The Legend of Randidly Ghosthound

Elohamore panted rapidly, his lungs clogged with a cloying panic. He dare not blink, lest he missed something and suddenly became the target of this vicious man’s attention. It had only been two minutes since he and Kadan arrived at the Suaycloak Longue, but in that time he had an epiphany; it wasn’t that the security forces didn’t want to intervene in situations like this, but they simply didn’t have the backing to stand against someone truly powerful.

An average person meant nothing in the Nexus. Only with power came influence.

Elohamore and Kadan had very quickly been forced to retreat beyond the shattered main doors in order to avoid being damaged by the strange pressure that Randidly Ghosthound released. The man seemed to walk at the center of a greedy vortex of darkness, devouring both physical objects and the images of those that resisted.

His movements were brutal and destructive. All resistance was crushed with extreme prejudice. And as his attack grew more frequent, the darkness seemed to grow even more sinister.

The Ghosthound now stood in the center of the destroyed club, still releasing that cloying aura that siphoned off all resistance from the remaining individuals. He held his four-armed target aloft, his hand around his throat. He appeared to be studying him, perhaps faced with the realization that his demands for a more ‘genuine’ apology would not be met, as he had both broken his target’s jaw and knocked the man unconscious.

Of course, that sort of reaction would be the realization of a mentally present individual. The Ghosthound had thus far displayed little faculty for recognizing the facts in front of him. Only his domineering temper and vicious pride had been on display.

Perhaps what currently brewed in his mind was a growing fury that his desire was being frustrated. Elohamore felt a great deal of pity for the Ghosthound’s target as he dutifully noted down what property had been destroyed.

A powerful manager of the Suaycloak Lounge lay slumped on the ground, right where the Ghosthound had smashed him into the marble floor for daring to interfere. His body was covered in a thin dusting of splinters, from the table that had once existed at that very spot. Elohamore could see the shattered bones of his arms poking out through his flesh.

Another woman, who had been an associate of the Ghosthound’s target, was still smoldering in the corner, with her arms and legs severed and strewn casually throughout the completely silent main lounge area. Most of the other former guests had retreated to the upstairs when it became clear that the Ghosthound wouldn’t even bother to notice them, if they didn’t interfere with his work.

“Keh, I suppose…” The Ghosthound began to slowly speak, but Elohamore jumped before the intimidating villain could continue; a figure had materialized behind him, right outside of the Suaycloak lounge. After sparing Elohamore an irritated glance for blocking her path, a three-meter tall woman strode confidently forward into the ruined room.

Her voice was booming as she glared over at the Ghosthound. “What is going on here?!? Do you really think that there won’t be consequences for your actions, Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound? Release that man immediately and come with me; you will be tried before a tribunal for your crimes!”

As she spoke, the woman seemed to glow with a bright light. Her skin was luminous. Looking at her back, Elohamore seemed to see a lonely mountain peak as the radiance of dawn spread out to gently touch upon the landmark. Underneath those precious first rays, the mountain seemed to transcend physicality and become something near divine. The air hummed with the breadth of its presence.

“Oh?” The Ghosthound’s darkness had steadily ebbed as resistance to him had fallen, but in the face of this new arrival, his face twisted into a wild glee. His left eye became a pure black orb, with the image light the woman released unwillingly being bent and twisted by that suddenly palpable hunger. The two images impacted each other with a physical clap that echoed in the empty interior. “And who the hell are you to tell me what to do?”

He truly is the epitome of pride, to not even recognize a Chairperson of the NLC, Elohamore thought with a little bit of envy. Although he would never abuse power like this man would, he couldn’t help but admire the Ghosthound; he had the nerve and capability of being so bold in the Nexus. Meanwhile, Elohamore…

Someday, Elohamore half-promised himself. Somehow, he couldn’t manage to make the thought convincing.

The woman’s shoulders began to tremble as she spread her arms out wide. Ripples ran through her image and suddenly there was a figure meditating on top of the mountain. The quality of the light changed and suddenly the darkness was pushed back; the wild hunger of that darkness could not withstand the force of this light. “You… heh, I’ll teach you a lesson before I toss you back onto your precious Rally Station-”

“Now, Chairperson Loyola,” Another figure was abruptly there next to him, but Elohamore was too busy struggling to withstand the light from that mountain to jump again in surprise. “Such aggression over a mere scuffle between Drill Sergeants… this isn’t something that figures like us should be involved in.”

The tall Chairperson slowly turned around, but she did lower the pressure she was using to force the Ghosthound back. “...Commandant Wick. Do you truly believe I will let this go? Not only did he destroy my business, but he also blatantly ignored the code of the Nexus. As such-”

“Please,” The Commandant waved a massive paw in the air as he took several steps forward. When he passed Elohamore, the pressure Chairperson Loyola released could no longer reach the members of the security force. It was like it never even existed. “I’m truly surprised you would show such an unseemly display over mere monetary concerns.’

“You dare call me unseemly?” Chairperson Loyola gestured to the shattered and smoldering lounge around her. “When your mad dog did this? His pride drove him to almost kill a coworker. Is this the sort of leaking ship you run these days?”

Belatedly, the Ghosthound glanced around. He took a few steps over to a partially destroyed couch and draped the four-armed man’s body across it. Because half of the legs of the piece of furniture had been obliterated, the man’s body slumped sideways, seemingly about to tumble off of the slanted remnants of the couch.

“Unlike your fragile NLC, we in the military encourage minor spars,” The Commandant continued serenely. Each of his steps was heavy as he continued forward. The Chairperson turned all the way around to face the Commandant, her expression twisted into a stare of open hostility. It didn’t seem to faze the Commandant at all. “But honestly, I’m surprised you have time to play around in a minor matter like this.”

Suspicion flickered in Chairperson Loyola’s eyes, but she ultimately didn’t bite. She just stared at the bearman in front of her with a frightful intensity.

The Commandant smiled very slowly, dragging the moment out. “...oh, hadn’t you heard? Recently, Overseer Octavius Shrike came to Military High Command with evidence of large amounts of corruption in the NLC. Fearing that he would be used as a scapegoat, he had no choice but to utilize the organization with the most sterling reputation to exonerate himself from these obvious misdeeds. We’ve been investigating the Seventh Cohort personnel for several weeks now; the results should be announced to the public later today. Let me say… the truth seems to be… pretty damning.”

Emotions flickered across the Chairperson’s face so quickly that Elohamore couldn’t follow the tiny movements at the corners of her eyes and mouth. Her wrinkles rapidly expanded then shrunk. Gradually, she seemed to realize that the Commandant was no kidding. She pressed her lips together. “You… you have no right to investigate the NLC, you bloodthirsty pig. We have an audit department-”

“How could the people guarantee that the investigation was completely unbiased,” The Commandant interrupted. “If we allowed the ones being investigated to investigate themselves? Do you take the people of the Nexus to be fools, you oversized slut? This is what justice looks like.”

Elohamore couldn’t help but shiver. When both sides are so obviously determined to find fault with each other… can either one really be trusted…? But if there definitely was corruption in the Cohort…

Once more, the Chairperson’s face was mercurial and inscrutable. But finally, she snorted. With the issue behind her forgotten, she strode forward past Commandant Wick and the watching Security personnel and disappeared.

The Commandant chuckled lightly and gestured at the Ghosthound. Instantly, the man walked to the Commandant’s side and the two turned and left without giving the security personnel a glance. Neither Elohamore or Kadan had the energy or capability of stopping them, however; both didn’t dare move until they left, unwilling to attract the attention of these powerful figures.

“That was…” Kadan whispered. She shook her head several times, as though she didn’t quite believe her eyes. “And then they left without saying anything. It’s like…”

“It’s like this wasn’t about that poor fool at all,” Elohamore said with a sigh. “This was just a piece in a bigger game across the Nexus. I have a feeling… what we heard was legitimate. There is going to be news about corruption in the Seventh Cohort soon. As for what happens after that…”

Both fell silent. Both were scared. This was definitely above their pay grade.

In the middle of the demolished club, the four-armed man’s body finally overbalanced from his position. With a thump, he slid off of the couch and onto the cracked floor.

*****

Honestly, Randidly was extremely grateful that the Chairperson had arrived at the club when she had. He was running out of ideas of how to stall for more time by inflicting non-fatal damage on the unfortunate Drill Sergeant. To ease his conscious and put on more of a show, Randidly had rather secretly injected minute amounts of Nether into the Drill Sergeant’s body during his grand and overly aggressive attacks. While he tossed his unfortunate victim around, he wove that Nether together into a near-invisible flow through his body.

The effect would be minor, but an astute man would notice that his attacks and images would be just a smidge heavier in the future, now grounded by his own significance.

Randidly glanced forward at Commandant Wick as they walked. He considered saying something but decided against it for now. It was clear from the emotions around the man that he was in a good mood. Randidly wasn’t going to risk spoiling that for now reason.

That thought earned a small smile from Randidly as he reflected both on his wariness toward the Commandant and his forced retreat before the image released by the Chairperson. Truthfully, I’m still coming up short. Even with the new Grim Chimera… even utilizing three images at once… I might have reached a point where I can reliably survive, but victory is out of my grasp. Which means… His mind returned to the Nether he had seen in Neshamah Rex and Randidly’s gaze sharpened. But if I ask for help with Nether… what will she ask for in exchange…?

The duo proceeded through the Nexus Ways while Randidly mused to himself, swiftly arriving at Military High Command. Soldiers leapt to their feet and saluted as the Commandant glided confidently forward. Randidly followed in his wake. Military High Command was situated in a massive black castle, directly below the ‘surface’ of the Nexus, where only those who possessed the requisite qualifications could go. Security at the perimeter was tight, but the interior of the castle was hauntingly deserted.

Randidly idly wondered if he satisfied the conditions for going to the surface yet, but he didn’t possess much curiosity toward that location. Especially not when he finally had a lead on meaningfully increasing his power.

He didn’t want to waste any more time.

The duo passed through the cookie-cutter hallways quickly, the only detail that distinguished that they were moving was the fact that the faces in the hundreds of portraits along the walls were of different people. To see all these stern faces as they moved forward, it really put into perspective how long the Nexus had been in existence.

The ambiance wasn’t helped by the fact that the lighting came from torches with maroon flames placed periodically along the walls. It cast a strange light over everything, as though the entire place was crusted with dried blood.

They finally arrived at the Commandant’s office and once the door was closed behind Randidly, the bearman didn’t waste any time. “Heh. This was an unexpected boon, Mr. Ghosthound. Even beyond protecting Shrike… I owe you a favor. And I don’t say that lightly. Also, I believe there is an easy favor I can give you.

“You are trying to reinforce your images, right? Allow me to help. I have a… particular knack for regulating unruly forces. With my assistance… I can near double your power, immediately.”

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