Randidly stood completely still as Kharon continued on without him, heading to the West. The air was warm from the late evening sun, but Randidly had a suspicion that would soon change. It was almost ti.
5…
Cracking his knuckles, Randidly cast his mind around for anything that he had forgotten. It would likely be too late to do anything about it now, but nothing ca to mind. He had said his goodbyes and left instructions with Helen, Naffur, and Tatiana. He had a long talk with Nathan about Classes and images. He had even been in contact with Ghost.
4…
All that remained was to face his Judgnt.
3…
Randidly couldn’t stop a grin from creeping across his face.
2…
Goosebumps danced across Randidly’s arms. It was almost a nostalgic feeling.
1…
With a flick of the wrist, Acri stretched out into a peerlessly straight position. Sulfur humd against his chest. Both had been relatively bored in the long months that Randidly spent focusing rather completely on his Engraving, so they were eager now to see action. Randidly licked his lips. “And I have a feeling, that this will be fun.”
0.
The sky cracked open and a world of snow and cold breathed down a column of sleet onto the Earth. The temperature dropped below the point of water freezing almost imdiately as rolling grey clouds spread into the surrounding area. Soon, the sun was dimd and the wind was chilling. With wide wings made of ice, the Wendigo Judgnt floated down out of that hole in the sky toward Randidly. In both hands, he held golden hamrs covered in complex Engraving.
Randidly’s hands were tingling as he watched the Judgnt drift downward. Shifting in excitent from one foot to the other, Randidly called up to the Judgnt. “Haven’t I already fought and beat you three tis? Is there any aning for you to co out once more?”
The Judgnt snorted. “Is there any aning to this display? You know that you have passed my tests. You have proven your power. All that remains…”
The Judgnt touched to the ground in front of Randidly. Frost crept outward from the place its feet touched the ground. Randidly continued to grin up at the monster, who was about double his size and probably four tis his weight. Snapping its fingers, the Judgnt opened a glimring blue portal behind it and gestured toward it. “Is for you to accept your fate. You have flaunted the rules of the System, fine. But you cannot escape conscription in the great war.”
“And if I refuse?” Randidly said lightly.
Even knowing how much he had been warped by the violence of the System. Even having made the mistake of killing Ki-Kunot and then struggling with his guilt for months. Even though it was likely a pointless gesture that would only bring him hardship.
Randidly had learned a lot from Shal, but one of the first things he internalized was the pure glory of fighting. The violence, the struggle… it called to him. And after almost a year of simply relying on the Riders to expand his influence…
Randidly wanted to fight. As an individual who wanted to test his edge. To clash with this known quantity now would be the perfect sort of warm-up before actually proceeding to the dangerous battlegrounds against Nether.
The Judgnt sighed. “I suppose it won’t sway you to say that you will not just be fighting against myself; the entire weight of the System is behind -”
If anything, Randidly’s grin widened even further. Shaking his head, the Judgnt raised his hamrs. “Fine then, let us get this over with. Domain of the Long Chill.”
Randidly felt the image coming before he felt the physical change in cold, but it was more than enough to make him abruptly serious. Seems like the System isn’t hampering his uses of images any longer. Ignition of the Erald Essence erupted around him, bringing light and inspiration to smash against the horrifying greediness of the cold that slithered out to seize Randidly.
But then the physical cold caught up to the image, and Randidly’s expression twisted in a grimace of pain. The cold seed to stab at him with bony fingers. Frost imdiately began to condense just on his skin. Although Randidly could barely handle the refined image that the Judgnt smashed him with, he was taken by surprise by the actual effect it had on the world. Or rather, Randidly abruptly realized that the Judgnt hadn’t been lying; his Skills were being fueled by the System sitting behind it.
And this is only a Domain… Narrowing his eyes, Randidly lowered his spear and pointed it toward the Judgnt’s Heart. Man is Proud, but the Chira Craves.
The icy ground around Randidly’s feet cracked and shattered. Long splinters of ice shot upward in a nova as Randidly and Acri beca a blur of violent toward the Judgnt. The weight of all his montum concentrated to the tip of his spear in a terribly destructive attack. But of course, the Judgnt wasn’t slowed down at all by his own Domain and jumped to counter.
It stepped to the side and then brought one of its glowing golden hamrs around in a heavy swing. “Freezing Detonation!”
With Monstrosity’s Appalling Physicality, Randidly was able to twist mid-air and cause a minute adjustnt to his charge. His spear slid upward to follow the Judgnt’s torso while his left hand activated Molten Fang of the Pariah and shot out to intercept the hamr strike.
Acri skidded off of the layer of ice armor the Judgnt hurriedly condensed around itself. And then Molten Fang of the Pariah struck Freezing Detonation. Once more, an overwhelming wave of cold blasted outward from the Judgnt’s Skill. In fact, the cold was so intense and abrupt that Randidly felt like even his thoughts stuttered to a stop for the briefest of monts.
Grim Intuition, unhelpfully, pointed out that the cold was very dangerous and this individual bore him a significant amount of ill will.
“Heh, you are starting to feel it now, huh?” The Judgnt lood closer as it brought its other hamr around to strike in a horizontal blow. “So why don’t you just- Eh…?”
Randidly relied on Chiric Avoidance to endure the blast of cold and then ripped holes in the Judgnt’s armor with several rapid strikes by using the Chira Weeps, but Man Mourns. Then he lowered his spear and prepared for another Man is Proud, but the Chira Craves from point-blank.
The Judgnt’s dark eyes blinked as it considered its shattered armor. “You… why aren’t you frozen?”
“I avoided it,” Randidly said lightly. Then all his weight and montum blasted forward in a piercing strike.
Despite how quickly the attack traveled forward, the Judgnt sohow had the wherewithal to let go of one of his hamrs and simply bring around one of its paws to try to seize Acri out of the air. “Chilling Grasp!”
But of course, Acri was not a normal spear; it easily flexed out of the way and avoided the Judgnt’s hasty grasp. Although Acri’s strike was now out of the picture, Randidly still possessed the overwhelming forward montum to strike at the Judgnt and he wasn’t about to waste this chance. His erald eyes blazed with the thrill of the fight.
For a split second, Randidly’s left hand flexed to reveal a thin triangle of darkness that had been previously hidden there. But then Randidly’s hand closed as he forcefully dismissed the Skill. No, better to not reveal it now in case soone is watching. My usage of Nether should be saved for an ergency.
Instead, Randidly unleashed a Talon Strike empowered by Catalyst of Agony while simultaneously casting Reach of the Jade Slag behind the Judgent. Randidly’s palm slamd against the Judgnt’s face even as he was forced to rely once more on Chiric Avoidance to not get turned into an ice statue just by touching the damn thing’s furr. The fucking boost the System was giving the Judgent was no joke. It seed like the Judgnt had so passive defensive Skill that was similarly empowered.
Then the Reach of the Jade Slag ripped into the Judgnt’s back, staggering it further. Randidly followed up with several sharp thrusts with Acri.
But the Judgnt had seen these strikes before and wove its body back and forth to avoid the worst of the attacks. When it pulled back, its torso only had three shallow gashes that were rapidly freezing over. Then it raised its hand and pointed at Randidly “Flash Freeze.”
Howling, Randidly spun away and clutched his right hand. Acri, covered in a layer of ice almost a foot thick, clunked to the ground. Randidly hopped backward to open up so distance while he tried to restore feeling to his right hand. But the Judgnt lowered its shoulders and dashed forward with the intention to take advantage of his weakness.
“You know, my Skill Level for that Skill is barely a hundred. Yet with the System’s support… heh, this might be more enjoyable than thought. Let’s see how long you can manage to ‘avoid’ .”
Randidly gestured sharply. “Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil.”
If one root froze in the Judgnt’s obnoxious Domain, a second shot up to take its place. If a dozen froze, a hundred would co surging upward. If that wasn’t enough, Randidly threw a thousand jagged and thorn-covered roots upward. His Mana humd with activity as he spared no expense to buy himself so ti to recover. Tingling spikes of sensation were only now coming back to his right hand as the blood flow sluggishly continued to move through his veins.
“White Out.”
Thousands of roots were frozen into crystalline statues in a single mont. Even Randidly, standing behind them all, released a shuddering breath as Chiric Avoidance barely managed to weasel his body out form being physically frozen solid. Snow began to heavily fall around them. Winds whipped up at the sudden drop in temperature.
Randidly grinned darkly down at his bare toes. Hopefully, I don’t get frostbite.
The Judgnt strode up to Randidly. Briefly, Randidly considered trying to open up so distance again, but that would likely draw another blast of an overpowered Skill. Instead, he stood still and let the Judgnt approach.
“You really won’t go peacefully?”
Randidly just smiled.
After shaking his head, the Judgnt pointed at Randidly. “Flash Freeze.”
All Things Succumb, Yet Ti Whirls the Earth.
For a split second, Randidly was another version of himself, one that burned with an internal fire. The image in his chest was the molten core of the world, a thing of industry and ash and avarice that could never be satisfied.
Roaring, that version of Randidly forcefully endured the Flash Freeze and took a step forward.
But in the next mont, Randidly was back to himself and the Judgent was blinking in surprise and opening his mouth to speak. “White-”
Randidly smashed his Willpower against the Judgnts, activating Eternal Cravings of the Wraith to suck away Stamina, Mana, and breath from the Judgnt. Of course, stopping it from calling out the Skill wouldn’t do anything. But the forceful taking was enough to distract it into canceling the Skill.
Which left Randidly ti to run the Judgnt through with Acri, who imdiately trilled in pleasure. It was at that point that the Judgent ignored its wound and brought both of its hands smashing toward Randidly’s temples. One hand held a golden hamr, but the other simply twisted into a claw and ripped upward.
Randidly flexed his previously numb hand and used it to launch a Molten Fang of the Pariah toward the Judgnt’s hand. His attack destroyed his opponent’s montum, but it also left his right hand encased in ice. And Randidly’s left hand…
Looking over, Randidly could see the energy in the Engravings of his shoulder failing as the cold grew too intense. He could only watch as the golden hamr shot closer to his temple.
Grinning, Randidly twisted and spat out blood than imdiately froze into a small pebble-sized bit of red snow that smacked against the Judgnt’s nose. His body was still trembling from the first activation of All Things Succumb, and Randidly didn’t want to push things too far. All he wanted to do was have a bit of fun before he was sent to the battlefield.
And if he also learned a bit about how the System could empower Skills, that was a convenient bonus.
The hamr struck the side of Randidly’s head and brought with it ice, subrging Randidly into the wide darkness of unconsciousness.
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