Chapter 2223 (Patreon)

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

Little bit of a longer note than usual. Nothing important, just some context.

It's been a tough month, writing wise, for two reasons. Part of it is related to plot: there were scenes I knew had to happen, but not exactly what happened in them. The recent few chapters with Devick and today's chapters were like that; they were always coming, I just super disliked all my ideas about how they would play out.

The Muse's Reverie was especially important. And honestly, until today, I had no idea what as going to happen haha.

For the record, I'm pretty pleased with how they played out. But having them looming on the horizon has been quite stressful, because I hadn't nailed them down and they provide the spine for the rest of the arc.

Completely unrelated was a much more boring second problem: I lost my glasses in the ocean on Oct 19th. I have contacts, but they are cheap and I only got them to wear for short bursts, maybe 4-6 hours at a time. But I could not write without them, and since I traditionally write when I wake up and edit before bed, I would wear these contacts for more like 16 hours. I tried to switch up my schedule to compensate so I could wear contacts less, but that just made my productivity drop.

I had a lot of headaches over the last month from looking at screens too long and my eyes drying out. Not fun.

What was most FRUSTRATING about this was that I went to an optometrist on the 21st and ordered a new, fancy pair immediately. However, they subcontracted the lenses, the first lens cracked, the second lens cracked, the delivery arrived after the optometrist was closed one day, they were closed ALL of thanksgiving week...

BUT! I'm happy to inform everyone that today, finally, forty days after ordering them, I have a new pair of glasses. I look very dashing.

Hopefully I'll have fewer headaches and the releases will be (more) consistent ^_^.

Deep in Nether Lands far from the citadels of power, Randidly sat and meditated to both investigate and repair the damage done to the Stillborn Phoenix in his last fight. Even though the worst of the bleeding had been figuratively bandaged, the pain constantly wore on him. Neveah sat next to him, honing her own image in case any individuals approached.

She also worried, and did only a passable job of covering her dominant emotion up through their Soulbond.

Congratulations! Your Skill Soul Bond has grown to Level 904!

Sweat beaded on his temples and neck as the labor continued. The Dread Homunculus in his chest promised a swift end to any enemies that showed up while he was recuperating, but Randidly understood that the Stillborn Phoenix couldn’t afford any distractions right now. He let go of that responsibility, turning all of his attention inward. This was the area in which he was most needed and most useful.

A thorough investigation of the meaning, shape, and emotion of his Stillborn image quickly revealed numerous persistent problems with its current state. Right in the middle of a very emotional transition, as the shape migrated from a being that craved the impossibility of birth to genuine existence, the Nether Leader had struck and disrupted the most important shift. When the Sovereign of the Breathless Vigil’s strange name restriction ended and its labels snapped back into place, the damage was doubled; because the name Stillborn Phoenix also rejected the sort of transition the Egg of Depression sought.

So in the end, the emotions of the image were in disarray and the shape had been crunched by forces from both directions: both aspects of ‘image’ had been heavily damaged. The pieces large enough to retain their identity mostly related to hunger and consumption. And empowering those aspects had sparked a rapid, destructive cycle.

Randidly licked his lips. Bit by bit, he picked across the battlefield of his soul and salvaged as much as he could.

With Yggdrasil’s help, over the course of an exhausting few hours, Randidly refocused the emotions of the Stillborn Phoenix. The task turned out to be surprisingly easy; even after such a ruinous misstep, its desire to be born and devour hadn’t decreased at all. If anything, it had been strengthened by the perceived proximity to accomplishing its goal. The image simply needed to work through its indignation, fear, frustration, and desperation that lingered due to the constant pain. Randidly breathed slowly, sucking the distracting emotions out of the image, then releasing them into the world. The World Tree’s powerful roots radiated healing and peace.

As the pain departed, vacating his flagging consciousness, part of the transformation Randidly sought could begin. The Stillborn Phoenix scoffed at the peace offered, but rapidly solidified its emotional core once more. Almost happily, his emotional sea roiled and sloshed. The two Unborn cavorted around Randidly’s head in a distracting manner. In the end, the problem was its shape.

“You aren’t satisfied this way, any longer, are you?” Randidly whispered. The Stillborn Phoenix hissed out its agreement.

As though to emphasize that returning to its previous state simply as a black hole with an event horizon was impossible, the Stillborn Phoenix released its precious heartbeat. Neveah, never having experienced the abrupt stifling close up, gasped and whipped her head around. Randidly waved a hand to tell her everything was alright and simply savored the long moment of absolute silence and absence the image created.

Congratulations! Your Skill Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart (T) has grown to Level 830!

…

Congratulations! Your Skill Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart (T) has grown to Level 856!

Ah, a happy coincidence, that, Randidly hummed to himself as the silence passed and the image collapsed from the effort of exerting its will without a shape. A small shift occurred within that specific Skill, perhaps a harbinger of a larger transformation down the line. So the heartbeat becomes a gravitational anomaly; at least that's a good way to conceptualize its influence, make it concrete. The question is how all the other aspects now work together with this half-formed existence…

A black hole possessed a central point, the infinitely small opening that consumed everything in the horizon. It also possessed an event horizon, the place beyond which there was no return. It could certainly exert influence beyond those limits, but he felt slightly stumped considering how to bring life into alignment with the harsh realities of a black hole.

Scientifically, a black hole experienced birth during the death of a very specific type of star. But Randidly didn’t want to rely on metaphors here. He truly wanted to bring his Stillborn Phoenix to life.

Randidly inspected the pieces of his image shape, aware that every second they delayed, some of the accumulation of vehemence and specificity he had poured into them dissipated. He briefly entertained the idea of trying to use his Second Authority, the Hollow Needle, to simply sew together the gaps, but he didn’t like that idea. Of his three images, the Dread Homunculus was the monster sewn together by Frankenstein. If Yggdrasil existed as a counterpoint of stability, the Stillborn Phoenix howled of purity. Haphazard needlework would weaken that aspect.

However, most of those thoughts fell away as a notification popped up in front of Randidly.

Incorporating your unique Attribute into your existing framework… Your Fateset, the Paradox of the Alchemist, is preparing to activate and create a Reverie! All 5 of the accumulated Muse’s Reverie (MR) will be consumed. Please note, each time you activate Muse’s Reverie, it will be minutely easier in the future to earn points in Muse’s Reverie. The total number of points required to activate a Reverie will increase by 1.

Effect will activate in five minutes.

“Neveah, looks like I might get a little weird soon. I’m not sure what will happen when I activate this,” Randidly frowned. “Can you-”

“I won’t let anyone near you,” Neveah rolled her eyes. But then she looked at him closely. “But… are you sure this is the best time to do this? If the Stillborn Phoenix is still ailing, and based on the reverberations I already can feel from your Nether, your mental energy will barely be-”

“I know,” Randidly winced. His Nether Core, unbidden, began to buzz with rapid rotations. Instinctually, some inner part of him began to draw deeply of Aether through his bond with Aether, an amount equivalent to about half of what the Alpha Cosmos consumed in a day. His skin tingled due to how much raw power coursed through him. “But I don’t think it’s giving me much choice.”

Patterns of dazzling energy lines whirled around his body, drawn into an ornate weave that left Randidly in awe as he witnessed its assembly. On the one hand, none of this was beyond him, he realized as he gazed around at the tightening web of connections and meaning. Nether Ritual and Aether Engraving flowed easily together, creating a singular cocoon around his body. If he wanted to, each of the individual pieces would have been possible.

Yet it was the seamless integration, witnessing the whole of the complex systems of energy he hosted working together, that left him slightly flabbergasted. All he had accomplished, individually, built this. All this effort poured into his Stat evolutions had made this possible, generating new anchors for his existence.

Aligning three images at once is a neat trick, Randidly sucked a breath through his teeth. But this is unbelievable.

Not quite the Pinnacle… but definitely, reaching the Pinnacle would require insight like this.

The patterns filled every inch of the space in a five-meter sphere around his body. When they came into alignment, when every inch of space was accounted for, the world seemed to explode. Randidly’s consciousness spun, abruptly unmoored. His vision and hearing melted together into a harsh buzzing.

However, despite the chaos of the world around him, notifications continued to arrive. They floated in his mind, stark against the meaningless reports from his senses.

As the alchemist combing through the normal truths of the universe to discover flaws, you have chased answers until you finally grabbed your target’s tail! Lightning has struck your brain as you brush, ever so slightly, against truth of a higher order. For a brief moment, your awareness blurs. Patterns beyond your usual ken have been dragged to within your comprehensions!

Due to your unique Fateset, a special effect has been generated! Pantheon’s Intervention: Each separate Fatepiece will empower your capabilities while you tightly grip the muse of your existence! Due to possessing five out of your six Fatepieces, the overall efficacy of your efforts has been reduced by 17%!

Due to your Codex Hexahedron being unmastered, the effect of that individual piece has been reduced by 55%!

You awaken in your current existence to a Reverie of untapped potential and mystery, but with several powerful tools at your disposal! Please note: most of your abilities cannot harm others while in your Reverie. So long as you do not attempt to take away or destroy while in your reverie, only a moment will pass for all other existence!

Suddenly, the world snapped back into place around Randidly. He immediately knew could witness dense energy flows and patterns, likely the ones underpinning the memory. The whole environment was in constant motion, a constant song that made his Infinite Incendiary Filaments of the Dove Moirae look like a child’s kaleidoscope. He floated beside himself as a purely spiritual being. Neveah looked over at him in concern, her body frozen in place. His ‘vision’ possessed a green tint, as though the colors of his irises had now become context lenses.

All these details were gathered and acknowledged in an instant; his comprehension truly felt limitless.

Behold, the glory of the Alchemist! In your current mode, you cannot be perceived even by individuals who have glimpsed the Pinnacle! Perhaps their existence is a paradox, to exist within possibility and seek to break the bindings of existence and open up impossibility, but certainly their questions inevitably lead to the unusual. While in your Reverie, you will possess all five of your points. Points will be spent activating your various Fatepieces. After five minutes, one minute for each Muse’s Reverie (MR) point gathered, you will be returned to mundane existence even if you have not spent all of your points.

The potential you now hold is fleeting. All inspiration passes, leaving only a hollow remnant in its place. Do not hesitate, while you have stumbled across the gates to truth.

Immediately, Randidly could feel the five points of Muse’s Reverie, floating inside of his spiritual body like tiny torches. Simultaneously, the edges of his body began to fray; the countdown had already begun. More notifications continued to pop up in front of him.

For each Fatepiece you have earned in your journey, a special role has been created. While most activations of your Fatepieces will cost only a single point of MR, certain actions may cost more.

One by one, his Fatepieces came into existence, floating around him in a lazy circle.

For your Alchemist Passport, the ability to travel through space and time. Please note: if you choose to travel to the future, that will cost significantly more MR. If you travel beyond any temporal barriers, it will cost more MR.

For your Dreamcatcher of the Long Night, the ability to incorporate certain aspects, individuals, or moments within a perfect frequency of the Fatepiece. These frequencies will be saved. The frequencies then can be accessed at any time. It is possible to use its energies to pause one aspect of reality for a short time, so long as the target is in agreement. Without the activation of another Fatepiece, it is impossible to remove these frequencies from the Dreamcatcher. Please note: adding larger spaces or intelligent life to the Dreamcatcher costs more MR.

For your Visage of Obsession, the strange, overwhelming ability to forcefully adjust the flow of time on an object. Rewinding and fast-forwarding are possible. In addition, please note that there will be a lingering effect for all those touched by the Visage of Obsession. Your presence will have marked them, slightly increasing their potential in the future.

For your Hierarchy of Burden, the rare ability to affect the current world while riding the high of inspiration. By unleashing the spatial forces of the universe’s edge, you can directly damage an opponent without their knowledge. WARNING: If you activate the Hierarchy of Burden within Reverie, all remaining MR will be consumed to fuel its activation. It is very unlikely to inflict fatal damage against powerful foes. However, very few defenses are available against this sort of attack.

For your Codex Hexahedron, you have gained the smallest alley into the soul of another. Effects weakened based on the incompleteness of the Fatepiece. You may activate the Codex targeting objects, weapons, or even intelligent lifeforms. If you target an intelligent lifeform, you have a brief window with which to view their thoughts and memories. Certain truths are more difficult to ascertain, based on the target's mental training. Also, the cost in MR increases as the differences between the user and target increases.

The effect of the final Fatepiece is hidden!

Randidly blinked several times. Ability to move through space and time, ability to freeze, copy, even remove… the Sixth Fatepiece, whatever its main focus will be, likely grants the ability to paste a copied element back into existence.

Randidly’s gaze sharpened as the possibilities danced in front of him. However, he had to move those thoughts to the side: for now, he had three minutes and fifty-two seconds left to take advantage of these abilities.

What should he do first?