Bro, I'm not an Undead!

If it appeared to be bias, then that truly was the case. Ever since acquiring the Hybrid Luman status from the Discount Human status, Skullius had found that his body was extremely receptive to all things [Just Light], and that the opposite was also true.

It almost seemed as though, by virtue of being human, it would be very difficult for Skullius to awaken [Just Light] at all, and the Null Lifeform had started believing it too, since throughout his life as a Discount Human, [Just Light] had eluded him – the excursion in the Labyrinth of the Yoke aside.

It was only when he used the Luminant Seed that [Just Light] awakened, and that only happened because of the [Wing of the Just], which the bright golden element was attracted to.

Just a few hours, when Skullius awakened, [Just Light] had erupted again, his affinity for it growing immensely, and yet [Evil Darkness] remained the same; completely unchanged despite the flurry of WILLS.

Curious.

Now, his control of [Just Light] had reached the pinnacle of what it could be, and something deep within the Hybrid Luman churned for the first time in a very long while.

The Fruit of World Myths.

Like a restless mark – flower, really – dark in tone, and with a bright cross over it, bits of darkness and light swirling around it, the Fruit of World Myths was what made the Insurgent Magnus what they were.

While it existed in the body of the user... it also didn't. Physical harm to the body it resided in couldn't damage it, and even if the body was destroyed, it wouldn't be exposed or cease to exist along with the host's body.

It was truly an odd and unfathomable creation.

Now, it churned as [Just Light] reached the 'S' rank.

The pinnacle.

[The Insurgent Magnus grows...]

[Your affinity to CONTROL and GUIDE with the light is elevated. Rather than a judge, you are the LAW. You dictate everything with the benchmark of JUSTICE and LIGHT you create with your own hands]

[The Authority of Light is all yours]

[You have awakened THREE of the NINE Seeds pillars of the Fruit of World Myths]

['Graceful Monolith of the Eminent' opens...]

...And then came notification after notification, aggressively, as though keen to prove the growth of the one who wielded the Fruit of World Myths!

['Just Light Creation' and 'Just Light Meshing' combine and evolve into the Super Skill, 'Progenitor of Light']

['Saint Lumis' Benign Arc' evolves into the Super Skill 'Gradius Order Halo']

[Destined Warp Steps evolves into the Super Skill 'I Am The World']

[Lucent Apparition evolves into the Super Skill 'Order-Soul Subjection]

...

...!!!

Every Skill with ties to [Just Light] evolved by several times and entered another tier of power – the Super category!

Skullius couldn't feel the rippling intensity of each skill as it exploded with additional power since they were all stored somewhere quite removed from his body, but the notifications were enough for him to appreciate what was happening.

He grinned in satisfaction.

He hadn't expected this, but it worked all the same in his favour.

Back in the Temple of Unlusted Tears, Skullius had read from the three plaques that [Evil Darkness] was for RESTRAINING and BINDING.

He had witnessed this with the [Perfect Night Domain], the enclosure of darkness which he learned to use to suppress weaker opponents in the past.

[Just Light], on the other hand CONTROLLED and GUIDED.

This was made evident by the Preeminent Attegoth, the massive construct, much like a tree made of bones which Skullius forged with light, its ability to execute complex actions for Skullius and to control anything that bore its mark.

All of this, however, had been done with abysmal affinities.

The 'S' rank of [Just Light] boosted everything that had been touched by light, giving them the power equivalent of Super Skills!

Skullius had acquired absurd boons from this as well, which were much less extravagant yet every bit as beneficial.

Super Skills required a purple core to cast, but he wasn't worried at all.

The [Graceful Monolith of the Eminent] was going to be a big help with that. Definitely.

All he needed to do, was plant his seed.

'Ah... I got too lost in my own little bubble...' Skullius thought as he opened himself up to the surroundings once more.

The first thing he felt was the overbearing presence of Luserus.

'It worked...' Skullius thought.

Even with the shrine now gone, along with its shadow, the Deity still seemed to be hovering around him... or perhaps above him.

The shrine wasn't destroyed. It had been assimilated, the same way all of Skullius' skills had been. It now existed somewhere within Skullius' invisible repertoire of powers, with only bits of the Luminants' devotion clinging onto it.

This was enough for Luserus to continue hanging about, but he couldn't be as expressive as before. At best, he could follow along with Skullius' exploits if he pleased.

"That's good enough for you, isn't it?" Skullius chortled as he spoke to the open air.

The reply he got, was the easing up in the pressure around him.

"Good."

The Hybrid Luman then raised a brow as he looked beside him where a bright blue flame with a human shape had its wispy head turned to him.

"What are you looking at?" Skullius asked with a condescending smirk.

Serenity didn't speak immediately. Her flame started fizzling out bit by bit as the seconds passed, and then, before she disappeared, she said:

"You think you've won and you believe you're lost. I pity you. He will set you straight."

Skullius' smirk disappeared.

His first instinct was to retort, but he wasn't allowed the chance. Serenity had disappeared.

A deep frown emerged on the Hybrid Luman's face.

"Don't speak to me of that... fake," he hissed under his breath before turning behind him where Sevill dropped on one knee at the sight of him, the two Sif at her side hesitating slightly before collapsing in awe and reverence as well.