'It's like I'm talking to my father…' Uyuniya thought as soon as Darwel took the children away and left with Pherdanta, giving the two Void users a chance at a private discussion with Skullius. 'That personal touch is almost gone.'

Elita didn't seem as tense, though. She acknowledged how much Skullius had changed without stiffening, much to Uyuniya's displeasure. Was it because Elita had known Skullius for more than a day, unlike her?

Seeing how dazed Uyuniya was, Elita spoke in her stead.

"Uyuniya hopes you can help her return to her home world, Zelozeld."

There was a pause. Skullius didn't speak immediately. It could have been because his thoughts were still lingering on the potential of Quillith and Mohrane.

"I see," he finally said, but before he continued, Elita interjected. It was a more respectful gesture than it wasn't.

"I know you have a countdown to catch, and traversing the great void to get to Deadmanland in order to get your soul back already speeds that countdown up – that's without even factoring any unexpected detours," Elita said. "Beyond that, there are three challenges involved if you choose to help."

Skullius allowed her to continue. It was common courtesy to lay out the pros and cons of a proposal before you were asked, after all.

…And that was why Uyuniya chimed in.

"Zelozeld is a world far Richer than Aigas," she said. "It's impossible to orbit it without being dragged in. There's a mass of wild, complicated Rules that extend beyond Zelozeld's boundaries, and they are indiscriminately harsh on all visitors. Simply dropping me off somewhere nearby won't be possible either, as the Deities on Zelozeld are quite conceited."

Skullius nodded with a hum, but said nothing.

"All that said, landing on Zelozeld comes with its own challenges. The power system in my world is… dangerous. Every non-Divine who enters its boundaries is forced into it, and they have to abide by its criteria. I'm afraid even your strongest subordinates won't be exempt."

"It's true. Even I was forced to adopt it and learn to control it," Elita reinforced with a grave face. "It's part of what makes Zelozeld Rich – Richer than Aigas. The power system works for and against the users and the world."

The two women gave a pause, but Skullius didn't breach it. He still maintained silence after a nod of understanding.

"The last challenge is the royalty on my world," Uyuniya said. "They are just as conceited as our Deities, and, as I have said before, most of them are Void Users far stronger than me. When I left home with Elita to come here, there were high tensions. I suspect that they've grown even worse now, thus our arrival probably wouldn't be as welcome, even if it's only to drop me off."

"Nineteen Void Users. That's how many you said were on your home world, right?" Skullius finally said, startling Uyuniya.

"That's right." She wondered why this was the thing Skullius chose to address first. He spoke no more after that, prompting Elita to chip in.

"If you're willing to bear all these challenges, there's some merit in going to Zelozeld," she said, locking her fingers. "There's—"

Skullius halted her by raising a finger.

"Hold on." He adjusted his sitting position. "I can only presume you know how to get to… Zelozeld, through the great void. Kintar tells me Amanas isn't a vessel that can warp freely to just any location, after all, so there will be some old-fashioned traversing to do."

"Yes, we know the way," said Elita.

Skullius narrowed his eyes, remembering when Future Skullius took him through the great void to show him a raw Consternal, and when he was battling Fulgardt on a dead world within that great darkness. The great void was extremely restrictive even to Divine senses.

"How do you navigate the great void to find specific locations without a vessel to travel in?"

"It's not easy," said Uyuniya, "but we have the benefit of hindsight and knowledge left behind by Cruisers – what we call the wanton explorers back on Zelozeld. They are Divine fanatics who travel the great void, or rather, Void's body, learning all they can about it and feeding it to my family."

"There are three main ways – or rather three things to look for – when charting the great void. A series of natural disasters develop in the divets, depressions, and slopes of it. These deviations in Void's body are usually hard to detect, but the disasters themselves are the opposite. We know most of them and their visual or auditory cues, and it helps that a lot of them do not move on from the spot they emerge."

"Secondly, we use worlds. The ones created by average or even powerful Deities are obscured by the Void, but the ones created by the Primeval Deities are noticeable from a distance. They have a telling glow about them, as do the miniature territories the Primevals make."

This got Skullius thinking. Elita had told him about these territories in the great void before. In fact, the Contracts he'd signed with JOISEN ANTERAS and TITEMIUS had granted him access to some of these territories as well by virtue of the Tears he got from them as part of the Contracts.

(A/N: Refer to Ch.1291.)

"I see," said Skullius, smiling. "Intriguing."

He turned to Uyuniya.

"I don't have much room to dismiss your request. You did fight on my behalf when you really didn't need to, after all," he said before turning to Elita. "And you, thanks for being considerate about my Doom Factor, but you don't need to worry about that."

While Uyuniya's face lit up, Elita's took on a frown.

"What do you mean?"

"I tweaked SoSei for that very reason – to manage the effects of the Doom Factor," Skullius said. "And besides, the beauty of having allies lies in the ability to delegate. I'm going to have to restrict myself to the Warmoth's Treasury for a large portion of the journey ahead, but only because I'm looking for solutions to problems no one else but me can find."

"I don't understand what you mean at all." Elita shook her head, face solemn.

Skullius laughed.

"Like I said, don't worry about it," he said. "Suffice it to say for now that I never planned to head to Deadmanland immediately after leaving Aigas. I need to explore the great void for inspiration, and travelling to different worlds was already part of my plan. You've given me a more concise direction, however. I'm quite intrigued by this dangerous power system Zelozeld has. Let's go see it and then explore the other boons stowed on Zelozeld. What were they again?"

Elita was surprised by Skullius' stance just as much as Uyuniya. This was a wonderful surprise. What she'd thought was an enticing offer to sway Skullius became a side offer instead.