Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Skullius’ blank eyes looked down and then to his right.

Strangely, while he couldn’t see, he was just too used to his sight that even though he was just sensing his surroundings, his eyes would follow in the direction he was focusing his senses.

With the Outer Domain of his sense, Skullius felt the landscape through the wind, his body moving to the right in order to expand his view and fully take it all in.

It was a pity for him though as he couldn’t appreciate the visuals which were rather exquisite.

From where he stood now, the edge of snow covered lands with more trees and grasses than he had expected, the land abruptly dipped, creating a cliff which actually had a steady, angled downslope instead of sharp one, going on for a vast distance of several miles.

This was merely the width of where Skullius was facing directly.

Before this slope, the cliff went on for quite a distance in both directions, up to almost a two hundred miles, before the land arched and circled back to Skullius’ right.

On the curve, the land sloped once again, but formed what seemed like a trough that accommodated a flowing river that streamed from miles away and spilled the water from the cliff, like a waterfall.

No.

This part wasn’t actually accurate.

Instead of painting the picture of flowing water in the minds of everyone who was curious about this, it was better to say this was a river of fog, with blocks of ice within it as one actually couldn’t see the water even when it fell off the cliff!

Only a mass of cloudy white spilled into the area of recession after the cliff, which was a tremendously thick forest!

Much of it was obscure, as this fog which emitted ferocious waves of pure mana, by some form of unrecognisable theory of flow, blew to cover much of the hundreds of miles worth of resilient flora that maintained its colour within, along with the beasts hidden inside.

Ice variants of trees could be seen at some points with other sections of this forest genuinely making it seem like the land persisted before the inevitable dump into the massive body of water that lay beyond this forest when this fog covered area of recession came to an abrupt halt.

This was the Sacred Forest Urja, another one of the pillars of stability as even now with people’s faith in the Deities dwindling, it was still believed to cast a stable veil that disallowed Clusters from forming over vast distances.

Evidence of this truth was enough for most people to stay away, with those that approached being looked upon with disdain.

“So uh… you said the place we’re looking for is like the Labyrinth of the Yoke? A place where a legacy is being kept, right?” Skullius asked as he sat down. He wasn’t going down there until the night fully came, restoring his sturdier form.

‘It is a place where a legacy was left behind yes but it’s not nearly as complicated as the Labyrinth of the Yoke or many others structures like it. I can still remember that a key isn’t needed,’ Sila replied.

“Oh. That’s good. But hey didn’t you say something about this thing that can help me being lake or river or something? I feel and hear a big body of water down there. Are they related somehow?”

‘Yes, but that’s merely the starting point,’ Sila replied with a gruff tone. It didn’t feel normal to have a conversation like this with Skullius, while disseminating information no less. He was used to exchanging pieces of hate.

But well, the old soul was capable of embodying the saying, ‘It is what it is.’

“I see. What should I expect it?”

Sila did not reply immediately.

His thoughts churned as memories he was fond of, the few that were still clear to him resurfaced, linking to the place he and Skullius were about to venture into.

‘Hmmm… Thousands of years ago, many cults were formed and morality took a dive, what with Fulgardt slaughtering those that believed in the Deities. This forced many people to turn from faith, the continent changing into a chaotic hub of immorality. You could say one of the more prominent believes that certainly grew stronger from the chaos was misogyny. Hmph. That’s actually a more tame word. It was certainly more like a devilish lust, spearheaded by depraved men who believed that since the world was turning so cruel, there was no need to uphold certain moral standards.’

‘Women had not been as involved in combat these days. Few undertook the mantles of power in combat form. The majority of those that chose to even step on battlefields were those with classes that gave their more natural abilities shine, making life easier, like hospitality and care.’

‘Thus healers and priestesses were the more standard classes that women took. Many took advantage of this and raided temples and villages, capturing and violating women as they pleased. The practice was not followed upon by authorities as obviously they had much to deal with.’

Skullius scratched his chin as he listened.

By that logic then, people like Stylla, Elita, Damilla, the girls from the Harem Guild as well as even Denille were rare in those days.

This was a strange concept to Skullius.

‘With the prevailing loss of morality, a shift was spawned in the form of a cult that rose in this time, led by twelve powerful women who decided to fight against the immorality, particularly the injustice against women,’ Sila continued, his words seeming to have a lot of emotional investment in this story. ‘They called themselves the Order of the Trodden Rose.’

“Oh. That sounds like a cool group,” Skullius said while nodding his head.

‘If only,’ Sila said. ‘What started with the intent of righteous belief, quickly turned to become an atrocity of my age. From saving enslaved women who were used as toys, the Order of the Trodden Rose turned to brutally massacring all men they came across, and not in the enticing way. Grown men and young boys were stripped down, flayed and flamed where it really hurts and then hung on poles thereafter, as the Healers within the Order kept them alive for a standard of three hours before killing them. Powerful male experts were never seen again as they seemed to serve a grander purpose.’

‘This Order repeated the same thing with every village, town and small city they passed, sending a message, as they said. Many quickly realised that Fulgardt’s influence was causing even those thought to be righteous to turn immoral, getting lost when they had created a way forward themselves. People shunned this Order, including the women of the age, experts from all over Pelian hunting them down.’

“Brutal…” Skullius said with a grimace. However, he was more concerned about how he was about to enter a place made by this group of women, which seemed so… “You said you’ve been here before right?”

‘…Yes,’ Sila said with a slightly cracked tone. ‘Multiple times.’

“Oh. Then you must remember everything in that place, right?”

‘Not everything, tomato flinger. My memory is full of holes. I’m not my full self after all. For the sake of survival I’ll mention the bitter parts when we arrive to their locations.’

Skullius had expected better but having Sila cooperate was definitely more than he could already ask for right now.

Unfortunately, the backstory he had gotten wasn’t nearly enough to kill much time as he then started to focus on forging more of the Refinery.

At this point, he was a little more than 3,5% done, Skullius seeing astounding results at least when it came to how the pure mana from his Centre reacted to being led along, told how to flow by what he had completed of the Refinery so far.

His pace was increasing, which was good, but after a little less than 30 minutes, it was time to get back on track with the matter at hand as [High Cosmetic Body] timed out.

Skullius had already removed his clothes, his tall form sparking with Levin as he rose from the mild dredges of snow he had sat on.

With his sight restored, Skullius appreciated the view before him in greater detail before nodding his head.

“Ferex. Do the thing,” Skullius said, his second Apostle appearing in its miniaturised form around his neck and instantly forming a large, dark blue hooded cloak that almost seemed ethereal. It covered Skullius nicely, obscuring his bony appearance to the feet.

“Thanks bro,” Skullius said. “Be sure to have your hide at the ready for emergencies.”

Skullius had learned from the Tremur that his appearance didn’t grant him any favours with beasts or living things in general, so he decided to hide it.

Sure the four socket flames of his still flared menacingly out of the hood, but who would immediately think of him as an undead? No one, right?

Right?!

With such preparations, Skullius walked forward, his feet shuffling through the snow (dead give away) as he penetrated the foggy welcoming.

His sights honed on what was ahead, and frankly, it wasn’t anything unexpected.

Trees stood half frozen, with their colours of brown and green persisting even in this treacherous cold that Skullius was glad wasn’t a detriment to him.

Urja was a lot darker from the inside, but it didn’t prevent his progression as he wished to hurriedly reach his destination.

Apparently, when he reached the waters at the end, that was when it would truly begin.

Within the heavily humid atmosphere with a mix of pure mana, Skullius’ [Elevated Mana Manipulation] which he was keeping active as a habit now caught something.

…!

SHF! SHF!

Deceptively light sounds echoed while a large mana signature registered in Skullius’ sense with his descent down the slope.

From a distance, he saw a hulking mass trudge through the snow casually before it too turned towards him.