NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1326: Most Wanted (6)
Chapter 1326: Most Wanted (6)
Aurolio had been watching.
The spasming, pulsing, rippling torrents of Voided Death Essence from this location had long attracted his attention. They coursed all throughout Pelian.
He had hurried to this location as soon as he could. The pale man could never have imagined that he would feel another signature of Voided Death Essence on Aigas. He had thought he was the only voided Deathform here, but apparently, that wasn't the case.
He had been taken aback when he found that there was not one, but two Voided Deathforms on site, and worse yet, they were fighting a familiar face. Even with a different form to him, Skullius' identity was obvious to Aurolio. He was the first Null Lifeform the pale man had ever
seen.
The image of the three engaged in a brutal yet complex battle was poetic. It seemed to spell suggestions to Aurolio, especially without context.
Was this how it was supposed to be?
Was the path he had chosen - allying with Skullius, who was supposed to be an enemy, in order to harvest Exp back then- the wrong path?
Was Null Life and Voided Death fated to be parallel for all time?
Aurolio didn't know the answer.
He had almost convinced himself to join the battle as soon as Elita and Uyuniya begun using Void Clot - a technique he had never seen before - but ultimately, he decided against it.
Yes, these two women were better users of Voided Death than he was.
Yes, it was better to wait and watch. To learn.
For the second time in a while, Aurolio found himself presented with a precious learning opportunity. However, it didn't last long.
The furious sensation had caught him off guard. It was so close, and so vibrant.
Aurolio had felt Void's fury from his very bones when it first barreled out, dripping with killing intent. She was livid. The feeling that anger poured into him as a result of his connection to Void had actually scared him, as did the display of Void's power which came right after.
But that fear didn't stop Aurolio from jumping in to help Skullius.
He, quite like Serenity, could feel the build-up to Void's attacks. He had launched himself forward and reached Serenity before the attack came, expelling all the Voided Death Essence he could master.
But why? Well...
In truth, Aurolio didn't know how he was supposed to help against Void's cruel spears. That was why he expelled Voided Death Essence into the already firm dome of Null Life Essence Serenity had erected about; he hoped for some result. He didn't know what happened next, since the events far exceeded his ability to keep up.
Serenity, on the other hand, could.
She recognized the Voided Death Essence mixing into her own energy and was intrigued.
She had long known how the two energies interacted when pulled together. They weren't opposites. In a way, they behaved like water and oil. They wouldn't mix, but the latter, if placed correctly, could support the other.
And that was what Serenity did.
She used her Null Life Essence to direct Aurolio's Voided Death Essence towards their front, where the spears were coming from. She wasn't confident her dome alone could handle the charge of a spear, unlike her shield; all of the spears weren't aiming for her shield, after all.
And true enough, when three of the seven spears swerved to avoid the shield and strike at Skullius directly, Aurolio's efforts showed merit. The speed of their movement was reduced dramatically. The spears were especially affected by the bits of the dome with both Null Life and Voided Death Essence sloshing about in an odd tangle.
However, they were still moving at crazy speeds of at least a hundred and fifty times the speed of light. They would reach Skullius behind Serenity's shield in less than a fraction of a fraction of a nanosecond. But that was all Serenity needed. While dealing with the three other spears that smashed into her shield, their tips boring through, she manipulated her Null Life Essence in the dome to ward away the ones aiming for Skullius.
Two were forcibly redirected into the air, but the third...
'DAMMIT!' Serenity cried. She missed.
The last one aimed true.
It reached the Hybrid Warmoth, who wouldn't even know how he died when it hit and...
...
...
Nothing.
The spear suddenly came to a halt.
Serenity was shocked.
Why did it stop?
Beyond her curiosity, however, urgency drove her to use the chance to change the course of the spear and drive it away. It was only when that was done that she focused back on her question and found an answer.
She sighed.
'I see,' she thought, reading Void's intent. 'You knew that the impact from your attack this close, would not only destroy Skullius, but also this young bearer of yours.'
And indeed, this was why.
As furious as Void was, she reined in her sense.
She cared for her bearers deeply, Void knew. At the very least, she would never sacrifice them for any machination of hers, unlike Emmae.
The world-ending shockwaves caused by the spears once again rocked Aigas, and when their accompanying noises erupted, Skullius, Aurolio, Elita and Uyuniya finally caught up.
All but the pale man were shocked by what they saw.
Skullius looked up at Aurolio, gaping. The pale man first paid his attention to Elita and Uyuniya before turning to the Hybrid Warmoth. Skullius couldn't see it, but a grin stretched
over the man's face.
"Everything just has to revolve around you, doesn't it?" Aurolio said with a chuckle. "What did you fucking do to get Void all riled up, man?"
Skullius was still reeling from the fact that Aurolio was here. This was a great surprise. It even seemed like he was alive because of this man. He was lost for words.
He might have conjured a word or two to say right then, if the guidance field hadn't spilled
more notifications.
A ninth contract arrived and then...
[You have acquired the Pseudo-Void Rank, Exotic Parlous Nature-
But even the interruption was interrupted by an interruption.
Everything was already spiraling into messy chaos - Skullius' new Parlous Nature, the contracts from Primeval Deities, Void's rage, but something else suddenly took center stage, and it was by no means insignificant.
The dark sky above warped, and broke apart for what might have been the millionth time
today.
A gigantic Majestic Territory appeared amidst the fragments of the shattered world, orb-like and vivacious. Extraordinary volumes of Nitros were blazing from it, lightly highlighting everything below in a solid white glow. The Territory was so large that it didn't appear so at first. Only when it shattered in turn did Elita, Uyuniya and Aurolio realise what it was.
Its Imaginary GeoScape vanished as quickly as smoke in a gust of wind, but the three figures who had been trapped within it remained suspended in mid-air.
On one side was the Apostle Araeyn and the Unlimited Star Kenno.
And on the other, was an immense creature decked in foul armour emitting a similarly foul pressure of Undeath. It was a Doom Knight.
For the first time in history, the Existential Parallels had met in one place, matched against each other in a convoluted, unpredictable design.
[Author's Note]
And that concludes the first half of this arc. I would like to hear your thoughts on it, so if you'd be so kind, leave your comments.
On a somberer note, while this might make some of you a bit upset, we will be shifting perspectives just for a little while. As this volume is called the Rise of the Stark-Soul Order, it is imperative that I display the powers and delve into the characters in the Order before the upcoming last volume. I promise to make it entertaining. Bear with me in these trying times. Thank you all. I know there was some silent supporters who lurk in the darkness. I really appreciate your continued support!