“This isn’t up for debate. None of you can come with me,” Zeke said. “If you want to argue, step outside, and if you survive the death attuned mana, you can come. Otherwise, I have to go alone.”

That did not go over well with anyone present. Pudge had taken it in more or less in stride, but Zeke could tell that the bearkin wasn’t happy about the arrangement. He’d even mentioned that Zeke had a tendency to get into trouble when he didn’t have people to watch out for him.

The kobolds, by contrast, insisted that they could endure the death attuned mana. They could not, as had been proven during a few exploratory excursions. Within half an hour, they were vomiting. An hour, and they could scarcely put one foot in front of the other. If they’d stayed any longer, it would have completely degraded their ability to move. Then, it would only be a matter of time before they succumbed. After that, they would rise from the dead as entirely different – and undead – people.

As for Zeke, he had no issues with the attuned mana. He assumed it was due to his time in the Farindale Forest back in the Mortal Realm, but Eveline seemed to attribute his resistance to his colossal body. Perhaps it was a little bit of both.

Either way, Zeke was the only one who could endure the deathly mana, which meant that if he was going to find Talia, he would need to go alone. And that was fine with him. He wasn’t some child who required a minder. He was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, regardless of what his people might think.

“They just care about you,” Eveline said.

“I know.”

“Well, the kobolds practically worship you,” she pointed out. “But that’s a kind of caring, I suppose.”

Zeke couldn’t really argue with that. Ever since he’d bestowed his own demonic attunement on a squad of kobold rangers, the other members of that race had begun to venerate him with even more intense fervor. They’d even changed the name with which they referred to themselves.

Ak-Kal Ra. The rescued.

And he was Ak-Toh, their savior.

Both names were valid. They fit. But that didn’t mean Zeke was entirely comfortable with the pressure they represented.

But it was unavoidable. Over the past year or so, Zeke had experienced quite a lot of upheaval. When he’d first entered the Eternal Realm, he’d done so alone and was quickly enslaved by a race of demon-influenced dwarves. However, Zeke had turned that enslavement to his advantage, using it to complete his quest to gain the first skill associated with his class, the Arcane Colossus.

During that time, he’d gained allies like Jasper, the dark elf Bard, and Eveline, the demonic spirit living in his mind. More, he’d begun to touch the barest hints of his own potential, developing methods to utilize his Path of Arcane Destruction. In doing so, he’d rescued the kobolds from certain death, escaping from the dwarven city as a pair of powerful wyrms engaged in battle.

After that, they’d set off across the tundra of the Ianthian Wastes, collecting natural treasures before being chased into a dungeon – which was a pocket world filled with deadly challenges – where Zeke was tested even more thoroughly than he’d ever been before. However, he and his allies had emerged stronger than ever before heading to the nearby Mukti Plains, where they had come to an alliance with the sturdy centaurs.

From there, he’d fought two wars – one against the centaurs’ hereditary enemies, and another against the dastardly Knights of Adontis. The latter had pushed Zeke to his absolute limits, but he’d also gained an incredibly amount of power in the prosecution of the war.

But now, he was on the verge of reuniting with Talia, the undead girl who’d been his ally throughout many of his adventures in the Mortal Realm.

“Ah, memories,” sighed Eveline. “And all at once, too. In a reminiscent mood or something?”

Zeke gave her a mental shrug. “I don’t know. I guess.”

As he spoke, he looked at his status:

Name

Ezekiel Blackwood

Class

Arcane Colossus

Level

69

Race

Cambion (E)

Attunement

Earth (E), Demon (D)

Alignment

Unchosen

Titles

n/a

Path

Arcane Destruction (C)

Strength (S+)

100

Agility (C)

35

Dexterity (B)

36

Endurance (S+)

100

Vitality (C)

30

Intelligence (A)

50

Wisdom (S)

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52

Resistances

Fire

Ice

Water

Earth

Wind

Nature

Arcane

Poison

Disease

S+

D

E

S+

E

D

A

C

D

It had been a few weeks since he’d gained level sixty-nine, but he’d yet to kill anything in that time. That was fine, though. He had a feeling that he would remedy that during his trip through the undead Kingdom of El’kireth.

From everything he’d learned from the Adontians who’d joined him, the undead were largely peaceful. Or at least, they kept to themselves. However, Zeke had some well-acknowledged biases against undead, largely due to the fact that the Radiant Isles had been overrun by a necromancer named Abraham Micayne. After killing the necromancer, Zeke had left the people of the Mortal Realm behind to fend for themselves. And while it was possible that they might have survived, it was extremely unlikely. That meant that the Radiant Isles were, even now, assuredly overrun by undead.

So, it was with some trepidation and a healthy dose of worry that he had chosen to cross El’kireth.

In any case, none of his gathered followers had anything to say to his challenge. They knew they couldn’t survive the undead atmosphere. So, after ensuring that they knew what to do in his absence, Zeke left the Pillar behind and headed for the Entry Hall, where he would exit through the gate he’d left on the border between Adontis and El’kireth.

When he left the tower, he couldn’t help but exhale a sigh of relief. He appreciated his followers. Without them, he never would’ve been able to accomplish anything. Yet, he could acknowledge that they were exhausting. Zeke just wasn’t built to be cooped up, and having an entire city looking to him for guidance made things even worse.

“You don’t mind responsibility when you’re guiding an army,” Eveline said as Zeke set off across the landscape.

“Because I know what I’m doing. Mostly. I mean, wars aren’t that hard. It’s all about flanking and misdirection,” he stated. “But governing a city? Ugh. Especially when there are so many different factions competing for attention. I’m just glad I have Kianma. Without her, I’d have gone crazy and killed the lot of them.”

“Really?”

“No. Obviously. But I’d have thought about it a few times,” he said. “And you know that. I don’t know why you’d ask.”

Eveline gave him a mental shrug. “Just making conversation, I suppose. I think we have a long way to go.”

Zeke thought so, too. From everything he’d learned about El’kireth, it covered a sizable area that made a rough circle around their capitol city of Darukar. Everything else was shrouded in mystery due to the fact that few living people had ever ventured within its borders. In addition, even fewer undead had ever left the kingdom, and for similar reasons that no one visited. The undead of El’kireth were acclimated to the atmosphere, which meant that they had difficulty surviving anywhere else.

But Zeke knew Talia was different. She’d been fine in the Mortal Realm, and he suspected that she would be okay in the living world of the Eternal Realm as well. However, he did wonder what she’d been up to since they’d been separated. Back then, she’d been in an incredibly vulnerable state, and Zeke knew it wouldn’t have taken much for her to snap.

Was she, even now, running around like a rabid zombie?

Or had she found a community? The first was just as possible as the second, but Zeke hoped for the best.

As he went, Zeke couldn’t help but notice the smell. It wasn’t precisely rot, but it was close. After a while, he came to realize that most of the smell came from the native trees. They had white bark, with red leaves, and when Zeke shoved a dagger into one trunk, he was rewarded with a stream of blood-red ooze.

“That’s disturbing,” stated Eveline.

Zeke couldn’t disagree, but he was more disgusted by the smell that seemed to pervade the entire area. It got to the point where he shifted into his colossal form, just to blunt the effect. Like that, he trudged forward, passing through the odd landscape.

A few times, he was forced to fight curious monsters, like a pack of wolves that were half-rotted, with exposed ribs and mangy fur. They weren’t particularly dangerous to Zeke, but he knew that would not have been the case with someone less durable. In the end, he had to use [Center of Gravity] to yank them into his range, then mercilessly pummel them into submission.

After he finished them off, the things were so broken and battered that they didn’t even offer any loot. So, Zeke moved on, though he did stop at a stream to wash the gore from his rocky body.

It was then that a monster of tangled and slimy roots and vines burst free from the stream and wrapped itself around him. Zeke reacted instantly, using [Shifting Sands] and sinking into the ground before rocketing free. When he emerged in a fountain of rock and fire, he used [Hell Geyser], roasting the monster in corrupted flames.

Then, he dropped to his knees, nausea twisting his stomach into knots. That’s when he noticed the barbs that had been embedded in his hip. They wriggled as they tried to dig their way into his rocky flesh, but they weren’t nearly powerful enough to get past the surface. Either way, it was clear that they were the culprit of his sickness.

So, he reached down, clamped his stone fingers around them, and ripped them free. When he did, he saw a long, thin tendril extending from his hip to the little monster’s mouth. Then, it came loose, whipping around like a striking snake.

Zeke tossed it as far as he could. Then, he repeated the same motion with the other one, though its tendril was far livelier. Once they were gone, he used [Cambion’s Awakening], which soothed his stomach.

But he knew it wasn’t enough.

He could feel something wriggling beneath his skin.

So, without further hesitation, Zeke embraced his Path of Arcane Destruction, letting it rage through his body. He only did so for a moment – any more, and his body would have broken down – but that was enough to destroy whatever was inside him. Then, he used [Cambion’s Awakening] and watched as black ooze seeped out of puncture wounds he’d never even felt.

“I hate this place already,” Zeke muttered.

Indeed, he did. It smelled horrible, the monsters were even worse than normal, and he felt absolutely out of place. Plus, like any sane person, he had a definite aversion to anything that wanted to burrow inside him.

“That’s not abnormal, Ezekiel. Most people would be horrified by that.”

“Yeah. I guess,” he muttered, grabbing a jug of water from his spatial storage and washing the goo away. To be sure everything was gone, he continuously flared [Cambion’s Awakening] for a few more minutes. But nothing else came out, so he had no choice but to assume he’d gotten it all.

After that, he continued on. However, that wasn’t the last time he was attacked. Over the next few hours, he was constantly assaulted by one terrible monster after another, and it quickly reached the point where he was wondering if it was worth it. Still, he kept going, braving the dangers until night began to fall.

That’s when the ghosts came out.

Zeke didn’t even notice them until his arm went numb. Then, he looked in that direction, and he was horrified to see a spectral ghost latched onto his shoulder. Then, when he tried to swat it away, his hands just passed through it, the only effect being that his fingers felt colder.

Once again, he was forced to use his Path of Arcane Destruction, which sent the ephemeral creature shooting away and into the darkness.

Sighing, Zeke realized that he couldn’t keep going. His constant efforts to inoculate himself against his Will had paid off, and even though it had recently evolved, it wasn’t nearly as destructive as it once had been. However, that didn’t mean he could just use it without consequences. No – if he flared it for more than a few seconds, it would destroy him.

And then he’d be forced to spend weeks in the Crimson Springs, delaying his journey even further. That was unacceptable, so Zeke decided to summon his gate and enter the tower. It was only when he stepped inside that he recognized the area’s insidious effects for what they were.

He stumbled as the ambient vitality in the area hit him like a ton of bricks, then enveloped him so thoroughly that he felt like he was wearing a warm blanket. Shivering, he dropped to his knees, where he knelt for a long moment, acclimating himself to the change.

“Was it as bad as I think it was?”

Eveline said, “Worse. That area isn’t good for the living. And it’s going to get worse the closer you travel to their city.”

“You think?”

“That’s how I would lay it out. Biggest population center in the most preferable environment.”

“And you think that’s where Talia is?”

“I have no idea. Maybe. The girl from your memories would be more at home in the wilderness,” she said. “But she was also a teenager. Practically a child. You all are. So, who can say where she would end up? I’ve told you before, though – any search should start in Darukar. After that, you can branch out.”

“I agree.”

“So glad.”

“Don’t be snippy,” Zeke said, pushing himself to his feet. A few kobolds had already responded, but he waved them away, saying that he was okay. He pushed forward, resuming his normal form. “I need a shower.”

“Should probably stop by the Crimson Springs, too. Just in case.”

Zeke agreed, and over the next few hours, he soaked in the scalding water. And to his surprise, he found that the healing spring managed to get even more of the black goo out of him. That was terrifying, largely because he had no idea what it did. But the Crimson Spring had yet to fail, so he assumed that it got everything.

Regardless, he couldn’t afford to soak in the spring for longer than a few hours before he retreated to his manor and went to bed. As he waited for sleep, he remarked, “I hope tomorrow is more productive. I barely made any progress.”

“It should be,” Eveline stated.

Zeke took some comfort from that assessment.