"Mmm, everything hurts." Vallynor slowly opened his eyes and saw... Well, he wanted to see but couldn't because something was unrealistically bright. He quickly closed them because of it. He also stopped feeling the pain that had been enveloping him for a long time. Instead, a cold sensation slowly penetrated him. He felt himself becoming one with something vaguely familiar yet alien.
While Vallynor tried to understand what he was feeling, he vaguely managed to hear a conversation. Concentrating, he could vaguely understand what they were saying.
"When was the last time... I can't... Yes, I'm already tired, Chen."
"Are you sure this boy isn't bad for enduring such pain?"
"Don't forget... we need to check if the same personality remains or has changed... I will cleanse. Tod and Chen, keep an eye on the boy."
Vallynor tried to listen, but no matter what he did, he could only hear intermittently. Most of the time, he couldn't understand what they were talking about. However, from the voices, he vaguely counted at least three people.
After thinking for a while, Vallynor decided to pretend that he was still unconscious. He would wait until he fully recovered. In the meantime, he would gather information, trying to figure out who were his enemies and who were the owners of the voices.
"I look at the face of this poor boy, and my essence thirsts to take him to a dark room with a big bed." While waiting, Vallynor heard a girl with a seductive voice talking about him. What he heard awakened his fantasies. How he plays with a beautiful, sensual girl.
"Mmm, how I will whip him..." BDSM? "How I will torment his soul, make him suffer, and look at his face filled with pain. And when he finally dies, I will raise him as undead and engage in passionate, lustful sex." Ahhh, Vallynor didn't even know what to do. Run away? Then the chance of this BDSM lady catching him and torturing him until his pulse is lost is guaranteed. But I don't have a pulse. Well, then, as long as I still have a trace of sanity, I'll stay here. But if I stay, I'll still end up in her hands. What should I do?
"Krina, you know you can't touch him. Unless you want to be tortured forever," a male voice unexpectedly said. And what he said made Vallynor sigh with relief, realizing that they wouldn't touch him.
"Experiment; can we conduct a few experiments with him? Such a specimen is rarely found nowadays," a hoarse voice intimidated Vallynor, conjuring up various horrific scenes in his mind with himself as a test subject.
"Don't harm the boy in any way. After all, he's our student," a voice said.
Student? When did I become a student? And why are there so many teachers? What did I do while I was unconscious? Or maybe I'm still asleep, and all of this is nonsense.
"Maybe you should stand up and greet each other? We are, after all, your future masters, ready to teach you the secrets of necromancy," the voice said.
What? Someone realized I was pretending. What should I do? Should I get up and respond or pretend I didn't hear them?
"Hmm, that's impolite of you, Edward. To make the boy get up even though he's been awake for a while," said the beautiful woman in a dress adorned with patterns resembling faces.
"So, you immediately realized when he woke up. I only realized it recently, and it was because of his slight body movements. You truly are masters. Chen, did you also realize this guy wasn't sleeping?" asked the European sitting next to the Asian man with eyes shaped like those of the Chinese.
"Like you, I only recently noticed his subtle body and facial movements," Chen replied.
"Maybe you should stand up already. It's rude of you to behave this way with your teachers," said Experavit, a skeleton in a mage's robe sitting next to them.
Vallynor, realizing that he had been caught and that nobody wanted to harm him, slowly opened his eyes—his icy blue eyes. The dazzling light was gone, replaced by a black sky devoid of a single star. This was not a cursed world.
Rising slowly, he turned his head and saw a beautiful woman in a patterned dress, two guys (one European and the other Asian—presumably Chinese, judging by his eye shape) sitting slightly apart from the rest, holding body parts in their hands, and some sort of artificial monster on the floor.
Next to the familiar Experavit, who had a different aura, sat a skeleton in a mage's robe. And a shadow of a man sat on a tree, coldly staring at him.
Vallynor, looking at them, remained calm, but a storm of emotions raged within him. He didn't know what to do or how to act. But at least no one attacked. Where was the BDSM girl, though?
He looked closely at each of those present and saw only one girl. But he couldn't say she was into BDSM. Even if he knew her desires to torment him, it wouldn't matter much because he was mostly undead and couldn't feel pain. Maybe just once? No. She seemed to be a necromancer, so she should have a spell that restored sensation.
"How do you like your new body?" One of the two men, creating gibberish with a beautiful face, asked, approaching Vallynor. It was the one with the European face, while the other man manipulated eye sockets, sticking his finger in the empty sockets and moving them up and down until he found the right position.
"I'm asking you," the first man continued, "where is Chen? Did something go wrong with him? I might have to crack open his skull and check."
"No, no. There's no need. I can hear," Vallynor replied, watching as the Asian guy, possibly called Chen, played with his face as if it were clay. He felt as though he had sunk into a trance. But hearing the suggestion of cracking open a skull, he involuntarily imagined himself in the place of the monster and was ready to leap and run away, but he held himself back.
Considering the recent question, he quickly examined himself, afraid of seeing something extra, like two more arms or legs or even another head. But after looking himself over, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Looking at his hands, he no longer saw black or gray skin. Instead, his hands, legs, and even stomach had a normal skin color, and the skin had become softer. It wasn't as rough as tree bark. Moving his hands, Vallynor realized they were easier to move. It was as if they had become light as feathers.
Examining his body, he could see that he was no longer wearing the lightweight combat suit but was dressed in a black cloak, simple yet very cool. Then he wanted to see his face and hair, but remembered that he had already seen himself enough and that there were no mirrors around. They had been silently waiting all this time.
The European man who recently asked about the body looked expectantly for an answer. Sitting next to him was Chen, who observed him and occasionally nodded, looking at his face.
"What did he do to my face? ... It wasn't mine to begin with. And now to change it, making it even more hideous? No, then that BDSM didn't look at me and didn't mention passionate cake at the end. Ha-ha-ha, I'm censoring myself. Pff, what am I thinking about? Not important. Let it not make me incredibly beautiful, so it becomes unpleasant to look at myself."
"What's your name?" Unexpectedly, the guy sitting on a dead leafless tree interrupted the silence, examining his body with a prolonged gaze.
"Vallynor," the necromancer thought, contemplating what to answer when asked about his name. Vallynor initially thought about deceiving and giving another name to avoid future curses. He had learned many ways to curse others from Baba Yaga, and using their names was one of them. But firstly, it wasn't his real name, just an alias, and secondly, honesty was the best course of action. These powerful beings were watching him and could kill him at any time and destroy his soul.
"Vallynor, congratulations to you!" cheerfully said the skeletal lich dressed in the mage's cloak that Vallynor also wore.
"For what?" he casually asked the lich.
"For surviving! He-he-he. Now you're a unique person, unlike any in the world," the lich congratulated him, its voice filled with joy. Upon hearing this, Vallynor couldn't understand if the lich was happy for him or for itself. Did it have something in mind?
"You can't experiment on him without his permission," Experavith said coolly, assessing Vallynor. After that, he nodded, signaling that the conversation was over.
"Experiments?" Vallynor thought, realizing that his suspicions weren't far from reality. He became scared and made a mental note not to be alone with him.
"Vallynor, can you tell us how you like your new body? Oh, right, first you should introduce yourself. My name is Todd, and my colleague here is Chen. We are necromancers and believe that bodies can be quite powerful, just like all other paths, such as desiccation."
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"Fine? I can't say much until some time passes," Vallynor thought.
"Yes, yes, exactly. Later, you can tell us about any issues that arise. If anything, we can solve them," Todd agreed, nodded, and then turned to Chen, lost in thought. He wanted to say something but remained silent, continuing to contemplate in silence.
"Vallynor..." Experiavith began, addressing Vallynor. He fell silent, considering his next words, and continued, "You should already know me, having encountered my other half. So, I won't introduce myself. You're a young and unkempt boy who has embarked on the dark and sinister path of necromancy. What happened to you is only the beginning. If you truly wish to pursue this path, you will have to study diligently. I will become one of your teachers and instruct you in everything concerning souls."
"Experavith, why do you speak so eloquently? Can't you simply say that things turned out this way, and that's it? Ha-ha-ha... My name is Retos. The great and dreadful lich I, too, joined this club. I want to see how far you'll go. You, the one capable of traversing all three paths simultaneously, Ha-ha-ha. I WANT TO SEE WHAT YOU WILL BECOME, CREATURE!"
"Oh, here he goes again," said the BDSM girl, shaking her head and prompting Vallynor to turn away from the laughing skeleton in the cloak. "I am Krina Vol Ver... Well, just Krina. I discarded my noble past long ago. I won't officially be your teacher, but I can teach you a few things if you're interested. And now, I must go," she said, making a bow and slightly lifting her dress, hearing cries and quickly departing.
"If everyone has introduced themselves, then it's my turn," said Chen Chen, surveying everyone as Retos, after a burst of laughter, began muttering about his ideas. "Just call me Chen. How do you like your new face? I tried not to change it too much, but I corrected a few minor defects. And how do you like your skin?"
"Skin?" Vallynor was slightly taken aback. "So, you turned my rough skin into something soft and supple like a girl's?" He nodded. "Yes, yes, thank you! I had given up hope of ever having such skin when I realized I was no longer alive or dead."
"Not alive and not dead? What are you talking about? You are not undead, but you're not alive either. Is it something in between? We need to figure this out," Retos suddenly interjected, surprising Vallynor with such a reaction. After all, Retos grabbed his hand and tried to lead him away, shouting that he needed to figure everything out.
Chen and Todd quickly caught hold of Retos and attempted to pull him away from Vallynor. Retos tightly held onto Vallynor's hand and yelled that he needed to conduct some experiments. Todd and Chen, on the other hand, shouted that it was their masterpiece and he had no right to ruin it.
"Some kind of damn masterpiece. You mindless barbarians You turned away from the gift and decided to pursue some paths in the body. Leave me alone and go on fucking your corpses."
"What did the robe with bones say? At least we created a new branch of necromancy, which we are currently developing. While you sit with your papers, checking your experiments a thousand times to confirm a 100% chance of success instead of 99.99999888%,"
"We are checking so that future generations of necromancers can..."
Everyone stopped; Todd and Chen lowered Retos, and Retos himself let go of Vallynor's hand. A gloomy silence enveloped everyone. The experimenter looked at the dark sky and let out a long sigh, which was strange for a disembodied ghost.
"Edward. Master of assassinations and poisons. I will teach you the Way of the Master of a Thousand Poisons and the Curse of the Underworld." The previously silent boy on the tree shattered the silence. After briefly introducing himself, he hinted that he too was teaching him. After that, he disappeared as if he had never been on the tree before.
"Retos..."
"I know I'm troubling the wound. I won't heal anymore. Vallynor, it's time for you to return to that ill-fated world. They're waiting for you there. Be careful with what you say in front of the Queen of Nightmares. And yes, you can trust Alexander... We'll meet again soon."
Vallynor didn't know what to say, and when he was about to ask a question, the Necronomicon leaped out of his left hand and increased in size. When it opened, the book fell onto Vallynor, and he didn't even have time to scream before everything went dark.
***
Lia had been waiting for over a day and a half. Waiting to see that boy. The amusement of a duel between two lions had long ended.
Glazik and Annino sat by the tree, observing everything. When they noticed Lia, they trembled and prayed for everything to be alright and for Vallynor to return.
Alexander sat by the tree, sharpening his swords. Meanwhile, his son and his people set up several campfires and prepared food, although they didn't actually need to eat thanks to the Soul God, who still existed at that time. The people living in this world didn't require food, only energy, even after the ravaging mutations. That ability remained, but the desire to eat and enjoy delicious food hadn't disappeared. And with the decrease in world energy, many had returned to eating regular food.
However, they only ate for pleasure, or perhaps they had started consuming flesh instead of magic. Lia reached out and picked up a book from the stack on the table. Opening it, she watched a video recording.
As she flipped through the pages, she saw herself and the young boy and how they talked, played games, and traveled through different worlds.
Lia smiled sadly, then closed the book and picked up another one. She started reading a novel that she had copied from the boy's memories.
"Oh, you think this is how you'll restore your stone heart?" I'm sorry, but what I'm about to say may shock you. But no matter how hard you try, your stone heart will remain a stone heart," the lady said seriously.
"For everyone else, I may be cold, but for my..." she began to speak but was interrupted by Tiffany.
"Husband, lover, toy, sex partner" What will you call him?" Tiffany mockingly asked
"For my boy, I'll be a flower that stinks and is filled with thorns. Oh, and he'll bite like a snake," the lady replied, not giving Tiffany a chance to interrupt.
"For my enemies and ill-wishers—yes. And you'll be the first," she declared sharply.
"Huh? No, please. Forgive me. It's all because of my nature... Aaaaah!" Tiffany screamed, realizing she had made a mistake again.
The knights preparing the food didn't even look up at the cries. One of the knights took a piece of meat and began cutting it into small pieces so that everyone would have a plate with meat. Then he raised his hand, and all the plates flew towards the other knights sitting by the fire.
One of them took a plate, pointed his finger at a piece of meat, and with the help of magic, lifted it and ate it. Turning to the Queen of Nightmares, he asked, "How many times has he been punished?"
"Well, about 37 times. This demon is truly thick-headed," one of the knights answered, savoring the meat. "I haven't eaten meat from these monkeys in a while," he added.
"Haha, it's good to try different meat sometimes, besides the beasts we breed for food. Which breeds are we using to breed our girls?" One of the soldiers asked
"Let's finish quickly and return," the third soldier said, tossing a piece of meat into his mouth and looking at Lia. "I wonder if it's always like that for them."
"You mean the Queen of Nightmares and Tifia? If so, yes, ever since the Queen of Nightmares defeated Tifia in that ill-fated war. She extracted the souls of demons and merged them with the dimension to store things. In doing so, she improved the efficiency of the dimension, making it rational," replied Lia.
"But even after his defeat and becoming her slave, the demon never stopped tormenting her. It was as if he hadn't lost and become a slave, but she had. And even after thousands of punishments and tortures, his essence as a demon remained unchanged," added Lia.
"Richard, I heard that your marriage is soon to end. I've been observing Anna for a while," said Christie.
"Yes, Christie, you're right. Our marriage will soon be over, and I will divorce Anna. If you want, you can try to date her, but know that she's very capricious," Richard replied.
Lia, having punished the idiot Tifia with torture, heard the knights sitting by the campfire talking and joking, even telling lewd jokes.
Without these optimistic people, everything might have already collapsed and turned into walking corpses, craving souls and flesh.
This also made the apathetic Queen of Nightmares even sadder. She slowly began to recall how, after being sealed in this world, people continued to live on. Most of them still mourned or tried to destroy themselves due to the loss of loved ones. Some lost husbands, some wives, some fathers, some mothers, and some were left alone. Even though she knew almost everyone living in this world because they had immortal lives, sometimes it was necessary to be born in some other world for a hundred years or a little more and restore the balance. It was considered simple work.
But after the war, the imprisoned began to fall further into their desires. Those who had hesitated or sought their one true love fell into vice, married, cheated, divorced, and remarried. Those who amassed wealth and rare materials spent them on their insane experiments. Of course, most of it was aimed at breaking down the barrier, but they slowly started fulfilling their petty, sinful desires.
The world gradually collapsed because its people realized that death, as they understood it, as complete annihilation, was close, even if they had to wait for several more centuries. It was too little for immortal beings.
People who were once heroes and villains, sages and saints, couldn't free themselves even after death; they couldn't create a normal family or have children. In a world sealed off from the rest of the world, new souls couldn't be born, which meant that those who dreamed of a child could only dream of it.
Lia slowly remembered what happened to her after her serious injuries. She was forced to fall into a deep sleep, where she remained for a long time. She was able to leave her body, which hadn't fully recovered, and in her astral form, she set out to travel through the world of nightmares, which was part of the realm of imagination.
She traveled from one nightmare to another, gathering fragments of information. Sometimes she observed a person experiencing a nightmare, waiting to see its end.
It continued like this until one day she entered a particular nightmare. From the very beginning, as she entered it, she heard a melody filled with darkness and pain. And the owner himself was writing as he watched a creature and a knight battle. With every word written in the book, the scene of the battle changed. Then a sea monster appeared, fighting against a wizard.
Lia watched all of this as the melody changed with the pace of the battle, complementing it and adding a certain charm.
Soon the nightmare ended, and Lia had to move on, not knowing how much time had passed. But once again, she met that guy, and the melody played as before. This time, the guy didn't write about battles but tried to destroy the barrier between the world of imagination and reality. In the end, he failed, and the nightmare ended once again.
The next time Lia met the guy in a new nightmare, he had grown a little and observed the story he had written himself.
Unconsciously, she wanted to observe these stories, which was unusual for her. There were many unfamiliar things there.
Over time, she began to question whether it was really a nightmare because she didn't feel fear, pain, or hatred from the guy. It was strange for her, but she also wanted everything to remain the same.
With the years, when she had spent more than ten years in the world of nightmares, while the guy had lived a maximum of one or two years, the rules and laws in the world of imagination were not stable. For those who dwelled there, even the concept of time was unfamiliar or not the same as in the real world. She still remembered when she first met him and they started talking. That's when the emergence of feelings and the current pain began.