"There's more irony to this than you realize, sockethole."

Fulgardt hardly heard the sentence. He flared at the surging numbers in his audience – at the way they all looked at him.

Seriously?

The brat really brought out all these people? What was the reason? Did he want all of them to take turns spitting in his face? How childish!

But more importantly…

'I can't do anything!' he thought, his frustration mounting. 'I really am paralyzed and no matter how much I try, my ability to manipulate darkness and light won't so much as twitch.'

"All you said is true, in a way," Skullius said. "As a matter of fact, I relied on many individuals and variables to get to this point, not just you and your powers. Serenity, Wyrrim, the Warmoth… luck. My record is not as impressive as yours." He chuckled. There was a grace even to his self-deprecating laugh. "The fact that I really didn't need to confront you in the first place, but chose to for the sake of my ego, works against me in this context."

Fulgardt clicked his tongue.

"However, lucky for me, your hypocrisy dug you into a pit. Because you're all about the result and not the means, you decided to become an anomaly. You became like me – a fusion of contrary powers – only, I benefited from that. I've obtained my rationale for doing the things I do, and the things I'm going to do in the future."

And indeed, Skullius had finally found the bit of himself that he needed to justify his own existence. How could he not, when he had wrestled in a fierce contest with a mirror of himself in Fulgardt, Deities standing on opposite ends of a Reality-wide conflict, and even Liches.

In a sense, he had finally been stripped of the needless essence imparted into him by others – for better or for worse – and become himself, albeit a version of him that yearned for the rest of its soul in Deadmanland. That was the only thing that remained.

Fulgardt, on the other hand…

"Contrary? What part of me is contrary, brat?" he barked. "It's easy to mouth off meaningless philosophy when you've convinced yourself of victory, isn't it? You're dropping your guard."

…But Skullius was shaking his head, and finally enacting the closing act.

"Like I said. Irony."

…!!!

Right then, the Ju`wtte inside Fulgardt flared, its intensity tripling and prompting itself into a string of small Runes that spilled from the Immoral's appendages.

Fulgardt gritted his teeth. No part of the process wasn't agony to him.

'What is he—'

At the same time, the Labyrinth slowly began fragmenting, chipping away like some thin, brittle wall.

'He's—!'

Suddenly, the Runes crawling around Fulgardt's fingers and toes burst into the black foundations of the Labyrinth, which were also rapidly weaving away. They sank into the fabric of three-dimensional space beyond that, into…

'Aigas!'

It was right then, when Fulgardt realized what Skullius had meant – the weakness that Fulgardt had apparently revealed all by himself.

'So, this was it…' The Immoral's will fractured right then. Skullius noticed.

"I had your fate decided since you said it. Your choice to steal my Ju`wtte for yourself was a bonus to make everything much easier for me."

Everyone in the disappearing Hall followed Fulgardt's figure as it rose above them with eyes spotting a myriad of emotions, not the least of which was pure, unadulterated joy. Their ignorance as to what exactly would become of the Immoral only made them happier.

Their brimming emotions bounded against Fulgardt's skin like raindrops. He loathed it so.

He grew to loathe it even more when he spotted his brother next to Skullius. When he'd appeared was far from being as relevant as the wicked smile he (the brother) had upon his ugly face.

…And then the words Fulgardt said to Skullius, prompting his own demise, echoed in his head:

Nothing makes a perfect anchor for a world like an anomaly, brat! Instead of the souls of Drakkens, or some niche power developed to make a world Rich, they use people like you, stuffing them deep into a world's core to make it special! Maybe that will be your fate!

(A/N: Refer to Ch.1585).

'FOOL!' It was a word Fulgardt could only say to himself.

To think Skullius had actually internalised that morsel of knowledge…

Said Skullius relished the look on Fulgardt's face. He floated up towards Fulgardt and grabbed his wrist.

"There's little that can be done to save Aigas at this point," he said. "An anchor can't be replaced that easily, even if there were enough Deities around to try and make one, much less with only Suzamete."

A web of damaged and dead Rules appeared around them, spliced with what remained of the Labyrinth.

"I can see why some Deities hunt down anomalies and use them as anchors for worlds. It was an interesting insight you gave. Though, I'm sure not just any odd Deity can do it, those who can likely employ absurd circumstances similar to what you've done to yourself – becoming an inexhaustible resource using Limitless Paradox – in order to make an anomaly a lasting anchor." As Skullius said so, he formed a fist with another hand. "Your Voided powers are limited, but I'm sure they'll last long enough for Suzamete and Luserus to find a more permanent solution." Null Life Essence brimmed inside his fist. "And just to make sure you thoroughly enjoy that stretch of time as Aigas' saviour…"

BANG!

The blow was petty. It only made Fulgardt vomit blood when it blasted deep into his chest. His eyes rolled for a moment and grew bloodshot.

A hint of drowsiness crawled somewhere in his mind…

Something was forced to become sluggish and lazy – something immaterial.

Fulgardt couldn't muster a resistance, and when he tried to access his powers, his mind rejected the idea, as though too weak and weary.

He was too tired to try and use his Class abilities, too exhausted to try and lean on his Voided Deathform abilities. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

All he had to his name were his words. They alone remained livid, brimming with life – the only resistance he could exercise until…

"Brat…!" He lanced daggers at the Hybrid, who drew away right as the Runes of Ju`wtte coming from Skullius merged with the Rules of Aigas, becoming one.

From Fulgardt's wrist, which Skullius had been holding, a series of blue pages flooded out, heading for Skullius open hand. They layered themselves neatly over it until covers emerged on both ends. It was yet another book, its front cover branded with Fulgardt's likeness.

Skullius opened it, skimming the pages, while Fulgardt stared, flabbergasted. Soon, the Hybrid closed the book shut.

"Funny. Your Voided Death abilities will last a lot longer than I thought. Your immortality will sustain you until then and perhaps beyond."

"Brat…!"

The eyes gawking at him, filled with pleasure at his suffering, at the prospect of him being imprisoned in the very place he hated above all else (Aigas), was more than triggering. It was so much more agonizing than the searing sensation in his flesh, blood, and bones. Such agony…

That's right. Skullius didn't unite Fulgardt with his soul.

Separating the body and the soul was as difficult to achieve as it was dangerous. The damage Fulgardt was taking from the Ju'wtte inside him was slowly – ever so slowly – trickling into his Broader Existence.

It wouldn't kill him. Probably not immediately, but eventually it would.

Was this another layer to Skullius' sadistic scheme?

"Brat!"

Skullius turned and stowed the book away. As he did so, his robes began changing.

"I truly loathed you, Fulgardt," he said. His robes became full again, his reddish-black armour receding to leave behind a bare torso. "But I don't regret meeting you. As a consolation, I will carry on your will. I will find the other Fulgardts for you, and in time, the Wanderer. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little curious."

"BRAT! WAIT!"

The [Entropy's Harmonizing Nimbus] became more akin to a jacket than a robe. It was a cloud, indeed, but a more slick and pristine one with four sleeves and four pockets. It contrasted with the part of Skullius' chest it left exposed exquisitely.

"Wait! You won't leave me like this! You'll regret it, I promise you, brat!"

There was panic, despair, and fear in the voice – not an ounce of commanding quality.

Not even the weaker experts among the captives who had been inside Fulgardt's Labyrinth for thousands of years were daunted. They disregarded the Immoral as though he were history – a history that wasn't even worth spitting at.

Instead, every single one of them turned to Skullius. The Hybrid Warmoth was moving in their midst, and they made way for him. They couldn't see it, but he was appraising each and every one of them silently.

Only a single figure remained with his eye on Fulgardt – the broken brother.

He had a lot of things he wanted to scream at his older brother's face, but his desire to do so faded when he saw that Fulgardt's attention remained pinned on Skullius.

'Of course,' he thought, grinding his teeth and spitting into the darkness ahead of him. 'Even now, I'm insignificant to you.'

He turned, and with the influence Skullius exerted on everyone nearby – reinforcing them in mind and body – he marched away into the crowd that was slowly following after the Hybrid.

Remos was following.

Aeggr was following.

Muezzi was following.

"BRAT!"

No one was looking or listening.

"So long, Fulgardt," was the last hint of closure Fulgardt would hear.

It spurred him into mania.

"Come back here! SKULLIUUUUUUUUUS!!!"

---

[Author's Note]

Hey guys. This concludes this Saga's conflict. The war is finally over!

I thoroughly enjoyed this ride. It was by far the most ambitious thing I've ever tried to produce, and I am more or less satisfied with it. I've had a vision of this particular chapter for four-five months exactly as I've written it – believe it or not – and I'm truly grateful to be alive to write it.

I'm equally grateful to anyone reading this under any circumstance. This arc was not at all perfect. I know. If I could reincarnate just once with all my memories intact, I think I could make Bro I'm Not An Undead 100x better, but alas…

Please leave your thoughts about this battle – the entire battle – if you're so inclined. I'd really like to hear everything, from your likes to your hates. It will be my greatest reward for finally completing this arc.

Quick note. This volume will be ending by the end of this March (if I don't die). I'm determined to do that. I'm eager to get to the next volume. There's much I have planned. Please stick around and bear with my inconsistent updates. They will recover to their peak soon. I promise (probably).