Bro, I'm not an Undead!

That Gylliard could move under these conditions, and comfortably too, was a crime against logic, but Skullius decided to relax. The facts helped tremendously with that endeavor.

If Gylliard wanted him dead, Skullius wasn't fast enough to stop him. The Grand General did not need tricks to accomplish that. It was probably why he'd let Skullius' dare from earlier, when the Stellar Heads insulted his subordinates, go; he'd known that it was nothing more than a bluff.

Even Sword Gods retreated instantly, setting aside their conflict, when Gylliard willed it.

Speaking of Sword Gods, Skullius eyed Shidao. (His senses weren't restricted, after all.) It still baffled him just how casually the concept was introduced to him. Back then, when he fought the Finite Sword God Hobbu Gobbu, extracted his abilities, and became the Infinite Sword God, it had never occurred to him that there were more people out there – out in the wider reality – with the title of Sword God. It apparently transcended mere Classes.

'Pherdanta will want to hear this,' Skullius thought. The subject stole him away from his earlier curiosities, but only temporarily. Tension still seized the Hybrid because of the sheer magnitude of concepts he didn't fully understand and the fact that right now, he was completely at the mercy of the Grand General, the Right Hand of Momem Thyrgga the Sheathed.

The scented smoke filtering from Gylliard's mouth, rich and earthy, drew him.

"At ease. Even if you were my enemy, I wouldn't deal you a dishonorable death. Besides, I really do find you charming," he said, reading Skullius' unease. He blew smoke again and twirled the thing in his hand. "A recent innovation of mine made from the leaf from which Exora extract is obtained. Instead of turning the leaf into mead, I tried for something a little more… stimulating. The Exor Stig. The rate of Amras regeneration is the same, but I still like this better than guzzling skins upon skins of mead."

Skullius hummed, fascinated. His Contract with JOISEN ANTERRAS had been his first connection to Exora Mead – a substance that restored Amras. Other than Physiques with the unique ability to increase the rate of Amras replenishment, Exora Mead was the most accessible way to regenerate lost units of Amras.

Indeed, the plant from which Exora Mead was made could only be found in Breaking Chasms, which was why Exora Mead was a very valuable resource, but Skullius (through Boron's experience) had never known of any other products the plant could be made into.

"I'd give you one, but well…" said Gylliard politely, and he sucked on his Stig again.

Curious, Skullius asked him. "This recent innovation… Was it caused by the Acceleration by any chance?"

Gylliard smirked as he blew out another puff of smoke from the Stig. It flew the farthest out of all the ones he had blown before and reached the edge of the encirclement separating everyone from the chaotic shower of lights and incomprehensible images.

All of it reminded Skullius of the time he and Serenity travelled to Null Verse from the Empyrean Bosom. That trip had been rougher than this one, but the view was similar.

(A/N: Refer to Ch.1404-1406.)

'Just how much chaos did the Acceleration cause?' Skullius thought.

He was growing as uneasy as the Primeval Deities at this point.

From little things to innovations like the Exor Stig, to the miraculous phenomenon like the revival of Deities like Paliothese…

Fulgardt's chaos had a way of persisting long after he was gone.

"Can I trust you?' said Gylliard instead of answering Skullius' question. Another puff of smoke left his lips. "Sure, I can."

Skullius' brow rose. "What?"

Gylliard didn't seem to hear. He looked wholly focused on something else.

"You exist outside the natural cycle, so perhaps you can fathom things men like me can't. Emotions and intentions can be as simple as clouds at times or as knotted as riddles." He licked his teeth, and his thin smile vanished altogether. "The Aspire to Divine was a mere Stellar, once upon a time – practically insignificant as far as the bigger picture was concerned. As a Stellar, the other Stellars were our rivals, our enemies. There were thousands at the time in this quadrant of Reality."

Skullius frowned.

"But then, we caught fortune. One event changed everything. Hah. I know it by heart, even though I wasn't born then. The Radicals, the Aspire to Divine elites, chanced upon the secrets of the Primeval Deities and changed the course of history. The Reaping of the Zephyr, they called that paramount event. We only rose in power from there, becoming a force the Primeval Deities couldn't ignore. Our rivals became no more than worms we could trample upon casually."

He scratched an itch in his beautiful blonde hair. "Alas, we sold those secrets. In exchange for articles of not even a third of the value, we sold them to our enemies, to our rivals. The reason… I'm not sure anymore. I never was. Maybe to spite the Primeval Deities even further – to disparage their 'paradise'. Or perhaps it was… mercy."

He turned to Skullius, so serious that the Hybrid almost mistook his sternness for hostility.

"The Primeval Deities believe they transcend right and wrong. Power transcends right and wrong, surely. Or not," he said. "I could convince myself either way. But perhaps you know."

Skullius reeled.

'What would I know about that?'

He barely knew anything.

He'd even questioned himself when he supposedly realized the true meaning of Direction. Only after leaving Aigas, meeting the will of the Warmoth, being ambushed by the Primeval Deities, and speaking to Paliothese did he rein back his ego.

He didn't understand nearly as much as he thought he did.

'ABBON-RIGGIE, DRADPAS and SVEERCUSK did mention that some of their secrets were stolen, but I never would have known they were being honest if not for my coming here…' Skullius thought.

Indeed, he never would have even considered how much stronger the Primeval Deities were beyond their ability to traverse higher dimensions.

What would he know about anything?

"What do you think I could answer for you?" asked Skullius.

Gylliard paused, thinking.

"Mercy," he said soon after, forehead creased with conflict. "To stand before an enemy you have overcome, an enemy you could slay just by breathing… and not kill them. Is that not mercy?"

…And right then, Skullius understood what Gylliard was trying to say.

"You're trying to use my actions to reconcile some conflict you have, are you?" he said, nose wrinkling with fury. "Is that the charm you keep talking about it?"

Skullius scoffed. Even while immobile, he could manage a scowl.

"What part of the judgment I gave Fulgardt looked like mercy?"

The Grand General and the Null Devil King were locked in silent tension from there.

The Stars, Troops, and Void Users watched with rapt attention, anticipating the worst at any moment.

They could hardly fathom what it was the two behemoths were grappling over.

…But the darkness that suddenly crept from all around them was even more unfathomable. Another interruption.

The cascading sea of colors around everyone was doused in absolute obscurity, so much so that for the mortals, it inspired an existential dread.

It was difficult to justify the idea you were real – that you existed in flesh and soul – if you were buried in a darkness so thick that it obscured your ability to sense your body in any way.

…But that darkness was only the prelude to an even more ominous power.

"Might want to elevate your guard on this one, even if you can't move," said Gylliard sternly, and he reached for his Tors Lampion.

Everyone tensed. Skullius' [Legion Eyes] flared. (He wasn't restricted from using Andori.) From the moment the darkness had swarmed them, he'd sensed… life within it.

'What the heck… is that?'

When he looked closer with his enhanced eyes, piercing the darkness with his vision, ever so slightly, the crooked, elongated shapes of several dozen creatures were revealed to him. Their eyes, stark white and keen, were watching the group, their bodies keeping up with the Observed Calamity Scale Tach equivalent to billions of times the speed of light.

…And then they reached for their immobile prey.

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