Chapter 2174 (Patreon)

ToC: https://www.patreon.com/posts/23899958

Just one tonight, setting up for finishing tomorrow.

Randidly did not pull any punches as he established his connection to the environment, forcing back other energies in the area with a baleful glare. Then he imprinted his Stillborn Phoenix upon the yawning rip in existence that the Nether Ritual tore. Because of the inherent similarities between the two, the process was easy. His image could easily become the embodiment of the sundered Nether Ritual.

Once the process started, he punched it through with force. But even then, the transition lingered slightly longer than Randidly would have liked.

It happened over the course of a few breaths, while the Nether Kings, Cerulean, and the goblin woman were all concerned with other issues. Everyone had assumed the Nether Ritual’s activation could not be stopped, so they didn’t try.

In a way, they were right. Even Randidly probably couldn’t have stopped the Nether Ritual’s inevitable discharge. But he could change it. And in that space, a massive Eye of Depression stirred, for the first time opening to view the world. The sky shuddered underneath the descent of such a huge mass of darkness and impossible density. Light began to run around the edge of this opening’s event horizon, the stirring image rapidly gathering the horrifying weight Randidly had built into it.

As the presence within the Stillborn Phoenix’s sudden manifestation gathered power, strikes finally came from the Nether Kings and from Cerulean cut into its ankles. Or at least they attempted to. When a testing slice from Cerulean’s claws vanished into the darkness without producing even a ripple, he gathered more of his violence and fury and unleashed a full power Predation upon it.

The stirrings of the eye grew more intense, but not because Cerulean had inflicted damage upon the image. The relative lack of effect was almost amusing. Essentially, Randidly cheated his way through the image physicalization step by relying on the Nether Ritual. In its current, admittedly unstable, incarnation, the Stillborn Phoenix was far too big to hunt, even for Fatia Cerulean.

Despite these attacks, Randidly didn’t lose sight of his intense resolve. The hunger in his body had become a physical need. The eye of the Stillborn Phoenix opened, milky light quickening around its edges. Its gaze became a mouth that could devour all of the energy in the surrounding space.

Congratulations! Your Skill Tug of Tragic Silence (A) has grown to Level 800!

…

Recalculating…

Congratulations! A powerful synergy has emerged! Your Skill the Tug of Tragic Silence (A) and Piercing Gaze of the Egg (L) have combined to form a new Skill! The two have joined to become The Hypothetical Gaze that Consumes the Universe (T)! Skill Level set at 900! Just the awareness of the user is enough to instinctually activate the Skill toward the surroundings. The power of the pressure generated by the Skill is vastly increased. Will take a small effort of will in order to prevent the Skill from activating in normal circumstances. Ease of control increases with Skill Level. Effects increase with Skill Level.

Congratulations! Your Skill the Hypothetical Gaze that Consumes the Universe (P) has grown to Level 901!

Randidly sucked in a breath as he even came under the purview of the Stillborn Phoenix and felt his edges being ground away by a foreign power. His mind buzzed, both from wielding and being targeted by the Skill; even with the chunk of Stats he threw into Cognition of the Aberrant Alchemist, the starting point of this Stillborn Phoenix manifestation was too large to handle. It pulled and pulled at any thread unfortunate enough to be nearby. The dark emotional need Randidly had forged served as a way to focus its efforts, yet once unleashed, its power continued to develop.

Huge bursts of electromagnetic discharge and broken shards of violent light radiation ripped through the air around the edges of the hole in the universe. The ground beneath the Stillborn Phoenix’s manifestation was baptized for the second time by immense power, the dirt melted and crystalized into a flat plain of glass. And even then, even more dangerous manifestations of the gap in the universe began to manifest.

Meanwhile, the Stillborn Phoenix possessing a body continued to discover itself.

Congratulations! Your Skill Volatile Breath from Beyond (T) has grown to Level 875!

Recalculating…

Congratulations! Your Skill Volatile Breath from Beyond has evolved into Diffracted Corruption from an Avaricious Impossibility (P)(U)! Skill Level will be maintained. The user’s image has achieved a qualitative evolution after tasting the sweet air of a manifestation outside the user’s body! It has become impossible for the Skill to be used by those possessing a body with a shallower foundation than that of Randidly Ghosthound. Depth and emotional resonance within the image has become much easier! The Skill wishes to be used, so the Stillborn Phoenix’s influence can spread. Just housing the potent image of the Stillborn Phoenix in a physical body is enough to activate the Skill. Areas around the user are much more likely to experience strange and inexplicable deviations. Generally, these will be favorable. However, the possibility of a negative reaction to corruption exists. Will require a small exercise of will to restrain the Skill activation. When purposefully mobilized, the corruption will become a powerful weapon. Power and area of effect increases with Skill Level!

At certain points, shards of light radiation had been caught in the rapid reconstitution of the unfortunate ground around the Nether Ritual. A deviation occurred, visible to the naked eye. Strange light patterns danced across the glass, becoming invisible under a direct gaze, but capering in a viewer’s periphery. As the evolutions within the Stillborn Phoenix rapidly accumulated, the area that fell within its purview rapidly turned strange. The glass surface and began to ripple, somehow gleaning from the corruption the ability to channel kinetic energy, while retaining the rigid molecular structure of glass.

Congratulations! Your Skill Diffracted Corruption from an Avaricious Impossibility (P)(U) has grown to Level 876!

The entire sky shuddered again. It was one thing for the Stillborn Phoenix to appear, a formless and heavy idea plopping onto the world. It was altogether another for the Egg of Depression to feel its power, to understand its capabilities, to feel how the universe responded to its presence. The adjustment period allowed the details of the image to rapidly develop.

All of the non-discharge energy in the surrounding space, Aether and Nether, was gulped down by the gaze of the Stillborn Phoenix. It was a creature that couldn’t exist, that craved life even when it could only be considered a dream. Yet that dream had become powerful to press up against the boundary of possibility.

Randidly held his whole body rigid, corralling the wild gaze of the Stillborn Phoenix before it caused too much trouble. The powerful existence had begun to understand its effect, but Randidly knew with so much more certainty how allowing it to run rampant would crush the surroundings; in his own life, he had witnessed the miraculous and curdling influence he could wield on the environment.

With a mental brush against Neveah, he brought his Soulbound companion to his aid. The muscles of Randidly’s body remained tense, his hair whipping around his face. The two of them kept the Stillborn Phoenix limited, allowing the manifestations of a hole in the universe but keeping it from focusing too much power anywhere but directly below it, where the powerful figures looked up at the opening eye in horror.

Almost in spite of the vast display of power that occurred across the rest of the image, the two Unborn Spirits flitted around in the sky. Their misshapen bodies rippled and their mouths formed o’s of surprise as they glanced around at the strange environment. Yet very quickly, their attention began to be drawn by a flow of significance to a place away from the battlefield…

Yet despite the dangerous implications of the Unborn Duo given free rein, Randidly needed them; their presence created a weakness in the Egg of Depression’s thoughtless consumption. Through the flaw, he could act. From all the power devoured by the Stillborn Phoenix, Randidly pulled a heavy tithe. He and Neveah folded that energy into a tight cyclone of bright force, ignoring its resistance as it attempted to buck their direction.

So much time had been spent with Sulfur as an integral part of Randidly’s rise. Neither was willing to allow the Soulseed to suffer like this. The compacted energy he desired shot down and slammed into the steadily shrinking form of Sulfur. As the rest of the individuals standing around Malloon watched, Randidly healed his greatest armor.

Warning! Soulseed Sulfur requires immense amounts of energy! If you do not soon supply the energy-

Recalculating…

Congratulations! A significant amount of energy has been provided! Sulfur has managed to avoid catastrophic-

Recalculating…

A huge amount of energy is being provided to Sulfur! Some of the deeper wounds inflicted on your Soulseed have begun to heal! Providing more energy will speed up the healing proces-

Randidly’s eyes narrowed. This time when he pulled from the Stillborn Phoenix’s wild devouring, he took everything that it had managed to gather. He didn’t want to mess around with these notifications for too much longer. If Sulfur wanted ridiculous amounts of energy, ridiculous amounts of energy was exactly what it would get.

The original of this had been a tower of dark Nether, built high enough to touch the sky and drag down the gaze of a sleeping god. With his firm will, Randidly now brought down a pillar of light to rival it, a searing, chaotic conflux of energy bound by necessity and desperation. It was a plea for help and the resolve to impose his desire upon an unruly world.

The tips of Randidly’s right hand buzzed, even though he didn’t touch the pillar of energy directly. He realized, rather belatedly, he crammed into Sulfur enough raw force to burn away Randidly’s evolved body without leaving a scrap behind.

Recalculating…

Recalculating…

Recalculating…

A positively surreal accomplishment has been made! You have gathered such an abundance of energy that the interrupted evolution process has been restarted! Sulfur’s body boils over with abundant energy! Due to the extremely intense mixture of Aether and Nether, a mutation occurs! Occasionally, Soulseed Sulfur will cause Aether and Nether to behave exceptionally cooperatively, increasing the power of all Skills.

In extremely unlikely cases, a faint hint of a Shallah’s energy can be felt from abilities utilizing Sulfur’s body as a medium. Every time this effect recurs, slightly boost all of Sulfur’s Stats and vastly increase its growth potential!

Congratulations! Your Soulseed’s evolution continues!

Congratulations! Sulfur is shifting into a new form!