Quickly returning to Experavitus and Duke Graves, Tod handed the pendant to the latter, after which the latter looked at the pendant and twirled it, trying to understand something.

"Is this the pendant, not the one you, Duke Graves, gave as payment for that miss?" Experavitus asked, studying the pendant held in the Duke's hand.

"You're right. This is the old pendant that once belonged to me. But at the same time, it's not the same. It has a new magical structure. It has become more convenient than before. Its surface area has increased, and now it no longer emits the aura of death, making it harder to detect," confirmed Duke Graves.

Duke Graves analyzed the pendant, made a few minor changes, and made it even better. Then he threw it into the magic circle, in the left corner of the triangle, which was curved in the shape of a semicircle on the inner side.

As everyone watched the pendant fly towards one of the locations symbolizing the Path of the Lord of the Dead, unexpectedly, on the third spot where a powerful artifact representing the Path of the Lord of a Thousand Poisons and the Curse of the Underworld was supposed to be, a needle appeared.

Duke Graves looked at Edward, who mysteriously smiled back at him, turning his face. Rhetos, on the other hand, nudged Experavitus with his elbow and, laughing, said:

"Maybe we should give him something and become his teachers. There must be something special about him if even the Necronomicon, created by the God of Death himself, has to obey him, and he wasn't prepared for actions like merging with that soul."

"I'm more concerned about how and when the grimoire, written by Death itself, changed with the Necronomicon, created by the God of Death himself. The Father of Death and the one who gave eternal races the concepts of aging and mortality," Experavitus said.

"Hmm, a good question. But how will you answer my question? Until someone else takes our place," Rhetos waited for an answer, seeing Experavitus pull out some strange black piece and throw it where the grimoire was.

Rhetos wanted to smile but quickly remembered that he was a fleshless skull, so, like Experavitus, he threw a small crystal.

Tod, Chen, and Krina looked at each other and didn't know what to do. It was strange; necromancers were rarely ready to become teachers and teach the new generation. But the oldest among them, experts in each path, decided to teach the same boy.

"Why have you gathered here?" Another group of more than 13–15 people approached the group. And at the head was a young boy who looked about 16–17 years old. Smiling, he greeted everyone, followed by the others.

"Yes, here we sit and wonder what's wrong with this boy. And have you finished, Peren?" Rhetos greeted Peren and his group of like-minded individuals as they approached.

"We've finished already, and we also gave part of our energy. I don't know what's up with this boy. But if the God of Death wishes for him to live, who am I to think and judge? So I'm going back to my tomb... I feel like an ancient vampire. Ha-ha-ha. If anything happens, you can come to my burial vault. And you do whatever you want. Goodbye for now," Peren bid farewell and left. The others talked with everyone, even with Edward. He only responded with a nod and occasionally gave instructions.

As they were conversing, Experavitus, Duke Graves, and Edward noticed the green grimoire start to move and rise in the center of the circle. Over time, more and more necromancers noticed this peculiarity.

While they watched, new necromancers joined them, having completed their part of the circle. Some returned to their sweet eternal slumber, while others went back to their experiments. A large portion met with old acquaintances, trying to learn more news about Vallynor and what the grimoire was attempting to do.

While some simply conversed, Rhetos quickly brought his magical instruments with his like-minded individuals and began recording everything that was happening there, while Rhetos himself observed and gave instructions.

Chen had just returned with Vallynor's body on his shoulder and approached the large group of necromancers. Many greeted him and looked with interest at the body he brought.

Some of them audaciously approached the body, attempting to steal an eye, tongue, ear, or something else, but quickly received a strong rebuke from Chen, and their bodies fell apart into pieces.

Those who had been secretly observing and waiting for the right moment quickly took something from the recently fallen necromancers who were trying to gather their bodies into pieces. One of them even screamed when he realized his liver and two fingers were missing:

"Who took my liver and fingers, you faggots? When I find you, I'll destroy your balls, fry your brain, and eat it."

"What if it's a girl?" asked one of the onlookers who observed the thieves of corpses.

"Mmm... When I catch them, then I'll think about what to do... Who asked?"

Chen, smiling, walked through the necromancers towards his group. Sometimes he even stopped to talk to other necromancers who strongly resembled Asians. However, unlike Chen, they had pieces of paper attached to their faces with runes and symbols drawn on them.

"Chen, what happened? Can you tell us? Because..." the old man asked, looking at Experavitus, sending shivers down his spine. "We couldn't understand the whole situation," he added, smiling self-deprecatingly and noticing that Chen had two pieces of paper with eye-shaped runes on his eyes.

"I don't understand much myself," Chen replied. "I remember talking with Todd about animals taking on human form and how we felt a strong sense of attraction. Then we headed towards the altar and met Experavitus there. He said we would have work soon. And as it turned out, we need to restore the body and even improve it."

"So, you weren't..." one of the girls began, looking at Experavitus, who paid no attention to them.

"He didn't call you?" another one added.

"No, he didn't call. I... have to go," Chen answered.

"Oh, I see..." they said, turning towards Experavitus. The old man trembled in fear when he saw Experavitus's cold, piercing gaze and quickly lowered his head, hiding. The same happened with the other girls and boys who were of indeterminate gender.

Experavitus coldly watched as these thieves of knowledge departed. Then he looked at Chen. His gaze was no longer as cold because Chen didn't use the teachings of his people in necromancy but followed his own path—improving his body to make it perfect. This path seemed weak to him, but he respected Chen.

When Chen approached, he left Vallynor's body in front of Duke Graves and Experavitus. Then he stood next to Todd. As he watched the magical circle drawn by the Necronomicon complete, a question arose in his mind. Looking at Todd, he whispered:

"Why hasn't the boy's soul been destroyed or undergone terrible changes? We didn't complete the entire magic circle in a minute. It took 15 or even 20 minutes. How come nothing happened during that time?"

"I don't know," Todd replied.

"It's all because of the green grimoire, which maintained the magical seal on the boy's soul," Experavitus interrupted Todd, answering.

"A seal? But from what I can sense, this grimoire is focused on nature. And as we know, life is focused on the body, not the soul," Chen said.

Rhetos, who was nearby, heard their conversation. He raised his bony hand, pointing to the Necronomicon, and said, "It placed the seal." Then he returned to his notebook, continuing to take notes and occasionally exchanging opinions with his colleagues.

"When was that?" Todd asked.

Everyone, except Chen, turned their heads towards Todd and silently looked at him. Rhetos snorted and said, "That's why I despise those who were fools and instead of choosing one of the sacred paths, opted for some enhanced form of the body where thinking isn't necessary, just marauding strong corpses and attaching them to your body."

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Todd couldn't understand why they reacted that way toward him. At first, Chen didn't understand either, but after thinking, he immediately understood why they looked at Todd like that. It was quite a foolish question. It was good that he didn't ask any more silly questions that could have angered the others.

Turning his head back, Duke Graves said, "The Necronomicon placed a seal on the soul when it tried to save and even solve the problem at its root. But it couldn't. That's when it placed the seal to buy time for preparation. Who would have thought there would be such a reaction during the merging of two—no, three—souls? If the Necronomicon couldn't foresee it, then we certainly won't be able to."

"Thank you for your kindness... I apologize for the foolish question." Todd immediately realized that he needed to be more attentive. It was good that he didn't ask any more silly questions that could have angered the others.

"Well, at least you have manners. But with just foolish questions, you won't get far," Rhetos turned back and began. He dropped his notebook. Seeing the circle complete and the green grimoire flying towards the center of the symbol of all necromancers, Vallynor's soul is freed from chains. Cracks quickly formed, turning black, from which small particles began to flow, rapidly converging into miasmas, and the body itself, which was supposed to break apart at any moment, began to swell madly.

"Have you ever seen anything like this, Experavitus?" Rhetos asked, witnessing such a horrifying reaction of the soul for the first time.

"No. It's abnormal. It's not being destroyed or bursting like a bubble, but rapidly swelling, filled with black cracks," Experavitus replied, one second after the shock.

"What's happening here? Why does the boy's soul have such a reaction?" Krina couldn't help but ask when she realized what was happening to that soul. As a torture master, she had learned about at least three types of soul destruction, and each of them was terrifying in its own way.

"We don't know," Duke Graves answered, then shouted, "What are you all waiting for? Fill the circle!"

Everyone around was shocked and watched. They surrounded the circle and began fueling it with their necroenergy. Even those who had left like lightning returned, realizing that all the horrors were yet to come.

The Necronomicon, enveloped in immense necrotic power, quickly wrapped around the amulet and the needle, as well as everything else except the Green Grimoire. The Grimoire, like a heart, beat and released its meager life energy.

A tremendous amount of energy swirled around. Resisting, it quickly turned liquid. Blue liquid spun everywhere, enveloping Vallynor's soul. His soul ceased to expand madly, and even the cracks diminished. But soon it began to evaporate. One of the necromancers, seeing this, quickly shouted, "We can no longer fuel the circle with energy. We're almost depleted."

Duke Graves cursed and quickly yelled, "Activate the main underground circle."

"But..."

"Alive!" Duke Graves interrupted the one who wanted to respond.

Ten necromancers were swiftly engulfed by the earth and disappeared. Duke Graves cursed in his mind and whispered, "May you have been worth our efforts. If not, I'll personally attack this damn book."

Experavitus shook his head while looking at him. Thinking about what they had just subjected themselves to with all these terrifying consequences for a soul they didn't even know Or rather, they didn't know it. And now they were ready to gather external energy, the sand of processing and purification, to cleanse all the filth that had caused thousands of souls to fall.

Thus, they would shorten their time until the fall, becoming one of the mad beasts that could no longer turn back.

***

Lia enjoyed the table filled with various dishes, which were quite expensive. She watched two lions fighting each other, occasionally glancing at the dismal mountain and then returning her gaze to this pitiful battle, in her opinion.

Her intuition told her to wait, so she held back. She would have lost patience a long time ago and unleashed herself inside to drag out the culprits of all this chaos and punish them thoroughly. One thing pleased her: two clowns were now trying to dispel her boredom, but unfortunately, it wasn't helping much.

Parrying a strike, Alexander burst into laughter and said, "Well done. Soon you'll reach your father's level. But..."—he accelerated and raised his swords for a strike, but they were quickly blocked. Smirking, Alexander kicked, making his son fly through the air. — "But you cling too much to the knight's code. There are no laws in war. Only the victor and the corpses."

"Cough, cough. You yourself taught this code long ago, and now you say it means nothing. You've changed." The young lion coughed, stood up, and unexpectedly turned towards the mountain, looking at his father.

Everyone turned their attention to the young lion. A strong force of attraction emerged from the mountain, directed at all the mana in the vicinity. This force didn't affect matter or living beings, only the energy itself, creating a powerful gust of wind. The wind quickly intensified, turning into a hurricane that, even if not aimed at physical objects, still began to pull them in.

Lia raised her hand, and in the next second, Annino and Glazik were enveloped in black bubbles as soon as they could. Annino and Glazik, frightened, began attacking the bubbles or attempted to escape. It annoyed Lia a little, and she said quietly, "Silence," as if whispering. In Annino's ears and in Glazik's eyes, there was a scream that didn't stop disappearing. It lasted for about 10 seconds, then slowly faded away. Annino and Glazik fell and lost consciousness.

Lia herself was also surrounded by a bubble, but it was transparent, not dark. Then she continued to enjoy her meal, putting a piece of meat in her mouth.

From the crevice came a snort, followed by someone saying, "You're willing to help a dog and a lost eye, but you can't help others. I wonder what excuse you'll come up with."

"Mmm, and you're delicious. Maybe I should create a new body for you?" Lia said it seductively, licking her lips. She took a glass with some crimson-red liquid and played with it slowly, looking at Alexander.

Alexander plunged his swords into the black sand and infused them with his energy, reinforcing his weapons. Everyone else followed suit, except for the monk. The monk kicked the sand with his foot and plunged it in up to his knee, first with one foot, then the other. Then he slightly turned his feet in different directions.

"Your flesh is tasty. It's a pity I can't say the same about your blood. It's too thick and dirty, like that of pigs," Lia said.

"First, try yourself, and then criticize others. Perhaps you'll end up better, but undoubtedly you'll be worse than me. Even rats wouldn't want to taste you. They not only don't want to eat you, but they don't even want to touch you. You're so repulsive."

"Hmmm."

"Yeah, don't even think about... No, it's not worth it. I apologize for the idiot with his long tongue."

"We have to, Tifia. We have to." After these words, a piercing scream echoed from the crevice, sending shivers down the lion and his father's spines.

***

Far, far away, at the other end of the cursed forest, there were two boys and one girl on a small plain. The girl sat on a boulder, embracing her legs, lost in thought. If Valinor were in its normal state, he could decipher what the girl, who was being blackmailed by Ego, was thinking about. Not far from the tree sat a handsome boy who, like the girl, pondered something. And the third person stood and looked in the direction where Lia and the others were.

The brooding observer of Lia and the others reluctantly nodded, then turned and looked at the beautiful girl who was hugging her knees, sitting on the boulder, and playing with her nails.

The young boy who sat by the tree, as if convinced, stood up from the tree and, looking at the girl, said, "Ena, it's time."

"Yes," the girl whispered.

"We have to go. If we stay, we'll be noticed. Let's leave this place," said the third person, who had been observing everyone before.

Ena sharply raised her head, and her gentle face quickly transformed into the face of a cunning woman. The physical changes were almost imperceptible, but the aura of purity completely vanished. Opening her mouth, a forked tongue, like that of a snake, could be seen as she slowly uttered, "Are we just going to leave? We are in this dying world that has lost its master and its god. And I can't understand why you're here and why you took me."

"A dying world, a fallen world, a cursed world It can be described in many words, but until it is completely destroyed, it can give birth to something that will bring much calamity in the future," replied the young boy, who approached Ena.

"Victor, maybe you should be quiet," said the third person.

"How rude... But she's right about something. This extraordinary boy could bring about many changes. Now is not the best day to rid ourselves of this uncertainty," Victor said.

"If you're ready to go against all the necromancers and the God of Death himself, then go. I won't stop you. But remember, you'll become a traitor," said Ena.

"Yes," said Victor, turned, and disappeared.

"Hm, weakling. You're all weaklings. I would gladly attack that boy if there were a reason." Pausing for a few minutes, she whispered, "Supreme Commander, I'll go ahead too."

"Very well, and I'll erase all traces while there's still some time," the man replied, nodding.

The one who remained alone frowned and spoke to himself, "There was no prediction about this sinner. Now I must only observe and gather information." Snapping his fingers, an invisible light enveloped the place where all three had been. After that, he himself disappeared.

***

Lia glanced briefly at the spot where a strong feeling of disgust had recently emerged. Tify, who hadn't stopped screaming, also noticed it. And in passing, before a new wave of pain and suffering emerged, she said, "What was that?"

"I don't know... "You're not trying to distract me from your punishment," she said, coldly staring at a single point while her foolish but delicious servant tried to please her.

***

Duke Graves filled the circle with his energy and felt a terrible wave of magic and all kinds of energy flowing in from the outside world. The empty reservoir quickly filled with his energy.

But it wasn't joyful news; it was lamentable, even horrifying. With the arrival of external energy came filth that contaminated the soul, hastening its descent. And the loss of oneself, transforming into something akin to the undead, yet even more dreadful.

Fortunately, they foresaw that the world would quickly become polluted, so all the necromancers willingly imprisoned themselves in the Book of the Dead, written by Death itself. The keepers of the book then became its last owners, tasked with safeguarding the grimoire and recording insights. But something went wrong, and this grimoire unexpectedly became the Necronomicon, with an ordinary boy becoming its owner, unaware of what magic truly was. And afterward, they fed on all souls, even those of poor quality. Thousands of years of hard work, all in vain. And it happened because of one boy who drew the attention of the God of Death and became the apostle of Death itself.