Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Chapter 1012 To Foster The Next Generation

The look on Skullius' face convinced the two Royals that he wasn't joking. This wasn't the time for a hearty fib anyway. The man before them really was serious about picking not just their youngest daughter, but their eldest as well.

For the King, who, unlike the Queen was already questioning Skullius' character because he apparently had the legacy of the infamous Fulgardt, this turned out to be a huge turn-off. A surge of fury built up within him rapidly, but was doused by rational thinking. For now, perhaps it wasn't a bad thing to entertain this man. He had saved Opungale after all.

"I must admit. Your interest in our daughter…daughters, has taken us by surprise. You must be aware that they are not tools or prizes that we can just hand Out. They are, in fact, individuals who have the right to choose who they want to be with. Their choice matters," the King said firmly.

Skullius' blank gaze fixed on him for a while, his face tinged with an apathetic expression. Then he said:

"You seem rather reluctant in the face of a genuine Luminant. I thought you'd believe in this by now and be more…inviting of my requests, especially one such as this." Skullius head scrolled over to the Queen who stiffened a little.

She had watched the entire battle between the Ode and Skullius – at least what happened outside the Territory – and the latter's transformation did show hints that suggested the validity of what Darwel had been saying. Or did it?

In all honesty, since not that much was known about the Luminants' old lives before Aigas – as they never spoke much about it – it was hard to confirm this. Besides that, no one expected to see more Luminants since they had all died.

"If you were in our situation, you wouldn't be inclined to believe just anything you hear, even from another devout Sif. There simply is no evidence of there being a Luminant who left Opungale. They weren't adventurous people, you see. Or perhaps, after being stripped from their original home, they simply made the effort to create a new one that wasn't too ambitiously large. They could have wrought their fury on Aigas and expanded to conquer much of it, but they didn't. They instead lived and perished here where they built connections and the shrine for their Deity," Embrell said.

And it was indeed so. 𝑓𝘳ℯℯ𝔀ℯ𝓫𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓵.𝘤𝘰𝓶

The Sif prided themselves on having very accurate records of the past. These records were, after all, kept by beings that were millennia old –great, ancient trees of the various forests and the expansive seas. Nature kept everything that had happened on Opungale imbedded in its roots, its vines and its leaves. As such, the High Family, the El Sif who could communicate with said nature, knew quite a lot about everything that was known.

Skullius nodded and folded his arms. He remained silent for a while, seemingly debating with something in his head. He then spoke after what felt like an hour.

"This god of the Sif. I spoke to him,"

…!!!

Embrell and her husband were stunned.

"What?!" the former exclaimed. "What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly as I said," Skullius replied. "Darwel took me to that place, to the Oath of Mourning which hid the shrine. She had promised me so back in Pelian. Since I do possess Luminant blood – stop looking so shocked, I really do – the shrine allowed me to come into contact with the Deity Luserus. He had been hoping for a Luminant to speak with him."

The look on Embrell's face suggested that she did not believe this at all. How could she? Her people always visited the shrine to pay their respects to the fallen Luminants who made it. The object merely looked like a regular construct used to stand in place for Luserus, not something that actually conjured the Deity.

"As you may or may not be able to imagine, Luserus was distraught at his children having all passed on. I assume there was no concept of the afterlife in the world that he made. Their souls must have perished upon death. A pity. Thus, I made a deal with him. I will nurture generations of Luminants for him. The best candidates for this process, are of course, those with a portion of Luminant blood like me. El Sif. In other words, your daughters," Skullius continued. "I doubt your Majesty would be willing to mate with me, but I'm sure your daughters wouldn't mind."

The Queen's eye twitched at the last sentence, but she maintained her cool.

"Fostering a generation of Luminants… Is this true?" the King said with interest.

"Indeed," Skullius said, a small smirk growing on his face.

Embrell was nauseated by it.

This tale seemed ridiculous. The way Skullius said it made it sound so… casual.

A Deity distraught? Skullius made it sound as though he took advantage of the Deity.

"Forgive me, but I'm finding this all very hard to take in. You bargained with a Deity?" Embrell said, a look of grave suspicion on her face.

Skullius sighed.

"Let me make this clear. It wouldn't have been my first choice if there was anything else I could have offered that would pique the interest of a god. Only this would do. And let me elaborate: I am not trying to bind you or your daughters to myself. I'm not particularly fond of… bodily pleasures myself. I'm simply asking for a favor. In any case, whatever dozens upon dozens of children are born will remain among your people. All of them Luminants – in one capacity or another. Isn't that an attractive offer?"

Embrell and the King looked at each other.

It was apparent that they saw things a little differently. They were surprised by the look they saw in the other's eyes – a dark look of uncertainty in the Queen, and a hopeful, expectant one in her significant other. The King was very much optimistic about this entire ordeal. He seemed to be more like Darwel than Embrell. He had a burning fascination with the Luminants that breached his guarded securities and reason.

Did he have evidence of whether or not all he heard was true? No.

However, the more he thought about it… it had taken Benyn and Cosycn a while to return after he and Embrell had sent them to retrieve Darwel earlier.

Darwel and this man had gone to the Oath of Mourning then.

So maybe… just maybe…

"You will have to wait, I'm afraid," Embrell said, surprising the King. "Whether we agree or not depends on our daughters in the end. Sadly, as you can see, Evandelyn isn't in any condition to engage with us on the subject, and Darwel is currently a seed within the Ruse. It will take a while to restore her, and that again, is dependent on when these two will be healthy enough to manage the Deathly Ruse."

The King sighed and said nothing.

He instantly figured that he was being a little too rash.

Skullius, on the other hand, tilted his head, and then smiled.

"Very well. We don't have to deal with this today anyway. I'll be heading to be Maqi shortly," he said, and the King reeled.

"What?"

"I'll tell you about it later," Embrell whispered to him.

She turned and saw Skullius departing from the way she and he had come.

While looking at his broad robe that swayed as he moved, Embrell couldn't help but wonder if it was any good letting this man wander freely on Aigas.

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