Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Chapter 1116: Ultimate Expressions



'The void?' Replicus thought. His phantoms mirrored both his intrigue and his suspicion.

As of right now, he only knew superficially that there was a cascade of darkness around the many worlds in existence. He was sure it was far different from Stagnant Space. It wasn't a channel one could use for travel with enough mastery or tinkering with it by the use of a mere skill.

The Deitess Suzamete, Actuass' mother, had said something ominous about this dark void. While belittling Replicus' need to avenge Allora's death by punishing Actuass, she stated that the dark void contained things that even Deities feared. Natural and unnatural phenomenon alike.

So, this whole boundless, dark space was actually the embodiment of Serenity's sister?

'Doesn't that make her the most powerful of you all? I mean, even Deities fear her,' Replicus said.

"You could say that. But it's not really about how strong we are, Skullius. Void might be boundless, her body forming phenomena that sometimes even corrupts the natural flow of reality, but that doesn't matter. There's a reason we try to find bearers of powers instead of exacting our influence directly. We each exist above Divinity, above the Deities, but we are by no means the ceiling of might in our reality. There are others that dictate how we should conduct ourselves. Forces that go beyond primordial, like us."

Replicus took a few moments to think. He guessed that since Serenity didn't give him an answer to who these beings above even her were, he must be able to figure it out on his own.

'Is one of them the Voice of Worlds?' he asked.

"Precisely," Serenity said. "The Voice of Worlds dictates us and our chosen bearers. Well, it also chooses the qualifications that determine whether or not someone is worthy of bearing our powers. Though, I suppose that's where Emmae has an advantage."

Replicus was visibly puzzled.

'How so?' he said before his phantoms eagerly produced an answer for him. 'Right. You said Undeath is kind of ordinary compared yours and Void's power. Is that it?'

Serenity was pleased that Replicus caught on.

"Yes. Since Emmae's power is merely a corrupted form of death, she isn't really restricted like us. She has a lot more freedom. Her creatures in Deadmanland also have more freedom since it's not really like my Null Verse. Her powers exist within the bounds of the laws of existence. You can think of it like this: bread can be fresh and available, and it can also be expended until there is nothing left - by eating it, of course."

"However, that same bread can also get rotten; mouldy. While the fact that it is rotten is a bad thing, and is by all means undesirable and repulsive, it isn't exactly an unnatural thing. That's how Undeath is. It is simple an undesirable power that exists. However, using that same analogy, if food is capable of duplicating itself without reason until it has no limit, that is unnatural. In that sense, Void's powers break the norm, and so do mine. Thus, they must be regulated."

Replicus got the gist of it, though he would be lying if he said even his phantoms got a grip of everything.

Serenity's answer made him wonder...

'So, is Emmae not on your level then?' he asked.

"She is," Serenity answered succinctly, and didn't elaborate. She was hesitant to delve deeper into her story. She couldn't afford to spill details she didn't need to, and this question could force her to do just that.

"What did you think about Void's bearer?" she rapidly changed the subject.

Replicus noticed, but he didn't pursue the matter.

'Yeah,' he said. 'I saw that he's like me. He also has a true form. A race of his own that isn't human. It makes it all clear that the masked man was different from us.'

Replicus remembered Aurolio shedding his human form to reveal his true racial properties.

'He had odd powers. He could bypass some of my skills and match me in physical strength. He could even hit me with attacks I couldn't sense. Just what kind of power is that? It all started when he got this strange gold mask. I think he called this power something like Void Gate or something.'

"Yes. That's right," Serenity said. "Void's powers lie in her infinite wealth of ideas. She can grant her bearers the boundless interpretation of a certain concept. I believe the one you fought manifested Strength in multiple ways."

Replicus frowned. That was busted.

However, this ability didn't stop Aurolio from getting beaten by Jerthrax. So, these powers had to have a limit.

Serenity seemed to sense Replicus' conclusion.

"This is not exactly something unique to Void, you know? All our powers - the Existential Parallels - have ultimate forms of expression. Quite like how the powerful creatures on Aigas have Majestic Territories. You will eventually master your own," Serenity said.

'Oh.'

Replicus was intrigued.

Ultimate expressions, huh?

What did the ultimate expression of Null Life in a high Tier Null Lifeform look like?

He had been about to ask this question when Edagon sprang into view.

...!

'As I expected,' Replicus thought while his curved eyes narrowed.

He had known. Well, it was obvious really. A land of the Giants which was formerly inhabited

by dragons, as the modern texts said, was of course, never to be compared with the likes of

Feinheath.

Edagon was humongous.

If Replicus had to give a rough estimate, he'd say it was at least five times as large as Feinheath, which had three large human nations, all with more than five billion humans in total. Replicus couldn't imagine how many Giants lived on...

"Wait..."

Something immediately hit him right then.

There was something else that Suzamete said that he hadn't gotten a chance to process when

it was spoken.

A lot of things had happened afterwards, making it slip his mind.

<Who are you to interject and decide what happens to him? He bested you, the caravan of glorified thieves that Herald forged, another anomaly and the last Giant...>

This was what Suzamete had said. Obviously, she was referring to Sause, who was 'bested' in

his attempt to save Jerthrax's life from Deathward Maw, Actuass' Territory's effects.

As Replicus began dipping down from the sky as Edagon accelerated into view, he couldn't

help but think...

'Is Sause really the last Giant?'