Ghastly smiled sadly. He wasn't sure if this was a situation in which he should be thanked, but he'd take it nonetheless. "Any time, Solomon."
Not for the first time, he wondered what life might have been like if Rover and Descry were both still alive. Vile, obviously, would still have happened, but... would the Dead Men have drifted apart, the way they had? Dexter almost certainly wouldn't have gone traveling. Larrikin would have made the effort to keep them all in contact. Hopeless would only need to meet Tenebrae to learn the truth about Skulduggery's resurrection, and... would that have been enough for the truth about Vile to come out? Perhaps. It was possible they'd already know. Skulduggery would never have gone through that portal, so the dangers of insanity and Necromancy would never have reared their ugly heads.
He would never have met Gabe. Solomon would have remained a Necromancer. Lucifer would never have been even a footnote.
Ghastly shook his head. No. That was far too optimistic. Chances were, Skulduggery would have been dragged into that prison dimension he talked about anyway, met Gabe, brought the Archangel back with him, and things would have continued exactly the way they were. The only difference would be that Rover, upon meeting Lucifer face-to-face, would probably make fun of his clothes.
And Skulduggery's relationship with Gabe would have been the butt of an endless series of jokes.
Ghastly missed them. There was a raw ache in his chest that had never truly gone away, and was only being ripped further open with the reveal of Vile. He understood Descry's reasons for not saying anything, but it felt almost like another betrayal. Like Hopeless's death was a deliberate attempt to avoid having to say anything. Which was, of course, ridiculous, and Ghastly snapped himself out of it before the pain became a physical thing. "We can still take that walk, if you want."
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Not for the first time, he wondered what life might have been like if Rover and Descry were both still alive. Vile, obviously, would still have happened, but... would the Dead Men have drifted apart, the way they had? Dexter almost certainly wouldn't have gone traveling. Larrikin would have made the effort to keep them all in contact. Hopeless would only need to meet Tenebrae to learn the truth about Skulduggery's resurrection, and... would that have been enough for the truth about Vile to come out? Perhaps. It was possible they'd already know. Skulduggery would never have gone through that portal, so the dangers of insanity and Necromancy would never have reared their ugly heads.
He would never have met Gabe. Solomon would have remained a Necromancer. Lucifer would never have been even a footnote.
Ghastly shook his head. No. That was far too optimistic. Chances were, Skulduggery would have been dragged into that prison dimension he talked about anyway, met Gabe, brought the Archangel back with him, and things would have continued exactly the way they were. The only difference would be that Rover, upon meeting Lucifer face-to-face, would probably make fun of his clothes.
And Skulduggery's relationship with Gabe would have been the butt of an endless series of jokes.
Ghastly missed them. There was a raw ache in his chest that had never truly gone away, and was only being ripped further open with the reveal of Vile. He understood Descry's reasons for not saying anything, but it felt almost like another betrayal. Like Hopeless's death was a deliberate attempt to avoid having to say anything. Which was, of course, ridiculous, and Ghastly snapped himself out of it before the pain became a physical thing. "We can still take that walk, if you want."