"You have no mory of anything else in your past life? A lover? Children?" said Darwel with the gentlest of smiles, resting on Skullius' shoulder.
"No. Maybe. I don't rember anything except for my adopted sister. There's so much hidden away in the other part of my soul. Perhaps…" said Skullius, and he flexed a finger over one of the two boys cupped in his other arms. The tiny thing grabbed a hold of it and gave a cute laugh. Darwel lted at the sight.
"They love you," she said.
And the twins must have loved Skullius. Their eyes, rich golden-green, never left their father's face. Skullius must have been the single most interesting thing they had ever seen, which was funny, because they looked just like him. Coin grey skin, a sealed pair of additional eyes on their foreheads, four arms… and a natural connection to Ju`wtte.
Skullius was paying close attention to the boys' skin. They could produce Ju`wtte just as easily as he could, and without proper care, they could harm anyone in their imdiate vicinity, including their mother. But Darwel couldn't care less. She let Skullius handle her safety and played with the children's locks of hair. (In the Bosom, the Strawlers had been handling that.) The only distinguishing features on them were their hair; one had honey-coloured hair, and the other, peach-golden hair.
"Do you reckon they'll rember this – rember ?" said Skullius. "They are about as strong as a Master Stager already, so I imagine their brains and bodies are already operating way beyond what they should be for their age, but..."
Darwel looked at him.
"If they don't, I'll remind them," she said. "But why would you be worried about such a thing?" She narrowed her eyes. "Is it because…"
"Yeah," said Skullius with a grave look. "I don't an to be morbid, but I'm taking a foolish risk – a trendously foolish gamble. I have every prospect to take back what's mine and return alive, but it's not like my enemies are statues. I could just as easily die before I can so much as see the Lich I want upon reaching Deadmanland. This could be my last ti…"
Darwel reached in and kissed his neck. Skullius closed his eyes, savoring it… and blocked a spark of Ju`wtte that flew from his son's finger, aiming at Darwel. The little boy giggled.
"I don't think you believe that," said Darwel, pulling Skullius' face so that he faced her.
"What?"
"That you will lose."
"I'm trying not to stoke my ego too much."
"Maybe you should." Darwel held one of her sons' hands and kissed it. "Embrace it completely. I'm sure you're going to be fighting people who stoke their own egos as well. You have sothing to fight for, too. More to fight for, in fact." She picked up one of the boys and raised him high. "I want you to co back to us and say in confidence that you overca everything with your own strength. No doubts."
Skullius chuckled. That was such a mortal thing to say, but he could get behind it.
His Order was growing. It wouldn't do if he didn't reach so threshold of ego, as its leader. He was the Null Devil King too, after all.
"You're right. You're absolutely right," he said.
There was another reason he needed to embrace ego, it seed.
'How long are they going to continue poking their noses in my business?'
Skullius could still feel it. There were eyes watching from a distance, from a dinsion far removed from where Aigas was.
Was it who he thought it was?
A guidance field notification tore his attention away from the thought.
[Your LIMITED CONTRACT with JOISEN ANTERRAS has been voided]
'What?' Skullius frowned.
What in the world did that an?
…
…
anwhile, sowhere within Breaking Chasm #90…
Skullius shook his head and made the helm from his Garmma Mail disappear. He propped Storm Baker on his shoulder and appraised JOISEN ANTERRAS' body.
It should have been a piece of cake. Because of his Limited Contract with Skullius, JOISEN ANTERRAS had obtained the ability to use Second Divine Sinew, a Parlous Nature that duplicated the user down to the Broader Existence. Future Skullius had managed to pinpoint the bastard's location with COLMUUN's help, catching him by surprise and killing his original body, but the clone had escaped using an Andori Skullius did not know about.
"Whatever," said Future Skullius. "Look. They're coming. I wonder if they'll give a warm welco." He pointed into the distance, past the line of gargantuan mountains of poison darkness ahead.
A formation of Deities was approaching, imnsely wary. They could sense Skullius' overwhelming presence despite the distance, and they knew they didn't stand a chance. What llowed their guard ever so slightly, giving them the courage to co forth, was the corpse of a Prival Deity.
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