Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Chapter 1406: Welcome Home



Indeed (for the umpteenth time) Skullius knew that Serenity was hiding a lot from him. She didn't hide the fact that there was a lot she wouldn't or couldn't tell Skullius for one reason or the other.

So far, an earlier confrontation had revealed to Skullius that Serenity had wanted to flee to another reality and establish herself there. As Serenity wasn't allowed to have a bearer of her Null Life in this one, she wanted to do it in another reality, where she would have all the freedom she could ever desire.

To do this, she had employed the help of VOW to try and smuggle the Books of Alignment reserved for her future bearer, but the plan had fallen through, and in a desperate gamble, Vow made it so that Skullius became a Null Life bearer, even that ended up granting Serenity a punishment.

All this Skullius understood, but there was something Serenity had said in her explanation that had him thinking:

"...once I was gone, Emmae would have one less competitor for worlds."

Indeed, if Serenity had left this reality, Emmae would only have to compete with Void for Rich worlds. But to Skullius, it sounded more like Serenity was fleeing from this reality and leaving Void to be Emmae's problem alone.

As Skullius recalled, only Void had had such a visceral reaction to him acquiring Maximum Jaqquezjaqqz. Sure, it was only natural for Void to react as such since the Exotic Parlous Nature utilised fundamentals of her Void Death, which had never been done before by any being – even a Primeval Deity. It felt like an insult to her.

But Void hadn't just attacked Skullius. She had addressed Serenity, claiming that she had cheated. She accusing her and VOW of developing Skullius as an ace against her.

These clues established Skullius' reasoning, and he was confident in it.

"Are you willing to tell me now, what other plans you had for my existence? You made me to be a weapon against Void, didn't you?" he asked. "You weren't just trying to leave this reality. You were running from Void."

The Tumbling happened right then, but it didn't bother Skullius anymore. He could see Serenity now, and they locked sights amidst the flying starlights. They searched for resolve and truths within the other's being. Skullius was determined to make Serenity spill the beans on this one, nomatter what.

If he was right, then it really had been in Serenity's best interests to hide Skullius' purpose since the very beginning, ever since he began evolving as a Null Lifeform.

After what felt like an eternity, Serenity finally answered.

"I did make you to be a weapon, Skullius," she said. "But it wasn't so that I could defend myself from Void. Void is rather simple in nature. She couldn't hatch a scheme that could pull a curtain over my eyes on her own. She'd need help. Unfortunately, I believe she's got such help."

Skullius reeled.

"What? What kind of help?"

"We are here," Weaver suddenly cut through right then, announcing that they had arrived at their destination. Skullius looked beyond with a shocked expression. He had been so invested in his interaction with Serenity that he hadn't noticed the approaching, widening storm of blues ahead.

Every hue of blue known to living kind splashed from above and hurried to smash into their group.

Skullius didn't feel any pain, but his senses were drawn taut.

An explosion of sensations filtered through his keen sensory abilities and for a moment, he froze solid.

A sky, black but lightly brushed with a series of colours known and unknown, across its boundless body, spread to every end Skullius could currently comprehend.

But this was only the lightest of it.

An infinite number of piercing lights spread across the dark canvas, much brighter than the stars Skullius could see from the Aigas sky at night. They stung his senses, even when they were unimaginable distances away.

They were stars, planets, nebulas, flares, suns, supernovas.

An equal number of incomprehensible phenomena were swimming among these stellar bodies; it was unknown whether or not they were hostile or not. Some looked conscious - from however little Skullius of them saw. Some were elements, Skullius theorised. Some hugged worlds, some destroyed them, others moved them to different positions in the great expansive space.

Skullius couldn't utter a world.

He had never seen the wider reality printed in this form before his sight, but he couldn't imagine it looked the same.

He didn't think it spotted cracks and blemishes like a painting.

He didn't think parts of it lit up with gigantic fireworks of hot blue that flashed harder than any star Skullius could see from this position.

He didn't think the wider reality could ever... ever feel this much like home.

Skullius felt drawn in. Literally.

A sharp tug gripped him and before he knew it, he was another one of the stars he could see below, streaking down at speeds that surpassed his own prowess.

There was no hurt though.

He was cast afire, but he felt comfortable.

He felt himself get edified, accepted, loved.

He got lost in the feeling.

[You have reached the 'Null Verse: Demesne of Proud Limitless Evolvers']

[You are home]

The guidance field seemed to share Skullius' sentiment, but Skullius could hardly pay it any attention.

Deep within his body, his Null Core shone so bright, filling with so much Null Life Essence that, had he felt any pain from it, Skullius would have thought he was going to explode and become another star neatly painted on the Null Verse's canvas.

He did become a sun though.

The light from the Null Life Essence encased him in a field of pressure and light so much more vibrant than Red Rage's saintly radiance.

The Hybrid Warmoth's soul basked in this light. It was so comfortable that he could sleep.

It had been so long since he had rested his head and just given in to sleep.

When last did he enjoy such rest?

His soul remembered. Barely.

A memory of Camilla surfaced, but its wasn't triggered by Doom Factor 2.

Skullius remembered falling asleep with his adopted sister on a couch. His father had covered them both with a blanket, and while a funny cartoon played on the TV, Skullius had drifted into dreamless sleep.