"What is wrong with your soul?" Unnio Lak asked.
Skullius was a little taken aback, but then he rembered that the paper cut-out had been able to identify his age sohow.
"It's complicated, but long story short, the rest of it is in the possession of a powerful enemy. I intend to get it back," he said.
"Hmm. I see. That enemy must be very accomplished in the art of manipulating souls. If I were a lesser expert, I might have thought your soul was simply damaged. It's a seriously phenonal feat to split a soul and still have it function as normal. It's different from simply duplicating it in so way."
"I can imagine," Skullius said. "Does this have anything to do with what else I don't know about Nullmancy?"
"You ntioned before a Skill you used to have before becoming a Nullmancer. [Depths of the Core]. It's a common Nullmancer Skill. But as far as I know, it changes once you beco a Nullmancer. Maybe 'changes' is the wrong. More like it expands the focus of its augnts. I believe for Bone, Flesh and Soul Nullmancers, it simply focuses on enhancing their energies, aiding them in understanding them. But afterwards, it becos an ability that does that in addition to altering and enhancing the Bone, Flesh and Soul of the user. Gurron-Lavaan – if I rember correctly – could alter all three aspects of himself using it."
…!!!
Skullius reeled.
"Wait, really?" he asked.
"And I was right again. Do you ever explore your powers at all?"
Skullius secretly gnashed his teeth. He didn't have a retort for this one, as much as he would have loved to weave one. It seed that one of the things he had done during the process to reach Divinity had blinded him to the true potential of his Nullmancer Class.
Skullius or rather his thought phantoms, had combined a lot of his Skills in order to create the [Entropy's Harmonising Nimbus]. All of his Nullmancer Skills had been added. While it wasn't the worst thing in the world, it did hinder him from being able to analyse and spare thoughts for the individual abilities, especially with the amazing overall utility offered by the nimbus.
The Nullmancer abilities had been overshadowed.
To think that [Depths of the Core], which had beco [Mystic Macer] after he beca the Nullmancer, could temper with his soul…
But even if it could do that, was it really more potent than his own ability to manipulate the soul, granted through the power of the Fallen Reincarnator's Shadow?
The bulk of this soul-manipulation capability was localised within the War Body, which Skullius had sacrificed a lot of elents to create, including the Fallen Reincarnator's Shadow itself.
Could the combined power of the effects of [Mystic Macer] and his War Body do sothing about his Doom Factor?
Skullius relaxed.
'Probably not. Maybe if Somanda was still a asly Arch-Lich. I think my best chance to escape Somanda's clutches was to change my race into the Looming Soft Spawn instead of the Colossus Warmoth Progeny back then. But of course, I was insistent on not choosing the coward's way out,' he thought.
(A/N: Refer to Ch.1101.)
As he did, Serenity suddenly rose from her seat.
"Our ti in the Null Verse is coming to a close," she said, almost startling Skullius.
"Already?" the Hybrid Warmoth said.
"We've been here for a while. We took our ti sight-seeing from above. You were drunk off the effect of being ho for several minutes too."
"…Right," Skullius said, scratching his head. That had been his fault. Serenity had allowed him to indulge himself likely because that was probably the only ti he would be able to enjoy that feeling for a while. There was so reason behind why Skullius couldn't just co and go through the Null Verse as he pleased. It was likely linked to the fact that he was an illegal bearer.
"It's a sha," Unnio Lak said as he stood. "I was growing to enjoy your company very much, questions and all. I will miss it."
'Liar,' Skullius mocked. 'You're glad to be rid of us, you hermit.'
But right then, the paper cut-out jerked.
Sothing unseen has caught his attention.
"Well, soone has so exceptional timing," he said and he beckoned them all towards the door.
Once they were outside, they saw it.
Beyond the clusters of stardust that surrounded the multitudes of stationary, different-coloured padogas and shining burst of light from conflicting elents in the high space, the Universal Purge Banner could be seen… graced by the presence of enemies.
The world-sized purple cloth, littered with glinting nas, was being tempered. Or rather, there was an attempt to temper it.
The enemies were riding what looked like a gigantic centipede, white as snow and so long it was hard to see its end. The creature's front limbs were clawing at the Banner, using it to climb while the riders squinted, looking for certain nas.
"Sloppy. Very sloppy," said Unnio Lak as he looked at them. He seed to pity the humanoid creatures limned with shining silver plates of steel: the enemies astride the centipede. They were either overconfident or simply stupid. "Every now and then we get young fools like those who think they can stroll up to the Banner and clear their nas. It's rare but well.... They probably don't have nas on there though. Soone must have hired them or worse, made them a bet."
He pointed at the centipede with his paper hand.
There was approximately forty thousand kiloters worth of distance between the padoga and the Banner. It could be crossed in less than an instant by any expert who guarded the Banner, but Unnio Lak wouldn't bother.
BANG!
The sound didn't co from Unnio Lak's pointed finger, but the massive centipede in the distance. It suddenly ruptured at the middle, as though so horrible detonation had ensued within its body!
Its riders panicked, looking behind them in shock.
There was sothing more sinister than the abrupt bursting of their mount, indeed. There were bugs growing from both of its ends now – beginning with where the creature was torn by the explosion. There was an endless variety to the bugs. They started feeding off the writhing centipede and with each hundred ters of the creature they ate in a second or less, they doubled in size.
It was horrifying sight.
The silver-clad idiots tried to take control of the centipede. It was no use. They had to flee on their own.
Skullius sighed.
'Of course, this bastard had to be this strong despite how ridiculous he looks,' he thought while glancing at Unnio Lak. He couldn't find it within himself to marvel at the paper cut-out's power and what kind of Class those powers hailed from.
He did, however, bring himself to frown and turn when he sensed sothing dreadful from behind him.
Everyone did.
The Null Life Essences in the atmosphere started to heat up so intensely that the padogas were enshrouded in vicious mirages. They might have been made of water.
The distant enemies, preparing to flee suddenly froze in fear. They had sensed it too.
The clusters of stardust and the blinking lights of clashing elents flared brighter before rupturing in chilling explosions.
Space warped and expanded terribly. Suddenly, things that were close were now far, far into the distance.
It beca unbearable to stand in this place. Even a Deity would have found it agitating.
But Skullius didn't. Not with his reserves of Null Life Essence he had at the mont. He shrouded those that needed to be protected from the approaching enemy's pressure.
Unnio Lak didn't need it, and neither did Serenity.
It was clear to all right then.
An Authority of the Null Verse had arrived.
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