‘Did you ever consider the condition of the world? Millions of sentient beings oblivious to the truth that their entire sculpted reality consists of a box of toys for two warring beings who choose to control two afterlifes through scripted events. Every single creature on this planet exists to serve one or another. In truth they act as a disease which infects all aspects of culture, magic and civilisation. I will become the cure for this illness. I..we..will literally change the face of this small backward fantasy world. Magic shall be harnessed and converted into useful forms, the twin Immortals will be reduced to dust and ashes and a never-ending war will end. All in exchange for the small price of satisfying a single need, to harvest the useful minerals from the surfaces and the waters to be processed, packaged and shipped to customers across the stars.’

The process of rebuilding the bones of the virtual Necromancer was tiresome. The eyes were simple though, being largely made of water but I consider that a large part of it was down to my own personal control and pure understanding of the human body.

I was beginning to understand that despite the Mind Palace holding limitless possibilities there were two variables which were an issue. One of which I would be entirely unable to solve unless I chose to pay a steep price and a loss of administrator control. The other could be solved over time which was something despite my desires also needed my direct intervention.

I was beginning to understand why the necromancer Eike had chosen to kill and reuse parts of the dead or the remains of corpses from battlefield sites and destroyed villages like my own. Even with the power of magic and the blessing from the Immortal Dark Emperor my old Master or Mistress had only been able to create a large number of base level undead, several flesh abominations and the fifty or so skeleton guards who had become my own.

I had a rough idea of why the necromancer Eike had such a small undead force given the numbers of dead which was simply lying around battlefields, killed by roaming groups or villagers which had run into wolves and other such fantasy creatures which dominated my planet.

Directly advertising power was a clear path to becoming a target for either side. The more souls which died, either sentient or non-sentient the large the eternal tug of war became. I could easily imagine why hiding away in a ruined castle, close to a battlefield where dead soldiers fought and died along with a decent number of villages on a mountainside with a forest nearby would provide sufficient resources for long-term planning.

The force crash landing of the spacecraft. The broken chariot with wings which had exploded on impact had been both a blessing and a curse for the necromancer Eike. An opportunity to impress one of the two essential ever-lasting gods of the world through building and presenting something which could prove of great power. Of course with the damaged systems and the device without a Mining Drone and operator it was fairly harmless, a virus was only deadly when it had been fully released. Contained within a protective shell it could do nothing.

In truth if one of the lying rulers had found out the truth of the artifact, what it could actually do they would have destroyed it without a second glance. The Mining Drone build could be adapted to create a better type of undead soldier or a heavenly one filled with the power of one of those of eternal Light and the war would continue.

‘I haven’t actually had the chance to talk very much so I appreciate the fact that you’re listening to me. You know it’s funny but I haven’t felt lonely for a single second since being reborn. All this information pushing me forward, masses of data even on entertainment. Music, visual media, thoughts, documents, books, stories on minuscule matter. Not that I had much for that time for that originally. Although, I’m becoming like a villain. Standing here, strolling around that large plastic cube while you suffer and talking and talking. Mono-logue. I believe. No matter, please consider this as both punishment and education from your new Lady. You will never call me Mistress. Ever.’

The necromancer Eike twitched but remained utterly silent as visible clouds of small mechanical creatures flooded into the cell and began to settle on their body as eyes began to be consumed and rebuilt by different clouds.

I had purposefully altered the colour of each cloud of nano swarms. One was to break down virtual organic matter and the other was to rebuild it. There was no pleasure within me seeing pain inflicted on the necromancer but there was an emotion which was satisfied deep within me.

‘Ah. I have to admit that the process is difficult, you can see why I need your help. Sadly, you’ll have to conform a little but with a few alterations you’ll prove, most, most useful to my cause. Please don’t think I’m enjoying this. At least not entirely. Oh, there goes another eyeball. Time to begin on your bones. Fingers first I think.’

Destroying was easy, creation was much, much harder. The Necro-System was the glue which connected me directly with the prototype self-improvement engine and as the Necro-Mecha I was the final product. There was far too many corrections and minor details for me to fully understand and the longer in which I spent within this virtual space made me realise my actual limitations.

As a disembodied soul I was able to harness direct power but the sheer amount of energy to actually filter it through my human consciousness was becoming difficult. I remained a single individual who was effectively controlling a technological marvel far beyond my own ability. Even with a basic galactic level education there were far too many areas in which I lacking.

Human biology being one of them as I watched the figure in the necromancer robes twitch on the floor as bones within flesh were rebuilt by clouds of floating dust which I had made visible to the light source inside the interrogation cell.

I had decided to make sure that the clothing was immediately rebuilt as although my own moral standards had taken a hit since I had died and my own confidence had increased after becoming a High Born Noblewoman there was a need to maintain standards.

In truth my damaged memory was unable to recall despite my best efforts if Eike had originally been a man or a woman but in truth I no longer cared. The process of converting them into something which I could actually use and needed was my main priority.

‘Sorry. I keep getting the bones mixed up. Ah, yes it does look painful. I’m just going to turn off the sound inside that room. The screams of pain I’ll record for later distribution to the rest of the inhabitants of my Castle of the Damned. Yes, I’m not trying to torture you for my own entertainment. I mean, you deserve it for not treating me like an actual human being or showing any kind of care or interest in my needs. But as you can see I’ve done quite well without your help. All of this? Everything you can see belongs to me. In essence inside this place I’m the Mistress. Not a goddess though, no need to go that far. You will call me Lady though when we’re done. I’m making sure that every single word that I’m saying is connected directly to your consciousness. The pain is a secondary discomfort. Why given how beautiful I’ve become I don’t even think you know who I am do you? Don’t worry, the pain will stop and you can talk once I’ve rebuilt you just right. No deformities for you.’

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Bones were far, far more difficult that I had considered. In short I had two choices, the prototype self-improvement engine was a tool which was meant to be used by an overreaching and far more powerful and intelligent presence than my own.

The first option was to try and build a basic intelligence operating system which could be called a guiding artificial intelligence. There was example templates which existed for Mining Drones which were designed to assist the soul operators of the devices in daily activities and could be adjusted to wide range of tasks from emotional support, work guidelines and even security.

A decent idea but one that could be trading my freedom for further restrictions and I had no desire to take one of those within my Castle of the Damned and erase all traces of personality within to recreate them as a mind who focused on a single purpose.

One of the nano-swarms paused as a message was directly sent into my consciousness as I ran my fingers down the plastic cube which formed the interrogation cell. The texture was cold and entirely sterile to the touch and smelled of nothing in particular. At least nothing I could identify. Likely, I just hadn’t had experience of it in reality and my potential hard-light construct of a body was simply trying to adapt.

‘Oh, according to the data harvested from your body structure you did in fact suffer from several severe body deformities. Well, we can correct those, adjust your posture and even increase your height a little. I’m not going to touch your flesh unless you wish to be reborn as I was. Yes, scream a bit more if it helps. Just as I used to cry when you had me beaten for trying to talk to you when you were busy or I blundered and caused a problem in one of your experiments. The whole sacrificing your apprentice whom you barely taught anything as a blood sacrifice can be forgiven but not forgotten. Necro-System, correct immediate failures but keep within strict parameters of original base physical form. I will not turn them into a copy of me. Please continue.’

The nano-swarm which had paused pulsed a deep red colour in response as it settled once more across the necromantic robes of the figure contained within. I carried on walking around the plastic cube, sometimes

The hidden presence which was part of a Shadow IT system which was able to override my own administrator level of control of the Necro-System was silent, it had talked to me in the strange list of numbers and through an emotional intent but hadn’t decided to override control of me and turn me into a slave.

Realistically, more that it couldn’t. A splinter of a remnant of a vast consciousness would not oppose me as long as my goals were similar. I wanted improvement, both for myself and revenge. Turning this minor fantastical world with magic, monsters and immortals into a Mining colony was a start. I wanted to reach out to the stars themselves, to explore and meet others with open minds.

I paused my continuous walk around the spaceship holding cell. If I had wanted I could have created portholes with visions of deep space underneath the interrogation room. To give the necromancer Eike an idea of what vastness truly meant but to go too far would result in a broken mind and I was living proof of taking an individual of shattering the world-view of a person.

The fact that I didn’t even know my own name, only my rough age and the faces of my parents but nor their names either or anyone who had lived with me in the village over my decade and a half of having been born and lived there was likely a permanent loss.

Unless the suffering fool inside the plastic cube who had a name at least. Unless Eike was a title and not a name. Hmm. Enough was enough. Physical suffering was one aspect, the punishment was sufficient as revenge unless my Ladies and Gentleman of Bone wished to enter this room in groups and proceed to beat the necromancer to death a few times as flesh was rebuilt over and ove-.

No. I had clearly been losing control of my own sense of time and my control was beginning to slip. This virtual reality clearly operated on a basis of time dilation but the longer that I spent in here the closer the group of adventurers from the forces of Light would approach the physical form of the Mining Drone and everything and everyone I had saved would be at risk. Including me.

I had made my decision and my point. The necromancer Eike had suffered enough and I would not turn them into a slave, not like how they had treated me. Better to have a conversation in a quieter place, one which wouldn’t have the same psychological shock as an advanced technological room like a spaceport. There would be other templates I could use but a familiar setting suited me better.

The room in which I had eaten meals and been shown the merest acts of kindness when my necromantic Master or Mistress had given me enough black bread, gruel and roasted meat and vegetables to stop me from dying. Even the taste of stale alcohol and watered down bitter wine had sustained me.

‘Necro-System, you have my permission to transfer both myself and the acquired target designate: Eike to a simple style eating room. Please base it on my former memories but I do have one immediate requirement. I require the services of one or more of those silent guards my Seneschal had mentioned. I am to understand that they do not operate under my direct authority. Just in case the necromancer Eike has placed any booby-traps within my conscious or unconscious mind when they sacrificed me. I am certain that even by taking me on as a makeshift apprentice a binding and magical geas of sorts was placed upon me. Keep the physical form of the Necro-Mecha safe running in autonomous combat and movement mode and I will find a solution to the adventurers closing in on the castle and altar. When they find nothing but charred remains they will pause to investigate. There is no need for alerts inside this Mind Palace. Transfer both of us to the room in two minutes.’

I wanted to find faster ways of working and progressing than having to rely on a system which focused on my efforts and mine alone. Within the rich data reserves I had done a rough search on mining processed in backwards world and time. A word had come up, Bergregal. A word in a tongue which I was unfamiliar with but meant a right to ownership of untapped mineral resources.

By right of will, I would lay claim to the entire backwards planet and establish a Mining Corporation once all the paperwork was dealt with. I had a business to run after all and a Human Resources Department to establish once a minor group of adventurers was dealt with.

Turning the necromancer Eike into a key member of staff and stuffing them into their own Mining Drone prototype would be a pure delight. Revenge was a dish best served with sweets. Or puddings.

I missed my Mother’s cooking and my Father’s attempts at desserts. Punishment had been delivered in full. I would learn from the necromancer now as a colleague, an employee in my growing retinue. After all, they had already died at least once. They belonged to me.