"Ah, of course." Deification is such an obvious plan, and a few days ago, Skulduggery would have assumed that was it. But now, the idea takes a slightly different meaning. "When I spoke to him a while back, he told me that he is 'what he's perceived to be'. That he hasn't had any say in who he is. It was odd, then, but now I'm wondering if I missed something deeper."

In his defense, he'd been distracted by the novelty of the situation.

"So he began all this in a search for godhood... His memories, he says, go back further than the construction of the boat, but he doesn't remember who he was. He's pretty sure he never had a soul to begin with, but there is a very soul-shaped hole in the universe where he stands. And now he seems to be doing things because he's used to it, rather than in true pursuit of knowledge..."