Chapter 1799 - 1799: You Might Want To See This

The report… didn't particularly surprise Skullius – at least not in the way the Stars expected. The notion of a child Deity should have been shocking, unheard of, but to Skullius, the most significant thing in the report was the fact that there were apparently more of those people here in Breaking Chasm #59.

Just like that, he couldn't help but be suspicious of Paliothese's account.

'Do I have to keep probing him every time he gives me insufficient information? Why doesn't he just tell me the whole story instead of bits and pieces?' thought the Hybrid, annoyed.

Soon, he cast the thought to the back of his head and returned to his next concern. With a single gesture, he summoned Susu'k.

"Master?" said the Strawler.

"Check in on Pherdanta and the others. They were supposed to have finished their regiment by now. If something went wrong, notify me immediately."

Susu'k acknowledged and vanished in a flash, leaving Skullius just a tad bit lighter of concerns. The Hybrid then turned to his three Apostles.

"Go rest and familiarize yourself with your Traits. I didn't decide to add to your strength on a whim. Each of you has a delicate task to complete. After my meeting with Thyrgga – whenever that'll be – there'll be no room for mistakes…or rest," he said.

"Yes, my Liege," said the Apostles in unison, and with great drive, they rushed away, each to his own little space.

Left alone, Skullius sighed.

The Sovereign General was already stressing him out even though he hadn't even seen him yet. Skullius' biggest worry, at least where his meeting with Thyrgga was concerned, lay in the fact that, since he (Skullius) was an outsider – a surprise visitor – it would be extremely easy for him to get cast to the wayside here in Breaking Chasm #59.

Something significant was happening. If not the fact that three Primeval Deities had a stake in this place, then the fact that fourteen powerful organizations had been invited here should have been telling.

It was in Skullius' best interest to involve himself in the main course. To do that, he needed to know what exactly the Aspire to Divine had invited the Stellars for. Did it have anything to do with why ABBON, SVEERCUSK, and DRADPAS were interested in this Breaking Chasm?

Possibly.

'I have to prove my value. For the moment, I can't conquer what's up ahead with strength alone. At the very least, I can leverage the fact that these people find me interesting – Gylliard does somewhat – to establish myself. If I fail, I will lose. They'll likely keep my access to the Breaking Chasm restricted and have Subossais keep a close watch on me. Hmmm. They'll do the latter regardless, I guess.'

Sighing again, Skullius left the Second Layer of the Hatcher for the Third, where he waited for Susu'k.

To his surprise, the Strawler did not return even after he waited for ten minutes. Skullius, growing suspicious, warped to the Warmoth's Treasury, fearing that some enemy might have infiltrated.

He found nothing of the sort, however. The door to the Timemould Mirror Box on the floor was sealed, and from what he could tell – having analyzed the residuals around it – Susu'k had been here and so had Pherdanta and the others long before.

Nothing was wrong.

So… why?

Skullius frowned.

'This is seriously starting to make me regret not taking up the Warmoth's powers in full.'

His authority in the Bosom, the Vault and Treasury could only have been completed had he taken up the Warmoth's fullness, but as Skullius had refused, he couldn't even peer through the door to the Timemould Mirror Box to check inside. Once it was in use, there was no opening it, and only Susu'k could come and go from it as he pleased.

'I'll just wait, I guess.'

Soon, Skullius gave up, returned to the Second Layer of the Hatcher, and commanded a few Strawlers to retrieve Souran's soul from one of the resorts in the First Layer. He had had it moved from the Stone Hub of Taboos earlier for ease of access.

Once it was brought to him, Skullius complimented its size. Suddenly, the idea Ferex had given him became even more plausible.

Souran had deserted her soul in the Stone Hub of Taboos because it was essentially impossible for her to escape with it. When fighting Araeyn, he always had the option of stranding his opponent in an obscure Null Remnant, after all.

'It could work,' thought Skullius. 'This soul is completely abandoned, meaning it has no identity – no information whatsoever. On top of that, it's been stitched from many other souls, making it both vast and malleable. If I carefully extract all the pieces with the least amount of resistance and apportion them, I could give each of the Apostles – other than Ferex – a base for a Divine soul.'

Yes. Yes. It could work.

'From there, we collect pieces of Divine souls and slowly stitch them onto this base in every Apostle.' But then Skullius frowned. 'No. It can't be that easy. If it were, that Lich would have already ascended to Divinity. But then again, maybe the way they reach Divinity is also different. Damn it. Only Weaver has answers I can trust right now.'

Speaking of the Nulliergrapher…

'My Liege. Could you please return to the Sanguine Suite?' Weaver reached out to Skullius through their mental link.

'Does this have to do with that child Yuyui saw?' Skullius asked.

'Not quite, but I'm sure you will want to see a… development that's occurring here.'

Humming, Skullius left Souran's soul in the care of the Strawlers at once and warped to the Sanguine Suite. He found only Weaver waiting for him inside the Lucid Parlor, which instantly manipulated all the furniture within it to fit Skullius' size.

Weaver bowed. "Outside, my Liege."

Skullius frowned, curious, and followed after the Apostle as he led him to the door, out into the hall and outside the Suite.

Soon, they had joined the Stars, Troops, and Void Users, looking out into the wider Monosphere.

As cold ash fell like snow, an enormous number of enemies filled the skies, rushing towards the withering sun in the distance.