Chapter 111
Guardian Angel Z357 clashed with Ar’elith the First Lich King.
A powerful shockwave rippled across the landscape. Arelioth’s Pass shook. The ground trembled, and bits of rocks and rubble crashed down the cliffside into the valley. The surrounding structures— the Ruins of Fihla’s Castle— were blown apart in an instant.
The dust and debris settled as Guardian Angel Z357 narrowed his twelve eyes. His gilded lance hovered right before the Lich King’s skull, blocked by an icy staff. A purple staff. One that was conjured by the Void’s powers.
Ar’elith’s flaming eyes blaze as he roared. He swung down with his staff, aiming for the angel’s face. Z357 parried the strike, before quickly ducking under a follow-up attack. The Lich King cackled as he leapt back and raised a finger.
“I am Ar’elith! I am the Lord of All Undeath! I am the One Who Tamed the Five Revenants of Arelioth’s Path!”
He screamed as an ice spike began to form at the tip of his finger. Guardian Angel Z357 floated across from him, eyeing the purple aura coalescing around the Lich King. For a moment, the Void’s essence flared.
“I shall not… I shall not—” Ar’elith started, before his form twisted and his voice distorted. “I shall not be humiliated by a dRoNE SuCh AS YOU!”
The ice spikes multiplied a thousandfold. The attacks rained down at Guardian Angel Z357 as he raised his head. He saw the shadows drawing closer, and he closed his eyes.
Without A Trace, he activated one of his Techniques.
The Lich King’s burning purple eyes flickered as the angel’s figure seemed to vanish. But Guardian Angel Z357 hadn’t simply become invisible. His form was incorporeal. And as he flew forward, the hail of ice spikes phased through his body.
They rained down onto the nearby cliffside, ripping apart the stone with their explosions. A second valley was shredded open from the volley of blasts. It was a crater that would have engulfed multiple large cities— it ran parallel with Arelioth’s Pass, permanently scarring the landscape.
Guardian Angel Z357 easily avoided them and reached Ar’elith’s side in an instant, before ending the effects of his Technique. His body phased back into existence as the Lich King recoiled.
“You—”
And Guardian Angel 357 thrust forward with his lance, shattered the skeleton’s ribs in a single swing.
Ar’elith collapsed into a pile of bones as he screamed. But the purple aura wreathing his body did not fade away. He slowly began to regenerate as the angel flitted back.
If Guardian Angel Z357 wanted, he could have dispelled the Void’s essence from the Lich King’s remains. However, he did not. He refused to do it. Even as he sensed the brief tear in space forming within the bones. Like a core of depravity.
He refused to destroy it entirely.
Not yet, he told himself. Not until—
[In Progress: (0/1) Void’s Heir defeated!]
Guardian Angel Z357 eyed the blue box flashing to his side. He dismissed the objective, readying even more of his Techniques.
Not until the Void’s Heir fully succumbs, and the Fal-Deus steps foot into Planet 16B.
Only then, could Guardian Angel Z357 put a halt to this incursion between the Void and Vacuos. All he needed to do was ensure that the vessel— that Ar’elith the First Lich King— was fully broken, so the Fal-Deus could claim a medium to walk this world.
For now—
Guardian Angel Z357 watched as the Lich King was pieced back together once again.
—--
Ar’elith blinked. He stood in an empty room. A dark room. One that was shrouded in a veil of purple mist. An expanse of nothingness surrounded him, and he frowned. Where was he? He didn’t know. He raised a hand—
And paused when he didn’t see a skeletal arm protruding from his side.
He stared, puzzled for a long moment. Then he looked down at himself. His eyes went wide when he saw a young man. Flesh and skin still clung to his bones, and long golden locks trickled down his neck. He was the Lich King. He was the Lord of All Undeath. And right now, he was—
…human?
His name was Arthur. He had been a [Priest] once. He had been a devout follower of the World System. He was a non-combatant— his Skills were tailored to empowering others and helping them level. He was also capable of guiding others down different advancement paths for their Classes.
He had everything he could have ever wanted. He had a wife— he had two children. And while he wasn’t rich, he was happy.
Until it was all taken away from him.
They hadn’t been killed— no bandits fell upon his house and slew his family. But a terrible plague had befallen them, and Arthur had escaped alive thanks to the blessings of the World System.
And that was when he learned about the folly of life. That death was the only path ahead. He fell into despair. His grief nearly drove him to ending it all.
But he realized that there was hope. He heard about the Five Revenants of Arelioth’s Path— he heard the tale of their immortality, and how their souls refused to leave the mortal world. And so he studied the magic which could preserve life.
The magic of the soul.
Necromancy.
Arthur believed it was the path to paradise. He believed that there was eternal salvation awaiting those who learned mastery over their soul. He theorized that immortality— that which surpassed the timeless lives of the Elder Dragons— could be achieved.
But his beliefs had been cast aside. He was ostracized for what he had said. Even though he knew he was right… it didn’t matter.
So he vowed he would save the world from the disease of death. He truly believed he could cure Vacuos of its problems. And he was going to do whatever was necessary to achieve salvation.
For the sake of himself, and for the sake of others.
That was why he fought.
That was why Arthur had shed his old name and became Ar’elith the Lich King.
But now… why was he fighting?
He looked up as a bright light flashed before him. He slowly started forward, pressing through the fog of darkness until he stumbled across a screen. An image hovered in the air before him, showing a scene of utter devastation. Smoke and dust billowed the air, and large craters littered the landscape.
His eyes narrowed as the image shifted, tracking a winged figure zipping across the sky. A blast of purple lightning crashed down from the dark clouds, but the winged figure dodged it and flew straight into the screen.
Arthur flinched, and the image cracked for a moment. Until it began to repair itself as the scene was slowly restored.
He blinked, watching as a skeletal hand was raised on the other side of the screen. A purple staff was created out of thin air as a warbled voice echoed around him.
“I will—kiLl YoU!”
The ground split open as giant spires of ice shot out of the earth. A mountain began to rise in the middle of the valley, and millions of icicles rained up into the sky. A terrible cackle shook the images as Arthur stumbled back.
He stared for a moment. He saw the skeletal body. He looked at the purple staff. And he raised a hand.
“That is… me?” he asked softly. “But how?”
He slowly brought his hand forward as the scene continued to play out. The winged figure easily parried the onslaught of projectiles before slicing the mountain of ice in half. The screen trembled as Arthur’s fingertips touched the surface—
And his hand almost went through the screen. He frowned.
“What—”
But before he could comprehend what was going on, a shadowy grip caught him by the forearm. His gaze snapped to the side as he opened his mouth. And a tendril of darkness shot out, grabbing him by the neck.
His eyes snapped wide open as he was strangled by something. He struggled to break free, but even more limbs emerged from the darkness. They clung onto him. They swarmed up his body, bringing him down to his knees. He thrashed and screamed and reached for his magic.
But he felt nothing. He heard nothing. He was held in place as he breathed heavily.
And a single eye opened before him, tearing through a crack in space.
“You. Are. Mine.”
Arthur stared at the purple sphere hovering in front of the screen. It spoke to him— even without a mouth. And its gaze bore into him as it seemed to grow larger with each passing moment.
“Do not struggle. Do not resist. For I shall liberate you from your shackles. I am your creator, and I shall lead you to salvation.”
Salvation? Was that not what Arthur wanted? He had sought it out for so long, and now he was given a chance to finally be at peace. He just had to accept his place. He just had to…
But no. This being— this power… he knew what it was. He could sense its depravity, even as he knelt there, stripped of his magic. He recognized the power of the Void.
“I…” Arthur choked out.
He couldn’t breathe. The dark tendrils tightened their grips on him, and he felt like his body was being ripped apart. Somehow, he still remained in one piece. And he gritted his teeth, remembering his dreams.
He recalled the promise he had made himself
“I am Ar’elith the Lich King!” he shouted as he fought back against his bindings. “The Lord of All Undeath— the One Who Tamed the Five Revenants of Arelioth’s Path!”
Arthur rose to one feet as he glared up at the floating eye. He balled his hands into fists, before breaking free from the dark tendrils holding down his arms. He roared in defiance as he stared into the Void.
“I shall not be your pawn!”
For a moment, it looked like he was going to break free from his bindings. But the Void simply returned his gaze.
“No,” it said as more tendrils emerged from the darkness. “You will not be a pawn.”
And they dragged Arthur down as he screamed. He was brought back down to his knees, before his face was slammed into the ground. He opened his mouth, and one of the tendrils wrapped around his face, preventing him from speaking.
The eye looked down at him as he struggled. No words left his mouth. He was sinking into the darkness, and he could only stare helplessly as the Void took control of his body— as it took on his feelings and his emotions. As his mind gave in to its temptation.
“You will be my vessel.”
All Arthur could feel now was—
“And then we can both have our revenge.”
…anger.
—--
Guardian Angel Z357 saw an opening. The Lich King hesitated for a brief moment, and the angel swooped in for another powerful blow. But before he could reach his target, a powerful explosion of the Void’s essence shot out in all directions.
The blast sent him flying back as he raised his lance to protect himself from the explosion. He crashed straight through a nearby cliffside before catching himself mid-air. The cliff collapsed beneath him as he quickly regained his bearings.
His twelve eyes flickered as he stared at the crater at the center of the blast. A figure stood there. Not a skeletal figure— but one that was covered in a thin layer of flesh. Like a desiccated body. Except the ribs poked out of its stomach, and it still wore the face of a skull.
A pair of bone-like wings protruded from its back as a dark aura wisped off its body like a regal cloak. The purple shadows receded for a moment, revealing a hole dug into its chest. One that looked like a glistening crystal eye, but… distorted.
Almost like it was a rift in space.
Guardian Angel Z357 stared at this figure— at the creature that had replaced Ar’elith. No… it hadn’t replaced the Lich King. Rather, they had become one. Or they were in the process of becoming one.
A blue box flashed before the angel’s twelve eyes as he descended from the sky.
[Processing: Change in Objective…
…
Failed: (0/1) Void’s Heir defeated!
Main Objective Incomplete!]
Guardian Angel Z357 landed right before the creature as it stared at itself. It flexed a hand curiously, before looking up towards him. He braced himself as the World System gave him a warning.
[WARNING! Exorbitant Amounts of Void Essence Detected!
Threat Level: Demigod(?)*
*Danger is rapidly growing!]
Fledgling God Vessel? Demigod? Guardian Angel Z357 tilted his head back. Then he raised his lance as he prepared for battle. Finally, he could eradicate the Fal—
“Perish.”
And the Fledgling God Vessel appeared behind the angel before he could react. He couldn’t even spin around in time to protect himself. A blast of lightning fell from the sky, consuming him as he silently screamed in agony.
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