The spectators were still doing a poor job at spectating. Where they had been able to see Skullius as a grey trail, now they couldn't even see that much. The light within the space was blinding and it seed as though so many things were happening at once.
As soon as Skullius assud that majestic form they witnessed, everything had turned to chaos. A great beast of darkness and light had appeared above him like so fearso Deity cursed to shield him always, and the world had trembled. Sun-like flares had nearly turned their cornea inside out and then a fierce heat had licked them, nearly cooking them to dium rare.
The four would have died countless tis if not for Skullius' protection.
But soon, things settled. They could see the tiled space again, and Nunax.
However…
Aurolio was leaking sweat profusely. His eyes were honed in on certain items in Skullius' possession. He couldn't take his eyes off them.
"Hey. Elita. Tell you can—"
"Yeah," the forr Paladin Champion cut him off. Her eyes expelled the sa emotions as his, focused, confused and afraid. "I can see."
Her Voided Death Essence was shuddering, threatening to spill out of her body too, just like his.
This had never happened before. Even when Void had manifested her presence from Uyuniya's Void Clot and tried to kill Skullius earlier, Elita's Voided Death Essence hadn't reacted in this manner. In this mont, she felt it harm her flesh and soul. It caused her great panic.
All this was happening because (and she was very sure) of the weapons in Skullius' hands.
No. It wasn't just the weapons. It was also because of that spine wrapped around him, and the bone that made his chausses. Even to her eyes, she couldn't quite tell the make of its properties – nothing but its shape. She wouldn't have even been able to tell what colours it took if soone asked.
Elita gulped.
"What do you think it ans?" Aurolio asked her.
"I…I don't know." She shook her head.
It was sothing tied to Void, she could have imagined, but nothing beyond that.
Kenno frowned at the two of them.
"What are you talking about?"
Before the Void Users could respond, however, sothing stole everyone's attention. It happened outside the tiled space.
Ju`wtte exploded from the open space. A rift was created into the Empyrean Bosom, and sothing fell with a great thud onto one of the golderaldglass pathways. It was a large treasure chest by the looks of it, and faintly, traces of [Just Light] and [Evil Darkness] could be seen over its lid. It was sealed quite thoroughly.
Just when the group was frowning at this mystery, sothing else occurred.
Millions of rifts opened right then… before imdiately closing.
Millions of people burst onto the scene, looking confused and afraid. The Empyrean Bosom was wide enough to accommodate them all, it seed, if only barely. They were packed like sardines, and panicking, their voices like a single, many-toned one. Brands of golden white could be seen on each of their foreheads.
Their arrangent avoided the bounds of the tiled space, however, courtesy of Susu`k. It would have been disastrous if they were caught in the leftover damage from Skullius and Nunax's battle upon entering the Empyrean Bosom.
And in that mont, there very well could have been vaporised if even the slightest bit of carelessness was exercised.
***
Future Skullius loosened his arrow right when Ju`wtte blazed in the Empyrean Bosom and revealed the chest.
His arrow, laced with Enlightened Ju`wtte aid for Nunax… but it also didn't.
It had covered half the distance between them when it suddenly crashed against an obstacle; Skullius had caused a wall of solid darkness to obstruct it. When the two t, an explosion of light bared its fangs against everything nearby.
Nunax had been prepared to dodge the arrow, but luck wasn't on her side.
The light that blazed from its impact with the wall of darkness caught up with her and fried her soul body right then. She scread in agony.
The Sovereign of Refined Anarchy didn't mount another attack while she succumbed. Instead, he turned his attention to the chest that had just appeared outside. He had noticed it as soon as it appeared.
'Did that fool finally realise that he can't open it?' he thought.
That chest belonged to Fulgardt. Skullius had found it in the Labyrinth of the Yoke back when he acquired the Insurgent Magnus powers. He had been unable to open it back then because it required a high affinity with both [Just Light] and [Evil Darkness].
The plaques written by Fulgardt himself ntioned that a certain Mantle, a terribly powerful weapon, was stowed away in that treasure chest. All one needed to do was open it, and that power would be theirs.
But the phrase high affinity didn't quite explain the kind of power required to open the chest.
As it stood, between the current Skullius and Fulgardt, only the latter would be able to open it. That was likely why the younger Skullius had thrown it here. He was hoping that when it was ti to fight Fulgardt, who likely knew about this chest, the Immoral wouldn't be able to access the chest and its contents.
Future Skullius scoffed.
But right then, millions of people appeared in the Empyrean Bosom; it was younger Skullius' assurance against needless collateral.
'Hmm. Looks like I'm behind schedule. That sockethole is already preparing to fight Fulgardt. Things must be heating up on Aigas,' the Sovereign thought.
He imdiately conjured darkness around the tiled space, obscuring what was happening inside it from the masses outside. This barrier of darkness would also hold back the fallout from his battle with Nunax.
'Unfortunately, unless I access the Second Phase of the War Body, I won't be able to beat Nunax any quicker,' Skullius thought. But he was fine with that. Surely, Skullius could fight Fulgardt for a while without a tad Corrupted Deity of his own to counter Fulgardt's.
In any case, Future Skullius couldn't afford to start attacking faster even if he wanted to. If he dried himself of Amras now, he would simply lose. Nunax was still a competent opponent after all.
The Corrupted Deity supported the sentint right then.
After weathering the agony from the light, she gnashed her teeth and decided to use a reckless trump card. It wouldn't do to expel all of her Exotic Parlous Natures one by one until one of them landed so damage on Skullius, after all.
Thus, she would look inward now and end it all.
This end began with her Broader Existence.
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