to the Nexus anyway; he wanted to be in his best condition. The warning of Solomon Rex and the looming presence of the mad Actus Suprem Devick made him wary.

Randidly had definitely improved himself while spending this year and a half on Expira. However, most of those benefits seemed to have concentrated in the area of understanding Nether and significance. He wasn’t quite sure if his improvements translated to fighting power, even if he had honed his emotional affects. Perhaps this would allow him to weaponize all that understanding.

In addition, if this truly granted him an increased proficiency with his Philosopher’s Key, that would be extremely useful. Escaping to grow stronger and later return was a strategy that had served him well thus far.

Even now, remembering that brief moment when Devick had unleashed her full image against him in the competition for Charlotte left him somewhat shaken. The insidious madness that burned in her gaze-

That’s why I need to take on this challenge and demonstrate the gulf that exists between myself and the people of the Alpha Cosmos. Randidly clenched his fist until his knuckles popped. I might be kind, but someone like Devick would not be. She would… do horrible things to Expira if she could come here.

Every 100 PP put into the Path earned Randidly two free Stats. A thousand free Stats later, he received the completion notifications.

Congratulations! You have completed the Keyholder to the Infinite Nether Passages Path. You have ascended beyond the mundane trails most use to traverse the vast wilderness. Thick masses of Nether energy cloud the air. Your perception has expanded to include dimensions that most others would miss; the combination of your affinity for Nether and innate sensitivity to your environment opens up a whole new method of travel.

You walk down dark passages, entering into secret areas that lay untouched. Every turn folds the world. You head deeper toward the core of space.

Before you a vast array of portals appear. Some are doors, some are windows, some are gates, some are holes. All of them lead to different pasts or futures. Time and space blend together to become one indiscernible morass of alignment. But the longer you examine the phenomenon, the more you realize that nothing is fixed. When you look away toward other eye-catching openings, the passages drift. Possibilities make all the clusters pathways run amongst each other. If you wait long enough, the past can become the future. If you wait long enough, the mundane becomes novel.

The charged possibilities of transformation excite the crossroads.

Congratulations! Your realization about the nature of the world refines the functioning of your Nether Core. Its capacity to hold Nether has increased! Its ability to pump Nether through your body is greatly increased! Your physical affinity to all Nether is slightly increased; you are much more at home in Nether environments.

The dark crossroads wait eagerly for your footsteps. Some ancient force begins to stir.

Congratulations! Reaction +300! You have gained the Skill-

Warning! Your Nether Core is beginning to activate in response to your Path completion! Your Fateset The Paradox of the Alchemist is reacting to your Path completion!

Synchronicity detected…

Recalculating…

Skill has been incorporated into your Fatepiece, the Philosopher's Key! Your Philosopher’s Key has evolved into the Alchemist’s Passport. Ride the flows of time and space, move freely through the insubstantial barriers of existence. Warp the fabric of reality around you. Perhaps in your fantastic travels, you will discover that critical ingredient to make the impossible, attainable.