Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Chapter 1011  Daughters, Plural

Skullius and Embrell walked down a set of decrepit steps surrounded by worn, cracked walls that produced lively weeds. Neither needed light to watch for the next step even in the thick darkness, though, if someone would have watched their descent to the doorway ahead for the next few minutes, it would have looked more than eerie.

No words were exchanged between the two of them.

For Embrell, it felt uncomfortable, but for Skullius, it was bliss. He had a lot to think about, and this silent excursion was best used to think through what he was going to be doing in the next few days, starting from his ride to Maqi.

However, he hadn't gotten to that yet because…

'Tomato flinger! I will keep pestering you until you remember who you are! You have to save yourself! Don't let this go on any longer! You just might bite off more than you can chew!' Sila cried within the depths of Skullius' mind.

Well, rather than his mind, it actually seemed like his voice cfrom Skullius' brain.

'I told you. You scream all you want. It won't change anything,' Skullius said to him within their odd bubble of mental conversation. 'Oh. I should thank you for your selfless sacrifice. I didn't expect you to do that. You started off wanting to control my mind, then transitioned to being content with seeing whether or not your old comrades from the old days who were imprisoned in the Labyrinth of the Yoke are still alive, and now, here you are…'

Sila didn't retort.

He indeed had progressed as Skullius had said. He grew more detached to his own goals as tpassed. Now, he had permanently killed any hope of getting himself a new body. Since his soul was used to fuel Skullius', he no longer existed in large part as his own self.

The long tit took before Sila had awakened – just before Skullius agreed to the Kuthmuk with the Ode – had almost convinced the Hybrid Luman that the bastard was gone, but it seemed that it just took him a while to get a hang of using an already occupied flesh body that he didn't have power over. Worse yet, Skullius' mind was saturated with information and voices from the WILLS. It was like a mad man's mind, and Sila should know. This must have sparked something in the Tower General. His Incandescent soul was tenacious enough to resist perishing after he sacrificed his soul, as was his consciousness – though that could be argued to be the sthing, as Skullius had discovered in his fight against the Ode. As such, he was determined to save Skullius from the chaotic influence.

As he was now inscribed within Skullius' body like a skill, sharing the Hybrid Luman's vision, his limbs, his organs… perhaps he could.

However, Skullius had been dominant when Sila was a piece of soul, and the swas true now. Unless Sila exploited small chances where Skullius was distracted, he couldn't control this body.

Even if he managed, he was only able to perform small actions that were largely inconsequential and could be nullified immediately after. 'What of it, tomato flinger? My Direction, my course for living has ledhere. You brokeout of that prison back then, even if unintentionally. Now, it is my turn. It doesn't matter how long it takes. As long as you live, I will live too.'

Skullius didn't have much of a response.

He simply scoffed.

A few minutes of a peace lite persisted. Skullius and the Queen were close to the end of the stretch of steps.

"Is it true?" Embrell suddenly said.

Skullius had expected that she would ask eventually. It was only natural, after all.

"It is," he said succinctly.

Embrell didn't immediately follow up.

"Did you choose it?" she asked.

"Hahahaha. Is there much of your own input when you're dealing with something divine?" Skullius responded.

Embrell turned to him.

"You believe that you had no choice but to becpowerful then?" "If I desire power and ask for it, work for it, bleed for it until I finally attain it, does it mean that I'm being rewarded rightfully, or thatgaining the strength I asked for serves a purpose in the plans of the one who granted that power."

"Is there a difference?" Embrell narrowed her eyes.

Skullius turned to her.

"You think whoever grants power for those who seek it is also just and fair?" he asked Embrell.

"Is that an absurd thing to believe?"

"Yes, it is. Nothing can be just and fair. That is something someone else decides for the rest."

Embrell remained silent for a while. "I see…" she then said, but the look in her eyes had changed.

The two finally passed through the doorway and entered a great hall.

Its ceiling had a large hole in it where a bundle of huge stems rose through. These were, of course, the stems of the Deathly Ruse.

At the feet of the stems, a man who looked just as beautiful as the Queen was kneeling before two younger figures who laid on the dirty floor, his hands over heads. A cool energy streamed out of his hands and was then injected into the bodies of the two who looked rather pale.

Embrell rushed towards the King.

"How are they doing?" she asked with concern livid in her tone.

"They… will be fine," the man said, and he withdrew his hands from his two children. "I feared using the Ruse on all our people and in such a short span would strain them a lot more. They must have been secretly learning to handle the Ruse better. They hardly have a fever."

Embrell looked relieved.

This was good news.

It took the purest El Sif to handle the Deathly Ruse, and her two eldest children were the most fit for that job. It was a rather strenuous task and would leave the two El Sif drained each time, but they were always pleased to do what they could to ensure that tradition was upheld.

Skullius was piecing this together as the Embrell and her husband spoke.

'Remarkable,' he thought.

The King turned to him with a strange look.

"I see you were someone we shouldn't have taken lightly," he said. "I have no idea how one such as you has gone so long without making waves on Aigas, but I can only be glad that your strength was used to save our nation this time."

Embrell gave her husband a complicated look. She didn't know if she wholly agreed with him.

Skullius grinned and nodded.

"You're welcome," he said. "However, since you are finally takingseriously, I truly hope you will consider my earlier proposal. I have an obligation to meet that absolutely requires your daughter's input. Well, my input into her."

Skullius' obnoxious straightforwardness flabbergasted the two Royals.

The Hybrid Luman ignored their funny faces and his vision scrolled to the young lady laying on the floor.

"Make that, daughters' input," he added.