(A/N: Bonus Chapter).
A light that seemed to have been paid to do its job well, unlike the previous ones lining the corridor that Skullius had been walking through before reaching this ring-like section on the Temple, swooped down from above, giving sufficient visibility.
Not that Skullius needed it, but Ferex surely did.
It came from a window high up, designed to match the exact shape of this space.
“Oh…” Skullius murmured in surprise, his senses picking up a variety of shapes within this spot that housed beautiful patterns of mana!
Numerous full sets of armour and robes were neatly arranged in a circle, some having toppled over but in great condition nonetheless, before them a plethora of weapons and tools that brimmed with power and various effects on display to show that they were not some hunks of junk!
One particular robe drew in Skullius’ attention immediately, dragging his focus from everything else around. It was made from a thick, rich fabric that vibrantly exhumed a charming yet powerful authority, the mana in the walls and air seeming to constantly be drawn to it.
In front of this set of robes, a lengthy staff which had double the charm and authoritative presence bellowed with power while floating in mid-air, with a faint halo over it that traced its build all the way to the orb dug into its end, as if to show both dominance and holiness!
“Woow. This is… beautiful…” Skullius said as his blind eyes sparkled. He couldn’t appreciate this with sight but [Elevated Mana Manipulation] did an equally impressive job in making sure he did.
In front of the other sets of protective regalia were powerful weapons as well, some dug into the clean floor while others floated like this staff, the rest being wielded in the hands of the armour sets.
There was so much here!
Skullius could even sense a magnificent crown that didn’t release bursts of mana but pure Aura!
Thickets of golden, suffocating Aura that created multiple layers around it in a gorgeous, rainbow fashion.
Ferex’s lit sockets flickered.
Even he was TEMPTED.
Skullius couldn’t help it as well.
After the hard fought battle, to see this glorious set of loot presented readily before him surely made him smile.
This was a grand reward.
One could even say TOO grand.
“Let’s see this staff first!” Skullius said with his usual enthusiasm. “I can’t appraise it without using [Crude World Projection], but… screw it, I want feel how the mana is woven inside it!”
Skullius reached for the staff, his grubby hands tou-
“STOP YOU FOOL!”
The Discount Human shook as he hadn’t expected to be interrupted by the aged piece of soul who had been ignoring his calls since he exited the Ground of Communion!
Skullius almost stumbled to fall on the staff and robes before his attuned body caught itself.
“What the flesh is wrong with you, Sila?!” he barked.
“You’re the one with the problem, tomato flinger! You were just about to doom our fate! You trust that bloody mana manipulation skill of yours too much! It’s not so powerful that it can’t be fooled!”
“What are you talking about?! I just saved us back there, didn’t I?! And also, where on earth were you all this time?!”
“….”
Sila grumbled silently, rage puking out of his soul.
“Saved us your tomato flinging ass! You were reckless! We could have died because you suddenly threw away all reason!”
“Well yeah! Of course I did, bro! If whatever I do, whether hidden or not gets me in trouble, wherever I go something just has to follow up because of this damned atrocious luck, then what’s the point of acting safe?! Unlike you, I’ve had to walk around fearing death since I got here, and guess what? It works best when I just dive in without fear! So bite me, you sockethole!”
“Wh… bite you?! Forget it, tomato flinger. You’re as stubborn as ever. However, you should know we could have died countless times over in that fight. Maybe you couldn’t see it because it is so much easier to regenerate your flesh but our souls could have been destroyed by that damn Spirit’s blade from the very first moment it touched us.”
This revelation caused Skullius to pause.
In truth, it wasn’t outlandish and Skullius had thought that he wouldn’t get off without a few more percentages in Doom Factor 2 but now…
“Really? How are we alive then?” he asked Sila seriously.
“Hmph! For that, you have the Reflection of your soul to thank,” the Tower General said with a scoff.
“My what?”
“Right. You don’t know this. Of course! And I have to be the damn teacher,” Sila shook with annoyance. “The Reflection of the soul is an entity in your soul that resembles you and grows along with you. It protects the soul against external influence, or at least it should. Everyone with a soul has one, but it’s not something you can consciously groom.”
Oh.
To Skullius this was news.
And indeed, one would recall that this was what Ferex came across when he was charged with founding out details about Skullius in his soul. Ferex couldn’t quite articulate his experience with the thing, as mental communication wasn’t image sharing or inherently more apt when compared to speech, especially when considering that Skullius’ Apostles were a boar and a wolf.
Mental communication dealt with intent, at least as far as the specific Apostle to Skullius channel was concerned.
Yet, indeed.
The burly skeleton with both the powers of Null Life and Insurgency…!
That was Skullius’ Reflection!
Of course, its state back then was insufficient when it came to even dealing with the invading will of Damilla for instance, allowing her to extract much information.
As such, it seemed inconsistent to assume that this same Reflection had negated soul damage from a beyond Legendary weapon, but then, hadn’t Skullius changed?
Hadn’t his soul been quivering, copying the progress that he had been making all this time and imprinting it on itself as seeds of information that could later be replicated?
Would his Reflection remain weak when it was the first to devour this progress?
Obviously not.
But how strong had it gotten?
Well…hehe.
Furthermore, the Spirit Blade of Cessation dealt with souls to a lesser extent than it did with life energy, cutting off an individual’s life. Thus this effect wasn’t as exaggerated.
Sila explained much of this to Skullius who mulled it over, finding the concept interesting.
“I had thought that hiding with your Reflection would be safer than to indulge your reckless charge but… that bastard… Anyway, don’t touch anything you see here, tomato flinger!” Sila warned.
“You still haven’t mentioned why,” Skullius said.
“It’s obviously not real! It’s a cheap trap to take advantage of your recklessness after the victory from the Ground of Communion! It’s another cruel test to see if the successful entrant is not obsessed by outward beauty or material treasures! You’re still underestimating this order of psychopaths, aren’t you?”
“It’s not real?” Skullius focused his senses on every single detail.
On the treasures that were lined up and those that had fallen.
It all felt real to him. Even his [Elevated Mana Manipulation] told him so.
Was Sila fleshing with him?
Skullius couldn’t tell, but the cons of it turning to be true after he stubbornly resisted the warning were too great.
Thus he let it be.
“<Sigh>. You have much to learn, tomato flinger,” Sila said with a pitying sigh.
“I don’t want to hear that from the sockethole who tried to backstab once again! You really thought I’d give you my body if you pushed me far enough, didn’t you?!”
“I could have! Besides, you are very well aware that we’re enemies! Expect a knife in the back of your soul from an old relic like me every time!” Sila hissed. “Now get moving, we’re almost there.”
Shameless!
Skullius slapped his forehead before he and his roasted self trudged on, continuing with the narrow corridor after giving one last glance at the many treasures he could have salvaged.
Unfortunately, Sila was right.
It was all a lie.
The arrays on the walls made sure to hide traces of the blood and bodies of those that fell for this trick to remove a certain degree of suspicion from new entrants.
Most fell for it.
For those that managed to see beyond this, a greater reward awaited ahead and Skullius had finally reached it after a short, nearly pointless interlude.
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