The crowd in the hall began to panic as recognition emerged from the stunned silence. Individuals hopped up from their seats and shoved others out of the way to make a mad dash for the few exits. Half of the people seemed transfixed in their seats, color draining out of their faces as they considered what this development meant. The fear radiating off them made Randidly realize what a threat the Nether forces still were to Tatem, despite the apparent peace treaty. But most of all-

Randidly glanced at Padraic, who just swayed and looked at Randidly. This man didn’t even acknowledge the news. He’s still stuck on the development of the pattern. Even if he is moderately foolish… I admire his dedication to the craft. I wonder if this man will become someone important in the future.

Very quickly, silver-robed guards flooded in from the side passages and restored order. The feathered woman came up to Randidly and bowed, her tone respectful but her eyes flinty. “This way, Mr. Nether King. We will take you to the transfer area. Per the treaty, you will be handled extraneously to our town.”

The Nether Herald hopped over the front row and clambered up onto the stage. “And me as well! Ahem, my liege, please, let me be your honor guard-”

Randidly’s eyes sharpened. Because more gazes from the crowd suddenly fixated on him. People began shouting directly at him, waving their arms to grab his attention. The fear remained present, but there was a new edge to their desperation.

“Please sir- we spoke briefly-!”

“I’ll give you anything! My entire family will serve you for five generations!”

“Have mercy!”

Transfer area… Randidly raised his head and looked at the ceiling. Now that he knew what he was looking for, he found a dangerous shell in the sky above. A massive Nether Ritual covered the whole of Tatum, remaining inert for now, but hanging over the Aether town like a vicious curse ready to poison the entire area. Spreading out his Acute Nether Nose sent dangerous ripples through the memory, but his Nether Core hummed and the effect dimmed, just slightly.

The adjustment earned a mental note from Randidly. There seemed to be some sort of momentum to his presence here, that more and more of his Nether abilities were unlocked. Yet still, Randidly could only mobilize a pinch. The whole town is held hostage by a Nether Ritual? And I’m being treated with respect?

They talked about a peace treaty… but it sounds like the Aether forces are suffering under the harassment of Nether. What a different environment to the current Nexus.

Randidly nodded toward the Nether Herald, who gratefully took a position next to him. As for the rest, he ignored them. He glanced once to the side, over to one of the distant balconies, but saw no one within; considering her presence in the future, it seemed clear that Devick would survive on her own. Likely due to her relationship with her adoptive father.

Randidly and the Nether Herald followed the feathered woman out down a side hallway, passing several nervous guards who threw belated salutes to the trio as they moved past and out of the concert hall. The sun had begun to sink down, so its red rays only passed sideways between the gaps in buildings.

“Is this common?” Randidly asked, not caring who answered. “These ransom situations?”

The obnoxious Nether Herald blew out a powerful breath from his nose. “Small border spats like this are not as common as they used to be, with the treaty. Needing to allow some of the leaders to buy their freedom makes the process slow and dangerous; a Nether tribe will receive some minor trinkets, but much fewer quality captives in this manner. And it’s very difficult to know what sort of haul you will get. Most consider the practice to be a waste of time.”

The feathered woman glanced once behind her, her eyes icy. “Your toad lies. These ambushes come with appalling frequency. And considering the insidious power of your kind… a Nether King can capture the town in half a day. From enough distance away that it is impossible to have sufficient patrols. If your people would just fight us directly-”

“Bah, we crushed you on the open field just the same,” The Nether Herald sneered as the group walked down a side street that quickly became a dirt path in a cramped alley. He hurried after the feathered woman, desperate for his words to be heard. “Even right now, if your guards faced the might of a roused Nether King- urgh!”

Randidly grabbed the hem of the Herald’s robe and yanked him back, so the saber cutting down out of the shadows didn’t split his skull. Spluttering, the herald fell on his ass. Randidly glanced behind, where a few more silver-robed guards walked out of doorways, glaves in hand. They took great care not to point their weapons directly at Randidly, but their intent was clear.

“If you surrender peacefully, we will not kill you,” The feathered woman pivoted and looked back at the two of them. The antagonism in her gaze deepened; Randidly was willing to bet some of her family had suffered in a past ransom situation. She licked her lips. “However, you will be used as hostages to improve our bargaining position. I would apologize for what was about to happen to you, Nether King, but I cannot deny that I will enjoy it.”

Her eyes slid sideways to the Nether Herald. She grinned. “As for this one… kill him.”

The guards flared their images, rough, wild, vague impressions of violence hovering in the air around them. They closed ranks, blocking off both ways in the thin alley. A few stood up on the roofs of nearby buildings, unwilling to let them escape. Randidly scratched his cheek at their net; it was difficult to feel any sense of threat after feeling the images they wielded. “You really don’t wish to do this. This group isn’t a threat to me-”

A pure and vivid image of a tranquil pool of water formed in the air above the head of the feathered woman. She drew her own saber, her eyes hateful as she looked at Randidly. “And my image? Can you handle me alone, Nether King? Without a Nether Ritual to smother children in their cribs, should I displease you?”

Randidly pressed his lips together. She clearly had received a deep wound in the past from Nether, but that didn’t change how this situation was going to play out. Truthfully, the answer to whether he could fight her alone would be a resounding yes. But with both his images and his Nether restricted by hovering inside of the memory-

He bent slightly forward and grabbed the upper arm of the Nether Herald. “Hold tight, this will only take a moment.”

“Wha-” Before he could answer, Randidly whipped the tusked individual directly up into the air. He tumbled through the air like a ragdoll, screaming wildly as he did cartwheels on his wild ascent directly upward. The guards on the roof twitched belatedly, too late to lash out as he passed.

“Stop him!” The feathered woman shouted, her eyes fixed on Randidly. She even began to accelerate forward, demonstrating a surprising amount of physical Agility. However, she wasn’t even close to reaching Randidly when he brought both hands whipping down, hammering the ground with as much force as he could muster. The attack moved so quickly through the air that it released a sonic boom. The arms of his robe were torn to shreds by the violence of the movement.

The impact occurred in stages.

First, the ground cracked. The force stuffed its fingers down into the dirt and yanked open space to flow. Then the ground began to collapse, as though the essence of the dirt rapidly released it couldn’t handle this much kinetic force in such an abrupt and harsh moment. While that was happening, the shockwave blasted outward, sending most of the guards in the alley sprawling into the walls. These walls buckled and cracked underneath the slam of bodies and the finishing blow of the shockwave. Above them, those guards that had been stationed on the roof tumbled down to join their companions. Finally, the ground just began to cave in beneath him, cratering away into a three-meter-wide hole.

With the size of the indentation Randidly had created, the rest of the surrounding buildings began to fall sideways and throw up dirt and mortar dust. He had to admire the feathered woman, however, for not hesitating even for a moment. Her image of a still pond flared, somehow stilling the surroundings. Her saber cut downward, severing the force that would have sent her sprawling. She continued forward, raising her weapon for another slash.

Randidly felt her image of a ripple-less pond settling over his body and restricting his movement. He pursed his lips. This is also the era of other image physicalizations, isn’t it? So it makes sense that images would have better tools to handle physical Stats. And certainly, this image is powerful. Unfortunately for you, I’m your opponent.

He didn’t bother to dodge. The pond reasserted its dominance, molding the environment. With Randidly remaining entirely still, the feathered woman had a triumphant smile on her face. Her saber cut downward and sank a half-inch into the flesh of his shoulder until it thudded against his sturdy bones. Grimacing at the pain of the severed muscles, Randidly raised his other arm and pressed his palm against the woman’s stomach.

Her image flooded his body, clashing with the dense Nether and Aether physicalizations throughout his flesh. The invasion was agonizing. The memory rumbled ominously, his instinctual rejection of this image nearly ripping him out of the fake Nether Prince. So long as he controlled his movements, he could handle it.

Barely.

Randidly narrowed his eyes. One big push.

He rotated his shoulder and thrust out his arm with as much force as his single limb could muster. Another sonic boom blasted outward. The motion launched the feathered woman backward, out of the crater, crashing through a stone wall and into what seemed to be a living room.

For a few seconds, the memory began to deteriorate as the image painfully sloshed around in his flesh. But gradually, as he remained still, the surroundings began to heal themselves. He sucked in a slow breath. Well, I hope that settled things, because moving right now… will be extremely fraught.

Randidly straightened with exaggerated slowness, fighting his body’s response to the foreign image. It hurt like hell, but it wouldn’t stop him. And gradually, the image was expending itself inside his reinforced body. Around him, the remnants of the street collapsed and splintered, the debris gradually settling in new locations. One of the guards whimpered.

“What’s going on here?”

Randidly pivoted and looked at a man with an impressive silver mustache standing at the edge of the devastation. His immaculate silver robes and ornate stitching instantly gave him an air of aristocracy. But from the haggard look on his face and the bags under his eyes, he had not been having a good week.

“The guards ambushed me and tried to use me as a bargaining chip against the forces threatening your city,” Randidly said. He gestured at the surroundings. “As you can see, their efforts were in vain. And this time I tried to be gentle; I understand the desperation of your predicament. But I did not cause this.”

“Just your people,” The man’s jaw worked even when he finished speaking, as though waiting for some sort of sign from Randidly.

In that silence, the Nether Herald landed back on the ground and threw up another small cloud of dust. Several of the guards got up out of the collapsed ruins of the surrounding buildings but no longer pointed their weapons at Randidly. The feathered woman, still clutching her saber, limped out of the broken wall.

In the end, the man cleared his throat. “What will it take for you to speak on our behalf to your tribesmen? Right now, Tatem cannot afford to have more of its fighting population taken away for the next five years. However, we have much influence we can use to assist the ambition of a young Nether King like yourself.”

Randidly’s gaze wavered slightly. Further behind the man were a half dozen more silver-robed guards, each with an image as powerful or more so than the feathered woman. Considering the continued pain Randidly experienced, and the fact he didn’t know if he could move without triggering a surge of Nether that would kick him out of the memory, he could not fight.

His pupils dilated. For a brief moment, he saw an unmistakable head of red hair amongst the powerful guards.

Randidly nodded slowly as he faced the man who was probably Byuresk. “I wanted to speak to them anyway. Lead me to them. But if I can help you… I’d like information.”