The Legend of Randidly Ghosthound

Elhume glanced around at the figures gathered around the dais. He felt torn between desperation to begin assisting his son and worry, that even this attempt would just create more problems.

Perhaps due to that conflict, his voice came out much rougher than he expected. “Is everyone prepared? We will not have another chance.”

“Is naught life’s idiosyncrasy part of its irresistible charm?” The Patron of the Deep observed. “Without singularity, we become routine. Empathy becomes moot between stock copies. Which is why the creation of this race with such potential… ah, it effervesces a wild certainty of purpose, does it not? It may seem like a single step, but with our efforts the future may blossom!”

Elhume’s face twitched, but he didn’t bother to respond. Pouring his energy into the attempt had lessened the buzz of static in his mind: toil centered him and removed the strange interference. All the personnel they needed were present, along with some observers. Himself. The Patron of the Deep. The talented Engraver who could also utilize Nether, Padraic. The Prophet, and loitering in the darkness at the far end, the Scythe.

Padraic, young and looking suitably nervous, nodded when Elhume glanced at him. Elhume spared a moment to eye the Cult of the Savior individuals, then refocused on the ground between them. The project was all that was important right now. Elhume had painstakingly carved a general body shape into the stone dais between them, a mold into which they would pour everything else.

Above the grey rock, several sigils of pure energy rippled in the air. The color shifted through a rainbow kaleidoscope, the curving lines moving from pink to aqua and back to tangerine. These were more ephemeral aspects of the humanity Elhume tried to impart onto them, a series of generalized blessings. Of possibilities and vague philosophical shapes to thrive within their minds. They glittered like garish jewels, prepared to be added into the mix.

Elhume release a low breath when nothing appeared amiss, glad he had been able to iron out the details. Hidden within those ‘blessings’ were the three locks he would place on humanity. Not that he particularly minded if Padraic or the Patron of the Deep understood the insurance policy Elhume made, but with the philosophies disassembled, it was difficult to see how they would snap into place, when all the benefits were added at the same time.

But I suppose that’s people. Unknowable when viewing the disparate elements in isolation.

Elhume looked sideways at the young Engraver. A sliver of doubt remained in his heart. Everyone had a role-- Elhume would shape and oversee, the Patron of the Deep would provide the raw essence of life, and Padraic would need to create a conduit to handle that power. If the Engraver had not succeeded, he would need to rely on the Prophet’s backup plan. “Please, let’s see this ‘heart’ you have been working on.”

Padraic nodded and cupped his palms together. Out of his two hands rose a pulsing working of Aether and Nether, all spider silk and dew drops. The connections were ornate and delicate; the edges fluttered like butterfly wings catching an invisible wind. From just a look, it was clear this work had taken a great degree of care and effort. Suddenly, the dark bags underneath Padraic’s eyes made sense.

While studying the heart, Elhume and the Patron of the Deep came to the same conclusion at the same time. Elhume’s pupils dilated. The Patron of the Deep gasped. “This core… would enable humanity to manipulate both Aether and Nether freely.”

Elhume struggled to conceptualize what this would mean. Would adding Nether into the mix help expedite the process of creating essence to sustain Pine? For a brief moment, he considered Nether King Hungry Eye, the only being who seemed to possess this ability. Certainly, the potential of humanity would grow, but-

“...this is dangerous,” The Prophet whispered, his bulging chin-eye narrowed at the heart.

In the end, Elhume found himself agreeing. His eyes raked across the arrangement again, seeking any elements he had misinterpreted. The core area of the heart was a work of genius, a layered integration of variants that essentially guaranteed the image potential that Elhume had sought. However, the problem became the wings; they existed in a duology, opposite one another with entirely different designs. One with rigid passages to gather Aether, while the other had been whimsically drawn with whorls to incorporate Nether. Both energies could flow to the core area and produce a reaction.

“Truly a marvelous feat. Can you feel the breadth of space below us, the rich darkness awaiting our illumination?! To create such a race- Even my sophisticated imagination trembles at the sundry potential-” Already, the Patron of the Deep’s body jiggled with excitement.

Elhume stuck his jaw out and shook his head. “...it cannot be made this way. Although the potential is great, our understanding of Nether and Aether combining within organisms is insufficient. Padraic, I believe you were inspired by the feats of Nether King Hungry Eye, yes? Truly, he is the epitome of potential. And yet… what of the other such individuals? Why do they not exist? I believe their absence suggests a dire answer regarding the consequences of mixing the energies.”

A shadow came across Padraic’s face and Elhume continued to speak. Distantly, through the static of Elhume’s thoughts, he felt a shuddering anger toward Nether King Hungry Eye. Yet he couldn’t deny the man’s power. “The lack of any other successful lifeforms brings me worry. No, it is better to… curtail the scope of activities so the result is predictably feasible.”

“Without yearning beyond traditional bounds, progress will stall!” The Patron of the Deep protested.

Yet after only a moment of hesitation, Padraic reached up and plucked the wings off of the heart. They fluttered down to the ground, steadily disintegrating once they were no longer sustained by the core areas. Tension tightened his features. “I just… I believe in what you are trying to do. To create a universe to support its soul. To put all of the blessings of life within reach. The wings would have acted as a stabilizer. Without them…”

He trailed off. Strangely, Elhume felt his heart stir, just slightly. Even through the static crowding his thoughts, the vast emptiness of those impediments taken away to ensure efficient activity. He cleared his throat, ignoring their absence. “I appreciate your care, Padraic. Hearing that… I am very glad you were chosen to assist.”

“Pah,” The Patron of the Deep spat to the side. “If it weren’t for Padraic, we would have been forced to compromise on the character of our companion; do you possess an imagination vivid enough to simulate that prig ‘The Master’ working on such a selfless endeavor? Undoubtedly, his twisted heart would have found a way to advance some hidden agenda-”

“We should begin,” Elhume interrupted. His conscience crackled with his own secret plans.

*****

Randidly served as the trunk, allowing the green shoots to stretch up and break open the Desolate Horizon Domain. The leaves glittered, unabashedly stretching up and reaching for the sun. And from those initial small cracks, the dawn came, furious and pure, blasting away the ugly cloud faces that vomited water vapor down across the horizon.

It only took a split second for Bleak Sky’s horrifying suppression to vanish. Randidly stomped a foot down on a platform of gravity and shot upward, past Bleak Sky.

Higher and higher Randidly flew, the grey expanse rumbling and collapsing, revealing the pulsing golden heart of the World Tree. Randidly laughed and spread his arms wide, enjoying the warmth on his skin. Yggdrasil stretched out its golden roots in every direction, drinking down the energy of the world.

Congratulations! Your Skill Dawn Opens the Sky and Reality Stirs (T) has grown to Level 993!

Congratulations! Your Skill Gospel within the Seething Torrent (P) has grown to Level 1018!

At the apex of his rise, Randidly allowed Yggdrasil to fade. He looked around and saw the whole of the battlefield. Deganawidah’s army had marched forward, although the baleful figure hadn’t made his presence known. The Turtleline forces had sallied out from the city and unleashed raids against the edge of the host, but mostly they remained back as the Nether host streamed past, large enough even while charging to be double the size of the city area. Similarly, the forces of Fatia Cerulean seemed like a small impediment before the host, a speed bump the army would hit and skip over without even slowing.

Yet as Randidly spread his senses out across the battlefield, he could feel several individuals whose presences seemed emphasized among Cerulean’s subordinates, larger than life. These were the ones who had finished their Fates and condensed Grand Fates, becoming powerful in a short amount of time.

Even as he reached out and guided the currents of crackling tension to orbit around his body, Randidly clicked his tongue. Perhaps the Nether Forces are right to fear the growth of Aether. These people have improved damn fast-- and that’s coming from me.

A rumbling shift in the knot of significance hanging over them made him look sideways. Randidly had overcome this trial none too soon because in the distance, he felt the first rumblings of the ritual to create humanity-

A flicker of movement brought his attention whipping around. Although he still seemed oddly hollow, Nether King Bleak Sky had ascended to stand opposite Randidly in the sky. “Do you know why I hate people like you, Hungry Eye?”

“Because I’m different,” Randidly didn’t even need to think; meeting the gaze of this resentful Nether King, the words stuffed themselves into his mouth.

Bleak Sky nodded, his brows heavy. “Because you are different, you delight in the transgression of bounds. Because you have lived a blessed existence where that difference was never questioned, never challenged, never punished. Because although I can see you and know you completely, you will never appreciate the suffering I have endured, in order to protect the future of the Nether People. You cannot know the depths of my toil and how painful it is to watch you flippantly upend the status quo.”

That same frosted, poisonous spike of exhaustion sunk into the edge of Randidly’s heart, prepared to slip forward in a moment of weakness and completely impale him. It was the price of failure, looming over him constantly. He lifted his chin and frowned. “You might be right that I don’t understand you. But that doesn’t mean you comprehend me. I take no joy in being different. I simply don’t think the structures you work to build… are very valuable.”

Bleak Sky considered that, the two floating opposite one another as the three armies crashed into each other below. Enmya’s army began to stir, preparing to enter the fray as well. In the end, Bleak Sky just snorted. He raised a hand and pressed it against his chest. Instantly, his Nether Core began to accelerate in its rotations. The speed rapidly shot upward, so that whisps of uncontrollable Nether spat out from his torso.

Randidly felt a mix of sadness and wariness, because now he could see the chunk taken out of Bleak Sky’s Nether Core. The rotation fluttered and sputtered, seemingly just one wrong spin away from popping off of its axis and collapsing into a ball of self-destructing energy. He wasn’t sure what damage a collapsing Nether Core could cause.

Bleak Sky showed his teeth. “You can sense it, yes? Transforming into an Apostate King… cannot be reversed, only delayed. I do not have long for this world. Yet in that time, let us see if I cannot educate you in the prowess of a Bleak Sky. Authority: Forlorn Rain.”

Bleak Sky’s Nether Core buzzed and sputtered, yet continued to stubbornly accelerate. It began to tug at Nether in the environment, desperate to stabilize its wild rotations. Randidly stiffened at the activation of the Authority, because a pure and irresistible imperative pulsed out of the opposing Nether King; even in this weakened state, Randidly wasn’t sure he could have used his Authority to counter his foes.

Grey clouds knitted themselves into existence overhead and a cool rain began to fall. It tingled against Randidly’s skin, yet he couldn’t sense any other difference in the environment. He warily watched Bleak Sky, whose Nether Core careened toward self-destruction.

A thousand thousand drops fell across the surrounding space, splattering against armor and exploding against dirt and stone. A low rustle rose, a humming soundscape instantly generated by the influence of Bleak Sky.

“Truth be told, I am different from my peers as well.” Bleak Sky grunted. “Allow me to show you what has always been considered… a failed Authority. Updraft.”

Randidly blinked; Bleak Sky had vanished at the world. The rain fell around him, tiny bits of regret and sadness from the Nether King’s Core, made manifest in the world. The drops spun around Randidly and made mud out of the ground under the feet of the marching armies. He pivoted slowly, rapidly gathering kinetic energy and the chaotic by-product as Nether and Aether slammed into each other. But where-

“Downcrash.”

And suddenly Bleak Sky returned soundlessly aside from that breathy word, all unhinged Nether Core, momentum, and his arms merged together into a giant black greatsword raised overhead.

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