Sause was still considering the implications of what Skullius had initially proposed – unlimited stamina paired with Fundamental Barter – when the Hybrid abruptly asked him about Aigas' power progression. As a far more intuitive mortal than most, he pieced together the purpose and results normally expected from Fundamental Barter, and his intrigue towards the subject might as well have been bottomless.

"That's too broad a subject, ahaha," he said, containing his enthusiasm. "Can you narrow down what exactly you want to know from me?"

Skullius summoned another scroll and scribbled on it for a few seconds. Right when he stopped, traces of his Ju`wtte began feeding into his Mortal Ruin armour, branding themselves on its exterior. Suddenly, the armour's color changed from its usual reddish black.

"Fine. Tell me about the soul, then – the original intention behind its growth through Aigas' system. I know the Incandescent Stage was meant to provide nourishment for the soul through Nitros and begin edifying one's capacity to control it, but what about the Transcendent and Beyond the Veil Stages?" said Skullius. "You should know about this, right? You were privy to the requirements for Divinity despite not being a Divine being yourself, after all."

Sause twisted his lips.

"You're right about the Incandescent Stage," he said. "Before the inception of Territories, it was meant to augment one's handle on the soul. The Transcendent Stage bolstered this mechanic and taught one how to safely handle the ultimate proceeds of the Aigas power system – the Aspiring Shadow. Essentially, the Transcendent Stage made way for the Beyond the Veil Stage. To properly control an Aspiring Shadow, a full two Stages worth of development – nourishing and getting a grip on the soul – were required."

"Good," said Skullius. He flew higher into the Second Layer, reaching the scrolls that were tucked, baleful energies surrounding them. He had already noted them to be dangerous the first time he used the Second Layer of the Hatcher, but now… "What are your own insights about the soul when it's scrutinized through the lens of the Deities of Aigas and the system they made? Better yet, how does the soul defend its existence when matched against its physical vessel – the body?"

Skullius recalled a certain memory from Boron. In most of the branches of the Aspire to Divine, they sold physical vessels for Deities who had used up their bodies to create worlds. As it happened, they sold flying vessels too. That was where Amanas had come from, in fact.

The physical bodies of Deities were important for world bearing, and even after they were used up, a Deity still required a material vessel to function and for safety.

Skullius wondered what this implied for mortals, who literally couldn't exist without a physical body.

Sause considered the question seriously, taking his time.

"If it's transcendent, pretentious philosophy you're looking for, I probably have none that could fool you, ahaha," he said, "However, I've always found it strange how the body is just as good a receptacle for information as the soul, even before its user becomes powerful, yet it's considered the lesser."

"Go on," said Skullius, and he pulled the scrolls with frightening auras to him, and began looking through them one after the other. He got many notifications from the guidance field the instant he opened one.

Sause did as he was bidden, ignoring how Skullius seemed engrossed in everything except what he was saying. "Skills, Blessings, Mana, Aura… All of these can be channeled through the body, even though information about them is designed and tempered within the soul. The body mirrors the soul. That's how I've often found those two to relate in practice, but the difference between them – aside from how one is material and the other, immaterial – has been largely fickle to me." He regarded Skullius with an intent stare. "Despite what I taught Fulgardt, I don't know that much about the intricate power of a Divine. Does it give precedence over the body or the soul?"

"Neither, really," said Skullius. He was grinning at one of the scrolls. It possessed the secret he'd been looking for, or rather, one of the secrets – one of the quirks the Warmoth developed to make one of his powers feasible. "Divinity tries to equate the body and the soul, and instead create a vulnerable, but rich nexus for an individual – the Broader Existence. However, in my admittedly limited experience as a Divine, the two are still not equal. There is some form of waste in that… I think."

His sentiment was mixed in with some of Boron's memories – how he, even as a Deity with a body of his own (before it was used up) – could be fatally wounded when his body and soul were dealt critical blows while they were split from each other. The damage taken in that instance would reach the Broader Existence.

'But I'm still getting closer to making this idea a tangible prospect,' thought Skullius. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

He'd found important questions to ask. As soon as he found the answers to them, he would be close to making the idea possible:

Who was the creator of the Fundamental Barter system?

Would the soul and body of a Divine ever become equally indispensable in any stage of their progression?

Was it possible to create a living mortal – one not tied to Undeath – with inexhaustible endurance?

These three questions…

But there was another broad question, a question of Direction. In truth, the real reason Skullius was choosing to discuss with the five at all instead of extracting everything about them with his powers was because he was attempting to read their Direction as the Maverick Wafer abilities had taught him to.

He turned to Remos after absorbing everything from the scroll he'd been grinning at and watching its luster fade.

"You're the reason Magecraft exists on Aigas. Somehow, you forced it into the progression system and had millions adopt it," he said. "It was an idea beyond you, however. You remained an Arch-Mage, failing to touch upon the pinnacle of your own design, the Realm Source."

"Do you simply mean to wound my pride? I know all this." Remos frowned and crinkled his nose, but his eyes fell to his feet.

"Not at all. I just want to know how exactly you did something only one other creature – a little bird – managed to," Skullius said. "Fulgardt wondered about that too."