Bro, I'm not an Undead!

The two Unlimited Stars exited another Cluster. The expressions on their faces told of their weariness. It wasn't that they were spent from fighting powerful foes, however. It was quite the opposite, actually. Their minds were exhausted from facing mediocre enemies that only required a flick of their fingers or even less to deal with.

Baddan hadn't done much at all. He hadn't even needed to use his Exigencies technique once since they began this whole mission Skullius had sent them on. No Cluster beast they had encountered had the power to shirk off Savast's basic Mind Casting abilities.

"Do you think this is still necessary?" Baddan asked as they once again appeared over the sea. "I mean, what if this plan has gone obsolete? Unless master has a very unexpected, niche method to use all these powerful creatures he's having us collect, we might just be wasting our time."

"I know," said Savast as he stretched. "I do think he had need of them initially, but the sensations that have been coursing through Aigas recently are convincing me more and more that we might just be on a wild goose chase. Then again, Kintar would have told us if that was the case."

"Would she?" Baddan said with a chuckle.

"…Maybe not."

It was Kintar, after all. She liked to play tricks on everyone, Savast especially, even if it disturbed Skullius' direct orders.

Just as Savast sighed, Baddan frowned and turned to their left. Millions of streams of golden white lights flashed from a continent in the distance and spread to every corner of Aigas.

They streaked towards Feinheath, towards nearby islands, towards Edagon… and towards the Severed Union.

"What's he up to now?" said Savast as he looked up. His pupilless eyes seemed to deconstruct each of the lights, discerning their collective purpose.

"They are probably aiming for all denizens of Aigas except for us. Master is trying to protect everyone," Baddan surmised.

"That sounds about right."

The former Cluster General's eyes followed some of the streaks of light. He noticed that they aimed for certain directions en masse, but in others – quite a few – there was only a handful of them.

"I didn't notice any living beings on some of those islands we passed. Could he be trying to save even the isolated beasts on them?" the former Cluster General asked Baddan.

"It's likely, but is that where those lights are headed? It seems to me they are heading for the open sea. There's something there. Should we check it out?"

"Might as well?"

The golden white streams of light ceased flooding in all directions, but the two Unlimited Stars had already locked onto their destination.

Baddan's cheeks inflated and he spewed out thickets of dark blue clouds that clumped to form a shifting cloudy mass, heavy with hints of mana. He leaped on it, as did Savast.

Visit ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com for the 𝑏est n𝘰vel reading experience.

Baddan gave the cloud a silent command, and it lifted off into the sky and flashed towards their intended destination with a similar kind of speed as the streaks of light from seconds ago.

The two were facing the odd nature of their target in a blink.

Some obscuring barrier, barely visible in the form of a rectangular prism, towered before them, refusing to reveal something quite intriguing. Skullius' golden lights seemed to have phased through it with ease though.

"There's people in there," said Savast as he disembarked from the cloud and placed a hand on the barrier. "Should we knock, or knock it down?"

"Let's be a bit more civil," said Baddan. He crossed his arms before his chest, triggering the Starmation, Tranquil Instance. Null Life Essence coated him and he walked towards the barrier's smoke-like boundary, sinking through it without the slightest resistance.

He startled the individuals who were within when he appeared.

Most of them went on guard immediately and prepared to attack.

One among them raised a hand to stop them with a smile, however.

But Baddan hadn't been paying any of them any mind once he saw it – the reason there was a barrier erected here in the first place.

'There exists one like this?' he questioned himself, unnerved.

Savast pierced through the barrier next and his eyes were also immediately transfixed on the great crack in space, thrumming with waves of lilac, red, and black. It spat throngs of energy that could scarcely be scaled by mortals.

"Is that really a Cluster?" Savast frowned at the sight.

"Indeed, it is," said a woman dressed in nothing but a large, silken crimson ribbon that rippled violently because of the waves of energy and the furious gusts they conjured. Her hair was a mess of ever-changing colours and her eyes were especially sharp and cutting. The black figures around her clearly inhuman, as well as several hundred experts with pressures of Masters and Incandescent Stagers, kept their instincts keen.

It was only then that Baddan paid the oddly-dressed woman a look.

"It's been a while, Eaniss," said the Sky Watcher.

"Likewise. I almost didn't recognize you," said Eaniss, the Head of the Severed Union. "Modelling yourself"– she paused and glanced at Savast – "yourselves, after Bright Storm, are you?"

"Naturally," said Baddan with a small smile. "Mind explaining what's going on here?"

Eaniss gave another glance to Savast before gesturing towards the Cluster.

"It's a consequence of having Boron out and about," she said, and her smile disappeared. "Clusters – in terms of difficulty – normally go from white, blue, purple, and then red. As I'm sure you know, they appear as a result of the clashing and conflicting energies of the Deities left behind in their physical manifestations – the sky, land, and sea. But now, since Boron's body – the Under - is exposed to Aigas, as well as his powers, a new kind of Cluster has begun to form here. This is the first of likely many that will come, if Aigas remains standing, that is."

Savast and Baddan frowned at the same time.

A new kind of Cluster?

The baleful palpitations of power from the great crack were frightening. The monsters inside were likely to be…

"The Mad Bishop and Em-Sul entered thirty minutes ago with their Factions and are yet to resolve the mess inside. They are probably unable to by my estimation, which means whatever is in there is unlike anything we have faced before. Or perhaps," Eaniss said, her eyes turning into unkind slits. "it's something else on the level of the masked man."

While Baddan maintained a troubled look, Savast chuckled.

"Something on the level of the masked man? I've heard a lot about him. His reputation precedes him, in fact. I've always felt a little annoyed at the fact that I didn't get a look at the man who changed and challenged my master so much." He smacked Baddan on the chest. "How about we check it out, hmm?"