Bro, I'm not an Undead!

1391  Present Concerns

"The masked man sacrificed a lot of unwilling souls to achieve a feat that encroached upon the Divine. At least I imagine so, given that he obtained the power to resurrect a soul that had been sent to the Yormuness thousands of years ago. I imagine nothing less than the atrocity he performed was required to facilitate such a feat, right? Even with your Maximum Catalyst, you couldn't have drawn back a soul that old, master," Kintar explained right as Araeyn warped back into the Monarch's Royal Dwelling. He sent a mental message to his master confirming that the favour Elita had asked for was done.

Skullius nodded, but his attention remained on Kintar. He hated how blunt Kintar was being. Even though she wasn't referencing that exact situation, he was reminded of how he had been unable to restore Allora with his Maximum Catalyst. Her soul had been completely destroyed, and Maximum Reversion couldn't recreate it to place it pack in her body. It wasn't a Divine ability. Besides that, Skullius didn't have the appreciation of souls then that he had now.

What the masked man had done using 15 million souls was the equivalent of Skullius being able to reverse Allora's shattered soul and placing it back into her body.

"I noticed that these crystals I located all over Aigas couldn't be penetrated no matter what kind of appraising and analysing spell I used. Supreme Skills couldn't do anything to them either. Pherdanta tried cutting them down. So, I concluded that they must be something Divine or close. I engineered an array with Runes, powered by the willing and powerful souls of those Mages to extract information about the crystals. And that is all."

Kintar's nonchalance as she explained baffled the Arch-Mages and the Monarch especially. They hadn't known what exactly she was doing when she gathered all the Mages earlier, but since she had hinted that it had to do with the world's security, they didn't pose any qualms. Furthermore, she hadn't forced anyone into the ritual. The participants had been happy to sacrifice themselves for the sake of a Realm Source Mage's grand purpose even after she stipulated their deaths and how… cruel, they could be.

None of the stronger experts here were too perplexed by Kintar's nonchalance though. Elita, for instance, was more concerned with how she was going to repair things with Revia than Kintar's glacial attitude towards the loss of life. She had asked Skullius to send Revia somewhere safe just now, and Araeyn had gone to do just that with the ivory key to the Empyrean Bosom, given to him by Kintar.

"So, these crystals have been growing increasingly more powerful as the Cavern die, huh? That's a damn shame. I killed a few ten thousand of them before I had Araeyn take us to Edagon," Kenno said while shaking his head.

"Did you manage to extract any information about what exactly they are supposed to do?" Elita asked Kintar.

"No. There's only so much this contraption of mine can extract. It is still a mortal's workmanship. I couldn't even begin to wonder what Boron wants to do. Do you have any ideas, master?" the short, wide-faced Unlimited Star asked.

Skullius shook his head.

"All I know is that Boron is at odds with the three governing Deities. He wants Aigas destroyed, but that seems like a goal he is saving for later. Suzamete is incapable of protecting Aigas, at least with raw power. She's had to be sneaky, and quick-witted to avoid it being destroyed by external forces during the Ashing of Time; at the hands of Caxellac; and when my alter fused the Insurgent Magnus elements. Foresight has been her greatest strength, not raw might. I'm not even sure she would have been able to defend against on her own against the Doom Knight. So it stands to reason that Boron could have easily destroyed this world if he really wanted to, but I don't know why that isn't his first priority," he said.

"Then he's trying to settle a score with the governing Deities somehow – in a way that hurts them more than just destroying Aigas," Elita speculated.

"Apparently." Skullius massaged his temples. He still felt the uncomfortable presence of Camilla deep within him. "The whole situation with those four is strange. According to the Emissary of the Immortals – a lackey of the third Herald on Aigas, I mean – Boron was imprisoned, but Quintess and the others meant for him to be released eventually. That's why the method for his release was hidden from the Purity. It was never to be found by them. There's a deeper story there, but…"

Skullius thought it would be nice to get some answers from Suzamete, but he wasn't sure she would tell. In any case, that sort of information wouldn't help him with saving Aigas, he thought. At least not directly.

A silence followed. Uyuniya didn't give much of her thoughts. She wasn't familiar with the Deities of this world and she feared that any insights she had would only confuse everyone. Her original world was like Faaminl, Actuass' home. It was a Richer world than Aigas, responsible for birthing many Divines.

Skullius had crossed his arms in front of his chest when Kintar narrowed her eyes. She saw the tattoo on his wrist.

"What is that, master?" she asked. "I don't suppose it's a fashion trend."

Skullius grumbled.

"Another pain in the pelvis," he replied. "Fulgardt branded me with this. For an hour – or, I guess less than that now – I have been restricted concerning a secret of his."

"Fulgardt? A secret?" Kintar was taken aback.

"It's complicated," Skullius said with an exasperated sigh. The short stack was way behind on the happenings. "However, because of this tattoo, I have formed a few guesses about how Fulgardt intends to move. He said himself that he aims to attack Boron and Suzamete, but the time limit he put on this tattoo suggests to me that he only intends to try that after the hour passes. In the meantime, I assume he is getting Rias ready – helping him familiarise himself with his new Andori, some variant of the Imagining Technique, and inducting him into a contract with AKHASHA so that he can grow his Broader Existence. He's probably preparing himself too. I also imagine he intends to give the spoils for defeating Boron and Suzamete to Rias so that the Imagining Technique grows with his Broader Existence."

Skullius cursed when he finished the last sentence.

The Imagining Technique was already a terrifying ability.

He had seen it in action when he fought the EverSword heir during the Premium Age Royale.

He had seen its potential when it was in Vali's hands as well. She was able to give extra attributes to the Bashful Abomination in Opungale, and she was able to create a ring that could fuse [Just Light] and [Evil Darkness], creating an powerful offensive element, however imperfect it was.

If that technique had become an Andori…

"At the moment, I'm not really concerned about Fulgardt. I'm quite sure he isn't a match for Boron and Suzamete yet. History has proven it. However, I need to use the time I have to match him," Skullius said and he looked at Uyuniya and Elita. "I need more allies and I need to synergise my current powers rather than seeking to increase them broadly. I have methods to accomplish this, but which one I choose first may depend on how you two decide from here on out."

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