Chapter 1579: The Impossible Choice (2)
"You’re going to pick a species. I’m going to pick another, and Weaver will bring forth the third. I want to merge at least three of these racial powers into this next Apostle."
Kenno was more confused than anything else. If there was an aspect he didn’t quite understand about his master, it was how his ability to create Apostles worked. When he studied the (gracefully) dumbfounded face of Red Rage, however, he discovered that what Skullius was saying must have been inconceivable.
But Skullius didn’t care for these two’s doubts.
"It should be possible with what Unnio Lak said about Nullmancy," Skullius said, his confidence building.
Indeed. He was determined to make it a possibility. There was no greater boon than that which could be extracted by combining the powers of the Supreme Qualifier Amamm, the Cabbaline Chalice of Exceedance and Exodus, and the Maverick Wafer.
’If even the Warmoth tried to search for the Amamm, this thing must definitely have been powerful. I mean, I’m not sure how it would work if the Amamm actually granted me the ability to become one of the Authorities of the Null Verse – whether I could wield that power outside the Null Verse or not – but the other abilities this thing gives are treasures enough.’
Unfortunately, Serenity was no longer here to answer such questions for Skullius. The Hybrid could already feel the void she’d left behind. But he didn’t dwell on that. The nuances that came with obtaining a dominion were irrelevant.
The Supreme Qualifier Amamm also granted its user (or rather, its master, since it was a living thing) incredible Null Life Essence manipulation abilities, supposedly on the level of the Nulliergraphers, along with the ability to temporarily change Classes. With the way the latter ability was framed...
’It seems as if I can access any Class in the Null Verse, which is... ridiculous. I don’t even know a lot of them,’ Skullius thought, excitement gushing through him. ’Just being able to wield Forcemancy, like Caxellac, would chance the entire course of this battle, not to mention my endgame with Somanda!’
...But there were more prospects than this. Oh yes, Skullius also wanted the Cabbaline Chalice of Exceedance and Exodus.
The instant he’d read about its connection to the Chubby Remnant Child of Polarity, Skullius had decided he needed to get it for the power of its Blessings alone.
Back when Skullius accepted his first mission against a powerful Cluster in Genhuis City, he had defeated a race of creatures known as the Fire Breeders. Their Cluster General had possessed a powerful artefact, a throne that had three eggs embedded into it, all of which fed on the energy the throne drew from the surroundings.
(A/N: Refer to Ch.487-488.)
One of these eggs later on became Yuyui’s companion, Bubbles.
Another one of these eggs became the impeccable experiment that later on bloomed into Araeyn.
But for the last egg, Skullius had used it immediately after usurping the throne of the Cluster General. He had applied [Unbound] to the egg and a hideous creature had been born... only for the guidance field to call it a consumable.
Yuyui had protested against Skullius’ eating the thing to extract the benefits it gave, but the Penetrator had done so all the same, earning stupendously good luck in exchange of being afflicted by abhorrent luck later on.
To this day, Skullius didn’t regret eating the Chubby Remnant Child of Polarity.
If it weren’t for the good luck it gave him, he likely would have never gotten access to the Eternal Storm Veil Penetrator species for his second evolution, which granted him the ability to create a copy of himself: the [Brisk Storm Avatar]. Without this ability, which, down the line, created Replicus, who retained Skullius’ values, while his original body was smothered by the WILLS of Fulgardt, Skullius’ fate would likely have been...
’I’d say the abhorrent luck I got in exchange for that boon was tame too. Somanda reaching Divinity was bound to happen either way. Whether the Remnant Child helped him or not, everything worked out as well as it could have. If the Chalice has anything remotely close to such a powerful pull on fate, I need it. It’s got offensive abilities. Banishment. If such an ability can be used to move entire realms conveniently... I’ll want that too.’
But there was a caveat. Unlike the Amamm, which was so mysterious that even VOW either couldn’t give it a Flaw or saw it needless, the Cabbaline Chalice did have one. Apparently, only someone with the ability to use Focused Null Life Ota could use it. Like the Four Authorities of old.
’What the flesh is Focused Null Life Ota, though? It seems like some advanced version of Null Life Essence, but... if it’s something so precious, how come even Caxellac didn’t use it? Was it a part of his stripped dominion or did he not have access to power like that?’
Divine creatures of the Null Verse did not possess Amras, or wield Andori, Treasures, or generate Parlous Natures. Skullius had even wondered how the Warmoth had gotten access to the Treasures in his Treasury.
The first theory he crafted when wondering about Focused Null Life Ota was that it might have been the Null Verse’s version of Amras, only, it had to be leagues more powerful given how the Authorities of the Null Verse didn’t all have it. But was that true?
Again, Skullius lamented his inability to simply ask Serenity about this.
Perhaps Weaver knew, but he was currently embroiled in a battle against Fulgardt. In all honesty, Skullius was surprised the three Apostles contending against the Immoral had managed to stall him for this long.
Speaking of the Immoral...
’With the power of the Maverick Waver, I just might win this battle comfortably,’ Skullius thought. Cycling through this thing’s information, he couldn’t help but clench his fist tight to contain himself. ’The ability to turn my opponents into books and study them extensively, even their Broader Existences... The Primeval Deities would hunt me down again if they found out I had such an ability.’
Then it dawned on Skullius right then.
His enemies were going to increase manyfold if he was careless.
The Primeval Deities were connected to the Voice of Worlds in ways that even he couldn’t comprehend. They drew information from it, anything it presented to its users and probably more.
Skullius scowled.
Future Skullius had entered a Contract with COLMUUN to keep all the Primeval Deities Skullius had pissed off earlier at bay.
If they found out he had yet another ability they could exploit...
’I need to learn how to mask others from my guidance field. Better yet, I have to stop anyone from seeing everything I gain!’
The Hybrid Warmoth cursed.
He had yet to fully confirm how to combine the species of Null Lifeforms he wanted into Nunax’s corpse and yet another problem had appeared, with a solution he had yet to figure out.
’Damn it!’
The Hybrid Warmoth’s enemies were powerful and unpredictable, indeed.
Nothing exemplified this better than what unfolded before Skullius just when the turbulence from the battle yonder once again caused Edagon to sail further north of Aigas.
Fulgardt graceful appeared several meters from the Hybrid... alone.