Stone Hub of Taboos…

Red Rage was the only Apostle with the ability to traverse through the great void and between worlds via spatial displacement. It was a skill even Weaver had complimented the Apostle for, as even though Araeyn was an Authority of Dimensions, a Null Life species with the ability to control Null Remnants, his warping ability was nothing short of genius.

Skullius had to say the same as soon as he was warped into the Stone Hub of Taboos.

'He can even do it from the Bosom too,' he thought, grinning.

While what Araeyn did was functionally warping, the process was more akin to slingshotting himself from a Null Remnant, to the initial position he was in before, then to his destination. It also helped when his target was something he could easily recognize, like Skullius, his master.

'This further validates my theory that the Null Remnants are detached from the actual Null Verse and are more like dredges that are only thinly separated from this Reality. They can be reached by powerful enough beings.'

But that was a simple aside. The reason Araeyn had come to fetch Skullius and Weaver and bring them here was because it was finally time to address a rather troublesome issue.

The Stone Hub of Taboos had endured a rather brutal battle between Souran, Kenno, and the Apostles. In the ensuing madness, Red Rage had activated his special ability, [Executive Action, Brilliant Order], for the third time since acquiring it.

(A/N: Refer to 1431&1589.)

The ability allowed him to leverage Skullius' name to make declarations that affected reality. In essence, the stronger Skullius was, the stronger the ability was.

However, Red Rage paid a price when using the ability.

"How are you doing?" said Skullius when he reached the Apostle.

He was sitting on a rock with his head hung low, Elita and Ferex by his side. When the former Paladin Champion had heard that something was wrong with him, she had gone to see Red Rage ahead of Skullius, worried about his condition. Judging by the look on her face, it was rather serious.

Red Rage slowly raised his head. His appearance was as splendorous as ever, glowing and glass-like.

…But a thick, black smoke was issuing from the right side of his head, billowing like a flame.

Skullius frowned at this.

"It's bad," Elita said to him with a grim expression. "It feels like… a curse."

"No. It's the approach of a Flaw," Skullius said, and placed a hand on Red Rage's shoulder. "Isn't it?"

"My liege…" Ferex made to speak up, but Skullius raised a hand to quieten him. He knew what he wanted to say.

"Are you embarrassed or afraid to speak up, Red Rage? I thought you took up the First Rank with pride. Has that changed?"

"Not at all, my liege," Red Rage finally said. "I just wonder how much more use you can get out of me before I succumb to…"

Skullius sighed and glanced at Ferex, who hung his head, remembering his forgotten shame. "Your Flaw is similar to the one Ferex had, isn't it? If you overuse your powers, a calamity from the Null Verse will take your place."

"…Indeed," said Red Rage. "But I will not allow it. I will never allow myself to become a detriment to you. I swear it."

"I never said I doubted you," said Skullius, and he quickly turned to Ferex, who grew even more dejected, "And I do not blame you for what happened before – stop sulking."

"Could you be a bit more sensitive with your words?" said Elita, giving Skullius an accusing look.

"How much more sensitive do I have to get? They jump to conclusions all on their own." Skullius crossed two of his arms over his chest. "In every instance of this, the cause is always desperation. Desperation for my sake."

"That's what it took for us to survive that ordeal," said Elita, looking sympathetically at Red Rage. "However unique Null Life is, without time to turn its potential into actual strength, the result will always be a desperate gamble, especially given what you intend to do."

"Indeed…" Skullius looked up.

A massive figure hung in the sky, a great dragon with crocodilian features on its face.

Beyrmir.

The Apostle now spotted great, hard scales of an ebony shade as opposed to his usual mercurian look. He was more solid and less flexible, but all the energy he'd absorbed from the exploding Death Knight, coupled with the fragments of a dying world he'd absorbed following the battle with Fulgardt and Somanda, had made him leagues more formidable. At present, no one in Skullius' company could match him in raw physical prowess save for Araeyn. (Because of the Focused Null Life Ota he possessed.)

'Desperation has its merits,' thought Skullius. 'It's about time I turn that desperation into actual strength.'

There was only one solution, not just for Red Rage, but for all the Apostles' growth. With what Skullius was planning for his Unlimited Stars and Troops, he had to elevate his Apostles as well.

'The Apostle's Traits will likely get rid of Red Rage's Flaw, or at the very least, limit its spread. I have a few notes to add to them before I grant them, however.' Skullius scrutinized the smoke around Red Rage. 'Hmm. It's actually affecting his vision. The Flaw is slowly granting whatever he is supposed to turn into leeway into this Reality. How cruel.'

"Hang on a little longer, will you?" Skullius said to Red Rage. "I'll have you right as rain in no time."

This didn't particularly please Red Rage. What an inconvenience he'd turned out to be, was all he could think, just like he'd been back then, when Skullius had to heal him following their battle with the first Cluster General they encountered on Aigas.

Skullius could sense how he felt, but he didn't make a great effort to comfort him. Stress had its merits as well. When he was ready to grant Red Rage a Trait, the result would be that much stronger because of the Apostle's eagerness not to be a burden.

"Now," said Skullius, turning from the First Rank Apostle and to Ferex. "The Lich's remains."