The fever was rising.
Everyone's spirits were soaring, filled to the brim with an unreasonable sort of faith and zeal. Those that hadn't believed at all that they had any business challenging a Deity and his
emissaries, now found that they were willing to do so, defiantly resisting reasons of limitation spiralling in their heads.
How else could one's limits be surpassed if not by challenging what was impossible?
What did those two months of grueso, treacherous training an if the final result wasn't for sothing as bold and as grand as what Skullius was calling for?
The Stark Troops were indeed emboldened.
However...
"Hold on, Master," Kintar said. Her wide face didn't look half as enthusiastic or as accepting of her master's words, but that was only on the surface. She had other concerns.
The growing fever was slaughtered at once.
Kintar gave Skullius another sharp look.
"Why are we doing this? As you said, leaving this world is in the cards. That, by all ans, considering that all of us have another objective far more important than this, is a much better option. Let's let Aigas go. We've all grown past it. You have helped us do that, Master. There's better glory to be obtained elsewhere," she said firmly.
The Unlimited Stars, Pherdanta in particular, gave Kintar dark looks. Unlike the others, she hadn't spoken out against the huge undertaking Skullius postulated not just because she was the Commander of the Stark Troops, but also because she would go anywhere with Skullius without question.
Pherdanta found Kintar's boldness distasteful, but then again, she realised that was probably why Skullius had chosen Kintar to be his deputy.
She always had sothing to say that challenged Skullius' declarations.
There was a lull as many considered Kintar's words; they found so sense in them.
The ultimate objective of this group Skullius had created, was to storm Deadmanland and retrieve Skullius' soul. Skullius required powerful allies to help him lay siege on Somanda's tower as he rembered it.
That was what all the Stark Troops had held onto as the final objective, what they were working towards. Perhaps focusing on this was better than trying to save Aigas, especially since Skullius was on a ti limit, they all thought.
The Hybrid Warmoth turned to Kintar and smiled.
"Many lives are at stake here. I believe it isn't right to just leave it at that," he answered succinctly. This was by no ans the best and most convincing answer he could have given, however.
Kintar frowned. Her oval-shaped eyes narrowed.
"Lives at stake? Master, I know you don't have a hero complex. What good cos from protecting millions of commonfolk and only a fraction of experts on this world? Why bother? You've even ascended past the likes of every single one of them. This... This is beneath you," she said.
The Stark Troops found it impressive how Kintar was staring right into Skullius' eyes as she said all this.
Even Skullius himself was a bit surprised, but he didn't let that distract him from the content of Kintar's words.
"Beneath ?" he asked.
"Yes, Master. This IS beneath you. And besides that, you've already given too much for this world. Whatever debt you feel like you owe Aigas for the destruction and death you caused with your battle against your clone, was paid when you killed the masked man, and defeated the Null Devil King. You have had us morise these things. You've done enough for Aigas. If that is the extent of the reason you would have us fight for this world - and we definitely could I reject it."
...
...
While the Stark Troops were dumbfounded at this, the gazes of the other Unlimited Stars softened considerably.
They hadn't thought Kintar's thought process both empathised with what Skullius likely felt and sought to lift the burdens he pressed onto himself.
All of a sudden, even Pherdanta felt ashad for blindly choosing to follow Skullius' order without putting much effort into understanding the reasons behind it.
Did her master really only want to save Aigas because he felt guilty?
Skullius showed no reaction to Kintar's words. She kept staring into his blank eyes, unblinking.
Skullius laughed.
"Once again, I've underestimated just how much those wicked little eyes can see," he said to Kintar. "I admit, a part of does feel guilty, but that's hardly the entire reason behind why I want this. I made a deal, you see. In exchange for a very sturdy transport vessel through the great void, I offered our services to Suzate to help repair the world's order. What I am asking of you might be beneath , as you say Kintar, but it serves the ultimate objective I called on all of you for," he said.
Everyone was smitten dumb, except for Kintar.
She folded her arms in front of her chest.
"You made a deal with Suzate?" she said.
"That's right."
Kintar had not expected that.
She couldn't find a reasonable retort.
The short lady seed to sink into deep thought.
Skullius took the opportunity to raise the moral of his Troops once again.
"Believe , this excursion pales in comparison to what we will have to face after. The undead, as I have co to know, are a greater threat than I anticipated at first" - Soidon scoffed secretly - "and that ans, what we are going to have to do on Aigas is a warm-up exercise to bring yourselves up to standard. If you can overco this, then you will prove your own worth against what you've known you are going to have to fight in the land of the
undead."
Again, the zeal of the Troops rose.
"Boy, does he have a way with words now," Grim whispered into Yuyui's ear. The girl smiled. She, like Pherdanta hadn't been opposed to Skullius' desire to help restore Aigas. She had been there when he made the deal with Suzate, after all.
Elita wore a smirk.
It seed Skullius was going to drag his Troops through an ordeal similar to the ones she had had to endure with Void's tutelage since being whisked from Aigas.
Skullius continued to speak.
"While I've made it seem as though we'll be acting alone. That really isn't the case. We have several allies that I will have us join. But first, I need to stress that this operation cannot take too long. We won't be moving as a single group. I will have you all split into teams led by the Unlimited Stars and my Apostles. Our allies will et with us on the battlefields," he said. Right after saying this, Skullius spread two of his hands outward.
One burned with pitch black darkness, the other with glimring golden white light!
"An Order of this calibre deserves stalwart bodies and souls so that its NA will ring true,"
he said.
Everyone gaped.
For the longest ti, even as a Faction in the Severed Union, this collection of experts had never had a na. Others had called it Bright Storm's Faction or that new, rising band of
fools, but a definitive title had never been assigned. Until today.
Even Kintar was surprised that Skullius had decided to do this now.
"From today onward, we shall be known as the Stark-Soul Order, and with damn good
reason," Skullius declared and [Evil Darkness] and [Just Light] sprang forth to devour all his
subordinates!
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