Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Chapter 1167: Timemould Mirror Box (1)



"Stay... away... Jan`ind..." it said. "First... you must become HIS echo... Stay away..."

Replicus was perplexed and he immediately stopped moving.

He had expected that at least half of the artefacts in this hall had a voice and a consciousness, and it was obvious that the mysterious armour in front of him had to have the strongest and most keen of all, but he did not think that he would be warned against drawing closer to it even when he didn't have the intention of touching it.

"Stay... where you are..." the voice came again, much deeper and even more commanding. "First... become HIS echo... Then... you may approach."

Replicus couldn't go any further.

Besides the verbal warning, he felt and saw the brimming of the dark bubbles, like soapsuds frothing from the armour get even more intense, hissing dangerously in response to his presence. He took a step back, unsure of what could happen.

It appeared he was being threatened rather than warned, and he had every reason to believe that the armour would harm him if he didn't heed.

'It's calling me what that super Strawler was calling the Warmoth...' Replicus thought.

Unlike the being he had met on the Third Layer of the Empyrean Hatcher, the armour at least recognised him as the successor of the Warmoth, and despite its threat, it showed its recognition by telling Replicus how exactly to move forward. Well, it gave a clue.

'Become his echo?' Replicus thought.

What could this mean?

...!

Replicus eyes suddenly widened. His phantoms had hurriedly combed through his entire arsenal of abilities and produced a theory that seemed to spell out the meaning of the grand armour's words.

"Yes! We have a plethora of skills, you know! We have one called [Bloodline Awakening: Warmoth's Return], remember? It's an odd sort of skill. It must have ties to the Warmoth's Spine."

"That's right. The Spine itself is only a Pseudo-Transcendent grade artefact, but since it's a Fond Calamity, it has a release state - an awakening of sorts that we are still not able to use yet. I believe while in that state, it's actually something that's beyond the Transcendent grade."

"I recall that. Then... could [Bloodline Awakening: Warmoth's Return] actually be a skill that can only be used after we figure out how to use the Spine or vice versa?"

As it appeared, Replicus hadn't bothered with using [Bloodline Awakening: Warmoth's Return] because it was an unusable skill at the moment.

[Bloodline Awakening: Warmoth's Return (Supreme) | Lv.1]

???

[Locked]

Even though Replicus had managed to refine two of his cores into the gold quality - the highest quality core there was in Aigas - which was the only way to active the strongest brand of skills - Supreme skills - the skill remained locked. He couldn't use it yet.

However, his Warmoth's Spine had a similar restriction preventing him accessing its full

state.

During his fight with Caxellac, Replicus recalled the Null Devil King attempting to release his Fond Calamity, the Bastard Sword of the Hedonist, but he had managed to interrupt him. All Fond Calamity weapons had a release state which bolstered their powers, and Replicus was sure that the Warmoth's Spine was similar, only.

The key to doing so was likely how he could get access to [Bloodline Awakening: Warmoth's Return], or it could be the other way around - it was nearly impossible to know.

In any case, this is what he and his phantoms deciphered from the grand armour at the end of the hall when it said, "Become HIS echo."

If [Bloodline Awakening: Warmoth's Return] allowed Replicus to actually become the Colossus Warmoth...

'But... does that mean the only way to become strong enough to be recognised by that Strawler and this armour is to become exactly like the Warmoth? To become its second coming?' Replicus wondered.

The idea didn't sit right with him.

He looked at the grand armour again, watching the darkness almost spilling from its visor.

How would this be any different from when he, as Skullius, inherited the powers of the Insurgent Magnus and Fulgardt's will - the very reason he was having to fight his original body?

Would the Warmoth take him over?

Would he be forced to follow in its footsteps?

'No. I can't make that mistake again...' Replicus thought as he imagined a particular feeling.

Fulfilment...

He recalled how Allora died, without so much as a regret written on her face.

Replicus wasn't content merely becoming a copycat of the Warmoth.

He wanted his own fulfilling way of growth.

He was already different in appearance to the Warmoth - he imagined - so why should he carry himself the same? He was supposed to the Progeny, not to the clone. 'Caxellac adored the Warmoth and wanted to create a dying legacy for himself that would be remembered in the same way the Warmoth was - as this mysterious behemoth that wormed in and out of worlds as he pleased and without leaving a trace. I don't want to follow the same path,' he thought, still staring at the beautiful armour. 'If that means I won't get recognised by the Warmoth's treasures and servants, that's fine. I already have my own loyal subordinates after all, and I can create my own treasures now.'

A smile bloomed on Replicus' face.

Sure, he was far from being as strong as the Warmoth, but he could become so in his own way.

He had the creature's powers. He just had to revamp them and mix them with his own

inventions.

Replicus turned and walked out of the hall.

He gazed with a twinge of longing towards some of the treasures. He could probably take some of them when he got strong enough.

As he reached the partition dividing the display hall and the forging hall, he couldn't help but think that there was no way this was all there was to the Warmoth's Treasury.

Sure, there were thousands of powerful weapons including the fabled great armour, but still...

That was it?

He stood at the partition and frowned.

There was no way this was all there was.

But it really looked this was all there was to it.

What else could there be?

Replicus retrieved the gold key and was about to use it to create an exit when his eyes met the

floor.

"Hmmm?"

There was a large - even when compared to his increased size - hexagonal shape on it right in the middle of the partition. It was in the form of a groove that was easy to miss, if one's attention was stolen by something grander, as was what had happened to Replicus when he

moved from the forging hall to the display hall.

"What is this?" Replicus said to himself.

He crouched down and touched the grooves.

The moment he did, Ju`wtte flew out from under the sleeves of his robes where the Ju`wtta

were hidden and traced along the hexagonal shape with vibrant yellowish-red!

The floor then seemed to vanish from under Replicus' feet and before he knew it...