Bro, I'm not an Undead!

"You'd already forgotten all about me, huh, you sockethole?" It was his own voice that was sifting into Skullius' ears. It was his own face presented before him – the same blank eyes, the same nose, the same slicked-back honey-coloured hair with hints of auburn, if a bit longer and wilder. If there were any differences, it had to be the modest but clean beard of light auburn, the gaunter overall stature, taller than his own by a full head. The new figure spotted a thick clump of clouds making apparel for his torso, like Skullius' own great nimbus robe, but they took on the shape of a sleek, four-sleeved jacket pulsing every so often with merigold Ju`wtte. Skullius could have sworn he had seen the stylish pair of tight-fitting pants – conjured using darkness – that the figure was wearing somewhere. It must have been a memory from before. "If you keep looking at me like that, we might have to get married," the older, taller Skullius said with a soft chuckle. He was patting the shorter Skullius' shoulder before he could comprehend how he had moved so quickly. With the two Skulliuses together, one looked distinctly like a younger brother receiving the famed, iconic encouraging shoulder pat from his older sibling. The shorter Skullius searched for words to say, but failed to find them. Sila found some. He muttered something about there being two tomato flingers again with a certain amount of despair. His trauma was fresh. After the initial shock of this new Skullius' features, Uyuniya's eyes had narrowed and her cheeks inflated, holding back all the awkwardness rising from her throat like vomit. This was an exceedingly awkward encounter indeed. Perhaps sensing the uncomfortable energy that was preparing to rear its head, the taller Skullius looked at Uyuniya and then Elita calmly and smiled. "Don't worry. I don't hold a grudge against you. As a matter of fact, I pretty much expected you in particular" – he gestured to Uyuniya – "to join this little guy's pool of helpful lady friends. That's usually the fate of every woman who goes against him – save for a very specific few to garner his wrath." Uyuniya was only half-convinced and frankly, she didn't quite like this fate the taller Skullius spoke of. Similarly, the shorter Skullius was displeased with the tag, little guy. He swatted away his counterpart's hand, fed up with the big brother energy. "You're absolutely right. This is the last thing I expected to happen. I thought you were dead," he said. It was no lie. The taller Skullius scoffed. "Right. Because that makes sense. I'm an exact copy of you down to the finer details, unlike that flimsy clone from [Brisk Storm Avatar]. Why would I die while you lived?" "Please! Please don't tell me it's happening again!" Kenno finally managed to speak. He looked constipated while continuing to peruse the features of the new arrival; the alternate boss. "I don't think the world can handle some more boss vs. boss action." "It probably can," said Kintar with a wide grin and thin crescents for eyes. She gave Kenno a knowing look that he didn't return. The taller Skullius looked at the two Unlimited Stars. His gaze was piercing. Kintar shivered. There was a lot that was different about this Skullius when compared to the one she knew. She wondered where he came from, quite like how Kenno did. They weren't in the loop about this. Elita was bold enough to ask about that, unlike Uyuniya, who wasn't comfortable enough to spill a peep just yet. "How did you survive? I cut you with Broodweiler and Uyuniya sent you deep into the great void with her expanded Void Clot," she said. It was an odd question to ask an ally that you had harmed, but Elita really wanted to know regardless. She knew how dangerous the great void was to traverse without a powerful Treasure. Even Deities dreaded travelling the great void undefended. "It would be nice if you shared with us that story indeed, right from the beginning," the shorter Skullius backed Elita up. The taller Skullius only wore a soft smile. He didn't reply immediately. He turned behind him, to the great crater. The large argent sea urchin-like Treasure shrunk down to the size of a fist and rushed towards him. He whipped out one of his hands from his jacket pocket to catch it. After giving it an oddly sombre look, he stored it into some unseen spatial storage. "Let's go somewhere more appropriate first," he said to everyone, and then he spared a brief, queer look at Serenity. "And could someone heal him. He's halfway dead." The him in question was, of course, Aurolio. * Everyone had settled in the Royal Mansion. Queen Embrell and the King had been filled in prior about Skullius and why he was here – or rather, why he would come here. Thus, it hadn't surprised them as much to see him initially. However, the incident with the Undeath energy and why exactly a second Skullius was sitting next to the one they had seen before, was left unexplained to them. At least for the time being. Skullius gave a brief explanation about the latter, of course, for the benefit of everyone else. (Naturally Embrell and the King couldn't fathom what any of it meant.) The taller Skullius was a replica that Skullius had created using an Exotic Parlous Nature called Second Divine Sinew during his battle against Uyuniya and Elita. Elita had indeed cut him with Broodweiler, slicing into his Broader Existence, which caused his Amras to leak out while Uyuniya had indeed sent him drifting into the void, lost. Skullius had pondered over whether or not the replica would still be alive but too many things had happened in rapid succession for him to keep agonizing over the thought. And now… "It's a long story," said the taller Skullius. He had a different air than his counterpart. Seasoned, composed, confident. "Rather than that…" He pierced the shorter Skullius with a sophisticated gaze. The shorter Hybrid Warmoth flinched. "I'm glad I caught you at the perfect time. I see it. You've been tortured to the point of finally moulding yourself into something stronger than before, haven't you? And it's a more… recent development, isn't it?" The shorter Skullius looked at him with a complicated face. "You speak as though you're way ahead of me – like you expected this development," he said with suspicion. "I did. I told you. I am you. And I am ahead of you by two years." …!!! "What?" Skullius frowned. "Wait… what are you saying? Are you from some kind of…" He hesitated. "Future?" the taller, older Skullius laughed softly. "Yes, I am. I am your future, Skullius." --- [Author's Note] Giving me Savitar's, "I am the future Flash," speech vibes.