Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Chapter 1269: Frienemies?

"What did you think about them?" Skullius asked.

Elita was surprised Skullius would ask her opinion on this. Honestly, she had wondered just what Skullius had been hinting at before - in Aigas - when Yuyui had first appeared, impressively eradicating the thousands of Carven in a flash. It seemed to her (Elita) now that Skullius had been expressing pride in his entire combat force, which was a lot more terrifying than half of what she had seen on other worlds within the great void.

"They are impressive. I thought so before you decided to take it a step further and make them even harder to beat. Suzamete will be pleased," she said, chuckling with the last sentence.

Skullius was displeased at the mention of Suzamete. However much he felt like he could relate to her now that he was no longer a mortal, he didn't find a part of him that was growing to like her.

The two were walking somewhat quickly on a glimmering path that looked as though it was made of a mix of glass, gold and emerald. Using Ju`wtte, one could slide along it at speeds comparable to Skullius' [Neutral Acumen], but Skullius thought it would be nice to get a better feel for his new legs and feet by walking. (In the Second Layer of the Hatcher], he didn't need to walk, after all.)

The duo's destination was the great red pool up ahead, a distance away from the Empyrean Hatcher. Skullius had told Elita he had business there.

"Skullius..." the former Paladin Champion said.

Skullius turned to her.

"Yes?"

"I thought by now you'd have addressed it. You didn't need to keep me under your subordinates' keen surveillance, you know?" she said.

Skullius chortled.

"So, you knew," he said.

"I shared the same sentiment you had. Even when you invited me into your home, I was wary of you. I bet you felt the same. Even if I helped you, that doesn't really prove I'm an ally, right?"

She looked at him.

"Do you consider me, a Voided Deathform, your enemy?" she asked.

Skullius took some time to consider.

He had asked the Unlimited Stars to watch Elita just in case, because even if she had saved him from Boron, according to the rules, he and her were enemies. Her motives could have been malicious.

The first Voided Deathform Skullius had met, Aurolio, had told him about the nature of the Existential Parallels, and Serenity had added on later, confirming that indeed, Undeath, Null Life and Voided Death opposed each other despite coming from intimate sources.

Void, Emmae and Serenity were siblings who sought for ways to evade complete extinction. Each came up with their own path, Emmae's being the least unique among them. The Books of Alignment that came with the powers of the Existential Parallels detailed that a race existed between all bearers of the Parallels; they were enemies seeking to steal resources from each other.

Oddly though, Aurolio had said he refused to do anything in Void's favour until he understood the whole picture. But what about Elita? She seemed to be in Void's sweeter graces given that she had been whisked away to a training arc.

"I don't think of you as an enemy, but when we chose to claim these powers, we were automatically assigned to opposing sides. Since you were with Void all of this time, I didn't know what to think about you. I for one am not looking to start a conflict with other bearers or sockets forbid, Void and Emmae themselves. Serenity knows that," Skullius said. "What do you think?"

Elita scratched her temple and her lips curled.

"You're planning to save a world that you don't really have to," she said. "Even if I had a gripe with you, it would have been dissolved when I heard your speech. The Paladin Champion in me wouldn't allow me to needlessly fight someone so selfless."

Skullius laughed.

Selfless? That was a bit much. He was a selfish sockethole gathering hundreds for an ultimate cause that benefitted him alone - the endgame in Deadmanland.

A pause slid in.

Skullius would have wanted to ask a few more things about Void, and Elita's adventures, but he didn't think Elita would share more than the barebones details. She had avoided explaining more about Void's own propaganda with the perfect setup he had given her.

For now, he celebrated the 'peace' he and Elita had established.

"You said you'd help me investigate the matter with the Purity and Revia's whereabouts. How does that fit into our save-the-world itinerary?" Elita asked, dispelling traces of the previous

conversation.

"I still plan to assist, but first, while my Troops are dealing with the wide range of enemies around the world, I have a few stops to make. First in Maqi, and then the Severed Union. Between these trips, I plan to subdue something in a certain relic of mine; something beyond Divine. I was hoping you could help me that. If your theory about what the Purity is doing is true, the subjugation will benefit us both."

Elita's brows shot up.

Something beyond Divine to subdue?

This piqued her interest quite a bit.

She smirked.

She figured then that she would be travelling with Skullius for a while and refrained from asking about the details now.

"I see. You've got my hopes up. I imagined our mission would be bland, but who knew you had some flair added to it."

Skullius grinned. He had hoped she wouldn't be too impatient. He had instructed the Stars and Troops to prepare themselves and head out as soon as possible after deciding how to split the forces, but everything else he had to do on his own could wait a little. Thankfully, Elita didn't take this as him putting less importance on her own goals.

The two finally reached the pool.

The pool looked like one giant, solid blackish-red disc spreading on and on until it was eventually veiled by bits of frosty smoke. There were barely any fluctuations to its surface, and great blocks of the same material that made the gleaming pavement surrounded it.

This was the Ju`wtte Transfiguration Pool.

Anything that fell into the blackish-red liquid would be granted the ability to transfigure into various kinds of Ju`wtte-themed and inspired species, quite like the creatures that lived in the Second Layer of the Empyrean Hatcher. The transformation was safe for any and all things that would participate. It was, after all, the only way to safely traverse through this pool, which, as Skullius had discovered when he was experimenting with it, was fully of a lot of dangerous Ju`wtte phenomena.

But this wasn't his reason for visiting this place.

"Follow me," Skullius said and he rose into the sky as though it was the most natural thing to do. Beyrmir sprouted wings of mercury and followed.

Elita whipped out Broodweiler, her gold and pink sword. She threw it into the air and it started to float. She jumped on it and followed after Skullius who whistled in surprise.

"As annoying as this sword is, it has its fun sides," Elita chuckled.

The three flew northward, and were soon penetrating the layers of frosty smoke rising from the pool. Past several clouds of this smoke, a large structure was revealed. It was an island; a

rather familiar one.

Deign had always been home to Skullius while he was in the Severed Union.

He had spent months growing on it, building up his strength and that of his allies. He couldn't have abandoned it so casually now that he had the Empyrean Bosom.

Kintar had told him that this was where she had stashed Theurien and Silrat. Skullius had been

pleased, but also surprised by how sharp the short woman was. How she had realised his intentions was beyond him.

Deign just so happened to be where Stylla was safely stowed away, and she was Skullius'

objective.

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