Bro, I'm not an Undead!

"Yes, I am. I am your future, Skullius."

Serenity was visible to the Parallel bearers, the Apostles and Sila. She was self-aware. She had an especially exaggerated reaction to taller Skullius saying this, but she did her best to hide it in order to appear more dignified.

"If this is true…" she thought

Kintar had an especially hilarious reaction. She was shaking Kenno vigorously, excitement gushing through her. Kenno didn’t have time to be shocked. He could almost feel his mana cores tumbling within his body chaotically.

Uyuniya and Elita had more subdued reactions, as did the shorter Skullius after the initial shock.

He rubbed his temples.

"How in the world is that possible? That doesn’t make any sense. Time doesn’t…" he stuttered. "Consternals don’t… What do you mean you’re my future, you sockethole?"

The shorter Skullius couldn’t wrap his mind around it.

Was time travel that fickle? Could a simple Divine just bend the unfathomable concept of Consternals that Skullius had heard Serenity praise?

The taller Skullius gave a soft, mature sigh. Even his breath smelled older.

"I prefer not to give lengthy tales. Unfortunately, it seems I have to give a long account regardless," he said with a meaningful stare at his counterpart. "In any case, I don’t mean a direct future tied to the wider reality as a whole." He turned to Elita. She was a little startled by his calm, focused gaze. "You should know, right? The flow of time is different from world to world. They exist outside the direct influence of Consternals to a degree – at least on the inside, where Rules govern the events to do with living things."

Elita slowly nodded. Uyuniya furrowed her brows. Indeed, they both knew this to be true.

Thus, it was possible for this Skullius to be from a future.

"After I was lost in the great void, it was rather difficult to survive for too long. There are countless Fiends, Corrupted Deities, War Fields, abandoned Fated Reefs… It took every bit of my strength and wit to survive, especially with my Amras leaking out so wantonly," Future Skullius said. He sighed. He didn’t enjoy expositing. After all, she preferred cool silence.

"I found my way to a new world. A weak one. I ripped through its Rules and settled there. Time passes quicker in worlds that aren’t Rich. As a Divine, you can feel it. The relationship between time in a world and time… Consternals, in the wider reality. There is a taste to it. Only about an hour has passed here in Aigas since I fell in the great void, right?"

Future Skullius donned a serious visage. He might have been reliving his chaotic experience in the great void.

The shorter Skullius was baffled, as were Kenno, Sila and Kintar. Aurolio might have been in class, listening to the teacher wholeheartedly.

"I see. So since then, you’ve lived two whole years on another world? No wonder…" he said.

"No wonder indeed." Future Skullius donned another soft smile. "That’s why I can confidently say I know which stage you’ve just broken through. It was the same for me. Somanda managed to seize control of you through Doom Factor 2, right? I had help, so I didn’t let him filter through me. I blocked him."

Skullius frowned.

He had blocked him? Wait. Could it be that Somanda reached Future Skullius before he reached him (shorter Skullius) even though the time in this lesser world Future Skullius had lived in moved quicker?

That’s right. Of course that was the case.

"What kind of help did you have to be able to block Somanda? How did you do it?" shorter Skullius asked eagerly.

But Future Skullius did not answer. In fact, he seemed to regard the question with a bit of distaste.

Serenity knew why. She was half glad.

Future Skullius folded two of his arms in front of his chest while the rest remained slotted in his pockets.

"You’ve just experienced a breakthrough in the way you think, shedding away hesitation and embracing reality. I don’t care what the exact conclusion you came to is. I’m sure it’s sufficient. Believe me, there’s more to your growth than meets the eye. Just like you had someone to show you the way, I also had someone to do so for me," he said and looked at Elita, who flinched. Somehow, Future Skullius knew this development of his counterpart’s was tied to her.

He turned to back to the shorter Hybrid Warmoth.

"I’m not here to bail you out – to expose to you secrets that you haven’t figured out yet about your powers so you can easily win. I couldn’t, even if I wanted to. Remember, the burden of Somanda – especially – is a selfish one we picked because of our ego. That ego needs to burn bright on its own until it becomes a beacon. That’s the only way for it to mean something. After all, you are the one who is going to face Somanda. Not me. Just like the last time there were two of us running around, we are ultimately different people. I can’t help you with everything."

Shorter Skullius scowled. The Fruit Bearer sitting beside him did as well.

"What the flesh do you mean you can’t help? Why did you come all the way here then?" Skullius asked hotly. "I can tell that you’re a lot stronger than me. Barring you teaching me applications of my powers I haven’t figured out yet and expanding my knowledge, you could take off some of the heat away from me. It’s chaos here on Aigas."

"I must agree," the Fruit Bearer joined the conversation and looked sternly at Future Skullius. "Suzamete saw you coming from beyond the great void and is counting on your help. She is preparing to clear the drapes of time as we speak, but she needs more guarantee against Boron’s interference. He has been planning something."

The Fruit Bearer then fixed Kintar with a look. Everyone else was prompted to.

The Unlimited Star blew a long, fat breath and gestured towards Red Rage, redirecting the attention. The Apostle, conflicted as he was with what was going on, knew exactly what was being asked of him.

He looked to Future Skullius and then to shorter Skullius.

"The crystals Boron placed all over Aigas are summoning conduits, master," he said gravely. "I’m not sure what mechanism they use exactly, but I know for sure that his aim is to summon and lock down a set of targets here. If I were to venture a guess from what I gleaned, I’d say he intends to call Quintess and Listafelle here. He will duel them here on Aigas."