Chapter 1813 - 1813: The Sovereign's Domain (2)

Skullius didn't have a reaction. Even if Subossais suddenly lunged, he would have kept his composure.

However…

'Damn. I wasn't stealthy enough after all,' he thought. 'That sentry he left behind must have caught on. Otherwise. It's either that, or Subossais just happened to notice me make my move from where he was.'

"What of it?" he said as Subossais continued on from the landing port, leading him towards the giant Tors Gate in the distance. "You said it yourself. I was having fun. It was my first experience with Vacuum Fiends."

Subossais gave a slow nod. "Right. Careful with that. Some might begin to think you're… up to no good. Generals aren't as forgiving of anything even mildly suspicious as we Warlords tend to be."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Skullius got the impression that Subossais was walking in front of him to flaunt the large warhammer strapped to his back, perhaps as a threat.

'If you knew exactly what I was doing, you wouldn't just stop at threatening me,' he thought.

And perhaps that was true, but Skullius didn't like any part of this. The very fact that what he thought was an extremely precise and secretive use of his abilities could still be detected made him reconsider his plans.

'Thank goodness Ferex's stealth got an upgrade.'

Sector SEPT (C) Negative was much like SEPT (A) Negative, where Gylliard had brought everyone before with only one difference. The great sun in the distance was much closer, giving the citadel a healthier dose of light. The piercing rays caught Skullius' eye, and he turned to the source.

Suddenly, he remembered Gylliard streaking towards that very sun from SEPT (A) Negative.

'Thyrgga's domain is probably somewhere there,' he thought.

Several other things pointed towards that being the case, not the least of which was obvious now that Skullius was closer to the sun than ever. It took him using the [Legion Eyes] to see it: a faint barrier wrapping a wide radius around the sun.

'I see. The Vacuum Fiends aren't really a threat to that place to begin with.'

A glance, he could define the impossible durability and restraining properties of the barrier. Someone who had a good handle on restricting supernatural forces had made it.

Skullius turned away, finally, minding his immediate surroundings.

Like Sector SEPT (A) Negative, there were many tall buildings here as well, all with that silvery metal that rippled when you made contact, much like the armour worn by the Warlords and Generals. Many combatants without as much charm and presence were marching between the buildings, performing tasks Skullius couldn't quite parse. They acknowledged only Subossais as they passed.

Soon, the Warlord and the Hybrid were marching towards the mouth of the Tors Gate. This one was different from the two Skullius had seen thus far. It was almost twice as big, and from the outside, it seemed to be twice as complex as well. The Runes and mechanical craftsmanship were bolder and more sophisticated.

A General was standing by the entrance, and unlike Antioch, the only other General Skullius had met up close, this one wasn't particularly chatty. Subossais acknowledged him with a nod before leading Skullius inside the Tors Gate.

'So uptight.'

Subossais plugged his Tors Lampion into a slot within the chamber, and a voice rather similar to that of the Voice of Worlds resounded.

[Command Recognition Protocol running…]

[Access Granted!]

[Welcome, Warlord Therm Subossais]

[Please wait…]

[Locking in Monosphere, HUMBLE PARADIGM…]

[Target Locked]

[Calibrating Observed Calamity Scale…]

[Override. Penetration Protocol Activated]

[Buffer Time – Null]

[Beginning Passenger Transmutation…]

'Humble Paradigm? Ah, right. Paliothese did mumble something about that. I never figured that was what the name referred to,' thought Skullius.

As the Tors Gate groaned, amassing the required energy for the task, he narrowed his eyes. Subossais hadn't bothered to explain, so the Hybrid had to piece it together himself. The guidance field prompts confirmed it.

'Penetration Protocol… He didn't set a specific Tach to determine how quickly we'll be launched to this… Humble Paradigm,' thought the Hybrid. 'I'm guessing, to get to it, we might have to breach that barrier by force. It wouldn't surprise me if, for security reasons, it never comes down at all.'

Right then, the Tors Gate shuddered, and Skullius felt it seize and transform every bit of him into matter of a different sort. Like before, he couldn't move a muscle no matter how he struggled.

'Here we go.'

By the time this thought crossed his mind, his theory was being confirmed. He and Subossais were shunted at tremendous speed towards their target location. From launch, the two flew for a little more than a nanosecond before they felt themselves meet some bubble of resistance that slowed them down.

Despite how it felt, Skullius was sure they hadn't actually decelerated. When solid ground slipped under his feet again, his body retaining the substance he was familiar with, he hummed to himself.

'We penetrated that barrier in an instant, and it distorted our senses.'

And indeed, his senses were warped for a little while. When his sight and hearing livened again, the brilliance of the sun firing from below the landing platform he'd landed on hit him with all the radiance of… well, a sun. Everything was obnoxiously bright.

'We're…above it.'

And indeed they were. The bright giant was not above the domain of the Sovereign General. It was akin to a foundation for it.

Despite the tendrils of burning gases and light flaring from it, the sun failed to burn or even obscure the magnificence of the Humble Paradigm.

Skullius was taken aback. The gargantuan demesne before him looked exactly as it would without the overexposure: a collection of large, closely-knit, triangular glass prisms that formed a generic house shape.

'Humble, huh?' thought Skullius.

A great shadow painted the gigantic structure halfway from the sky, somehow adding to its mystique. Of course, the source of the shadow had mystery of its own.

The skeleton of a beast sizably larger than the Humble Paradigm floated above, still and huddled against itself. Each and every bone glistened, glossy and gold. Skullius had never seen bones so beautiful. It almost seemed a pity that the sort of creature that left the gorgeous mess behind was gone. There was something sacred about the hollow of its eye sockets and the perfect curl of its twin tails.

Perhaps to keep curious and greedy hands away, a complicated seal characterized by interconnected gear-shaped circles, one fiercely greener than the next, wrapped around the golden skeleton.

Skullius recognized that green glow as Conste at once.

He was more interested in the seal than he was in the corpse. After all…

'So, this was your ticket into Breaking Chasm #59, Paliothese?'

…he already knew what the corpse was.