Aurolio himself had admitted that it would be hard to help Skullius if he got embroiled with the higher status figures within Genhuis City. He might help to offset the effects of what they would do but that was it. This meant that the pale man wasn't willing to add a clause that guaranteed that he would help Skullius in times of need.
Since that was the case, the Hybrid Luman wasn't willing to leap into trouble if he didn't at least get something that he needed. Something extremely convenient for a very, very important piece he had within storage.
For this, he wouldn't budge.
The look in Aurolio's eyes changed.
He puckered his lips and sniffled.
"Hmmm. That's tricky. I do have something with that kind of effect, but the problem is... I have use for it. You don't find things like that lying around everywhere."
The gleam in Skullius' eyes dulled.
If that was the case, then he wouldn't...
"But, I can offer something else," Aurolio said.
Skullius was once again dumbfounded.
Why was this guy so persistent?
The more he thought about it, the more hesitant he became about this.
Why did Aurolio want him to be there when he ventured to kill the Null Badubs at the Reacher Academy so badly?
The Hybrid Luman had a sneaking suspicion that this had to do with things Aurolio had learned from the Book of Alignment. Things he hadn't employed during the first kill he made.
Yes!
That one detail was what had Skullius getting suspicious.
Aurolio must have learned something from what Skullius had revealed to him hours ago, which he hadn't been able to apply when he killed the first Null Badub. After all, if not that, then why was this suddenly an important thing to him?
In any case, this was getting too fishy... and there were no aquariums nearby!
Maybe Skullius was better off just outright rejecting regardless of what the man had to offer.
Yes. Playing it safe was probably better.
The Hybrid Luman had begun to raise his hand to formally put an end to this specific request of Aurolio's, when something else was laid on the table by Idline as per Aurolio's wish.
It was a glowing, worn paper page.
Its edges were so jagged that it was a miracle how the page was still intact. In fact, one would be led to think that the glow on this page was some kind of magical effect keeping the frail piece from turning to dust.
Another ancient artefact!
What was this? The first paper ever to be crafted by man?!
Aurolio had a strained look on his face whose noisy implication he tried to hide with a playful tone in his words.
"I'm reluctant to part with this. Believe me, I am. But I really need your services on this one," he said as he pushed the page to Skullius. "The value of this item can not be understated. Take a look."
While indeed Aurolio had intimidated Skullius into agreeing to this entire deal, he wasn't willing to take it too far. He'd much rather prefer relations based on mutual respect. A first impression couldn't create such a thing, that's why he had chosen force, but further interactions where it was genuine negotiation between two kinda equal parties could.
Skullius frowned and took a glance at the page with the guidance field.
'What could this be?' he wondered.
~~~
[DO NOT TAKE THIS RELIC LIGHTLY, SKULLIUS!]
...
~~~
...!!!
Skullius jerked back.
What the hell?
Did he see that right?
Instead of the details he expected, a prompt in bold, a warning, had suddenly popped up in front of him!
The look of shock in his eyes was misinterpreted by Aurolio who sighed.
"We share that look in common. I couldn't believe my eyes too when I first saw it too," he said.
Skullius froze.
He hadn't seen what the page was yet!
His eyes turned back to the glowing box displaying the text.
It shifted.
~~~
[THINK CAREFULLY BEFORE DECIDING TO KEEP SUCH A THING... SKULLIUS!].
...
~~~
[Please note, (1) piece of Counsel has been used]
Skullius swallowed hard.
Wait. Counsel? What?!
What was...?
Was this...?
Was this a warning from VOW bro?!
It was, wasn't it?!
After so long...!
No! This wasn't the time!
Before he knew it, the warning prompt vanished and allowed Skullius to see what exactly the page was.
~~~
[%##@]
<???>
A page from the [%##@] which contains within it the bound soul of the Corrupted Deity Nunax.
...
~~~
...!!!!
Skullius forgot to breath. He had only read the first few lines of the description, but this was already too much for him to handle!
The b... the bound soul of a Deity?!
No way!
How... how did Aurolio have this?!
Was this real?!
This wasn't some kind of joke, right?!
Would something like that be lying on a table in a mundane human mansion like some simple scrap?!
The Hybrid Luman clutched his forehead.
What had he gotten himself into?
All of sudden, even VOW bro had suddenly appeared to warn him about this, and he had a feeling that the entity had gone through quite a bit of trouble to do something like that, given that it didn't speak to him directly?
Ah, that must have been the guidance field <Counsel> function being exploited, but that was a matter he could consider later.
Before allowing himself to panic further, Skullius read everything else.
~~~
...
Whoever binds themselves to this artefact will receive the chant to summon and enslave the Corrupted Deity Nunax.
---
-Caution-
The soul of a Deity is not so easily bound. Six Trials will be given to the bond. Each, upon successful completion, increase the chances to completely subjugate the sealed Deity.
---
[Sealed beings – 1/100]
~~~
Ah...
Before Skullius could even consider the preposterous implications behind this, he stood up and glared at Aurolio.
"Why in the world would you be willing to give this away?! How did you get it?" he barked.
Aurolio's expression didn't change.
"How and why indeed. Everyone has special traits, Festos. Everyone touched by Existential Parallels. I just happen to have some outstanding ones. I'd love to tell you all about it, as a partner, but I can't do that until we're on the same page," the pale man said.
He wasn't smiling or wearing his usual playfulness.
He was dead serious.
Skullius plopped to the couch.
This...!
What was he supposed to do?
None of this made linear sense at all.
Ever since he met Aurolio, everything he knew was spinning uncontrollably. The progressive nature in which he understood things... how things should be... it was all turning upside down.
Why?
Was this because he and Aurolio, bearers of the powers of Existential Parallels, were anomalies in general?
Regardless, of the reasons, Skullius couldn't help but feel like a bit of trickery was involved here. Trickery and extreme convenience.
'Damn it!' Skullius looked at the description again.
The warning from VOW was gone, but it still kept appearing in his mind. He would be a fool if he didn't take it into account.
But then...
Seriously?
There was really the soul of Deity trapped within the seemingly feeble page?
All signs pointed towards the fact that this was likely true.
And to Skullius, this was too grand!
If he somehow managed to subjugate the soul of Deity, according to the instructions, the Six Trials, then he would have an edge in his endgame.
The inevitable battle against Somanda!
Replicus was building a sufficient force for that purpose. That was the end goal, as far as Skullius was concerned. There may be side quests between and grander objectives after, but Skullius was getting ready to retrieve his soul from the High Lich in the last stretches of time that were left before Doom Factor 2 activated.
That was his goal.
That had always been his goal.
The time crunch was real, and Skullius always tried to not let it impede his morale, but everything was in place.
Planning and caution.
...And when confronted with something like this..
The Hybrid Luman gazed at the pale man.
"I'd be lying if I said this didn't peak my interest. But I thought you said trinketsssss. What more do you have to offer?" he said while feeling the turmoil burning within him.
The debate.
The warnings.
The apprehension.
The logic.
He shut it off and faced Aurolio with a fire in his eyes.
The pale man saw the glow in the Hybrid Luman's eyes and was pleased.
'There's always a right price. I knew it. This man is as mad as I am. For him to even consider it...' he thought, a smile reappearing on his face.
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