Bro, I'm not an Undead!

A subject that hadn’t been explored was how Sila felt about Skullius after literally experiencing all that the Discount Human had ever went through. Leaving his soul without a will had caused Sila to essentially have access to the information about him and his powers in its entirety, which had been a terrifying thing to think about for Skullius.

The way Sila saw Skullius had changed back when he first took it all in but he had been facing a powerful opponent, thus couldn’t stop and settle his thoughts.

The aged piece of soul was quite shocked by the revelations.

The fact that Skullius was formerly an undead, even part of tragic group of skeletons that roamed Deadmanland and worked for a powerful Lich was definitely not what he was expecting.

While Skullius had tried to explain it, there was a significant difference between the insane Sila from just after his awakening to the Sila now, who had consumed a portion of Skullius’ soul in order to nourish his own, granting him both a mostly grounded mind and restoring part of his strength.

It was tragic to be honest.

The constant stream of danger.

The curses.

The powerful being chasing after Skullius along with the mystery of the Null Lifeform’s previous life.

All this was sympathy inducing, but the last of aforementioned was the part that touched Sila quite the most.

This man…

Even from the glimpses that Skullius had unlocked through painful means, Sila could feel the tragedy of humanity from this undead…no from this former undead.

He pitied him.

However, this didn’t make him turn into some ‘sapling’ that would devote himself to helping Skullius and completely abandon his own objectives. Frankly, while Sila’s intent had been to help Skullius grow as they agreed, he wasn’t concerned with assisting the bastard in becoming a refined, transcendent combatant.

He had wanted to make sure that Skullius would grow the powers of Fulgardt to a sufficient degree before the Null Lifeform reached the Incandescent Stage.

That could at least ensure that he wouldn’t have the strength to purge him.

And now, as they were having a soul to soul…

‘Mere words. They are cheap, tomato flinger. There was a man who was good with words back in my day. He was a powerful warrior with so much charisma that I fondly believed that he could sway the sun to take a day off if he could give it one of his speeches. I admired him. I confided in him. I heeded his words, believing with every fibre of my being when he bolstered us with confidence. Yet, when one of the Chosen of Fulgardt came, he died a pathetic death,’ Sila said with a grumble that traced back to the past.

Skullius paused for a bit.

Indeed, words were cheap but what else could he do other than try to convince him as such.

Speaking with Sila about this place he had mentioned before, was something that had risen to the top of his list during the past days’ events.

It was fuelled by how the Discount thought to manage his time. He had been given six days to finish up his business before heading to Genhuis City. He had something else to do in the big city other than to participate in the Premium Age Royale after all .

The Potential Aptitude evaluation.

Taking this into consideration along with the growth of his core, Skullius thought that Sila’s method may do him some good. Perhaps he could finish creating his core faster if it had other effects above bolstering the core colour.

“Look, like I said it before, focusing on how much we have to get rid of each other isn’t beneficial to us at all. I’ll admit, taking up Bek’s offer was wrong. After considering it, we probably can’t safely be separated through normal means anyway. Your soul is patching up damage that I received in the past so just hacking you away would flesh me over. My previous assumptions were wrong. As for you, well…” Skullius said thinking to use another card he had up his sleeve.

While Sila said he was fine with dying, Skullius didn’t buy it. He just to appeal to the bastard some more.

“I’m sure you know Null Life is different from Undeath. It’s a possible path that we can use. Besides… maybe you’ve given up on your wife, but don’t you want to at least inhabit your original body one more time?”

‘…’

A barely noticeable grunt leaked out of Sila.

That’s right.

Sila came to a realisation.

This bastard had the key to the Labyrinth of the Yoke with the freedom to return whenever he wished!

And with the power of Null Life…

‘I see…’ Sila said. ‘You are appealing to the old warmonger inside of me, is it? Make no mistake, tomato flinger. What I said before, that was from rage. While I am a war driven soul, there is no longer any of my enemies to fight. It is better to resign to peace now and meet with the woman I love on the other side. The Tunatsche be damned! I served the Deities enough to earn a spot in their graces.’

“That’s true, bro. But… have you ever considered that some of your allies might still be alive. Just like you were captured, what if some of your friends were also bound in the Labyrinth as we speak? Maybe you can’t focus on the dead but what about those who are alive?”

…!

This…!

Sila’s soul trembled.

That’s right!

His comrades!

What if… what if they were alive and bound like he was?!

The old soul felt a burst of guilt!

Over the course of thousands years, his memory was vivid when it came to certain special moments in his life but when considering the larger picture, much of it was murky.

Was he the only survivor of the battle at the Grim Tower?!

Perhaps but also… perhaps not!

He couldn’t be sure!

The history from this Era was muddled with many details that he had read from Skullius’ mind being false!

Maybe he had thought about his allies during his captivity but after slowing descending into madness before…

“Wouldn’t you managing to escape only to kill yourself, leaving them bound for eternity, be a sign of weakness as a… Tower General?” Skullius added spice to the injury while his sockets flared.

Silence pervaded.

The Penetrator was very much aware of the powerful bond of camaraderie. According to Somanda, he literally thrived on it to fill up the missing piece of his soul back in Deadmanland so he knew how powerful it was especially when someone was like a ring leader.

The Penetrator had thought about his gang. Bonet, Mono Socket, Fractures and the others.

He had imagined going back to save them in little bouts of time over the past weeks and while the first time he had arrived in Aigas had seen him almost give up on himself, he had come to realise that he had more to do than he thought.

He intended to save his bone comrades!

When he eventually went over to battle Somanda, he was going to redeem them!

This determination that fuelled him must also fuel the aged soul… was Skullius’ thoughts.

Definitely.

After a short period of silence, Sila grumbled but he was evidently set aflame.

‘Tomato flinger…’ he said, once more feeling the frustration of being won over. ‘If we’re doing this… I’m taking the whole benefit, my wife included!’

“Of course bro,” Skullius said with a hint of smugness. Once again, words won the war for him and he couldn’t help but wonder…

‘What was I in my past life?’

***

Somewhere between the boundaries.

Revia’s eyes shot wide open as she watched a scene that made everything she had known and believed, become insignificant.

Her existence and the doctrine she had been funnelled with…

Was it a lie or simply a colossal misunderstanding?

“This is it. Don’t be afraid. They don’t bite,” the man beside her, Actuass, highlighted with a green and black hue from what seemed like a portal before them, said.