Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Skullius was immediately galvanized. He threw away all thoughts about going all out in a panic, and focused on healing his legs and torso.

Finally.

Finally, that older sockethole was here!

In contrast to his relief, however, Fulgardt's expression turned sourer and sourer as the throngs of Ju`wtte spilled out, branching and combating the thick darkness of the great void.

It was understandable, really.

He had not counted on seeing a wizened Skullius seemingly coming to the rescue of the Skullius he had been fighting all along.

Future Skullius poured his whole out of the rift of Ju`wtte and stood before it with the grace of someone farming for something. His longer, richer hair, his gaunter face, and modest beard were cast in darkness because of the harsh merigold blazing from behind him; it made him look a bit ominous.

As it just so happened, the first thing Future Skullius locked eyes with… was Fulgardt.

It was something unfathomable.

Fulgardt scowled, and his lip twitched.

Staring into Future Skullius' blank, calm eyes made him feel as though he was sinking down a whirlpool of something more nebulous than darkness.

It wasn't because he somehow immediately deduced Future Skullius' overwhelming strength, however.

No. He couldn't have done that anyway. Though indeed, he had acquired a guidance field, he would not have learned anything from this version of Skullius by using it.

No, no.

What staggered Fulgardt was something he had never thought he'd see in an independent Skullius before.

It was the influence of the Wanderer Who Seeds!

'How…?' the Immoral began to wonder, and then his vigilance took over. In less than a blink, two objects had appeared in his hands. One was a card glowing with a purple sheen, and the other was a peculiar eye.

Future Skullius took note of these objects and waved a hand at Fulgardt elegantly.

"Relax. I'm not here as a reinforcement. Put those away before the sockethole sees," he said. He didn't bother with Fulgardt after that. Looking at Skullius, who was almost done healing his body, he sighed. The disappointment in his breath was unmistakable. He might have been trying to watch a fish make a living in a sea of fire. "You should be ashamed. You were about to do something reckless, weren't you?"

Skullius rose to his feet and scowled at his older self.

"I didn't exactly have much of a choice, did I?" he said.

"A pity."

Right then, the Ju`wtte behind Future Skullius throbbed, and four figures rushed out.

Elita and Aurolio stepped forth and walked past Future Skullius who promptly pointed south, at the great barrier running along the Central Boundary of Aigas. At once, an opening appeared on it, large enough to accommodate two individuals.

The two Void Users didn't need to be told. They spared a glance at Skullius and then Fulgardt and darted south.

The Immoral didn't even grace them with a look. His eyes remained on the lethal threat before him: Future Skullius.

Kenno, Araeyn, and Red Rage had been following behind Aurolio and Elita. They all tensed at the sight of the Immoral, but he didn't spare them so much as a hateful glare either.

Skullius was glad to see his subordinates delivered back to him, but in all truth, he didn't consider them as much in that moment. As his body slowly lurched towards a full recovery at the expense of the little Amras he had left, he limped towards Future Skullius.

"Well?" he said.

His older self scoffed, and with a thought, two things appeared in two of his hands.

One, held by the ribs, was a green skeleton, sleek and clean, and the other, held by the back of the neck, was a fairly large feminine humanoid being with long black hair. Its face couldn't be seen as the hair hung over its head, draping the ground, but its identity was obvious to Skullius.

Future Skullius threw both at his younger counterpart, and he (the latter) received them with as much grace as he could have afforded in that moment.

"I take it that concludes our dealings?" said Skullius.

His older counterpart considered him for a few seconds.

"…I suppose so."

Future Skullius spared a short-lived look at Fulgardt, and then he backpedalled, sinking back into the rift of Ju`wtte.

But then…

"Skullius. I wish you all the best of fortune when you eventually storm my sister's domain. With luck, perhaps we will meet again before then, but for now… Goodbye."

…!

Skullius didn't believe it was Serenity who said all this before she suddenly spilled out of him as a long throng of blue flame that rushed after Future Skullius and sank into him before he completely disappeared into the rift of Ju`wtte.

It happened so abruptly that Skullius was left just as stunned as Fulgardt was.

What had just happened?

Skullius felt for his abdomen. Whatever he felt when he touched it confirmed to him that indeed… Serenity had just ditched him.

Why? Fat chance he would ever know.

It took Beyrmir and Weaver slowly appearing near him for him and the Immoral to completely shell out of their dazes.

"Well, that certainly had my heart racing," Fulgardt said, and he donned a cold smile. He had not liked how Future Skullius had addressed him. Not at all. But Future Skullius was gone. He could only vent on the present one.

Coincidentally, Skullius was feeling the same way. He didn't know how to process Serenity's sudden departure. But Serenity was no longer here. So, he had to make do with Fulgardt.

"Same here," he said, and he dropped Nunax's body (which was indeed much smaller than before) to the ground.

She was still alive, only incapable of doing anything at all.

The Hybrid immediately put her out of her commission with four [False Ticklers] to the neck, and her head rolled away from her body.

At the same time, Skullius read the new properties of the green skeleton in his other hand, the artefact SoSei. As he had expected, they were more or less what he had wanted, if only slightly riskier. Future Skullius had a dark sense of humour, it seemed, but Skullius received it openly.

He activated a particular property that the green skeleton now had, and at once, it began to shed much of its likeness, turning instead, into the likeness of a certain girl quite dear to Skullius.

Fulgardt frowned at this, but before he could do anything about it…

Aigas shuddered as though rocked by an impeccably powerful earthquake.

The dozens of crystals scattered all over it, Distant Magnets, as they were called, shone bright and activated.

Suddenly, it was someone else's turn to say finally.

After all, right after the vicious tremoring of the world, two gigantic figures appeared on Aigas for the first time in thousands of years!