Bro, I'm not an Undead!

All one's eggs in one basket.

Actuass had learned to strip himself of such an idea, and burn it away centuries ago.

In order to accomplish his ideals, he would have to learn to constantly be ahead of his enemies and to emerge and strike only when they least expected it.

This current instance was an example of him committing to the opposite of the notion that encouraged keeping all your trump cards and treasures close.

As he overlooked the many ships struggling against the waves and the many eyes glaring at him, he felt nothing.

This was standard. He was used to seeing the dumbfounded looks on his enemies.

'Causality is in my favour once again...' he thought.

As such, this meant he could execute his objective without worry.

Actuass felt the tremendous energy that was funnelling into his body again after his shift from the proxy close by, flare atrociously, igniting and exploding out with about as much grace as the summer sun rising from the horizon.

Ah.

The power he had taken from Rayn was too sweet, yet too powerful.

Even for him who understood souls to an inhuman level, keeping that vicious might bestowed by the Deities from weighing on his original body was tremendously difficult. It hadn't been that many days since he acquired it, but his body was already falling apart.

Unlike Rayn who was born with a body keen to house the unfathomable, Actuass' wasn't as gifted.

In order to prevent it from further burning or collapsing – which occurred gradually, with his soul proving too great – he had had to infuse a vicious degree of Undeath energy into his body, which enabled his flesh to remain functional, attaining the properties akin to that of a reanimated corpse. It was as though he was dead, but not quite the same.

Thankfully, on his way to Edagon, Actuass had met a most gifted Paladin Champion.

One with a body that was getting so acclimated the power of his Divine Blessing and the presence of the Deities to such an extent that it could almost wield the weight of his current soul without any problems.

Almost.

Taking interest in the Paladin Champion's ability and body, Actuass decided to immerse himself with them.

He left his body behind, and hopped into the Champion's in order for his soul to learn how his ability worked. Since he could function well enough in this flesh vessel as well, he decided to use it for the time being.

And the Champion's Divine Blessing...

Yes. It would do.

His soul had mastered it enough to where he could perform while in another body.

Actuass brought his hands together, and channelled his focus.

The ocean shook at once.

Like the earth, it seemed to desire to crack and fall in on itself after being shaken by a tremendous power.

Actuass grunted.

This was a far greater ordeal than what he had deigned to do in the climax of the Premium Age Royale.

Pulling on the souls of millions – shockingly – was a more tame task in comparison to this.

As he began though, it seemed his enemies wouldn't let him proceed peacefully. His hazel eyes facing head, Actuass saw a man in a starry armour, with a curious design to his helmet, hurriedly extend his hand towards him and make a clawing gesture.

The necromancer felt something strike at the pulsing force field of his personal brand of Undeath energy immediately after, but it could not proceed further.

The assailant didn't look surprised that it didn't work.

In fact...

'I see. So he's the one...' Actuass thought as a length of luminosity grew under the man's other hand.

It was a very long, crooked bolt of what seemed like frozen, blue lightning, at its front end a single, lethally sharp end.

It thrummed with such an incredible force that several of those close to the man in the starry armour looked curiously at the thing.

Sadly, they couldn't get a good look because the bolt vanished from sight and hurtled towards Actuass with cruel intent!

The necromancer narrowed his eyes.

A crazy impact flashed before him, causing him to blink, and he felt the impeding force of his Undeath field shudder at the might of the bolt persistently crashing into it while spinning and wriggling like a drill, its force unrelenting.

There was crack.

Then another.

'It's effective. Of course it is...' Actuass thought.

As if that weren't enough, another assailant rushed towards him.

It was a man with pale skin and long, white hair.

What were the odds?

Actuass scoffed lightly.

To think the Definer of Causality was right in its declaration that calling forth the Premium Age Royale would do more than simply win him a chance at gathering enough energy to acquire Rayn's soul, but it would cause him to come face to face with the 'others'.

He felt it.

These respective two, as Direction would have it...

The pale man grinned as he reached the pulsing barrier, and with the force of a single, forceful punch, he shattered the pulsing greenish-black field around the vessel!

This was no doubt brought about by the long bolt weakening the field first with its penetrative power, but still, Actuass was left open to attacks from two people with powers like his!

While he was preoccupied with making the perfect severance, he couldn't engage directly.

Thankfully...

BOOOM!

Spawning out of nowhere and landing on the ashy ocean with a tremendous splash, was a great, rather, enormous black creature that looked to be made of black stone. It was akin to a mix between a lizard and a mantis, its head resembling that of the former, and with limbs – twelve in all – that belonged to a mix of the two.

Greenish-black flames blazed in its sockets, turning fiercer as it hissed in rage.

The creature wound its enormous body around the ship, though, the contact it made with the poisonous water made it sizzle dangerously.

The monster, as it seemed, was a great deterrent, as Actuass knew his enemies recognised it.

It was the same he had sent with the thousands of undead that the Factions had faced when he was battling the Paladin Champion!

The pale man drew back as expected, but just in case, Actuass had the great beast surrounding his new vessel protectively open its eerily wide maw open, and from the gaping darkness, a single warrior leapt out and fell onto the surface of the sea.

Actuass watched as everyone grew tense.

Of course, they all recognised this undead too.

It was the undead old man he had sent with the first wave of his forces!

The Incandescent Stage expert hurtled towards the pale man and they clashed.

At this point, all the other enemies were mobilising to attack, with the man in the starry armour, already on his way.

But Actuass knew... it was too late.

...!!!

Right then, the ocean cried as though it were a living being, and then, it parted as though sliced through effectively.

Over a shocking distance – which was vaster than anyone could ever imagine – the ocean split with a deep roar, the large chasm that forced the two apart growing with each second.

West or East, its end couldn't be seen.

The new falls created in this moment were deafening, and within the dark chasm in which they fell, strikingly bright jolts of coloured energies scarcely seen erupted, lightning up the waters and shattering as though they were the networks to an invisible mechanism.

It was an ungodly sight.

While quite astonishing to even Actuass himself, he didn't have the luxury to look behind him, where this phenomenon occurred. He could only look at it through the eyes of his bewildered enemies who halted immediately.

Watching the world spill out lights of treacherous proportions behind the unmasked man, from the unending slew that marked a division more impressive than the Central Boundary, caused them to stop.

This was especially so for those who, after being sent flying by Actuass' Undeath field manifesting just now, were on the other side of the chasm, and they numbered a fair bit.

Yet, regardless of who was on what side, their feelings towards the current happenings, included a light share of awe.

'It's that magnificent, is it?' Actuass thought, somewhat emotionally.

But this was only the beginning.

While churning out a greater degree of his strength, he caused more of a spectacle.

Directly above where the chasm in the ocean could be seen, the sky cracked likewise, West and East.

The already existing cracks in the sky, where it seemed as though the world had been mended by a Divine blacksmith, were overshadowed by the ever growing line!

Scorching Tears fell like rain. No, more like the waters from a broken gourd, and this broke the immersion, finally.

It was cataclysmic.

It was chaos.

Yet all the same, it was clear.

The necromancer was splitting Aigas into two.