Bro, I'm not an Undead!

1263  Nature of The Broader Existence n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Seeing that Skullius wasn't at all convinced by what he was saying, Susu`k decided to elaborate.

"The space between your body and soul is delicate, but profound. It is the one that dictates your Divinity. The priority for most new Divines – those that have some semblance of knowledge, that is – is to find ways to guard it from harm," the Strawler explained. "There are beings out there, even in the outside reality – I imagine – that sharpen their abilities with the express focus on destroying their opponents' most vulnerable spots."

Skullius mulled this over.

He believed part of it.

His Physique, the Audacious Chassis of the Ninth Filament offered a defence to his Broader Existence. He hadn't considered what the notification for that specific aspect of it had meant earlier, but now he understood.

'It's that delicate, huh?' he thought.

Once Skullius' blank gaze fell on Susu'k again, the Strawler continued expositing.

"Forgive me again, if this offends you, but I assume you wouldn't know. Improving the quality of that delicate space between your soul and body expands the independence of both your body and soul; they can remain apart for long periods and over vast distances without any drawbacks only when the metaphysical space between them grows and solidifies over time."

Skullius' eyes bulged with realisation.

This, he bought.

'I see. That makes sense. That would explain why Deities are able to have so much freedom even as mere souls. I didn't quite feel as free when I separated my soul from my body to look at myself earlier. I probably don't have much of an ability to be apart for long,' he thought and frowned.

"Is it difficult to target the Broader Existence – this space between body and soul – with an attack?" Skullius asked.

"So, you call it the Broader Existence? I see. It is normally extremely difficult to target it when the opponent hasn't separated both aspects of their existence – body and soul. The expertise for that likely requires incredibly powerful techniques, but if the target has separated their body and soul, it is much easier to harm their Broader Existence. All that is required then is to land an attack on either the body or soul and the damage will reach the Broader Existence," Susu`k explained.

…!

Skullius narrowed his eyes.

"So, that's how it is," he said, and the [Entropy's Harmonising Nimbus], for a moment, turned into a great swirling orange-pink blaze, mirroring its master's passion.

Skullius hadn't bought what Susu`k was saying at first because in his well of experiences, existed a memory of him killing a Divine. Discounting how precarious the situation had been, Skullius had killed Caxellac with a single attack.

Caxellac had succumbed to Skullius' ultimate move, the [True Nullmancer's Wretched Reaper of Ugly Divine], a Reverse Supreme Skill that was composed of the Fallen Reincarnator's Shadow's soul arrow, Ju`wtte, a Territory's effect, and Inverted Mana created from gold quality mana.

It was now clear to Skullius why Caxellac perished that time. Asides from the fact that this ultimate attack of his, in retrospect, probably had power that was half a step away from the Common Reality Leagues, Caxellac fell because he had been in the middle of using Mors, Serene Grace.

The Mors Serene Grace, according to Serenity, used the user's soul as a fuel, and in its use, Caxellac had expelled his soul from his body. Skullius had attacked his body while he was in this state, and the damage had registered not just to his body, but his Broader Existence!

'No wonder. But I imagine then that Mors Serene Grace is a terrifying ability to use if it leaves wide open to attacks like that,' Skullius thought.

"How interesting," he said to Susu`k.

He then turned to the WILLS of Fulgardt. They were slowly trying to reach him again.

"What do you make of them, then?" he asked the giant Strawler. "They belonged to a man who was a Divine like me, but he perished; mortally at least. His body and soul are in different places."

Susu`k analysed the WILLS with his ten eyes.

"Master, I assume this man you speak of heavily fortified his Broader Existence, as you call it. Even if he died in a normal sense, as long as he was prepared, he wouldn't cease to exist. He seems to have modified how his soul would continue to persist. Part of it lies in these things," he explained.

Skullius nodded.

"Very well."

It tallied. Susu`k's analysis matched the current events.

Fulgardt's body was in the Labyrinth.

When the Immoral had spoken to Skullius in his Reflection of the Soul before taking him over, he had said that he had programmed his body to go on a rampage if it ever managed to collect enough darkness and light from those who entered the Labyrinth, seeking to claim his legacy.

(A/N: Refer to Ch.995-996.)

"It all comes together then," Skullius said and he knocked away the WILLS with Ju`wtte once they got too close. They were pushed back but they remained unscathed. "Looks like I'll have to keep these around me until I visit the Labyrinth. I'll attack Fulgardt's body and see if I can eradicate his Broader Existence."

This would be quite the undertaking, Skullius imagined.

It seemed he still had a long way to go despite entering a new stage of power.

Instead of thinking of ways to fortify his Broader Existence immediately, however, as Susu`k expected, Skullius then turned to a certain broken, green skeleton.

"On the other hand, we have a bit of favour in our corner," the Hybrid Warmoth said. "Our original plans with SoSei align perfectly with this new information. It's nice to have a bit of good luck."

"Indeed. Once we figure this out, we'll be one step away from defeating Somanda. Even if he did achieve Divinity not too long ago, we can imagine he already knows how to defend his Broader Existence," a phantom said.

"Yeah. Walking right up to his door blindly and throwing everything we have at him would be suicide. This is our best bet," added another.

And indeed.

Skullius extended his hand towards the broken skeleton.

Golden white light encased it and it was pulled to him.

"This is incredibly daring," Skullius said and hints of excitement showed on his face. "I wish I could rub how much I've grown in Somanda's face right here and now, but that would be unwise. Better be quick. We'll need to finish the rest of the work on this thing in the Severed Union."

But what it was that Skullius went on to do to the poor green skeleton would not be known until he left the Empyrean Bosom and began on the task he promised Suzamete he would complete. Fortunately, it wouldn't be too long until then.