"Ahahahahaaaa!" Sause barked with laughter, baffling Quillith and Mohrane, who had been happily floating around Skullius, trying to get a reaction out of him. "You have children?!"

Skullius sighed exasperatedly. In all fairness, it was probably a warranted reaction from Sause, given that he had experienced firsthand just how far Skullius had come. How did a frail skeleton Undead unit end up becoming a father?

"You see? I knew what I was talking about! I would have missed this had I not come, ahaha!"

Quillith gave the Giant a disapproving look and pointed at him. Sause shuddered when Ju`wtte sparked from that tiny finger. He knew for sure that he was…

"Now, now, Quil," said Skullius, drawing the little boy's attention. "We don't kill people just because they annoy us. Stop that." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

The scolding was surely meant for a child older than a few hours, but it worked even in this case. Quillith was dazed for a moment, perhaps taking a little longer than the average person to understand what his father had said, but ultimately, he lowered his finger. Even Skullius wasn't sure how or why his sons could already understand speech and reason as well as the average three-year-old, but he went with it. It was still the least surprising thing about the twins.

While Sause caught his breath, muttering something about whether he should have gone straight to the ship after all, Queen Embrell and her husband approached. As expected, they were stiff in Skullius' presence.

"We are not worthy to be the grandparents of these children," said the Queen, her long ears flopping down. Her husband's did the same.

Only Suzamete knew how much they had been delighted at the prospect of having grandchildren, even if said grandchildren were horrifyingly powerful.

"Work up to it, then," said Skullius. "Sif live longer than humans, right? You have the time and the resources to grow strong. There are a lot of things I can't teach these boys. My strength can't compensate for everything." A melancholic look fell over his face all of a sudden. "Take that as your role."

Queen Embrell's eyes turned glossy. "It shall be done. I will impart everything I can. I swear it." It went unsaid, but she understood the deeper meaning behind Skullius' words just as much as Darwel, who frowned.

Perhaps it was because the princess hadn't spent that much time with Skullius, so sometimes she failed to see it, but his past haunted him more than he let on. It wasn't just about his missing soul. She had seen it whenever Skullius held the children. Some part of him remained distant, afraid. It was as if he rejected or felt that he shouldn't involve himself with the gentle, sacredness of a young life.

'Perhaps that's the real reason he decided to leave Quillith and Mohrane on Aigas until he returns,' she thought.

Right then, a deep hum, like the groan of some colossal beast, shook the entire world. The seas quaked, the trees shivered, and the ground shook.

…And then, from the massive frame of Amanas, soaring high and still in the sky, a thin, sharp beam, imperceptible to all except Skullius and the Deities, fired, aimed at Opungale. It died the whole continent in a baleful, purple hue.

Violet destruction. It would level the continent and Aigas with shocking ease.

Suzamete and Luserus were baffled, but Skullius was only made to feel exasperated. Again.

With a thought, he commanded the Apostle above his head – hidden – to conjure a Lifeless Waver. The great sheet of paper unraveled and caught the oncoming beam, taking it within itself before becoming a Rune that swiftly flew into one of Skullius' hands.

Quillith and Mohrane beamed. They hadn't seen what had happened, but they sensed the sudden appearance and disappearance of danger. Somehow, their father had protected them. They began laughing and slapping Skullius' arms and chest as though urging him to do it again.

A part of Skullius was amused, but the other…

"I get it already. It's time to leave," he said, sighing.

Suzamete's shock turned to horror as she turned from Amanas. She gawked at Skullius.

<Seriously? That's what that was about?> she said.

Luserus facepalmed.

"Kintar is impatient to a fault," said Skullius, watching as Amanas flew over to Opungale.

No one else commented about this, regardless of their curiosity.

"This is goodbye then," said Darwel, reaching close to Skullius. She was suddenly bashful. Being intimate with Skullius in the presence of a Giant, two Deities, two Heralds, and her parents and siblings forced her into restraint.

…But Skullius was anything if not bold. He held her and kissed her with so much passion, wetness, and skill that she would not soon forget his lips… or his tongue. When he withdrew, Darwel was burning for more. She was ready to disregard her siblings, who had turned away, suddenly red in the face. Her parents had watched without batting an eyelid, though.

"That should last a couple hundred years, ahaha, right, Sif princess?" said Sause, grinning.

Darwel blushed.

A column of light fell from Amanas again, landing nearby.

It was time indeed, Skullius dreaded. Pulling Quillith and Mohrane from his torso and holding them to say goodbye was the most difficult thing he'd ever had to do in the last few hours, he found. Darwel had anticipated it. She reached out for the boys.

"Quillith. Mohrane," Skullius said, garnering their full attention. "It's going to be a while until you see me again." The next words failed him. How was he supposed to be a proper father when he was leaving his children for a cause he could possibly not return from?

He searched for a memory that could tell him the answer, something that could provide a solution.

Nothing. None of the memories he'd ever absorbed had the right words. Even the freshest memories he had, those from Ciumin, held nothing strong enough – important enough.

'Am I even cut out for this?' Skullius thought, secretly gritting his teeth.

He could kill Deities, but he turned into a coward before his own children? It made no sense and all the sense in the world at the same time.

What was he supposed to—

"F…Father…"

The words seemed to pause time for everyone.

Quillith's first words. But the boy seemed just as dumbfounded as Sause that he'd spoken. The look on Skullius' face urged him to keep going. No one else could have known, but he had a lot he wanted to tell this man who had the same skin and the same feel as him already.

"Father...Father! Listen! I…Listen! Father, I listen!" The boy kept going, growing more and more proud of himself.

Darwel was bleeding tears. Her parents were melting, as were her siblings. It was such a bizarre yet heartwarming sight. Even Sause donned a gentle look over his befuddlement. After all, he understood the context of Quillith's words.

The little boy was eager to tell his father that he would obey everything he said… especially the part about not killing anyone who annoyed him.

The expression Skullius donned was unreadable. It fell somewhere between a smoulder and the look someone wore when they were falling apart from a lethal blow.

It grew worse when Mohrane, eager not to fall behind his brother, said:

"Father! I… best! I'm…best! I'm best! Like you!"

Skullius' hands trembled ever so slightly. Doom Factor 2 had been triggered just now for a reason he didn't understand, but it wouldn't affect him. Not now. Not here.

It might have been because of this that he found the words to say right then. What followed was going to hurt no matter what he said, unfortunately.

"You're right. That's right. You're the best." He embraced the boys, holding the backs of their hands. They nearly sank into his Mortal Ruin armour. "Both of you are the best. Better than me, in fact. And I… I love you."