Bro, I'm not an Undead!

The great tug on Skullius came at the best possible moment.

The Hybrid Luman felt the difference in the two grips which exercised fierce dictation over his Projected form. One was more magical – powered by some phenomenal application of mana that simply ignored the fact that he was immaterial – something he wasn't familiar with, while the other... the other was as though someone was using [Evil Darkness Meshing] on him. There was a more refined sort of control in the pull that dragged him towards the surviving net of trees.

Odd. To think there was someone else who could finely control [Evil Darkness]...or was it simply that they had an affinity in darkness that encroached on the territory of the Insurgent Magnus' own version a little?

Skullius wasn't sure, but he wasn't too keen to understand it right now.

While watching the distance grow between himself and the old woman, the Projected Luman hadn't decided to stay and thank his helper.

Naturally, he knew full well just who was responsible for the second grip, but he didn't quite like the idea of lingering here when that old hag had just landed on the island, especially now, when he was practically defenceless. 

Thus, as soon as Skullius saw the ashen face of Ashema grinning at him, his large hand outstretched in his direction... he deactivated [Crude World Projection].

At once, bold, dark chains streaked briskly from the far distance, wound around Skullius' black form and then, with a fierce pull, they yanked him back at ridiculous speed towards his body!

Ashema, who had expected the company of the curious dark figure he had just met – one who didn't rupture into a mess when he spoke and was actually willing to converse instead of turning hostile – was disappointed to see him vanish. 

He was whisked away so fast that he couldn't follow with his eye just where he had gone and it wasn't quite wise to follow brashly.

"Flitted through my fingers..." Ashema said with a scoff, looking into the distance. "Oh well... now I have more to look forward to."

He summoned the crow which had allowed him to move here again, and watched it fly up into the sky. Soon, it made way for him to transport himself into the sky, above the nest of clouds, discreetly. After all, Ashema too was wary of the scouring gaze of the old woman on the shore. She had yet to let the matter just now slide, and thankfully, she had yet to pin Ashema as a target.

***

Maxim's soul almost left her body when a length of dark chains exploded out of Skullius' limp body unannounced, and returned in near the same instant with the dark twin of the body that she had been protecting for the last eleven minutes.

With a vicious jerk, Skullius' Hybrid Luman body regained its spunk. Skullius lifted his head, blinked several times and took a deep breath as he stood up. For a few moments, he lingered on the mystery of that horned creature and its uncanny powers, but he cast that aside in the next moment.

"Next time, you should warn me that your ability has in-built nightmarish effects! What justification is there for you having to be dragged back by those huge chains? Is it even comfortable?" Maxim said with a frown, her hand placed on her flat chest.

"Sorry about that. That isn't normally the case. It was just an emergency retreat this time around," Skullius replied while straightening his dark robe, as though it had the capacity to become rumpled. "And well, you should know that comfort isn't exactly something that applies to me."

Skullius peeked into Maxim's room as she shook her head at his response. He saw Vali still seated down, her eyes closed and the expansive lilac flame – her conduit – glowing beside her.

"Still not done, huh?" he murmured.

"She did say it could take a while," Maxim said. She sized up Skullius a few times. "You look a little tense. Is it that bad out there?"

The fact that Maxim noticed the tiny bit of uncertainty Skullius was hiding didn't impress the Hybrid Luman at all. He frowned at the pink-haired woman before answering:

"Well, it isn't good... I'll tell you that. As expected, the force Maqi sent is formidable. They are also committing to the showmanship a little too hard."

"Of course, they would," Maxim said. "Who wouldn't show off a little if they had the means. We've all wanted to remind those weaker than us who's boss at some point. I can relate, but I sure don't like being on the receiving end of the same. Are we going to just sit on our hands until she finishes up?"

Skullius chuckled.

"No. Not really," he said. "We are going to make some perfect preparations."

And indeed, that was the case.

Skullius felt that the time was right.

The Seed, was ready to bloom.

It was more so his instinct which dictated the time the Seed he had planted into the rich lake needed before it warranted bloom. At this point, many factors urged Skullius, including urgency, which was why he wasn't really concerned with whether it was ready or not. Well, in this case, it happened to have matured enough.

"What preparations are we going to do?" Maxim asked curiously.

Skullius didn't give a verbal answer.

Instead, he felt for the blessing that now dwelled within his body – [Graceful Monolith of the Eminent] – and he had it reach for the Seed.

The moment his intent was registered, Skullius' body became bathed in radiant, golden white light that forced his four wings to spread out fully, breaching their restricted forms on his robe.

[The 'Preeminent Attegoth' becomes the profile of your Seed's manifestation]

[Your Seed is blooming…]

A fierce golden streak like an arrow rising into the sky shone from far away before stopping short of penetrating the innocent night sky to broaden, becoming so wide it could have easily been mistaken for a mountain of sparkling mineral.

Maxim saw the immensity of this light barrelling from far away and shining even through the walls of the mansion, which stupefied her.

She wasn't the only one to see it, however.

Everyone within the mansion was drawn to it, nonmatter how hidden they were within the grand shelter.

Shannazah, Kudobtu, Sevill, Viccil, Cosycn...

They rushed out of the mansion to see what the light was... where it came from.

Skullius was the only one to not see the product of his own effort. Instead, he invested in feeling his connection towards it grow immensely and also...

[Transfer of all skills from 'Stasis' to 'Preeminent Attegoth' successful]

[Racial link established]

[Self-defence auto functions assembling...]

Skullius grinned.

Perfect. How perfect.

His instincts were right on the money. The Seed had fully matured just when he decided to awaken it and now... all he desired was a success. It was almost as though he had gotten... lucky.

Now all that was left was...