Bro, I'm not an Undead!

The question of who and where.r

Stylla's words brought to light some of Skullius' concerns. Perhaps because everything in his life happened so fast, he had failed to fully digest it all or find time to properly find the answers to these questions.r

But in the end, Skullius' mind had found itself... doubting.r

After all was said and done, the person who truly understood how much he had changed was Skullius himself.r

He was no longer the little fragile skeleton that landed within the Tremur, got beaten, forced to scurry away and scrounge for power in some and unfortunate conflicts. His mind, body and soul from back then were vastly different from what they were now.r

Fragments of him had started getting chipped away before he knew it.r

Wait.r

Where they even fragments of him or something else entirely?r

This went back to the fact that Skullius didn't know which he was. Which he truly was – a human who lived a currently unclear life on a distant, dying world as Somanda said, a moronic, braindead and full of shit little skeleton that spent the better part of a 1000 years mining mana gems for an Arch-Lich, or a fearless, powerful inheritor of two devastating powers who was going to change the world.r

Hmph.r

If the same Skullius who once bragged to his fellow skeletons about Somanda caressing his skull were to hear that he would become such a force to reckoned with, he would call Bonet over and have a hard laugh at the joke. The same was probably true for the currently vague version of himself from when he was still alive.r

Skullius released a rough breath under Stylla's accusing eyes.r

She was right.r

The Hybrid Luman had changed.r

Back then, while living under the doomed AND cursed status effects, his life was mostly strife with little benefit. He feared death but pushed through with everything he had to get what he desired.r

Him leaving the dread he had of death when fighting Bassbion was the first time Skullius broke through an abstract fear all on his own but...r

'Maybe I really...' he thought.r

Maybe he really was losing himself as he begun to fear.r

The very same day he felt like he overcame a huge obstacle, was the same day murky traits that weren't his invaded his being, anchoring themselves through the legacy he had gotten.r

The <WILL OF UNDERSTANDING>.r

The <WILL OF BRUTALITY>.r

The <WILL OF CUNNING>.r

The <WILL OF BLOODLUST>.r

These were fragments of thought and existence that sank and dissolved into Skullius, forcing him to change.r

He was never really smart. Maybe he was in his past life but not when he was a skeleton.r

He was never a brutal existence. He was just a psychopath who didn't have notions of human norms.r

And with these changes...r

"You know what, Stylla?" Skullius said while dimming the fury that had been building up within him. He then laughed at himself while clenching his face which brought hints of anxiety over Stylla's visage.r

"I've changed. I received help and I grew. And lately, I have been getting a big head because of everything I've been earning. I'm rich, I'm strong and I'm special. Even if I don't fully know who I am or where I'm going, I'm still making my way forward. You don't need a fleshing journey of self discovery that lasts for weeks or months to move on. I should know."r

Stylla flinched.r

"And are you getting the answers you want while blinding doing whatever you think is the right choice?" she asked with a stern expression.r

Answers?r

That's right.r

Camilla, his adopted sister, the girl he frequently saw...r

His unusual ability that staved away the atrocious luck he was supposed to have from time to time...r

His incomplete soul didn't give him the answers through normal recollection.r

Even Serenity refused to shed some light.r

"They will. If I get all the power I can ever find, memories, self realisation and fulfilment will follow. Isn't that what all creatures want at the end of the day?" Skullius said with an immovable conviction.r

Stylla stared deep into his eyes for several moments before she dropped to her seat and sighed.r

"Like I said. You never doubt yourself. Someone like you should be heading the Family for now. Maybe I'm just too... normal," Stylla said, shifting her position to once again stare into the light guarding her father.r

"I'm sorry about what I said. I'm pretty keen on defending myself. But I'm still not going to meet them. You and Silrat will do it."r

Skullius sighed exasperatedly and exited the room.r

What a handful.r

Maybe Stylla really wasn't built for this after all.r

'Tsk.'r

The people that he and Stylla were talking about were representatives from Families on the same level or a bit higher than the Bryne Family. Using her connections as well as her father's, Stylla had called for a meeting so that she, Skullius and Silrat could pitch their attractive resources available for sale.r

This was all in order to form alliances.r

Perhaps loyalty had died when Stylla's father was cursed but the bond built from mutual benefit could stand the test of multiple lifetimes even if the original individuals to forge an alliance had long passed.r

The trio had several resources to pitch already but now, with Skullius' new [Advanced Potion Making], there were more options on the table that he wanted to add, provided that he tested the limits of his abilities first, that was.r

This was a lesser concern however.r

This exchange with Stylla was really going to mess with the Hybrid Luman for a long time.r

The more he pushed on, the more he found that his identities grew and all of them wanted to claim his soul.r

He was the Luminant, with a supposed true self that he could awaken through [Son of Luserus].r

He was the undead. Well, he was. Not anymore.r

He was the Eternal Storm Veil Penetrator, connected to the mysterious otherworldly being known as Serenity.r

He was the Insurgent Magnus, the legacy of the most vile human to walk on Aigas.r

And soon, a more terrifying identity would grace Skullius in the future. One that was recognised everywhere.r

'What's even more scary is what Sause said about that power...' Skullius thought as he looked at himself.r

Seramoro, Oblivion's Edge.r

On the same day that he inherited the WILLS, one of the Nine Seeds of the Fruit of World Myths had almost taken him over.r

It was a power that Sause warned against because it was a form with heavy ties to Fulgardt. It had changed his appearance when he used it – making Skullius' hair long and dark, giving him a second face and gifting him power that had rocked even Fuwin's Majestic Territory!r

But it left no room for Skullius' consciousness.r

The Hybrid Luman was wary of this.r

"When I get stronger again, I might lose myself to the more WILLS that will awaken in my body. The stronger I get, the more I'm likely to... No. I won't allow it. If Fulgardt is devouring me... I'll have to devour him too. I've already created something similar with the last resort card I've placed on Sila. If push comes to shove...' Skullius thought while hardening his face.r

The future looked both bleak and bright at the same time but moreso bleak if he didn't play his cards right.r

Come to think of it...r

Skullius summoned Demion's Dance.r

The tale of Demion, Escus and Irisa.r

Frock had hinted at this before but it was only a few weeks ago when Skullius got to truly understood the story behind his green blade.r

A tale that seemed to foreshadow what might happen to him, surprisingly.r