'Breaking Chasm #59…' Skullius ran a hand through his hair – Savast's hair – as he contemplated, a little exasperated by the idea that every sign was pointing towards this place.

It wasn't nearly as surprising to him, really. He might have been free from his atrocious luck now, but coincidences and overwhelming circumstances were still par for the course for his journey. Perhaps part of the reason why he'd always been at the center of every grand conflict was truly because of his nature as an anomaly – the only Null Life anomaly.

…But was it? Hadn't he already been an interesting little thing before he stole Somanda's souvenirs – the Books of Alignment?

Skullius sighed. 'This Reality is vast indeed. I was beginning to think the Null Verse outscaled it in complexity, but that might not be the case at all.'

Momem Thyrgga…

Prime Worlders…

The objective of the Primeval Deities…

Many forces were colliding, and Skullius was tempted and coerced into entering the fray. His chances of coming out on top on such a large scale…

Well, that depended entirely on him.

…But fate had to do better than that to make him heel. Even now, he also had the option to disregard everything and do what he wanted, even if they'd be a hard fight soon after.

'If I truly wanted it…' Indeed, he could – he could leave it all and focus on his plan against Deadmanland, but…

His focus returned to Paliothese.

"Why would I want your son as a prize?" Skullius asked. "What's so special about you Prime Worlders?"

Plenty, said Paliothese eagerly. Deities from Prime Worlds are a special crop – a cut above the rest. Unlike you, we don't need to try for Immortal Physiques. We manifest special bodily traits similar to Physiques but even more stable, and that's before breaching past mortality; they make us exceedingly resilient in physical and spiritual aspects. And that's not to even mention our greatest advantage: we are immune to Corruption.

…!

Skullius frowned at that. Immune?

"What?"

Just as I said, the Deity was emboldened. But all this is only standard for Prime Worlders. My son has all these traits in an infinitesimally higher caliber. His real potential… That's also part of the reason he's still alive. Thyrgga saw his strengths, but not all of them. Not the gift he acquired at birth, one that the Primeval Deities would riot for if they knew.

"Wait, wait," Skullius waved a hand. His skepticism kept soaring. "Your son is also a Deity? Is it that easy to rise to that height in Prime Worlds?" said Skullius.

Not at all. Talent exists as a concept even in paradise, said Paliothese. But as it happens, it is possible for some of us to pass it down to our young, along with Divinity itself.

***

In the First Layer of the Empyrean Hatcher, Kintar, Grim, Yuyui, Elita, and Uyuniya were drowning in a suffocating silence. The Strawlers had seized and imprisoned the pirates before making impressive attempts to comfort their master's friends with beverages and warm towels, but that didn't affect any of their moods.

Kintar was in the darkest depths. The others could almost touch the thick, morbid cloud around her. Elita and Uyuniya hadn't been able to find it within them to talk to her about what had happened – to further reprimand her. It was easy to feel sorry for this version of Kintar. Very few knew just how sullen she could get. It had been a while since her last episode.

Yuyui had never even seen her in this state.

"Are you sure we shouldn't do anything about her?" she said to Grim, who was just as surprised.

"…What would we even say?"

Both had recovered significantly from the pressure of the Zu'sse from earlier. As it hadn't struck them with the intent to kill, it was already on its way to becoming a lost memory.

As she sat on the floor, cross-legged, Kintar's head was hung low, such that no one could see her face. This only further discouraged any attempts to approach.

Yuyui was only motivated by that, however. Before Grim could stop her, she marched up to Kintar, and, without saying a word, wrapped her arms around her. Kintar jerked slightly, but didn't resist.

Grim watched, baffled. Unfortunately, he just didn't get it.

Was Kintar just that much more sensitive to a scolding than any of them? Her reaction to being reprimanded was even more visceral than when they were all seized by Paliothese's Zu'sse.

But even confusing than that to Grim was…

Part of that is my fault. It's taking too damn long to iron things out with—

Skullius' words.

'What did the boss mean by that?' he thought. 'What things is he ironing out?'

"Is there a way we could procure another ship?" Uyuniya suddenly asked.

While Grim raised a brow at this, Elita, who'd already expected Uyuniya's patience to run out completely, replied at once:

"We wouldn't have a better time than Pell trying to get one in the great void."

"What are you talking about?" said Grim.

"There's a good chance that Skullius will delay our journey to Zelozeld now," explained Elita. "That's not a risk she— we can condone."

"I… see."

Right then, the column of light rising to the ceiling from the ground shimmered, and Savast appeared. His three eyes were brimming with his own thoughts, the darkness of Skullius' possession gone.

"Savast?" Grim rushed to meet him. "What happened?"

Yuyui quickly turned to the former Cluster General, and so did Kintar. When she lifted her face, its ashen colour was laid bare. Her oval-shaped eyes looked soulless.

Savast sighed when he saw it.

'Again?' he thought, but now wasn't the time to console the Unlimited Star.

"Got a message from master," he said to everyone. "We are changing course. Our target is the purple beacon – the one we saw earlier. We're going to Breaking Chasm #59."

When Elita and Uyuniya groaned in frustration, Savast turned to them.

"And master wants to see you two. The Strawlers will take you to him," he said.

---

[Author's Note]

I've been planning this coming arc for a very long time, and I'm pleased to announce that it begins from here—the first of three significant arcs in this volume, Breaking Chasm #59.

…Yay.