Chapter 2415 |
Devick looked down at the glowing, crimson-furred rabbit with its floppy ears and its creepily deep voice. She petted it absently as its power continued to grow as it announced its sudden offer. The whole area around them began to swirl and churn, images turning space milky. The longer she maintained eye contact with the inky eyes of the bunny rabbit, the more Devick could feel her own image responding to its Aether.
The bunny opened its mouth again. Its momentum continued to build. “So long as you wish for a higher Truth-”
Devick flicked the bunny between the eyes. “I’m not interested in your Pinnacle, little bunny. Even if I stood upon the bunny Pinnacle, what would happen when I encountered a greater foe? Like groundhogs or beavers. And the second a fox showed up, wouldn’t I be doomed? No, I will not accept any panaceas from woodland creatures.”
With her flick, the image resonance quivered and collapsed around them. Once more, the two stood on a bit of normal ground between the two statues. The bunny blinked several times as Devick continued to stroke its soft fur. But then a humming note of Truth gathered in its small body, once more turning all the images around them into liquid. “You do not understand what I offer. I do not speak of a bunny Pinnacle, but a true Pinnacle. So long as you agree, I will lead you-”
She flicked the bunny again between the eyes, sighing. “Truly, bunnies have no sense of humor. Perhaps I am a revolutionary talent in that regard? Hehe, obviously, I didn’t think you were talking about the bunny Pinnacle. Although if you had some tips to make my hair be as soft and delicate as your fur, I would appreciate them.”
For the third time, a wave of power burst out from the shape-shifting creature’s small body. This time, the hazy waves sharpened; the surrounding air remained clear as the bunny gathered itself. The release bounced off of Devick’s skin and rebounded to concentrate in front of her. The creature’s voice grew loud, echoing in the surrounding space. “You wish to develop power. You wish to escape the shadow of this being to whom you are deeply connected. The Truth I offer will provide that. For a moment, listen.”
Her eyes narrowed, but she did. And images in front of her formed an attractive image.
In front of Devick, the rebounding waves conjured an image of a possible future. Devick looked for a second, unable to resist the temptation of just peeking. She released a long breath as tension flowed out of her. She felt power, more than anything else. Crackling around her.
A Devick, standing tall and proud with waves of crimson blood swirling around her body. A whirlpool of wicked slaughter large enough to swallow an entire world. And she felt a deep confidence that if she took this strange statue spirit up on its offer, she would be able to achieve this image intensity she had craved for so long. She could reach the Pinnacle. She would be a blazing comet, rising rapidly in power, burning through clouds and sky until she reached a height she could stand next to Randidly Ghosthound with pride.
She felt tempted. She felt a small corner of her heart hesitate and want to agree. And suddenly, the illusion broke. Because more than she wanted to be strong, she hated being told what to do.
“Little bunny…” Devick’s gaze sharpened and she offered the creature in her arms a lazy smile. Her hand slipped down and wrapped around its soft neck. Her thumb and pointer finger touched and she could feel the rapid bulge of its vein as its tiny heart raced. With a twitch of her wrist, she’d be able to snap its neck. Yet she just caressed it, feeling the delicate joint. “You think I would be happy escaping Randidly’s shadow by relying on your power? You are missing the point. I’m not upset by my situation, but by the fact I’m not able to escape by myself. Your help… is not help at all.”
“But-” The bunny’s resonance shattered for the final time. Those glittering promised images dissolved in the air. Devick had some rather vicious intentions, but she couldn’t help but feel shocked at the trembling in the voice. The bunny hesitated before speaking again. “If you do not want my Truth… am I useless?”
Am I useless?
Devick shivered Although it was a coincidence, how many times had she had that very same thought about herself? Before she had met Nether King Hungry Eye in her adopted father’s city, before she had developed confidence playing Hobfootie, before she had found her pure image and grown rapidly in strength? And even then, at every turn, Randidly was giving her a hand up, providing assistance, providing pure Aether and Nether to accelerate her growth.
She wished she had done it all on her own. Because she hadn’t, she couldn’t escape the small thought that she never would have.
Part of her sudden empathy was the form the creature had taken, but Devick couldn’t help but look at this red-furred rabbit without feeling her own insecurities. Her hand loosened from its neck and she went back to stroking its fur.
“Damn, so fucking soft…!” Devick muttered to herself, but when the bunny’s confusion and sadness seemed to deepen at her random thoughts, she coughed and refocused. “Ahem, little bunny, I don’t want the Path you offer to the Pinnacle. But… you at least know the general direction of the Pinnacle, yea? Let me show you my image and maybe you can offer some advice.”
“...I could look. I just… might not be much help.”
“I’m not asking you to solve my problems or provide an answer. Just be there while I’m working through them on my own.” Devick waved a finger.
After considering this for a second, the bunny nodded. Devick gave it a few more vigorous pets, carving the sensation of the incredible fur into her heart, then set it down. She released a breath and closed her eyes. Her consciousness sank into her inner space, calming the turbulent waves of her emotion.
It was one of the most difficult things that Devick had ever done, but she stepped into the deepest, most twisted and wounded part of her heart. All her feelings of inadequacy had gathered there, turning into a fleshy grey knot that pulsed along with the beat of her heart. This negative piece of fat had grown thicker and thicker with all the helplessness and worry she had felt. When it came to Devick’s own Truth, the Deviated one she had inherited from her other self, this was the main impediment.
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You cannot do this. The jiggling core whispered to her.
Devick smiled. Even so, it’s okay to try and be bad. Because even if I fail, I can try again. Over and over.
You are unreasonable. The fat spat out the vicious words. The old, rotten connections that held it in place sagged beneath its ominous weight. You slam your head against the wall separating your talent from his-
That’s exactly why he picked me, Devick smiled. Her left hand curled, once more conjuring the power to slay a god. Because in terms of being troublesome and unwilling, I am unrivaled in this universe.
Devick raised her hand and touched her pointer finger to the core of her weak heart. She could not kill this part of herself, not completely, not now, perhaps not ever. But with the vicious power she wielded, she could suppress it. For a while, that voice that second-guessed every decision would be silent.
Malice would sing without any flickers of doubt.
She opened her eyes. She released a breath. She spread her arms and manifested her Merry Bride of Perdition in her best state. Malice raised its head and howled, powerful and pure, a promise to existence that it would remember her. Powerful reverberations spread out and filled the Pinnacle space. Every second, Devick felt her potential growing, the edges of her image sharpening-
The bunny frowned. “A deviated Path. You… aren’t you really weak? You should reconsider and accept my Truth. Ah, what a pity, even with my guidance, the possibility of you achieving anything is incomparably low…”
Devick’s lip twitched. This rude piece of shit… you really think I won’t strangle you just because your fur is soft?!?
*****
Randidly’s mind rolled slowly and processed all this new information, the facts about Momentos, Samsaras, and Pinnacle choices clattering and bouncing against one another. He had a small smile on his face: having these truths revealed to him gave him a lot of inspiration for how he could shape his Penance. The Alchemist in him stirred, excited to mix all these new ingredients together to create a miracle.
Yet deeper than that, Randidly was dominated by a single emotion: awe. He reflected on the figure who had cruelly shaped and spurred him onward, to the point he had created a whole universe within his body and honed a powerful vessel, without relying on truth.
How much did you suffer, Yystrix, watching Pine and Elhume slowly destroy themselves? At the thought, Randidly’s powerful Nether Core stuttered slightly. His thick significance surged a moment later, as he acknowledged all she had accomplished. After witnessing their failures, the faulty and misplaced choices at the Pinnacle, after watching Elhume and Fiero’s toxic relationship and understanding how the Nexus would proceed… you separated yourself from the calamitous proceeding. Not just that, but you reverse-engineered methods to create both a universe and a vessel, without relying on Truth at all, but just… opportunities, my ridiculous stubbornness, and a confluence of luck.
Just… incredible. Even now, I can’t imagine how long you struggled with your thoughts to stumble across a viable method. I might be the engine you unearthed to pull your train, but you were the one who could conceptualize the whole machine from the beginning. Just how much of a genius were you…?
Randidly’s eyes flashed, remembering the much-abridged version of events that Yystrix had passed to him in her tomb. Of her life before the Nexus, her people, her relationship with Elhume, and then the birth of Pine. But the more he learned about how singular his existence had been nudged to become, the more he admired her.
When all this was over, he hoped he would have the opportunity to return to the tomb with his current accomplishments and dig more deeply into Yystrix. But for now, time in the Reverie continued to trickle past.
He snorted out a breath through his nose, the powerful exhalation stirring the glittering lights of the reverie. He had spent three of his seven points, with four remaining. Two points was a steep price for the conversation with Nyx, but it had given him quite a bit of understanding of the general situation. It wasn’t a waste.
For a brief moment, Randidly hesitated. His attention turned inward to another troublesome object. A frown creased his brows. Now, at least, I have an understanding of why Nyx wished for my assistance. But this…
His attention flowed to Pangu’s Asymptote, the Momento he had received that had allowed him to see a reflected version of existence. Randidly gritted his teeth, but couldn’t deny his current accomplishments still heavily relied upon this; without the extra layers and connections provided by the Asymptote, his current Nether Core would be impossible. The energy density needed stability anchors provided by it.
He shook his head; he couldn’t waste more Reverie points investigating this matter. For now… he would need to allow this small mystery to remain.
Randidly plucked up another of his Reverie points as he flickered and arrived in the sky above Expira. He crushed the Reverie point in his hand and his Fatepieces began to release a bright light. This time, three manifested around his body. Because it was a relatively small task, a single Reverie point was enough to fuel the process, even with multiple Fatepieces.
But even if it was relatively small, it was quite necessary for Randidly. His awareness spread out as the Codex Hexahedron, Visage of Obsession, and Dreamcatcher of the Long Night all activated. He covered Expira with the Codex, isolated with Visage, and recorded with the Dreamcatcher.
His target: the impression of time of the people on Expira.
Randidly had witnessed the whole of the fabric of time and understood the wounds weakening it. He had even fought against it, completely suppressing time for brief moments, resisting its endless waves successfully in many others. Because of that awareness, Randidly had a philosophical soft spot when clashing against Laplace’s aura.
Although Randidly didn’t agree that time was fickle, his own understanding of time held the possibility of it being warped by a powerful enough individual to resemble fickleness.
So now Randidly drew on the Alpha Cosmos, filtering down to the base impression of the people who had survived the System, feeling their awareness of time. He pulled and pulled, gathering up their experiences, their fear, their awareness of the relentless march of time that could bring additional threats, their developing attitudes.
To the average person, time was an inexorable tide. Sometimes it paused, like how bubble cities were maintained in the early System, and sometimes it could be twisted, through Dungeons, but eventually time always stabilized. It pressed forward.
Randidly felt a smile tugging at his lips. Part of this certainty he now took back from the people he had helped build. With the Order Ducis and the challenges against Donnyton, and then later with the creation of Kharon, Randidly kept reminding Expira that they could not simply rest on their laurels. They needed to improve.
Because if you did not advance down your Path, you would soon find Fate breathing down your neck.
The particulars of the threat didn’t matter; what mattered was that the people of the Alpha Cosmos believed time would surely carry those threats forward. The ideological battle between those who wanted to stop fighting and those would continue to adventure was ongoing. But both sides had an implicit understanding of time that Randidly now needed.
The Reverie point flowed out of him.
In exchange, he harvested the powerful impression of time and stored that within his heart, to use as a weapon against Laplace.
