Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Chapter 1157: Serenity's Goal (1)

Leaving the heat and silvery glow was a major blow for the party - at least those in the party who had yet to see it before today.

Replicus, even in his mix of emotion didn't forget to give one last long look before turning and allowing Sause to lead the way back through the darkness. Once they were dipped back in darkness, no one was able to look at the others. They simply followed Sause's voice and footsteps and started once again to descend the Sovereign's Peak.

Replicus allowed himself to mull over the revelation about the well full of the Eternal Drakken souls.

He didn't know what he had expected, but what he had seen had been a far cry from his own theories and he had had many, for obvious reasons.

An anchor was needed to create a world and that pool was the anchor; something of an object of immense power created by the Deities at their own expense.

It was strange how much larger Aigas had just become to Replicus even though he had been convinced that the long trip to Edagon would leave him feeling as though this world wasn't quite as large as it would seem.

'I wonder what Suzamete would have done if Actuass' goal was to somehow take possession of that pool. Would she have allowed it? Probably not,' Replicus thought.

He didn't think Suzamete was stupid. Well, not anymore. Ever since Replicus realised that there was a grander purpose as to why Suzamete let Actuass leave with him instead of detaining or killing him, he had begun to see her actions in a bit of a new light.

She likely had the interests of Aigas at heart more than most people would think - and the general populace seemed to doubt it very much.

Perhaps she would storm down to Edagon herself to the Sovereign Peak - to stop anyone from tainting it with thieving hands. Though, it was probably impossible. She likely needed a vessel like the others, and that didn't seem possible to do in a short span of time.

Speaking of thieving, Replicus attempted to look at Aurolio, failed and settled for creating a very life-like image in his head.

'I almost got the impression that that bastard intended to do something to the silvery pool, but I doubt there is anything he could about it, even without his Tie of Exchange to Sause. Sause seemed less wary about him,' Replicus thought.

It seemed worlds and Deities had a lot more to them than he anticipated. He wondered if his other self, Skullius, knew anything about it. Well, since he was being affected by Fulgardt's wills, perhaps some of the Immoral's knowledge was filtering through him.

Sensing his thoughts, Serenity immediately confirmed Replicus' suspicions. Indeed, Skullius seemed to know about worlds through the WILLS of Fulgardt.

'I see,' Replicus said direly. 'If he knows that much...'

"For now, I think you should worry about his skillset. I can tell you all about what he has learned, but some of the more detailed powers of his Hidden Class were harder for me to see. Unlike you, he didn't allow me to freely interact with him from the moment he awakened. Fulgardt's influence in him is quite powerful, and that's not to mention Fulgardt's appalling understanding of the guidance field."

Serenity, who was aware of Skullius' interaction with Fulgardt in the Reflection of his soul before he awakened, explained the terrifying fact that Fulgardt had been the one who constructed the Tasks and Trials for Skullius all along, as he (Fulgardt) had revealed!

...!!!

'What?!' Replicus was alarmed. 'It was Fulgardt?! But how? How could he manipulate the guidance field, Vow, I mean?'

"Because the guidance field isn't the Voice of Worlds. It is merely an extension of the Voice of Worlds. It adjusts itself accordingly when introduced to a new world, adapting to the Rules of said world while attached to its user. For a Divine as shrewd as Fulgardt, it isn't really surprising that he was able to do this, and besides, he didn't make any dark, or impactful alterations. It didn't pose an issue for him to guide your way, after all. Though still, I wonder..."

Serenity began to trail off. She wondered if Wyrrim had noticed Fulgardt's interference or not, not that it mattered anymore.

Replicus went into deep thought.

Indeed, he was going to need all the help he could get. If he knew Replicus' new power set...

A thought then struck him.

'You know what Corruption, don't you?' he asked Serenity.

She sighed.

"Yes, however, it comes in so many forms that it's pointless to give you examples. In any case, you should be aware that once a Deity is Corrupted, they change mentally. Their views become skewed. Sometimes it can be for the better, but most times... it's for the worst."

'I see... That's not very helpful.'

*

The wall to the Sovereign's Peak opened and once again, the group was scaling down the mountain, Replicus a few dozen steps behind the others.

He kept a close eye on Aurolio, who, while feeling his gaze, didn't turn to meet his eyes this time.

'Serenity,' he thought, 'What exactly would you have wished for me to do with that pool? This conflict between you Parallels... does it simply entail winning the Richness of a world for you? Is that what Void and Emmae expect from their bearers too?'

Replicus had proclaimed openly before that he wasn't loyal to Serenity and wouldn't do her bidding just because she asked or because she was the one responsible for his powers.

He still had to understand her objectives and now seemed like the perfect time to learn of them.

Serenity sighed.

"That is the general idea. We three share only that in common, however. The reasons... our reasonings for why we do this are different. I suppose you could say we each expect different results from the powers we eventually amass, from - yes - harvesting the hard work of Deities. My goal in particular is a little... it's a little broad. Frankly, it's a bit complex. I worried you wouldn't be able to understand it before reaching this kind of power," she said. "You could only have reached this Tier by braving storms that no ordinary being could physically and mentally. And if not that... I didn't believe a person like you could accept killing worlds for my sake. At least not without the full picture."

This was why Serenity had attempted to stop Aurolio from telling Skullius the details he knew. She was familiar with how limited the information in the Book of Alignment was. It painted the Existential Parallels as destroyers and irascible anomalies - takers.

'What's this goal - your end goal? Say you harvest enough of what you need, what is this grand objective that you are working towards?' Replicus asked.

It had been especially strange to him that Serenity had kept this from him, but now he at least understood a bit about why she did so. The old version of him probably wouldn't have thought her different to Somanda who made him mine mana for him for a thousand years in Deadmanland.

Serenity had done well to hide the purpose of being a bearer of Null Life from him, in

Replicus' opinion.

Now, he hoped it was something worth the wait; something that could drive him to actually consider fighting alongside Serenity.

Serenity took a great pause.

"Becoming what I am had its fair share of prices and permanent restrictions. We as the Existential Parallels are a step above the Deities in strength. It was such great power at first, when we each created our own paths out of extinction. However, being as powerful as us requires a lot of nourishment. It's a punishment - a kind of curse. If we fail to meet a quota, our penance is... well, we, alongside everything we have created, will be destroyed. Everything except our bearers, at least," she said with a sombre tone. "Beyond needing Rich worlds in order to continue existing, I... desire to leave this reality and flee to another."

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