Upon entering the room, Vallynor directed his gaze towards the bed and carefully sat down on it, as if entering an ancient sanctuary. Gently closing his eyes, he felt time flow slowly, creating a special atmosphere around him. The day passed quickly, as if captured in a whirlwind of events, all thanks to the use of a mysterious artifact of time. However, in Vallynor's mind, no suitable name for this enigmatic item ever emerged, so he continued to call it simply - the Time Artifact.

Immersing himself in the pages of a book, Vallynor met with Duke Grave and other necromancers to share his experiences. Each of them gifted Vallynor their grimoire, where knowledge and secrets forged with special attention were stored.

Clasping the books in his hands, they instantly dissolved, giving way to bluish panels on which words sparkled:

[Congratulations on the opening of your store. In our virtual shop, you will find all the gifted books, as well as other knowledge for necro-coins.]

"What's this intrigue?" Vallynor, ready to dive into the world of each book, suddenly received a real slap in the face from cold, rational logic. Now he understood that he would have to pay for each portion of knowledge. And...

How many coins had accumulated in his virtual wallet? Remembering the completed task, which he had almost forgotten due to the unexpected attack, Vallynor checked the task's completion. Immediately, a new message appeared.

[Congratulations on completing the task. As a reward, you receive the dragon bones of the Forest Queen. These bones are filled with life energy, mixed with hatred and pain. They await you in a specially prepared space, where you can take and return them at will.]

Reading these lines, Vallynor was stunned. Realizing that he had not just obtained a magical gem, but a magnificent magic stone of the highest quality. After all, diamonds can be created with a simple spell, but dragon bones, filled with life energy, hatred, and pain, were almost a heavenly gift. This was too magnificent for a necromancer. There was no time to ponder, as a new task appeared before Vallynor.

[The beginning of a new end

You have trained too long in comfort, forgetting the danger. What you have just begun to acquire in this world could be lost.

Task objectives: Enter the necromancers' sanctuary, penetrate their laboratory, and take possession of the most important and valuable item.

Reward: The main item, hidden in the depths of the laboratory.]

"Vallynor, let's tell you more about our laboratory," - a shout came from the flying skull of Retos. The one who had previously tried to persuade Experavit to help in his experiments, was now soaring into the sky. At some point, he stopped and returned.

Approaching closer, Vallynor felt embraced on both sides by Tod and Chen, followed by a small group.

"Well, you've given them something to learn from," Tod laughed, looking at the approaching skull and at Peren, who sat in a coffin in the style of a corpse.

"Hey, you two idiots, leave Vallynor alone, don't infect him with your stupidity," Retos yelled at Tod and Chen, as well as their group, seeing how closely they were interacting with him.

"Why so much noise? Maybe it would be better for me to stay out of this?" began to emerge the Overladen Coffin, slowly filling up and preparing for flight, not changing its corpse pose even in conversation.

"You're not going anywhere," Iratus, appearing as if by magic, skillfully caught the coffin, followed by dozens of dead hands growing out of the ground. All these hands mimicked Iratus's movements and placed the coffin back on the ground.

"Sorry, Peren, but as one of the founders, you are obliged to be here," said Duke Grave with an apologetic tone.

"Why should a necromancer, who honors old traditions, help those who only desecrate everything I believe in?" Peren asked everyone, pain in his voice.

"I see that most have already gathered! Peren, I understand your dissatisfaction. But you know yourself…"

"The will of our God is above all," Duke Grave interrupted Peren, adding a bit of vitality to his voice. He even rose from the coffin and folded his hands in prayer.

"Hmm, we've lost him," Krina remarked, noticing the change in Peren's position.

"While he's over there praying, I'll tell Vallynor about the laboratory," Retos flew closer to Vallynor, turning his gaze away from Tod and Chen, who responded with a middle finger and tongue. Ignoring these two idiots, Retos addressed the rest:

"We, necromancers, work with black magic, necromancy, and death magic. And one could say that they are all connected. Necromancy is, in fact, a part of death magic and is also a component of black magic. And, in a certain sense, that's true. If speaking in the words of Gods. But for us, they are both connected and distinct. Black magic uses dark energy, corrupted mana, and many other types of energy. Necromancy, on the other hand, uses necrotic energy at its core, although it sometimes may draw upon other types of energy. But the result will be less significant. Death magic operates with death energy, which is very similar to necrotic energy, but still differs in that the former contains traces of life, whereas the latter does not."

Rising slightly, Retos illustrated his words with his flames, enveloping his skull in flame to visualize his explanations. While everyone watched him, no one made noise or caused problems. Everyone listened attentively to him and occasionally glanced at Vallynor. Continuing his presentation, Retos said:

"We, as those who make the most use of these types of magic, strive to uncover many secrets and understand deeper. We want to reach a level comparable to Gods, where one word can change the planet beyond recognition. But fortunately, there are so many Gods, and each of them has strict limitations... Necromancers, to be honest, are not sociable beings. Some of us work with corpses, creations of our God. Corpses are silent and cold, which brings us peace. But the thirst to become stronger drives us further. Unfortunately, we are weak and foolish individually. Sometimes we expend vast resources trying to replicate the same experiment, aiming for the same result... What idiots we are, spending so much resources."

"I understand that you are ashamed and angry, knowing that many of your experiments are repeated by us," said Duke Grave, looking at Retos with a look of dissatisfaction.

"Fine... One day we decided to unite our efforts for the good of all. We created a center where all necromancers could study and experiment. It's a huge research center, where all our results are gathered. But we destroyed it when we left."

"Why?" Vallynor asked, already beginning to guess how necromancers obtain knowledge.

"Because we copied everything and transferred it here, including most things. But in the laboratory, there was one experiment that we started a long time ago and couldn't move here. So, we decided to increase security and let the process go automatically. We couldn't abandon this experiment. And now, when you've proven your worth, we've decided to pass on the results of our labor. What every necromancer craves. What he lives for…"

Retos paused, smiling, leaving Vallynor time to guess what exactly necromancers thirst for. Of course, not everyone manages to achieve this goal immediately. So it was good material for reflection.

Understanding the goal, Vallynor internally cursed the skull. Peren looked at him and said:

"We, necromancers, were not always messengers of death, pain, and suffering. We were healers, helping the living to remain so. We soothed the souls of the dead, fulfilling their last wishes. Just as living healers strive to help and save those in need. So, I decided to gather necromancers to ease our suffering."

***

The old monk slowly walked across the black sand, his gaze fixed on the cloudy sky, which, as always, was strewn with clouds. Sighing, he slowed his steps, and a staff appeared in his hand. Striking the sand thrice, he summoned a bird's cry that enveloped the entire valley, and from the black void of the earth, a huge fiery bird-shaped silhouette arose.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

The entire surrounding world was engulfed in flames, even the Old Monk found himself in this sinister fire. The fallen phoenix, rising from the ground, soared into the air, but before it could fly far, its wing was struck by the extending staff. Caught off guard by the strike, the phoenix lost altitude and crashed back onto the black sand. Approaching it slowly, the Old Monk stopped, noticing the bird's head, and with one precise strike, he ended its suffering.

"Another descendant," he uttered, capturing the soul and enveloping the corpse with his magical ring. Unwavering, the Old Monk continued on his way, recalling the encounter with those two angels.

These two angels introduced themselves as Forkas and Isda. They simultaneously declared that they must destroy the last city, for which an army needed to be gathered. The Son of God, using the bodies and souls of the fallen, will gather slaves, and the old monk's task is to find and collect the strongest beings.

Now, the Old Monk is searching for the King of the phoenixes. The one who, along with his queen and all his kin, fell into the abyss of darkness. Pulling out a compass and adding a drop of blood collected from the bodies of phoenixes, he headed in the direction the arrow pointed, to determine the location of each phoenix until he finds the King.

***

"Lord Allur, what are your orders?" The soldiers obediently bowed before Allur, who had already recovered and was now in another city, captured by his followers.

Allur, pacing back and forth, pondered his next move. Stopping, he intently looked at his exhausted, wounded, and hungry warriors who had come to follow him. And at the fighters, ready to start a war.

"We gather our things and leave," after much deliberation, Allur decided not to seek revenge or fight against the monster known as the Son of God. This decision might shake his reputation, but it will at least avoid unnecessary casualties.

"As you command," the soldiers replied in unison.

***

Stepping out of the Necronomicon, Vallynor peered into his hands, feeling the weight of the decision he had made. Rising to start his training, he felt an inner unrest hinder his focus. Instead of diving into physical activity, he decided to step outside, immersing himself in the city's nocturnal atmosphere.

It wasn't long before he witnessed debauchery in all its forms: hedonism, orgies, and the like. It was a world of temptation and excess, where every desire could be satisfied. Passersby behaved as if such scenes were commonplace. Vallynor watched them, ignoring his presence. Most, upon meeting his gaze, simply waved and passed by, but a small portion of the bold approached to start a conversation.

Observing the style of the girls' clothing, Vallynor couldn't help but comment, "All these ladies look like super-elite prostitutes, as if straight out of comic book pages. Or almost like that." He also noticed some normally dressed people among them, like Lya in a purple dress, entering one of the bars and getting rid of several cheeky admirers.

Closing his eyes, Vallynor felt several pairs of hands begin to massage his body. When he opened his eyes, he found himself surrounded by female plant spirits, wrapping their naked bodies around him, starting a pleasant massage. At one moment, one of them approached his face and kissed him on the lips. Vallynor refrained, not wishing to break this strange but pleasant kiss.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" asked Gavriel, interrupting this incredible moment.

Vallynor's gaze slid over Gavriel's drunken figure, as if carefully weighing every detail. Instead of a direct answer, he questioned him in return, as if inviting him into an engaging conversation:

"Why are you here? Why aren't you working on improving the artifact?" - as if Vallynor's breath pushed the aura of nature away from his face. Instead, he embraced them around the neck, and they, interacting with him, created a picturesque dance, where each movement seemed like a part of a natural symphony.

"The daughter is handling it. I've done my part. So, what am I reporting here for? Tell me, boy, what are you up to?" - Gavriel angrily asked, seeing Vallynor embrace the nature spirits, barely remaining. The remaining ones, in turn, seemed intoxicated and, trying to arouse Vallynor, created a comical picture where several green beauties vainly tried to excite the guy.

"I decided to take a little break, pondering that in the future, I won't have the chance to stroll through super-elite red-light districts" - Vallynor replied with a smile. Gavriel, sighing a few times, pulled out two bottles and handed one to Vallynor, then started to chug the second one. In the meantime, Vallynor, while Gavriel was absorbed with the bottle, quickly poured the contents of his bottle into a huge glass and instantly hid it in his spatial pocket. The nature spirits continued to play erotically with his body.

Vallynor, touching their breasts, moved his hands to their heads. The hair was silky and soft. With sadness in his eyes, he looked at these debauched yet innocent spirits, wishing only for fun and to mimic everyone around. They tried with him, but stopping as if they sensed something, they looked into his face.

"Sorry, girls, but I won't be able to entertain you" - he said sadly, standing up and moving forward. However, the nature spirits stopped him, each embracing him as if wanting to hold him back.

One of the spirits even brought her lips to his ear and whispered, "We want to be close to the chosen one of the eternal forest."

Gavriel suddenly froze. The bottle of alcohol fell but, to his surprise, didn't break, and the alcohol didn't spill. Instead, the bottle righted itself and stood up vertically.

"They're talking? But they lost their minds long ago. They can't even utter a word" – Gavriel was so surprised that he shouted at the top of his lungs, but no one paid any attention. Caesar appeared.

"It seems the nature spirits have somewhat regained their consciousness," nodded Caesar, observing how the naked nature spirits embraced Vallynor and didn't want to let go. "A standard beginning for hentai, isn't it? Or do you call it something else?"

"Debaucher. You not only want to steal my daughter but these girls too," Gavriel yelled with righteous fury in his eyes.

"Who's talking? The one who can chase after any skirt. It's amazing you haven't started chasing your own daughter, like others," Caesar's words struck Gavriel, shattering the last remnants of his pride.

Vallynor remained silent. He found it difficult to agree with Caesar, as if this was something out of a hentai world, or to take Gavriel's side. Perhaps, he should first free himself from the embrace of the spirits, but they hugged him so pleasantly and warmly that it was hard to break away.

"Vallynor, these nature spirits will soon disappear," said Caesar, and his words shattered any wistful dreams. Vallynor began to ponder why Caesar said this and why he had come here.

"So, this is the end?" Gavriel asked Caesar.

"What end?" Vallynor asked worriedly, thinking that the world was preparing for its destruction.

"The end will come when all the plants of this world die a true death. Their souls will fall, and even the eternal forest, cursed and considered dead but not fully gone into oblivion, will die completely and irrevocably this time. It will be another step towards the destruction of this world," Caesar answered Vallynor's question, as a harbinger of inevitable change.

"Vallynor, we'll return in a few days, you need to set out on your journey," Caesar said, his smile tightening as his gaze flew to the poor spirits. In their last moments of existence as individuals, they began to awaken their minds, but not completely yet.

Vallynor, climbing up, felt how the embraces engulfed him. The naked nature spirits hugged Vallynor, emitting sounds similar to animal voices, and directed their gazes at Caesar. Then, in unison, they said:

"We want to be with you, Chosen One."

Caesar, blinking for a fraction of a second, changed, responded to the spirits:

"Follow Vallynor. But he has yet to create a world inside himself where you can reside. Therefore, reduce your bodies, and tomorrow... this morning you will be taken and placed in Vallynor’s room. Agreed?"

"Yes!" the girls replied in unison, then returned to the plants, beginning to change their forms. The trees slowly diminished, as did the flowers, until they became part of the surroundings.

"Let's go..."

"Wait, where is the guy going?" Gavriel interrupted Caesar, looking strangely at Caesar and Vallynor. Sighing, Caesar pulled out a stick and prepared to hit Gavriel. In response, Gavriel flew off like a bullet.

Vallynor, looking at Caesar's stick, frowned and quickly checked his inventory, pulling out a similar stick, but longer than Caesar's.

Caesar, noticing the stick in Vallynor's hands, felt as if echoing through his ages. Closing his eyes for a fraction of a second, he sighed with relief and hid the stick. Vallynor, waiting for what would come next, was left with questions, but Caesar simply turned and disappeared, leaving him alone.

Clicking, Vallynor himself moved to his room, deciding to restore his physical development until the morning. Changing, he headed to his training. There, he noticed Mirinthy, sternly moving back and forth, with dragons, half-dragons, and people with broken horns kneeling before her.

In the group, Vallynor noticed Nefan and a girl with short silver hair, looking no better than the others. Sensing something, Mirinthy looked at the sky, where she saw a fallen phoenix. Spiritually and physically defeated, it fell onto a magical barrier, writhing until its body died. The soul, trying to fly away and find a new body, was captured by the city's magical instruments. The corpse was quickly collected to prevent it from being taken by another soul.

Turning her head, Mirinthy noticed Vallynor. Everyone, as one, looked at the mighty phoenix. Smiling, she called him over. Everyone sitting on the ground followed her gaze in surprise.

"Hello, Mirinthy," said Vallynor, turning his head towards the group, "And what are they doing here?"

"Hello, hello… These are my brothers and sisters, and their loves," Mirinthy greeted joyously. No one would think that this girl, so joyful and a generator of positivity, could be capable of coldness and cruelty. However, the moment she spoke of her brothers, her speech became so cold that everyone felt the wind turn icy, and a sense of danger sounded in her voice.

Vallynor approached closer, feeling the cold from her presence. The girl's silver hair shimmered with reflections of light, creating the impression that she herself is part of the magic, mysterious and beautiful.

"Ah, isn't Alexander coming?"

"He's preparing everything for the journey. What a pity that I can't go with you. But I would like to send some of my brothers and sisters with you... But before they can follow you, they need to undergo some training," Myrintih explained to Vallynor, maintaining her joy. Even in the moment when she expressed regret and even tried to hold back tears, saying she cannot go with him, everyone sitting on the ground was astonished and couldn't believe their eyes and ears. In their questions sounded the guess, could Vallynor have influenced this "ice witch" so much that she changed her manner of speaking so drastically.

"Vallynor, buddy, can you... hic," Neffan started to ask but a single look from his sister made him silent.