Chapter 1817 - 1817: To Impress (1)

The chaos might have been exactly what Skullius needed.

It remained a complete mystery to the Hybrid why Ylva was so angry at Thyrgga and how she'd even gotten into the Humble Paradigm, but she'd bought Skullius a moment to get his bearings.

Navvexr's arrival had been unexpected, and so was Gylliard's reaction to her ruthlessness.

Names.

Thyrgga's sudden faltering.

All of it was daunting, and if anyone else had been thrust into it so abruptly, they would have meekly waited for it all to pass.

…But Skullius was pressed with many other frustrations, trials that he'd had long before he entered the Humble Paradigm. As the chaos unfolded, with powers beyond his league and understanding spiralling in terrible waves all around him, he judged that taking the risk was worth it.

There was something about Thyrgga, Navvexr, Gylliard and Ylva that made them far stronger than most other Deities. To find out what that was, the Hybrid activated the [Legion Eyes] and doused them with Maximum Jaqquezjaqqz.

He might have gone blind – or blinder than he already was without his Divine senses.

The [Legion Eyes] on their own couldn't pick up traces of the |Greater Cosmic Law|, but enhanced with Maximum Jaqquezjaqqz, they could.

A storm of colours – silver, red and green– was spinning violently around Gylliard and Navexxr. All three poured from each Grand General in awesome droves, like oceans. A small shroud of the colours laced Ylva's body, perhaps because she was unconscious, and even more modest tendrils, like threads, spun around the Generals.

Even the singers had traces of the Law. Curiously, however, Skullius saw slivers of green spilling from their lips as they sang.

And then there was the Sovereign General. Nothing. Thyrgga looked just as he did when Skullius wasn't employing the powers of his extra eyes.

'…Huh?'

It was at this moment, as Skullius was trying to process all this as quickly as he could, when Gylliard and Navvexr turned sharply to him.

…!

It was too much. Skullius dropped to one knee, overwhelmed by the pressure. He deactivated the [Legion Eyes]. Continuing to overstimulate himself wouldn't do him any good. He met Navvexr's gaze. Strangely, there wasn't any malice in her eyes, but then she looked above him and frowned.

'She sees Apexis!'

The Apostle was hidden by Skullius' darkness, but…

"Forgive him. He's merely curious."

Thyrgga took a breath and raised his hand, signaling for Gylliard and Navvexr to stand down. Unlike before, the two did as he bid at once. The Sovereign General gave Navvexr a sombre look that said, You're such a handful. She returned a placid one, as though to say, I did nothing wrong.

Thyrgga shook his head lightly and gave a sad gaze to Ylva's body.

"That was unsightly, Skullius. I did not mean for her to interrupt us," the old man said before turning to Gylliard. "Would you mind taking her somewhere comfortable, Gyll? Stay with her, and if she awakens before I come to you, take her back to her accommodations. I was too naïve."

Gylliard nodded and took Ylva in his hands. All the while, Thyrgga's eyes never left the woman.

As Skullius rose to his feet and wiped the blood from his nose, he noticed the same shame in the Sovereign General's face that he'd seen before. His visage only changed when Gylliard vanished from the room with the woman.

Thyrgga sighed wearily and tipped his index finger lightly against the air. There was a flash of green, and the sawdust in the room trembled and whirled, reforming the long table Ylva had obliterated in an instant. At the same time, Skullius felt a blast of Conste run through his body, bypassing his Immortal Physiques and rewinding his body and soul to the state he was in before Ylva and Navvexr appeared.

…!

Skullius' eyes bulged. 'Did he just…?'

"Again, I apologize, Skullius," said Thyrgga, and the singers sang their hymn with a more pleasant, mellow volume.

"As do I. I meant no harm… to you," said Navvexr, much to the Hybrid's surprise.

"It has been a long day, and I had hoped to end the string of interactions I had scheduled in a timely, graceful fashion. I am no longer in any shape to give you a proper audience. I may invite you later, once everything around me simmers down." Thyrgga sat down, pressing his temple and running his pinkie against the golden band around it. "Enjoy the pleasures of the Monosphere in the meantime."

Skullius heard something entirely different. His defeat, which came before Ylva's arrival, had been set in stone. Despite his words, Thyrgga had already decided how to handle him. Was that a good or bad thing?

Skullius wouldn't leave that up to the Sovereign General's whim.

"Wait," he said when the two Generals approached to escort him out.

The only thing that could have made Skullius falter now was Navvexr's gaze. She was such a strange… creature. Her malice for Ylva had up and vanished like smoke. Up until she knocked out the furious woman, Skullius could easily imagine why she was Subossais' master, but now…

Taking a breath, Skullius mustered his testicles.

"You were right. I came into powers I don't fully understand – powers that most can't even fathom – and I obtained enlightenment. And just as you said, neither you nor the Primevals are evil or righteous. You simply have ambitions," he said. "If you believe that wholeheartedly, then you must also acknowledge that people like us are all renegades. We play whatever hand we can to reach our ambitions and bear the consequences. Shill or not. Anomaly or not."

Thyrgga hummed with interest.

"So, Sovereign General, whatever you believe I'm here for… whatever you think is driving me is liable to change and is unpredictable. As a matter of fact, after finding out about the auction you intend to host, my intentions changed. I have a stake in whatever you're trying to do here now."

"Is that so?" said Thyrgga, chuckling.

"Careful…" said Navvexr to the Hybrid sharply.

Skullius obeyed. He got too carried away. Revealing that he knew about the auction was lethal. Thankfully, Thyrgga didn't say any more about that.

"I admit. I have no idea what your auction is for, but I intend to use it for my own purposes, purposes that may serve you too, if you allow it." The Hybrid had to be quick with the rest of his sentence after the first 'purposes'.

"While I don't doubt that you have some interesting collections up your sleeve—"

"It's more than merely interesting," said Skullius, cutting the Sovereign General off. "I guarantee you, if you give me the chance to demonstrate, you'll have no choice but to humor my request to participate in the auction."