Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Chapter 1238: Explaining Everything (6)

"I never would have guessed..." Replicus said as he struggled to balance his body, on his face a jarring frown. "Honestly, if you hadn't been with Erlton, I don't think I would have believed you."

"From what you told us about your relationship with Somanda, I wouldn't blame you if you didn't," Soidon said with a shrug.

Elita shook her head and emitted a muffled chuckle. She too could hardly believe the tale that had just been told, however much she wanted to believe that the legendary dragon Jiggorrhax had the power to cleanse an Arch-Lich.

"Wow, you even sound like a Repented Lich," she said.

Silrat and Theurien found themselves feeling a bit agitated. To learn that this entire time, they had been sitting next to not one, but two beings that had formerly been related to Undeath was a great blow to their common sense.

"Suddenly, my world of politics between Families and Houses feels so insignificant," Theurien mumbled under his breath.

Silrat patted his shoulder. He could relate more than anyone else here. He glanced at Soidon, hardly daring to imagine what the man had looked like before.

Replicus kept his gaze fixed on the former Lich.

"So, you were acquainted with Somanda?" he asked. He didn't show any particular hostility with the question, but Soidon could tell that there was a bit of venom lurking behind it.

"No. Arch-Liches aren't inherently social creatures. We... They are very secretive. They don't invade each other's privacy; they don't visit each other or ask about the other's day. Most interactions are born out of hostility or mutual interest. Alliances - which are usually very short-lived and end in backstabbing - are the closest things that Liches get to having positive interactions. Even discounting this fact, there's millions upon millions of Arch-Liches in the Eminence's domain. Thus, I wouldn't know every single Lich personally," he said.

Replicus scratched his chin.

He didn't say it, but the fact that Liches seemed to all have names beginning with 'So-' probably didn't make things any better.

"I see. Millions upon millions, huh? Somanda ascended to Divinity not too long ago. How many High Liches are there?" he said.

Soidon was a bit surprised by the revelation. Replicus hadn't mentioned this in his narration before.

This Somanda had ascended?

"I wouldn't dwell on that if I were you. There's no point. I'm sure you are only concerning yourself with getting the other portion of your soul. That, while already extremely dangerous, is at least manageable - when accounting for the odds. If you somehow intend to contend against the full might of the Eminence, you'll find that it is no way inferior to that of Void and Serenity's treasure. As an undead minion of the lowest rank, I'm sure you never travelled the lands much, so you wouldn't know," the former Lich said.

Well, Soidon was right.

Replicus didn't have any intention of vanquishing Undeath. Even Serenity never asked that of him, meaning it was likely impossible for him; perhaps for him alone.

"Fair enough," Replicus said and he stretched his legs, feeling more strength returning. Good. This was good.

He didn't feel vulnerable anymore. That was a very distasteful feeling.

The after-effects of using Implicit Evolution should have been much worse. When he practised with Serenity in the Timemould Mirror Box, using a small amount of Null Exp each time, he was usually rendered unconscious for a while afterwards. He likely didn't experience the same this time because he had immediately gotten a new body using the Embryotic Stuffing.

"You mentioned that entry and exit into Deadmanland has some requirements?" he asked. "Yes - though I do wonder why use such a name for that place. Contiguous Sap is required for all motions in and out, and it is rather limited based on the ranks. Of course, I don't exactly have that anymore," Soidon said.

Replicus scoffed.

"So, there's no way to get into Deadmanland?" he asked.

"Well, I have a few theories that may or may not help. We could test them. Honestly, without Contiguous Sap... It may be difficult," the former Lich said nervously.

Replicus analysed every single gesture the man made.

He didn't trust him. Not one bit. He bought his story - as he had said before - only because Erlton 'vouched' for him. The Herald must have confirmed Soidon's identity. Well, at least he must have confirmed that this man was an Outsider.

So far, Soidon's explanations seemed to hold some truth, but Replicus wondered why he was cooperating. Did getting cleansed by Jiggorrhax's breath purify this bastard of all his earlier intentions of conquest?

No way. It couldn't be.

He recalled the vile manner in which Somanda revelled in his fetishes and desires.

Evil of that nature couldn't be forced to repentance by Divine flames alone.

Replicus resolved to find the former Lich's true motives.

He considered branding him with the Stark Constellation, but decided against it.

Not now. That could wait.

As long as Soidon was here, he had no option of leaving without Replicus' permission. In that sense, Replicus had time to truly consider his next steps. He was doing the same with Elita,

actually.

Because the matter of Soidon's identity gave room for too much speculation and suspicion, Replicus turned to Elita, aiming to ask her about what it was exactly she had been doing outside Aigas when...

The gateway into this resort churned and several figures poured in.

Everyone turned to them.

There were seven in all, Yuyui included.

Every single one of them, quite like the lime-haired girl, wore an exquisite, starry armour with a six-pointed star branded onto the chest plate: the Granted Star Armament. Each version was different in a way that gave a lot of character to its wearer.

Elita frowned.

As the group moved through the flower-field towards their position, she again noticed that, just like when she first met Yuyui, she could sense nothing - absolutely nothing - about these people. She couldn't ascertain how strong they were with her senses.

She couldn't tell anything about their mana, or their Stage.

Of course, Elita could appraise them with her guidance field, but in her time outside Aigas, she had grown to know about Patronage Ranks. With a higher Patronage Rank, a user of the guidance field could give someone else access to the guidance field, and some of the ones she had come across could tell if they were being appraised. Most considered it rude.

If Replicus had achieved a high enough Patronage Rank, and acquired information about how

to manually manipulate the guidance field, his subordinates would be able to notice her

appraisal.

Replicus beamed at the group of seven.

He was happy to see them all and they were all happy to see him.

All of them were branded with the Stark Constellation on their forehead, and oddly, the Ju`wtte-constructed mark sparked violently on all of their foreheads, mirroring their collective, similar feelings of relief.

Yuyui.

Kenno.

Pherdanta.

Grim.

Baddan.

Savast.

Kintar.

Five humans and two Cluster beasts.

Replicus looked proud.

He gave a formal introduction.

"Silrat, Theurien, Elita, Soidon... These are my most trusted, most loyal partners. They also happen to be the strongest forces in my Order," he said, a smile cropping up on his face. "To isolate their value from the rest - not that I don't find worth in the others - I dubbed them the Unlimited Stars. I hope you will treat them with sufficient respect."

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