Bro, I'm not an Undead!

A great silver-tiled space appeared.

The tiles rattled as they appeared, setting themselves on the ground with the same grace as dominos dropping to the floor. Each was as large as a small house with deep grooves that could fit a whole infant.

The sky was the same as that which burdened the Empyrean Bosom, or rather, it was the same bland sky.

This new space was rather odd. It was a little like a Majestic Territory's space, or rather, how a Territory interacted with the world around it.

Majestic Territories didn't normally impress themselves over the elements of the world. They simply pushed away everything in the vicinity to make space for their whole. If there had been anything in the way of this new, tiled space, it would have been impolitely grafted away for its own convenience.

And indeed, quite like some Territories Skullius had seen, a bit of the Empyrean Bosom's elements, like the Empyrean Hatcher, could be seen through the vague end of this space. It wasn't a harsh wall of black or white that dictated where this dimension started or where it ended.

But these details were meaningless and trivial to the spectators and Skullius himself.

After all, they paled in comparison to the look of the prisoner, the Corrupted Deity Nunax.

The Deity was… massive.

…And feminine.

She had sand-toned skin, glowing as though oiled. Her long, black hair, draping past her shoulder, was moist, oozing with a stark white, bubbly substance that had a furious pressure to it. It was Amras, Future Skullius knew.

Her eyes were like his, devoid of iris and pupil, but many times more beautiful. They stared at the tiles below her great feet.

A long, silky cloth that might have been made out of millions of tiny diamond shards covered her body. It only hid about a tenth of her features though; it was quite modest.

Blood red runic marks branded her wrists, forearms and shins like bracelets and small globes of light could be seen at the ends of the earrings she wore. Moons.

Jadeenis, or rather, Nunax was mumbling something in a soft voice, over and over again. No one could hear. The language was unfamiliar. She might have been oblivious to the onlookers.

[You are in the presence of the Corrupted Deity, Nunax of the Seventy-Seven Moons. After her world fell to ten Suspension and eighteen Impermanence Fiends, she failed to establish a connection with another world, nourishing herself with souls, and thus succumbed to Corruption]

[Her Broader Existence is now sustained by the glaring might of the seventy-seven moons that were present during the Consternal she expired. They gifted her with immense unique, light-based powers in place of her original deific powers and intellect. They sustain her existence]

[Nunax is a difficult opponent to inflict harm on because of the new properties of her Broader Existence, and by extension, her body and soul as a result of the moons]

It was then that Nunax subtly turned her head to Skullius and the rest.

The hybrid had acted before then.

Merigold Ju`wtte spilled from his finger and created a large, hollow rectangular prism that encompassed them all.

Immediately after it was formed, it broke apart into many shards, struck by something vicious and unseen. The tiled space shuddered.

Future Skullius sighed.

The others, on the other hand, turned ashen.

Elita had summoned her Broodweiler, but she hadn't known what to do with it. She, unlike the rest of the spectators knew that if it wasn't for Future Skullius' quick response, they would all have died. What chilled her the most was that she wasn't sure how exactly they would have perished.

The future Hybrid knew though.

He kept an eye on Nunax's eyes.

Oddly, the Corrupted Deity still seemed completely oblivious to their presence. The reason for her attack just now seemed completely detached from the fact they were close. This showed in how she went back to staring at the tiled floor.

'Hmm. She is pretty strong. She was likely much more powerful than this as a full, living Deity,' thought Skullius.

It was a fact that most Deities grew a bit weaker after corruption. Nunax was no exception.

The guidance field continued to exposit.

[You have been gifted three means of combating Nunax as a result of the Trials]

[The first pertains to the 47,201 gestures that you were prompted to replicate with the respective instructions]

And right then, seven of the silver tiles in the space turned royal blue. They were spread haphazardly.

[You are to perform the gestures as in the Trial, each set on a different tile]

[Each complete sequence will dampen the potency of Nunax's attacks by 40% for a thousandth of a Consternal]

"…"

Skullius shook his head and then he chuckled.

'Ridiculous.'

He had been right. The mechanism to the Taming Appixel was made as part of a jest. It wasn't an inherently helpful product.

The Fourth Trial had required Skullius to perform the 47,201 gestures in an instant, wait for 43.2 seconds, perform then again, wait again, and perform them one last time for a completed sequence.

But now, as it turned out, the reward for completing this sequence in actual combat with Nunax was that her powers would be weaker for the same amount of time Skullius had to pause between the gestures.

How in the world was that helpful?

But of course, there seemed to be more, but the Future hybrid had already lost his faith in these so-called gifts.

[The second pertains to the name of Nunax of the Seventy-Seven Moons. The name of a Deity has power, which is why most abandon their real names to use monikers instead]

[After each sequence of gestures is completed, call out the true name of Nunax, and each time, one of her abilities will be revealed to you in detail]

Future Skullius raised a brow.

'Oh? That's a bit more helpful. But, I have a feeling that won't necessarily help me to defeat her. Especially after she starts fighting in earnest. I suppose I was the fool when I began to think that with these gifts, maybe I wouldn't even need to use the War Body. How wrong I was,' he thought with another sigh.

[The third pertains to this uniquely crafted space. The subjugator is free to leave and enter it as they please, but Nunax's movements will be confined to the tiles. However, her attacks are allowed to exceed the bounds of the tiled space to target both the subjugator and the spectators]

[In addition, all participants are to be aware that these three gifts will only remain functional for a hundredth of a Consternal and then the effect of the Taming Appixel will expire, leaving the burden of subjugating Nunax wholly unto them]

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[Author's Note]

There will be several mass releases before the month ends.