Chapter 929 The Hard Bargain (2)
Serenity had been bound for quite a while.
It was on that day when Skullius had conversed with Aurolio for the first time, getting enlightened on what was truly going on: the value of the Book of Alignment; the complexity of the Existential Parallels; the obscure, but essential prize buried in Rich worlds.
That was day when Serenity's presence had been sealed by Aurolio.
She had been trying to warn Skullius about interacting with another bearer of an Existential Parallel.
Skullius had met one before, well two, and Serenity knew, but because Skullius was so weak back then, she couldn't intervene.
Even if she could, Elita was just like Skullius at the time. She knew nothing about Null Life Essence and Voided Death, was thus, harmless.
The other, well...
The pale man's presence screamed of danger, and Serenity had tried to interrupt the interaction, but Aurolio got the better of her. He had an especially good grasp on his Voided Death Essence than Skullius with his Null Life Essence.
For the past month, Serenity could only watch as many atrocities were drawn to Skullius, and how overcame or succumbed to them.
It was tedious and annoying, especially when he confronted them with his Insurgent Magnus powers instead of his Null Life powers.
The former, her dislike of it aside, had tragic consequences that grew without Skullius knowing. Well, she couldn't warn him of them in her imprisoned state, which she regretted.
In the meantime, she chose to look in on the golden child, the other Skullius, who grew his Null Life prowess splendidly.
Even though he was far, she could still discern everything to do with him.
Her pride at his growth aside – just one Tier away from the prime he needed to reach – she also noticed a positive in Replicus grooming this power, which far exceeded her expectations.
'Magnificent...' she had said.
...
Right now, though, as Serenity stood by Skullius' side as he faced off the invisible will with a confident, mysterious grin, she couldn't help but pin together all her previous deductions with what the Hybrid Luman had just said.
'...I won't need you for much longer, Serenity...'
Serenity sighed silently.
'I thought as much.'
She chose to watch the proceedings without a word.
Skullius spoke again, haughtily, but his tone was devoid of baseless arrogance. He seemed to know a lot more and have a lot more than he realistically should.
"It's good that you remember him. You're about to reward that same man's effort. After all, this body you see, is the last that remains of your precious Luminants."
Serenity grew tense at those words.
The world around Skullius and her shook vibrantly.
The Hybrid Luman's declaration struck many cords with the Deity.
<All of them... are gone?>
The chilling might droning from the voice descended, but Skullius no longer felt his body get skewed by it, courtesy of Serenity by his side. It was just like when she stood between him and the ascended Somanda months ago.
"Come now, Luserus. Surely you should have known."
<YOU DARE SPEAK MY NAME SO CASUALLY!>
The world twisted as though spun violently by a gargantuan calamity twice its size!
Skullius neither saw nor acknowledged it. He continued to smile and speak relaxedly.
"Please, don't waste your energy," he said before pointing ahead of himself at the empty air.
In the real world, his battered body pointed at the shrine with a broken finger.
"Every world has Rules. They are both a privilege and a duty for Deities, you know. I know even you, as a Deity like Quintess, Listafelle, Suzamete and Boron can't breach into this world as you please. I know that much already, so you can stop your feeble attempts at scaring me," Skullius chuckled.
"The only reason you are able to reach into Aigas is because the Luminant who built this shrine was devout and so were his peers. Their blessings and prayers to this shrine over millenia amassed bits of the powers you gave them into it, creating a tether that allowed you check in. Of course, no one but a Luminant could detect your will and the power held within the shrine until I came along. You're wasting your limited window into this world with all these theatrics. You wanted to bless the remains of your dear Luminants, right? Well here I am."
A bolder, more potent silence took over this time.
Everything Skullius said was true.
Strangely so.
Rules were created by Deities to protect a world from turning chaotic either from within its own bounds or from outside forces.
One of the more common Rules was that no outside forces could simply come in uninvited and it was, for the most part, absolute, depending on the Deity, or Deities who created the Rule.
Of course, there were ways to bypass this. Very specific loopholes that were, by all accounts, uncommon.
Skullius himself was the best example.
Creatures from the outside could latch onto beings with great connections to them, but they themselves had to be extremely powerful to utilise such connections. Somanda had been able to do this after transcending into Divinity, using the tether that was Skullius' soul.
Serenity was also the same. Though, in her case, the more Skullius grew, the stronger her ability to resist Rules became.
Of course, with regard to Somanda, he had even been able to breach Rules prior to becoming a divine Lich: once, with the mysterious skeletal artefact, SoSei; and also, with the mysterious portal that sent Skullius into Aigas in the first place.
Both, were tied to a being the Lich – and all others of his kind – idolised, a creature with a higher standing than most.
...
Skullius waited for a response.
He was quite patient.
Luserus indeed had limited access to this world. The powers that remained in the shrine from his loyal Luminants facilitated this event, but too bad for him, it wasn't what he expected.
Instead of meeting his beautiful creations, he was met with this conniving being who eerily reminded him of the greedy monster that fought Dezrael back then.
He could tell that there was a connection, but it seemed more than that even at glance.
It almost seemed as though...
<You are too confident in the fact that I would give you everything intended for my children. They prayed to me everyday even after being forcefully exiled, asking for nothing, and committing only to me for the sake of love. You are nothing like them. Why should I reward an empty vessel like you?>
The seething fury in the voice was unmistakable.
Indeed. It was foolish to assume a god could turn over for something like this.
Unless...
Skullius shook his head.
He raised the linen shirt he wore under the robe of [Evil Darkness] and [Just Light], exposing his torso.
On it, was an X-shaped black tattoo that crossed his chest immaculately.
The Binds of Fukal.
Skullius pointed at it.
lightsΝοvεl ?οm "I'm not a fool, Luserus. As powerful as you may be. As powerful as Deities may be. You are all bound to create worlds and living things for a reason. It's not a mere excursion born out of boredom, is it?" he said. "Do you know why this brand exists on my body? It's to deny you strength. I rejected every blessing and curse your kind gave. I rejected it all. It works the other way too, doesn't it? Giving you Deities nourishment. Your precious Luminants may not be the reason you are alive, but they sustain something about you, don't they? You may be a god, but you were moral once."
Skullius scoffed at the silence that followed.
He knew he was right.
Serenity was immensely surprised that he knew all this.
"A Deity like you can't create another world and an entire race so casually, can you? You would have made another set of Luminants, if you could. Let me help with that," Skullius said and pulled his shirt down. "Let's make a deal. I will sire you an entire generation of Luminants who will know, love and be faithful to you, customs, traditions and all. I have prime selections of willing females here."
The Hybrid Luman then grinned and raised three fingers.
"In exchange, you will grant three measly – well, bold – wishes of mine without question."
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