'Death kinda sucks huh.' In the dark abyss, Silvio Morell's soul thought to himself.

Thinking was the only thing he could do. In this world of black, he could not see, hear, feel, or move whatsoever. The only right he had was to think and even that was beginning to get annoying.

"We never know the worth of water till the well is dry." was an old saying he heard from the old deacon Zac quite often.

Silvio thought his situation fit that saying quite well. Deprived of his senses he tried to keep his mind clear, but the hunger in his mind to just feel "something" was too strong. He had never thought there would be a day he wished to smell the musky air of Lerwick or hear the decrepit old voice of the deacon. Despite remembering the torment he'd been through he didn't know how he ended up here so all he could do was think and guess.

'I wonder if the divine heavens are fake? Or are the three goddesses just asshats who screwed me over? What the hell was that thing? I hope to god this isn't another one of his tricks. That shadowy bitch better get what's coming to him...' Silvio's mind continued to ramble on and on to pass the time.

'How long have I been here? How much longer is this gonna last?'

Silvio's mind was beginning to crumble from the prolonged isolation. Luckily like a light shining at the end of a tunnel, a magnetic voice replied to him

[You have been here for 2 days 14 hours and 7 minutes. Your time remaining is 10 seconds.]

'Oh, thanks for letting...WAIT WHO THE HEL-'

[Awakening process has begun]

The darkness that had plagued Silvio for days began to recede and soon two soulfires lit up for the first time. With his new "eyes" the first thing that Silvio saw was a gray book hovering over him.

[Congratulations host for your successful reincarnation.] a magnetic voice appeared directly in Silvio's mind.

Silvio flinched at the voice and scooted backward. He tried to open his mouth and reply to the voice but no sound came out. Before he could lose his cool the voice spoke once again.

[I understand you have many questions so, before you panic, I will answer the more preliminary ones. Yes, the book that is floating in front of you is me. If you like you could think of me as something similar to the holy sword spirit passed down in the legends of the church. Also, I apologize in advance but due to the precarious situation your soul was in I could not consult you on the method for your reincarnation thus leading to your current form.]

Looking down at himself he saw a pair of bone-white skeletal hands. In half disbelief and half curiosity, he tried to wiggle his fingers, and to his surprise, the bony fingers moved. He touched his face but didn't feel the sensation of flesh but only the cold hard feeling of bone.

'Can you tell me what the hell is going on?' Silvio asked through his mind.

[It'll be easier to show you.]

Soon images were projected onto the cavern wall. In the projection, Silvio could see the pale-skinned vampire Darius Orcus running through the woods. There was a deep black gash across his left leg which pulsated from time to time. The injured vampire came across a cave and walked inside pulling out a familiar-looking book. The vampire muttered something and pointed at his leg as if he were talking to a doctor. The book disappeared and the vampire lied down going into a deep slumber.

The images shifted to a different scene of a mass of shadows staring down the sleeping vampire. After the appearance of the mass of shadows the images became erratic and incongruent. Even so, getting the gist of events wasn't hard because in every image the vampire was suffering some type of torture.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

The image shifted once more showing the book's perspective as it revived Silvio. The dreadful mist of death wrapped the red amulet like a cocoon. While a flickering soulflame began to burn and absorb the black cocoon, growing bigger and bigger. Silvio could only watch in awe as he saw himself transform into a lich.

The projection disappeared, Silvio's mind was in disarray after the display. Despite getting some answers he now had twice as many questions.

'Alright, first things first, thanks for reviving me. Although I don't know your motives it's a fact that you helped me.'

[No problem it is my duty to help you host.] a rich male voice replied.

'Now next question, what the hell are you and why am I your host?' Silvio asked.

[To put it simply, my goal is to pick and assist a host that'll grow stronger than my creator. I am an artificial spirit created for the sole purpose of assisting and protecting my host until I reach that objective. Hosts are chosen based on certain criteria that require them to have a unique trait of some sort. You were chosen due to your uniquely powerful soul. As my host, our souls have become linked with each other. Using this link you can utilize any of my abilities and we can converse mentally no matter how far apart.]

'That's great and all but how can I trust you?'

Although the book had saved his life, old legends often described cursed beings who would tempt people with power. The church had many legends about demonic books or cursed weapons that would trick humans and enslave them. It didn't help that his circumstances were eerily similar to those legends of old.

[Oh it's quite simple really, you don't need to. Just look into your mind and you'll find that you can completely control me. Although our souls are linked we aren't in equal positions. You can easily read my mind, control me, or just forever expel me from your soul if you want. While I can only use our soul link when I have your permission.] the voice replied.

The two soulfires dimmed and then rekindled in surprise. Silvio nodded his head after confirming the book's statements were true. Inside himself, he saw a thin string connecting himself to the book. Silvio instinctively felt he could control the book in any way he wanted. Despite its sincerity, Silvio just couldn't help but feel tense being around a sentient artifact. Silvio finally relaxed a bit when he realized the link would be his protection.

'Welcome aboard to team Silvio I guess. So you got a name or do I just call you book?'

[I go by the name of Theodore or Theo for short.]

'Alright, Theo it is.'

---

Inside the dark cave expanse, a strange scene was taking place. A floating book and a moving skeleton were in a deep discussion with each other. Theo had begun to explain the intricacies of lichhood to Silvio. As a former clergyman, he should've been disgusted at his new form. But the lure of obtaining powers only heard of in legends caused Silvio to shake in excitement. Unfortunately, Theo quickly rained on his parade.

[It's a common misconception laymen have about liches, lichhood itself doesn't grant any spellcasting skills. The misconception was born because everyone that became a lich was a mage beforehand. Lichood's main advantages lie in their passive advantages like their immortal bodies, greater affinity with death aura, and the phylactery boosting their mana pool.]

Although Silvio had heard many legends about the infamous race of undead he lacked solid information about their abilities. So when Theo had finally finished his explanation, Silvio was flabbergasted. With Theo's info, Silvio was finally able to control his new skeletal body and screamed out his frustrations.

"So you're saying I went through all that torment and isolation just for this piss poor skeleton body!?!? Where's the magic!? Where's the powerful dark arts!? A newborn vampire could slaughter half a town when I can't even fucking kill a chicken."

In anger, he tried punching the wall with his skeletal arm. But the wall was too hard leading to his hand cracking and falling off. He felt no pain and the hand slowly began to reform again. Even so, Silvio took no pleasure in his immortal body and continued with his angry ramblings.

[Don't fret over not gaining magic Silvio. Look on the bright side you still have an immortal body plus you got a powerful phylactery basically for free.]

"Yeah but those points become null without magic. An immortal skeleton body without magic is just a paper tiger. While a powerful phylactery filled with mana is just a fancy necklace I can't use. I'm even weaker than when I was human."

Silvio's soulfires dimmed as he cursed his lack of magic skills. Theo chuckled at Silvio's angry curses and ramblings while his book form began to glow.

[If you can't survive without magic then all you need to do is learn some.]

[Library Opened]

[Selected Arian's Guide to Trick Magic, The Fundamentals of Mana, The Principles of the Primal Elements, and Necron's Scroll.

[Requesting permission to commence data transfer.]

[Y/N]

Reading the book titles, Silvio's soulfires lit up and his jaw clattered in excitement.

"Yes!"