The Legend of Randidly Ghosthound

Her surprise wasn’t fake. For several seconds, it was clear to Randidly that the Creature was completely bewildered by what she was witnessing. In the same manner as the wound that opened up previously, displaying to the world the real pain that the Creature felt as this… Elhume pursued her, Randidly’s current action had come as a surprise to the Creature.

Honestly, Randidly didn’t know how to explain what he was doing. But something within him was gradually loosening. Would I have done this, I wonder, before I met Vualla…? Before she reminded me to cultivate the heart that craves strength just as much as you cultivate strength?

The feelings were vague and amorphous. So Randidly spoke the words he held in his heart eve knowing that they meant very little. “I’m… having faith.”

“What does that mean?” The Creature snapped. She took a short step toward Randidly, but then glanced sharply upward as the Nether that filled the sky accelerated. Bits of energy from all corners of the Alpha Cosmos stirred and began to slowly gather here. Once more, the energies of this place aligned to create something here.

I hope your gamble is worth it, Azriel.

Before Randidly could decide what to do about the Creature, a ripple spread ominously outward from the depths of the darkness below their platform. Randidly closed his eyes and strained his senses, but beyond the platform there was the huge clump of Nether… and then only the abyss laying below them. Honestly, Randidly could understand how the platform was suspended here. Had the Creature-

Another ripple spread upward through the Nether. Although he didn’t like it, Randidly focused his Grim Intuition and Nether Sensation away from the assembled Nether Ritual to identify whether the strange movements of Nether were a threat. Yet no matter how much Randidly narrowed his focus, he could not find the source.

The reverberations travel through Nether… but the source isn’t Nether? Randidly chewed on his lip and wiped sweat from his brow. So what-

Without any warning, a figure appeared with them on the platform. They faded slowly into existence, shifting quickly from shadow to solid, made of Nether arranged in a manner that Randidly couldn’t wrap his head around for several seconds. The figure strode easily forward to join them, standing between Randidly and the Creature. Wrapped around the figure was a cloak of shadows and memories, fluttering lightly as the Nether Ritual slowly accelerated above them. At the figure’s waist was a familiar dagger.

The Spriggit Thief’s face was more lined than Randidly remembered, but he hadn’t seen her much leading up to her eventually death in his Soulskill. The time difference in those iterations of the Soulskill meant that it was difficult to keep a firm track of what was going on within it. And anyway, despite all that she had done for him, and that Randidly had shaped her life as she grew into her own… she had never really desired much interaction with him.

Randidly had always suspected that she had never forgiven him for what happened.

She curtsied, “My, my, my. It’s certainly been a while, Progenitor. You called and I… I have answered.”

Before Randidly could even speak, another voice interrupted. “Bah! To think someone else beat me here. It cannot be denied that I am not as renowned as I used to be. But to have even this honor stolen from me…!”

The tall and bulky form of an Earth Golem, also composed of shadows that slowly settled into stone, thundered forward with huge steps as he approached the waiting trio. He wore a crown on his head that had been broken to preserve a continent’s peace. In his left hand he held the Scepter of Dominance and in his right he casually leaned huge Dawn Hammer across his shoulders. Both were weapons that could probably shatter the platform on which they currently stood. The Earth Golem Emperor, Xierk Taf, the man who was the only individual to have possessed the power to unite the entire Soulskill against him, stood next to the Spriggit Thief and considered Randidly.

...it’s because they are memories. Or… something like a memory.

The Earth Golem Emperor stood with all the majesty at the height of his reign, holding both of the two weapons that were condensed from Randidly’s Skills and sent into the Soulskill. Yet his gaze was also filled with the dignity of one who gave his life to save his people. The icon that held both faces of Xierk Taf. The broken martyr. The invulnerable warleader.

The Earth Golem Emperor turned with a stern expression toward the Spriggit Thief. “You should not have appeared first. The glory of arriving should have been mine. The weight of history is behind me. I am your elder by quite a few years.”

Even as Randidly felt a deep nostalgia for seeing these faces from his old Soulskills, the shape of the Spriggit Thief stealing this arrival created a fragile smile on Randidly’s face. The Spriggit Thief waved her hand. Even if she had aged, she hadn’t lost her flippant attitude. “Does it really matter? Besides, you can gladly go first into this mass of meaning before I do. I’m… waiting for someone.”

“Bah, trying to swindle me by offering me something I already own by right,” The Earth Golem muttered. Then he turned to Randidly and all of his sternness fell away. Without giving Randidly a chance to react, he walked up and gripped Randidly in a huge hug. Although his entire body was composed of Nether, the stone of him felt real and warm, like the Earth Golem Emperor had been waiting in bright sunlight this entire time before coming to help Randidly.

When the Earth Golem finally released Randidly, he spoke with a gruff voice. “I know the difficulty you face now… what if stepping off your current Path will mean you will no longer achieve victory in the future…? But… it was never about the victory, was it? It was always about the reasons you sought victory. And sometimes… victories come at too great a cost.”

Then the Emperor walked straight toward the dense threads of Nether coming up through Azriel’s body and shifted into motes of Nether that were rapidly absorbed into the waiting, gleaming bead that was slowly reforming.

Very quickly, more shadows began to show up. They came in pairs at first, Nether weaving together their guises slowly as they walked in a pirade forward, but then they came marching in entire formations. Their weapons were soaked with blood and ichor and when they passed Randidly, each and every one of them honored him with a deep bow.

Suddenly, Randidly recognized them as the army that had fought off the Creature’s first invasion of his Soulskill. There were the Weavers and the Earth Golems, the White Hunters and the Spriggits, and of course there were the monsters, loping wildly forward between the tall columns. After stopping to greet him, they all marched forward and were sucked up into the bead.

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Ritual (A) has grown to Level 92!

Above them, the Nether Ritual continued to build up steam. Rather than the almost cyclonic diaster the Creature had built in her attempt to do this, Randidly’s was a tight orb with a tiny bead of darkness and memories being slowly created at its core. The heavy pieces of engraved, ivory metal slowly drifted down and settled on the platform. To Randidly, they were practically useless.

Perhaps more importantly, Randidly had no faith in them. So they were set aside. Randidly breathed and as he inhaled he pulled out all of the secrets from the depth of his Soulskill. And then with a trembling heart did Randidly turn and look out toward the abyss below.

It was only after the entire army of the dead had marched by that the man Randidly most feared came. With a thundering heart, Randidly stood and followed the Spriggit Thief’s gaze to the shadowy figure that made his way forward. His flesh condensed and solidified. And Randidly’s heart lurched when he saw this figure’s hand still glowed a terrible blue with the power that he had borne within it.

Tziech Exodus, the one who had been called the Monster King, who had evolved from nothing to create a country for his unfortunate people, who had borne the hatred of all the other races until he had demanded their respect, walked slowly forward toward Randidly with a warm smile on his face.

The boy who had been called Zeke, who had always wanted to be a hero, and the one who had finally achieved that dream by paying for Randidly’s sins and destroying that projection of the Creature, stopped only an arm’s length away from Randidly. They looked at each other for a long moment.

Randidly released a steadily breath as he studied this man’s proud face. The noise of his heart continued to be loud in his ears. To see him now… the Monster King was a harsh reminder that the Path Randidly had taken to grow strong had been nowhere near perfect. Often, Randidly Ghosthound had made mistakes that others had to pay for. And perhaps that was the reason why he had been willing to give into Azriel’s advance, or at least indulge it.

Seeing Tziech Exodus now made Randidly glad that he had relaxed, at least a little. The Monster King was a life sacrificed to the Path Randidly might have demanded to continue.

The only question is whether this Path is any better, Randidly glanced sideways to the wary face of the Creature.

Zeke addressed the Spriggit Thief first, just by smiling and extending the hand that wasn’t burning with the strange, perverted Nether of Touch form Beyond. The Spriggit Thief took it, smiling sweetly back, the wrinkles in the corners of her eyes painting an epic of smiles that had softened this woman toward the end of her life. Some part of Randidly flinched as he could see the peace this woman found at the end of her life… and paired that with the knowledge that the Progenitor had no part in it.

Then Zeke turned to Randidly.

Once more, they regarded each other silently for several seconds. And to his own surprise, Randidly was the one who spoke first. “...thank you. For everything. I never got a chance to say that.”

“But I got the chance to see you were thankful,” Zeke said softly. With his free, Nether-blue hand he scratched his chin in wry embarrassment. “I wasn’t… alive, obviously, but I saw that my people got their own land when you reshaped the Soulskill. It was the proof… my people had always waited for. That even if we weren’t created… we weren’t a mistake. We could wear the moniker of Monster with pride.”

Randidly blinked rapidly as he felt tears in his eyes. “I...if I were stronger-”

“You weren’t,” The Spriggit Thief cut across Randidly. Then she favored him with a cold glare. “You never were. In a lot of ways… you were just lucky. But you paid back the debts you owed as best you could. Which is why we all came when you called.”

“Samantha,” Zeke’s tone was reproving. “We’ve all become a part of his legend now. I’m sure you’ve seen the shape of his struggles. Is there any point and acting sour now?”

The Spriggit Thief folded her arms across her chest and turned her nose up at Zeke’s gentle chide. But Randidly could only blink.

“Your name… is Samantha?”

Almost unwillingly, the Spriggit Thief turned back to Randidly. “Yes. What of it?”

“...that was my mother’s name. And… sorry. For never asking for you name.” Randidly inclined his head slightly.

If anything, Randidly’s apology only served to annoy the Spriggit Thief further. But as she was opening her mouth to respond, another voice cut across them.

“Hmph, so you fools already arrived and all you doing is chit chatting? Stand aside; I didn’t come here for him.”

The new voice that drifted upward from the darkness where Randidly pulled the Nether was rough and raw. It was a voice that was filled with fire and ash. The Spriggit Thief and Zeke exchanged a glance. Zeke reached out and put a hand on Randidly’s shoulder, the hand that burned with the Creature’s impure Nether. “We will go on ahead. And… don’t be so hard on yourself. You making a mistake isn’t the end of the world; we made just as many mistakes. So it is to be alive. It’s only when you refuse to acknowledge those mistakes that you will lead us to ruin.”

“Charming,” Randidly managed to mutter out, and then the two walked forward. Zeke went first, moving smoothly up to the altar of Azriel’s body and dispersing into those clumps of Nether to be absorbed. But at the last moment, the Spriggit Thief stopped and turned back toward Randidly.

Even as her lower body disintegrated into shadow, she spoke to him. “...I was born without a name. Just like Zeke, I was an orphan. So… even my name was stolen. It came in one of those dreams we would have, that were your memories percolating out amongst the denizens of the Soulskill.

“It was a brief memory, and extremely fuzzy. You were a child, having your clothes straightened by a woman- I suppose your mother. She had a nametag on that said Samantha. And I thought… it was a beautiful name like I’ve never heard before.”

The people in the Soulskill had dreams that were my memories…? Randidly thought in wonder. His mouth moved, but he had no idea what to say.

Then the Spriggit Thief’s torso and arms were being sucked away into the Nether Ritual and her expression softened. “Of all the things I stole… I always felt the guiltiest about taking that name. I don’t know why. I just… it just felt special.”

“It was,” Randidly sighed. And then the Spriggit Thief was gone, woven into the Nether bead.

Randidly turned to face the next specter of his Soulskill that came forward when he called, buoyed forward by the thousands of people that she had killed in her descent into madness. They were heralded by a thick cloud of exhaust and the coppery tang of blood in the air.

Although they flowed around her, Alta’s bulky figure was immediately clear amongst the other shadows that flowed upward to join the slowly being constructed core of the Nether Ritual. The differences only became more stark as they became flesh and she condensed as a machine. She walked forward belching smog from her exhaust ports and covered in thick, riveted plates of meta. Even with the metal shell, it was clear her flesh was slowly being burnt away by the incinerator like engine that was in her chest.

Then it changed. Because in this memory form, she was all of the faces of who she had been. As she approached, the metal slowly began to fall away.

The pieces came away smoking and clanged against the ground at such a volume that it could even be heard over the howl of the Nether gathering both above and below. Every step Alta took saw more of her metal panels and protections falling away, revealing the red and inflamed skin beneath. Yet as this reincarnation of Alta continued, her flesh began to rapidly heal. Metal fell away and the burns receded.

By the time she had reached Randidly she could reach up and remove the helm that had given her the moniker of the Metal Queen. Once more she was whole, no longer bearing the scars of having been consumed by her desire for revenge.

Alta Bounty regarded Randidly coolly. “I haven’t forgiven you for what you have done, you know. For creating such a fucked up world and abandoning us in it. And I still think my choice was the only logical one.”

With soft eyes Randidly watched Alta, allowing her words to wash over him. She was intense, but still… lovely. The fire of her passion burned still, bringing light to her face. She was a physical presence of heat and light, displaying all of the attractive pieces of the image she consumed and none of the terrible loss that was hidden beneath the surface.

Perhaps the proof was in the smoking metal she left strewn in her wake to reach him.

As he stayed silent Alta’s mouth firmed into a line. “Pah. You think this is about you? No… this is…” Alta’s gaze went to the black marble that had once more appeared and was floating down toward Azriel’s chest. “...this is about that image. You know what I hate? That I feel so drawn to this ancient thing’s image. That she has the same terrible scars that I do. That just like me… she failed to accomplish what she wanted. That terrible regret she carries…”

Alta’s eyes flashed as she glared once more at him. “That’s why I’m here. You are practically an observer.”

Without a word, she continued forward. So Randidly spoke to her back. “...I would have done the same thing you did, if the roles were reversed. I deserved it. I failed you and for the longest time, didn’t know how to apologize or help. Your choice… it killed a lot of people. Just like my choices have killed a lot of people. But… the Alpha Cosmos wouldn’t exist without you, Alta. You were… necessary.”

For a split second, Alta froze. She snorted and shook her head, still swaying on that same spot. Before Randidly’s eyes, she changed again as she turned around, so that when she looked back toward Randidly she was the child who had hurried back to find her family bloody and mauled. Her eyes were still haunted by what she had seen that day.

Then she raised her chin and disappeared, absorbed by the swirling tide of Nether.

As the shadows emerging to joy the working faded, Randidly’s eyes narrowed at the obsidian marble that was floating down toward Azriel. Scratching his neck, he asked mentally, Are we really going to sacrifice your body to create a weapon…?

Azriel chuckled. “You’ve seen the Creature’s memories… and you are familiar with your own legacy that answered the call of this working. Do you truly think what will grow out of that is a weapon…?”

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