Bro, I'm not an Undead!

If he hadn't been using Litte to accelerate his thoughts, Skullius would have never caught on to that feeling. As soon as the ominous, dull light flooded the surroundings, it became impossibly difficult to move a muscle; Skullius might have been wrapped from head to toe by thick, metallic cords.

The restrictive sensation only persisted as long as the time it took for the three to warp to their next destination, however. And indeed, they warped. The light bathed them, and before what counted for an instant by Consternal standards could pass, they were somewhere else, somewhere both close and far away from where Skullius had breached the Obscurosphere.

Cold ash and dust storms lorded over the new location. They had an unusually effective propensity to obscure the senses.

Skullius barely registered that, however, still stuck on the sensation he'd felt.

'Was that… was that an aspect of the |Greater Cosmic Law|?' he thought, bewildered, trying to comprehend that blue light.

Litte? Eklhesh? Heide?

He couldn't parse it. His eyes stared at the lantern Gylliard safely hooked to a strap on his waist. The Grand General must have sensed Skullius' bafflement. He turned, languid and patient, and flicked the lantern with a finger.

"I call them Tors Lampions. Without one, teleportation within the Breaking Chasm is practically impossible. The conditions only get worse the deeper you go. You've already had a taste of that on your own, I suspect," he said.

Again, Subossais grunted in annoyance.

Skullius silently nodded as he restored his composure. His grasp on Amanas never wavered. The safety of his subordinates in this hellish place was his utmost priority.

He had much to consider, but their current location forced him to pay attention. Gylliard marched on, prompting the two to follow. They had crossed only a couple of meters when the dust and snow – an absurd pair – parted violently, revealing a colossal bronze-coated platform embedded deep into a plain. It was crested by great mountains, but their majesty couldn't hold a candle to the gleaming contraption.

Skullius' first thought upon seeing it was:

'It's more than five times Aigas' size…'

…And indeed, it was, for its purpose was similarly colossal. Gigantic flying vessels, some infinitely larger than Amanas had landed on the sleek platform. Some were shaped like intricate insectoids with a bit too many legs, some like plain, three-dimensional shapes for that simplistic, practical flair, and some… some were just flat out disgusting. A vessel that looked like a lump of thumping, red flesh with glowing hairs, like feelers, constantly twitching from all over its mass, made Skullius grimace. He thought whoever was riding it ought to have been ashamed.

Giant figures stood right by all the vessels, numbering in the hundreds. Divines and Deities. Four armoured figures, like Subossais, surrounded them, standing next to four arched bronze pillars that bordered the platform. Each pillar was glinting with vibrant runes, awaiting activation.

'That's a nasty collection of powerhouses,' Skullius thought, taking it all in.

"A good number of the Stellars responded to our invitation promptly. Oh, and more are still coming," said Gylliard as they reached the landing port. He looked up, eyes still closed, prompting Skullius to do the same.

There was a gaping hole in the sky, or more aptly, a void. Raging winds seemed to have forced open a path from the Obscurosphere into the Quadrosphere. Their sheer might was the reason the ash and dust left the landing port unbothered.

Four more vessels were descending gracefully, expelling a much more impressive aura than Amanas ever could. Gylliard whistled excitedly before leaping high from the ground and landing on the port floor. Skullius followed suit, but kept studying the twisting whirls bordering the void above.

"By the way, I forgot to commend you," said Gylliard suddenly, chuckling. "The average output of even the smallest Retucent is capable of ripping through Obscurospheres, but I can count on one hand the number of people who would even consider summoning one to attempt that. Not many even could."

The conclusion Skullius came to as soon as he heard this might as well have been written on his forehead. Gylliard laughed.

"Oh, I only wish my efficiency with Conste was profound enough to launch a Retucent into the great void from a Breaking Chasm's core. I assure you, that couldn't have been me."

"With every passing day, I find your modesty even more nauseating, General," said Subossais at once.

"You're only the ninth of Navvy's apprentices to say that to me in the last Consternal," said Gylliard. "Thank you."

As Subossais grunted, Skullius sucked his teeth. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard.

'The burst of Conste that blasted the Retucent I created… Whoever did it…did so from the Breaking Chasm's core?' he thought, growing increasingly uneasy.

Breaking Chasms were not made equal, not in quality or size, but all of them were unfathomably vast. If someone were able to use any aspect of power – heavens forbid an aspect of the |Greater Cosmic Law| - while completely disregarding the sheer distance between the core and the outermost landmass within the Breaking Chasm…

There were only two options. Navvexr, a Grand General like Gylliard, and a sadist who had decapitated Paliothese and put him through a slow, painful death. Or…

The hissing of steam reeled Skullius from the haunting thought. He found himself watching as the hatch of one of the newly arrived flying vessels opened. The vessel itself was akin to a giant, but sleek, rectangular prism, many times longer than it was wide. It didn't sit on the landing port's floor, instead remaining in a lift ten meters above ground.

From the hatch on its wide side, a group of formidable-looking individuals marched out and onto the port. Leading them was a mature-looking woman with hair that could only have been described as fiery red. It flickered as fire did, danced like flame, and flared. Oddly enough, it was how it paired with the silken clothing and jerkin she was adorning that made her look both Divine and gorgeous. Nothing about her inherently screamed danger or hostility.

…Save for perhaps, the dark scowl on her face.

Skullius had never seen such obnoxious fury. Frothing Amras surged from the woman, tart and tangible. It marked her as a Deity, and one of a high caliber.

'Most Deities give up their original bodies to create worlds and take on different kinds of Vessels if they choose to live lives separate from their creations,' thought Skullius. 'Gylliard and this woman… it almost seems like they never gave up their original bodies at all, yet they are high-level Deities…'

What was that about? Boron's memories didn't seem to have an answer. Skullius wondered if he was overthinking it. Did they simply get new bodies somehow?

Right then, the fiery-haired woman turned in his direction, and palpable hostility wrapped around the Hybrid like a storm, making him tense up.

…But the woman had no regard for Skullius whatsoever.

For the first time, Gylliard's thin smile faded, and he turned solemn. He locked 'eyes' with the woman for a good five seconds before turning away. She, however, kept glaring a little longer.

'Looks like there's some history here,' Skullius thought after the woman finally gave Gylliard's figure reprieve.

As he, Subossais, and the Grand General approached the cluster of vessels, he appraised all the other new arrivals, especially the leaders – Heads of the Stellars.

One was a bearded colossus with white chains around his arms. He stood at least seven meters taller than everyone else, a Deity among Deities. His stolid face, like a masterfully carved rock, made him twice as imposing.

Another was a woman engulfed in a frozen essence so intense that it encrusted every inch of the landing port she crossed with black ice. Even her followers didn't dare draw too close.

'That's not a Parlous Nature,' Skullius thought.

Even with half a world's distance between them, Skullius could feel it pricking his skin (without reinforcement from Null Life Essence, of course).

He noticed yet another freak of nature, a fr—

ZWWWWP!

The landing port shook, creaked, and cracked.

…!

Everyone immediately reinforced themselves with Amras and other defenses.

Skullius narrowed his eyes and searched for the source of the disturbance. A wild shuttle of Zu'sse had abruptly torn across the landing port.

No.

There were two.

An altercation was brewing between two Zu'sse users!

—-

[Author's Note]

The scale of Breaking Chasms will be elaborated on.

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