Indeed, there was much to do. Suzamete confirmed with a nod. Skullius had already done much of that for her, though, not to mention all the heavy lifting his subordinates contributed as well. Skullius must have seen that latter aspect reemphasized in her eyes because he turned back to all his followers and Apostles.

He hadn't missed how different they all were. He'd hoped to savor how much they'd grown later, but some of them, like Beyrmir, who was still brimming with a glow from all the energy he'd absorbed, didn't give him much of a choice; their changes drew his senses, begging to be acknowledged.

Skullius intently appraised the Unlimited Stars, the Apostles, and even Vali and Maxim. He was… taken aback.

It wasn't simple growth that met his eyes. It was a metamorphosis!

A smile bloomed on his face as slivers of his Null Life Essence, condensed dramatically, swam in the air and into the heads of everyone who had been knocked out by his untamed presence just now, shocking them awake.

"I know you had insurmountable challenges, but look at all of you. In the space of a single night, you've twisted yourselves into entities beyond the results of the Impossible Task," Skullius said.

Yuyui gave a bashful grin, as did Grim.

Pherdanta shrugged.

"What did you expect?" said Kintar with a frown, folding her arms. "You told us this was a precursor for what we should expect from Deadmanland, and well, it sure the fuck was."

"It sure the fuck was," echoed Savast and Baddan simultaneously.

Skullius sighed, still looking them over one by one. It was deeply fascinating some of the things they had done to their bodies, especially…

"Boss…" Kenno said with a grim face. "I messed up."

Skullius tilted his head as the others turned to their fellow Unlimited Star. They must have already known what he was going to say, and judging by the solemn looks they adopted, it was probably serious.

"What is it?"

"The Liches were a bit too much to deal with. I kept pushing myself further and further because of the powers you gifted me after that crazy Territory you used. I almost paid the price. I died, I think," Kenno said, his face contorting in fury. All that rage was targeted at himself, or at least the version of himself that blew up earlier. "I don't know why or how they did it, but…" He sighed. "A Primeval Deity offered me a contract to revive. I took it. In return, I think that's going to be a problem for you. Apparently, because of me, you owe them."

Everyone turned to Skullius, wondering about his reaction. This indeed was a rather serious affair. Suzamete certainly thought so. Dealing with such cosmic individuals was horrifying, and she should know, because the Aspire to Divine existed to oppose them.

But to her and everyone else's surprise, Skullius wasn't daunted at all.

"This happened while you were in a Null Remnant, right?" he asked Kenno while glancing at Araeyn.

Kenno reeled. "Yeah. How did you—"

"You and Araeyn employed a similar strategy earlier with the Doom Knight to survive. Dragging Liches to a Null Remnant was your best shot in this case as well." Skullius was scratching his chin. "As it happens, I'm starting to understand these creatures a bit better now."

He didn't see the need to tell everyone his findings. Because of his experience becoming a fourth-dimensional being, he had a better handle on the sheer immensity of power the Primeval Deities were playing at. He had felt their eyes on him when he was battling Boron in the fourth dimension. And now, it seemed another one of them had been paying attention to one of his Unlimited Stars?

'It's not that surprising that they can even peer into Null Remnants. Those are rejected realms shunted from the main bounds of the Null Verse. And since Serenity herself said that the Null Verse is just a Treasure – a Reality rank Treasure – that means some parts of it, perhaps the insignificant parts, aren't impossible to penetrate with enough power. The power of dimensions.'

It was an amusing thought.

Suddenly, the limits of power within this Reality were becoming clearer to Skullius. He appraised his Apostles again and gave a sniffy laugh.

"Boss?"

"Don't worry about it," said Skullius. "I already have a bone to pick with those socketholes. All of them. You did well staying alive."

Kenno wasn't convinced, it seemed. Or rather…

"If you say so, but…"

"There's another matter, my Liege," Weaver said.

"Hmm?"

"The First, Red Rage, has been stricken by some unfortunate circumstances. He is still within the Null Remnant, where we were battling the Liches along with Ferex."

Skullius didn't seem moved by this either. "Is it time-sensitive?"

"Well…" Kenno said, unsure of the answer.

"It doesn't appear so, my Liege," said Weaver.

"Then I'll attend to it later. I have an idea about what it concerns," said Skullius, and he opened a portal using his Ju'wtte. "There are more pressing matters at the moment."

When the gaping entrance expanded to the limit Skullius desired, the intricacies of the Empyrean Bosom were revealed. The Hybrid Warmoth himself led the way into it.

"Follow me, all of you," he said and nodded to Suzamete as well.

The throng of experts and a Deity matched in, a large majority of them marveling at what they saw.

But the grace of the Bosom had been diminished significantly, after all, the great battle which had raged on here had left its mark. Strawlers were everywhere, fixing the tiling on the ground, and the Empyrean Hatcher in the distance. It would take some time. Many more emerged to attend to the arrivals. Their grace was consistent, at least.

Skullius gestured towards the new experts taken from the Labyrinth while turning to Pherdanta.

"Commander. I leave them to you," he said.

Pherdanta was stricken by just as much surprise as joy. Right. This was her role. She gave a curt nod, which Skullius returned as he beckoned Suzamete towards the Hatcher.

When they were a distance away from the collection of experts, reaching the immense entrance to the egg-shaped building, Suzamete couldn't help but ask:

"What are you bringing me to see, Skullius?" The breath she emitted at the end of that sentence was telling; she was tense. She must have anticipated the dread that was coming.

"If I had the words, I would have told you already," Skullius said as Strawlers opened the doors for them.