Bro, I'm not an Undead!

1264  Rejecting Reverence Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The Unlimited Stars and the rest of the Stark Troops had gathered in the First Layer of the Empyrean Hatcher as soon as they had felt the odd, enticing pressure that forced them to look towards the egg-shaped building. All of them had immediately assumed that it had something to do with their master; who else could it have been?

The Stark Troops donned a variation of what had been the signature suit of armour for the Unlimited – armour sets of blue, white and silver. Each was a Mythical Grade item that Skullius had personally crafted and tweaked to suit the needs of the wearer; he understood the weaknesses and strengths of each of his subordinates, after all. Much of his time in the Timemould Mirror Box had been spent making sure each of his subordinates were up to standard.

"I can't say I'm surprised," Kintar said. She was standing beside Elita who had come striding into the Empyrean Hatcher with Yuyui, Bubbles and Timmit several minutes ago. "I figured it was only a matter of time before mastered achieved Divinity."

Elita had been the one to tell the Unlimited Stars what they had just sensed. Soidon had known as well, but he hadn't been willing to share.

Elita knew all too well what Divinity felt like. She had been battling against beings who had tasted it since she left Aigas.

"I'm the opposite. I didn't think he'd beat me to it," she said with a small smile.

The Unlimited Stars gave her an odd look, especially Kintar. Soidon scoffed silently.

At that moment, the vicious, towering glow that connected the Layers of the Empyrean Hatcher hissed, and two figures walked out of it.

The chatter in the First Layer of the Hatcher immediately died down.

The second Skullius walked in, it was as though all the air rushed out, and all sound was drowned by his immense existence.

The billowing, lead-grey cloud he was adorned with, along with the mostly-hidden, blackish-red armour – strings of Mortal Ruin coiled to form a sturdy armour – gave a significant, impressive impression. His slicked-back, honey-coloured hair with bits of auburn was enchanting, as was his smooth, coin-grey skin with veins of cobalt blue throbbing under it faintly.

His blank eyes, despite being blind sold an illusion to everyone around that they could peer through them to see their darkest secrets.

Skullius had never commanded reverence from his subordinates, preferring to be casual in how he dealt with them, but in this moment his followers felt that the mediocre displays of loyalty and respect they had given until now couldn't suffice any longer.

All at once, the Stark Troops got down on one knee and the Unlimited Stars gave deep bows. The Stark Constellations on their foreheads crackled fiercely with Ju`wtte.

Skullius was surprised by the gestures of his subordinates. The [Entropy's Harmonising Nimbus] sent small bursts of frost issuing around him.

Skullius sighed and scratched his neck. He felt a little embarrassed.

"What are you socketholes doing? As if you giving me full control over your bodies any time I want doesn't prove your loyalty enough? Stand up straight, dammit!" he told them and flicked up a finger.

He used his affinity with Genesis Pull (essentially extreme gravity) to force his Stark Troops to their feet.

Before, some of them would have cracked some wise joke – as Skullius was fond of wisecracked jokes – but now, no one said a thing.

They all gazed at him with dreamy or fearful looks.

"You should have given them their moment, my Liege," the individual beside Skullius said.

It was Beyrmir.

Quite like he did with his master, Beyrmir could infuse his entire body within a host. During the battle against Caxellac, the Apostle had taken over the body of a powerful Cluster beast called a Sallow Face. He was inhabiting it now.

He wore a mask and a cloak of straw – the signature attire of the race.

"You think so?" Skullius said to his Apostle.

"Indeed. There can no greater joy for a subordinate than to find that their master's strength has risen. Your subjects' resolve to follow you has been validated all the more. Allow them to wallow in that delight, my Liege," Beyrmir said.

Skullius considered this. Perhaps Beyrmir was right. He chuckled.

He wouldn't have his subordinates bow to him though.

He saw many of them looking at him with shining eyes. Some avoided looking at him.

The pressure Skullius exuded even while keeping all his powers in check must have held no semblance of likeness to his old self.

Even the Unlimited Stars were acting odd. They took in Skullius' new appearance greedily. If it weren't for the presence of the Stark Troops, whom they commanded, Skullius was fairly certain Yuyui would have started poking and prodding him.

These bastards had behaved the same way when Skullius had become the Warmoth's Progeny back then.

Skullius gave everyone a few more seconds to reel in their wits. He was disappointed when everything became deathly silent. It was going to take a while for everyone to get used to him.

Noticing a few people missing, he asked:

Kintar answered immediately.

"We didn't think it would be safe for them to be here, O Divine one," she said and grinned creepily at Skullius.

'I should have known she'd be immune to whatever I became,' the Hybrid Warmoth thought.

The short woman, other than being a little surprised maintained her daring demeanour towards him.

But that was exactly why he made Kintar his deputy, rather than someone like Pherdanta.

"Good work," he said. Seeing the keen look in Kintar's eye though, he added, "It seems you have something to say."

Kintar's grin toned down and she stepped forward, assuming a formal stance (physical form).

"Yes, Master. While you were gone, I sent scouts to Aigas to check the situation you conveniently forgot to tell us about," she said.

Skullius' phantoms burst into laughter. He ignored them.

"Go on," Skullius said.

All mirth vanished from Kintar's face, and Elita in particular once again found the short woman exuding a pressure that made even her wary.

"It's not looking good. Many powerful humans, Sif and beasts are crossing over into the current Aigas from past times. Most of them aren't experts that can be taken lightly," she said.

The other Unlimited Stars and the Stark Troops donned severe looks on their faces. The effect of Skullius' presence was beginning to wane.

Most of the Troops had not yet been apprised of the situation, so it was hard to swallow what was being said, but it sounded really bad.

"I see," Skullius said.

"It's happening all over Aigas; Feinheath, the seas, Opungale, and even the Severed Union seem to be targets. All these new enemies are either hostile towards everyone or have a specific goal in mind," Kintar continued. She then gave Skullius a particularly sharp look and added, "The greatest numbers of these enemies, of course, belong to the spawn of Boron. They are rapidly overwhelming everything. Pelian is already in shambles, Maqi and Emeradis are holding on. For now."

Skullius sighed.

Now that was dire.

A pang of guilt pinched him.

A part of him was to blame for this.

However, he didn't sink in these soft emotions.

What he really needed now, was to bring his subordinates up to speed on everything he knew about the Cavern and the directive at hand.