Soidon was just as stunned as everyone had been when he was brought before the Hybrid Warmoth. He grappled with how Skullius could have changed this much in a matter of hours, but wasn't given enough time to reconcile with the idea fully. All eyes were on him – Sause, Remos, and Puiradt were quite curious about him, especially when Skullius named him.

"Welcome, Soidon. I require just a little feedback from you. Afterwards, I want you to join Kintar and Uyuniya and help navigate our vessel towards our destination through the great void."

Skullius began scribbling something on the unfurled scroll before him. He had a series of ideas to test out (other than the inconceivable one he was currently crafting), and was confident in his ability to multitask.

"What kind of feedback do you need?" asked Soidon cautiously.

Sparks of Ju`wtte flew from the scroll just before Skullius promptly answered the question.

"First, why don't you tell me why Liches can't so easily transcend to Divinity, despite them being able to conjure Death Knights and make Doom Knights out of Deities?"

Sause narrowed his eyes. His suspicion was confirmed with that. The person Skullius was addressing was…

Soidon blew a long, drawn-out breath. When he'd been interrogated earlier, he'd figured that Skullius wouldn't discover that much more about Undeath and the Liches in the span of a few hours, but alas, the bastard was already asking him about one of the deepest secrets among Liches. Just what had happened to make him progress so quickly?

Unfortunately, the Repented Lich didn't have a choice but to answer. The one glint he'd seen in Skullius' eyes told him that all he knew about the subject was going to be drawn from him regardless of whether he resisted or not. Even more than that…

"You know about the Cosmic Law."

"I do," said Skullius, busy with his scroll and drawing another to him.

"Divinity is actualized by Conste and Immors – time, and the forces of life and death. The Cosmic Law exists in every creature to some degree. Power systems, Classes, souls… Every aspect of Reality with a growth factor allows a living organism to reach the Cosmic Law one way or another. It's extremely rare for someone to do it consciously. In the wider Reality, that was a power known to be monopolized by the Primeval Deities." He paused. "That seems to have changed, though."

"Go on," said Skullius, and a shimmering light gleamed from a second scroll that he had summoned.

"The power of Liches – the Eminence's design – is Undeath. By nature, it is hard to parse as an energy source. Technically, it provides immortality, but it contradicts the natural Immors aspect of the Cosmic Law. Liches possess the greatest and richest value of Undeath energy, which is why it takes time and luck for us to reach Divinity. It's easier for us to create Divine monsters like Death Knights because we understand Conste and Immors, and also because there's a predetermined formula passed down from the Eminence for creating such monsters already. We just follow it."

"A formula, you say?" Skullius nodded.

The others digested the information, finding it intriguing, of course, but ultimately, they were led to question how this information contributed to Skullius' inconceivable idea.

"Puiradt," said Skullius, and his armour of Mortal Ruin quivered as though it were a living organism. "How much do you know about Fundamental Barter?"

"No more than Fulgardt," said the man. "I'm sure you're already aware of everything I know."

"Humor me."

Puiradt frowned and folded his arms.

"There are two kinds of Fundamental Barter, generally – conscious and unconscious Fundamental Barter. The former can be employed by anyone with the basic knowledge to invoke it, and the latter is imposed by the Primeval Deity responsible for the mechanism. Unconscious Barter also happens to be the stronger of the two kinds, and the least likely to occur as well. It also disregards the two requirements for the activation of Fundamental Barter – a duration limit and a usage limit."

"Right," said Skullius. "And I'm amusing you know this because Fulgardt was kind enough to share it with you? He did say it's possible to bond the Broader Existences of siblings."

Puiradt didn't answer immediately. For him, Fulgardt was a fresh, sore subject.

"I believe it was a unique situation. I have no proof yet, but I cannot bring myself to accept that bonding the Broader Existences between two separate individuals is common." There was a fury buried somewhere behind his eyes.

"I see," said Skullius. "Do you know which of the Primeval Deities is responsible for Fundamental Barter?"

Puiradt shook his head. "No."

'Figures,' thought Skullius. He'd searched for that bit of information in Boron's memories, and it turned out that even he didn't know, which meant that the Aspire to Divine was also unlikely to know. It must have been a closely guarded secret.

"Is this all helpful to you?" asked Sause, studying Skullius' face. "I can't help but get the feeling that the idea you have is beyond all of us here."

Remos gave a hefty nod, agreeing with this notion wholly. He was still trying to wrap his mind around being in the presence of a Lich, what the |Greater Cosmic Law| was, and what Fundamental Barter meant.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not," said Skullius, and he considered all five of the individuals he had called. "My subordinates have begun converging on different kinds of powers – powers even I have never thought possible. Some relate to the Cosmic Law, some relate to Fundamental Barter, but their limit is the same: mortality."

"Yet… there seem to be expressions of mortality that overcome even the most debilitating weaknesses. I was one such expression once." Maximum Jaqquezjaqqz streaked down his lower left arm and Reverted it into a skeletal limb with traces of Undeath. "As weak as I was back when I was a low-ranking Undead unit, I had infinite stamina. I never tired. I never grew weary of toiling." He paused, thinking. "I keep wondering, what would happen if my subordinates had that supreme ability paired with the proceeds from a Fundamental Barter, a power that effectively uses their stamina as fuel for their abilities?"

Puiradt, in particular, was shaken by this. That did sound rather… ridiculous, especially when factoring Advanced Fundamental Barter, which he'd neglected to mention. Even for Fulgardt, using it consistently was impossible. He could skirt death and battle for a very long time, but he was not invincible.

"Still, even that thought feels inadequate," said Skullius. "I have a vision for something so much more intricate, but there are bits and pieces missing to complete the picture." He turned to Sause.

"Run it by me again – how Aigas' progression system was structured before it was altered by Asthon."