Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Null Life.

Skullius\' mind raced when he heard this.

The Existential Parallels.

While not exactly clear on what the term meant, Skullius tried to recall the feel of undeath. He had been stuck as a Moronic Undead for a thousand plus years as a servant of Somanda... at the very bottom of the barrel that was this nature of power.

It was kind of funny really. Skullius had existed as two of these three Existential Parallels and it would be a lie to say that he hadn\'t compared Null Life and Undeath before. Of course, even if he hadn\'t tried to actively feel the difference, the distinguishing features of the two were shoved down his through back then, when he was at the mercy of the Great Mane Mountain Ape Azila.

Heck, even the powerful beast had sensed the difference.

Besides his own experiences, the Hybrid Luman recalled what the Voice of Worlds described Null Life as, boasting that Undeath was the defective version of what Null Life was supposed be; the purity that was in death turned into a sickening rebirth mechanism.

Yet, Null Life was the purity and serenity of death before it got corrupted. In a way, it was neither death or life, but at the same time... existence detached from the concept of generic life and death.

Skullius didn\'t quite understand it, but when he thought back to his battle with Bek, the Spirit Warden who was supported by the tragic spirit of his lover, he picked up hints. His existence as a Null Lifeform allowed him to see that half ugly, half beautiful existence even though he wasn\'t supposed to. That was one boon he hadn\'t fully realised until after he had let everything that had happened to him stew for a bit. From then, the Hybrid Luman had started to notice more of these seemingly ordinary feats.

Null Life was somewhat clear. Barely, but he got the idea.

But then... what about Voided Death?

The name, to Skullius, implied that there was a contractual arrangement that was being rescinded or terminated. As if... as if death itself was rendered... meaningless.

This was complex.

Though, given that Null Life Essence was serene and tranquil, and that Voided Death Essence was rough and restless – as far as he could tell – the bare conclusion that the Hybrid Luman came to was that these powers were probably based on the general temperament of the beings that represented them.

Yes, this made sense. If he compared Serenity to Null Life Essence and Voided Death Essence to what Serenity had said, giving heavy implications about this... Void, he had reason to believe he was right.

After all, it was all but confirmed at this point that Undeath, Null Life and Voided Death had progenitors. Or perhaps they could be identified as embodiments of these concepts.

Serenity for Null Life.

Void for Voided Death.

...And lastly, the Eminence of Undeath for Undeath.

Skullius\' thoughts were interrupted by Aurolio right when he thought he was figuring out a lot about these so-called Existential Parallels.

"We\'re battering here, so it\'s your turn again," the pale man said with a serious look on his face. "What were those things that attacked the city? And I mean including that terrible thing that appeared at your mansion. It\'s clear that everything to do with this has uh... Null Life written all over it."

Skullius\' nose twitched.

"Those things were called Fledgling Null Badubs and from what I could gather, they were made almost entirely out of Null Life Essence. A more sturdy and sustainable version of it at least. They were incredibly resilient, so much so in fact that even Incandescent Stage experts couldn\'t scratch them. I can only imagine the kind of abomination you were facing off against in that mansion. Anyway, this is still a question."

The Hybrid Luman\'s face constricted.

Yeah. Aurolio could only imagine.

That thing...

At this point, Skullius was unwilling to spill out any more than he had to.

The steady gaze from Aurolio seemed seasoned enough to be able to distinguish even half truths from full truths, and instead of risking it, Skullius kept his mouth shut.

Why?

Because he had slowly begun to realise what caused that crowned creature to appear in this world. That reason, was too sensitive to share with a stranger, nomatter how much \'goodwill\' they had shown. One way or another, telling Aurolio would reveal a lot about his powers.

As for this reason, Skullius was pretty sure that it all had to do with Ferex.

There were three ways Skullius knew which could invite other Null Lifeforms into this world.

The first was by using [Unbound], like how he had done with the egg that had ultimately birthed the Chubby Remnant Child of Polarity.

The second was by using the skill he hadn\'t touched in a long time. The [Ungodly Flames of Debauchery].

The last... had to do with Flaws.

Often, during options for evolutions, Skullius had seen that some Flaws promised to turn him or his Apostles into something from the \'Null Verse\', as the guidance field called it, if they did not adhere to the stipulated restrictions,. He had seen this more than once.

...And now, Ferex had a Flaw like that.

Since Skullius hadn\'t used the first two options, it had to be this.

Something had happened to Ferex, turning him into the Full Deck BoneTender.

While Skullius wasn\'t sure if that thing with the crown fit the title of \'terrorist\', he was sure that it had to be the Bone Tender.

When all this conjecture which had solved the mystery had crossed his mind minutes ago, ultimately spelling out how that disaster in Genhuis came to pass, Skullius had cursed unceasingly.

Did Replicus know about this?

Was he pursuing that damn thing right now?

Skullius\' did not have the means to know.

If he hadn\'t used [Celestial Hack] already, maybe he could have found out.

What he did know right now though, was that he couldn\'t shed too much light about this.

Thus, his response to Aurolio was...

"I\'m not sure what that was either, but I can tell you, that thing isn\'t friendly," he said.

Aurolio\'s gaze lingered on Skullius\' face before it turned cold, making the Hybrid Luman suppress an unconscious flinch.

The pale man knew he was withholding information.

"I see. I don\'t expect you to be entirely honest with me, Festos. In fact, I advise that you always be guarded around me. I did come here hoping you\'d have more basic knowledge to share – about that, I am deeply disappointed – but, I\'m not here to coerce you into telling me everything you know. I\'m not so weak that I\'d need to know every single scrap of detail to kill you."

Skullius\' face hardened.

\'There it is!\'

"Kill me?" he asked.

"This is exactly what I\'m talking about. Of course you don\'t even know that much."

Know what?

There was more?

Skullius tensed.

Aurolio locked his fingers at his thighs.

"I\'m feeling very benevolent today. Is it because I earned so much experience from that one kill? Maybe. It probably is. You should know, that\'s why I\'m being friendly," he said with a dark smile. "You\'re probably the first and last Null Life User in Aigas. It\'s a reasonable assessment given all I\'ve seen so far. From the moment I became a Voided Deathform, I could sense that there was something like me in this world somehow. It was very weak at first but as I grew stronger, I felt it better, though not enough to pinpoint its location."

"Its presence suddenly grew stronger months ago and disappeared without a trace, meaning my advantage is probably gone for good."

"Advantage?" Skullius\' frown deepened.

"That\'s right. This is a race, Festos. We\'re here... we have these powers because we represent the Existential Parallels. We are supposed to secure Rich Worlds for them, as many as we can while killing off the competition. You, and some Undeath user or users out there are my enemies," Aurolio said, his face turning darker.

...!

Skullius gaped.

What?!

Race?

"But don\'t shit your pants yet. For now, I\'m not willing to follow through with that fuckery. I never have been on board with it from the beginning. How about we make a deal and seal it up real nice hmm? That way, both us gets something and none of us can back out."