Chapter 978 Why So Stingy?
While using the full manifested form of his [Son of Luserus] skill, Skullius had a vast sensory range enabled by the fact that the skill itself improved the quality of how Luminant he was – if it could be postulated in that manner.
According to Luserus, the reason why the skill hadn't worked for Skullius before, was because he was diluted, with the cosmetic body he had combining aspects of his former Discount Human form and the proceeds from the Luminant Seed, which granted him the bodily qualities of a Luminant.
Of course, the one who made Luminants and the skill they used to ascend into beings made of light – Luserus – would be able to allow Skullius to use it without prerequisite, and as a result, the absolute control Skullius felt from the surrounding mana increased significantly.
As a result, the Hybrid Luman had been able to sense finely how Ashema's ability to incarnate into other vessels worked.
Right after he had blasted him with a brutal punch earlier, one unaided by the properties of his weight while in the light form, Ashema's body had literally been reduced to burning chunks, yet he had managed to use his blood to keep himself alive. By inserting the blood into a corpse, he was able to replace the cell composition, change the texture of the tissue and intrinsically rewrite the genetic structure until it fit his own.
Skullius didn't know how this was possible. As far as he was concerned, Ashema's blood would have to carry his soul to be achieve something like this, and maybe that was the case. The only person he knew to be able to do something similar to this, was Vali, but there were dire costs.
The Hybrid Luman had kept this ability of Ashema's in mind throughout their fight and only now, when he had him trapped, did he confirm something he had been wondering about.
The dark creature could use whatever that ability was even when paralyzed on unconscious, or rather, as long as he wanted to, his blood would revive him even if he perished unceremoniously.
This was the only way Skullius could explain how unconcerned Ashema was being even when he had him in the palm of his hand.
He even had a suspicion that Ashema's current body wasn't even his original. Maybe that was left in Feinheath, where he emerged. Maybe.
"Civility, ey?" Skullius said to Ashema's words. "Sure. I suppose that could work. I admit, trying to torture or kill you… permanently at least, might waste a bit too much time. So, let's share."
Ashema cackled.
"It's quite funny, your attempt to sound dignified while admitting that despite your freakish powers you can't quite kill me," he said haughtily. "Then again, perhaps I might be pushing my luck. I have a bit of mouth on me. I can't help it."
"I noticed," Skullius said.
"Mind releasing me from this place so we can have our chat?"
Skullius tilted his head.
"Civility and trust are two different things. You can easily run away from me if I just release you," he said.
"Of course, I can, but you underestimate how much I want to know about this place. You're the only 'rational' individual I've found since coming here. I killed my fair share of creatures here, yes, but that was only after they refused…civility."
Skullius wore an exasperated look on his glowing face.
"Really?" he said, doubtful.
While he was blind, he was capable of sensing everything in the [Perfect Light Domain] perfectly. He could 'see' Ashema's face quite well, coupled with the twisted horns and… unnatural skin.
This brother looked as untrustworthy and as devious as could be. Hearing him talk about civility was one thing, but the claim that he had tried to converse with humans…seemed preposterous.
Beyond that, when Skullius' affinity of control for [Just Light] reached the S rank, he acquired the ability to shape light however he saw fit, and by taking advantage of the element's characteristics – CONTROL and GUIDING – he was able to bend [Just Light] into creating ridiculous phenomena.
The Heart of Revelation, a concept he copied from the Primary attack function of Rayn's Majestic Territory, Deific Moonlight Paradise, was forged after Skullius combined his knowledge of light from the rise of his [Just Light] affinity, and the mechanisms behind [Son of Luserus]'s active ability.
Revealing was a property of light, and to some extent, that could be attributed to its ability to CONTROL. Thus, Skullius had imbued his understanding of this into his skills to manage this ridiculous feat.
As such, at the moment, Skullius could see even the minute palpitations of everything within Ashema's body – a result of him widening the effect of the Heart of Revelation into the [Perfect Light Domain].
He wasn't fully convinced that the creature was being truthful. His soul, portrayed as a smoky substance partly entangled with his flesh, was trembling… but there was a consistency to it, as though that was its natural state instead of it being a reflection of truth or lies.
Skullius sighed.
'What am I doing? I don't know much about the behavior of the soul anyway,' he thought.
He snapped his finger and the domain vanished, revealing once again the overwhelming sorrow of this particular night.
Ashema dropped to the ground from a high altitude.
'Ah, that's right. We were in midair…' he thought.
Soon, he landed on his feet on the ground and began to stretch his hands, happy to see that he had full control of his body again. The uncanny loss of his ability to move in that brilliant, picturesque space his foe had created was truly unique.
He looked around and saw his furry companion looking at Skullius, who had also dropped from the sky with deep malice from the short distance. He quickly gestured for him to calm down.
Skullius lost his radiance, returning to his normal form, auburn hair and all, dark robe and all. Even the glow of the Heart of Revelation was gone.
"I see you didn't run," he said with a light smile.
"Don't patronize me," Ashema said as he called for his scythe into his hand. "Who gets to babble first?"
Skullius conjured a simple chair out of [Evil Darkness] and sat down.
"I'll go first, if you don't mind," he said.
Ashema looked at his little trick with a bit of scorn… and replicated it, sitting on a bigger chair of deep black.
"Fair enough."
For a moment, the two observed silence while locking sights.
It didn't seem to mean much to either of them that a small portion of Opungale was in flames, thousands dying. The smoky evidence of this could be glimpsed from above the canopies and high mountains.
Skullius felt the urge to go and save more lives, but he ignored it. He was genuinely interested in inquiring about certain things from Ashema, such as:
"You speak really well. At least, whatever you're using to translate works quite efficiently. Why then did you stutter nonsense when we first met?"
"What?"
Ashema looked as though he wanted to burst into laughter. He recalled exactly which moment Skullius was talking about, but was quite surprised that he was even interested in that. He had indeed groaned a few incomprehensible words when he met Skullius in his Projected form by the shore.
"I'd been having trouble talking to individuals from this world, especially when I used my native tongue. The weaker ones died as soon as I started speaking. I was just wondering if you were worth my time is all," he said.
Skullius nodded and then shook his head.
"I see. What about your abilities? I've noticed that you don't use any form of energy to activate them. How does that even work?"
Ashema crossed his arms over his terrifying armor.
"Hold on, I'd like to interject. Why is it that you all need energy to use your powers in the first place? Lord Boron made it so that such is unnecessary for my kind. Are the Traitorous Deities that stingy?"
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