I continued to feel sweat dripping down my face, and my chest was starting to tighten up. Everything around me started spinning as if I was hooked up to a sort of wheel-like device being rolled down a large mountain, and I kept hearing random sounds in my head like the undead I had fought during that mission. At one point, I felt as though my face had various bugs crawling out of my face and throughout my body.
I had not considered this happening when fighting that Lich, but I refused to allow this to overtake me. It must stop.
I suddenly went to turn around to face the aggressors, unwilling to allow myself to continue to run from the number of them in tow, sliding to stop before getting back and charging them head-on. Neither they nor I had weapons of any sort. It was good old-fashioned hand to hand combat.
As I ran towards them, I balled up my right first and drew it back as if I was holding a bow and about to release an arrow from a bow. As I got within striking range, I let out a mighty roar while swinging my fist at the nearest undead warrior, causing a massive wave of air to fly out around us, flipping them all over on their back. The one I had swung at turned to dust from the impact.
I looked around, wondering if any would get back up. With none of them moving, I turned around and ran again but noticed it was just a black void of nothingness. Looking over my shoulder at once was an open field with recently cut grass, some trees, flowers, and the sky with the sun overlooking it, also now just back, void of nothingness.
I was unsure what to do. Where was I supposed to go, as there was nowhere to go? I turned around, feeling as though someone was behind me. I slowly turned my head, followed by my body, raising my hand. Once I thought whatever behind me hadn’t noticed I was turning towards it, I quickly released a powerful punch as I fully turned my body, letting out another powerful blast of wind from my first.
To my surprise, the Lich was standing there, just laughing at me. The attack I had just released upon it had no effect. It started to speak to me, but I could fully understand it this time.
“Young Angel, you may have eradicated me, but…” it softly said, walking closer.
“.. but you allowed me to infect you with my energy, and soon, you’ll become just like me. It’s only a matter of time.” He continued, with his arms raised in the air, as if he was welcoming an old friend after not seeing each other for some time.
“I hope you know I will not falter to overcome this, and I shall overcome it,” I said, confident in the ability of the Master level healer, as well as having confidence in myself. I took a step closer to the Lich until we were face-to-face.
“You’re already too late; by this time, there is nothing more anyone can do for you. Had they caught on sooner, you would have been saved. But instead, you shall fester and start to infect those around you.”
He placed his hands on me, giving me the best smile he could muster up before letting go and taking a few steps back. He was looking as though he had just won 1st Place during a tournament. He stood there, looking at me. What did he expect me to do? I was starting to wonder if he perhaps was bluffing. I looked into his eye to see if I could get a reading from him, and the moment I made eye contact with him was when I realized that he was lying.
I sat on the ground, allowing a loud, hardy laugh out.
“Do you take me for a fool, lich?” I asked, not knowing if I was being ignorant of how severe the situation was. I had concluded that if I had ended up becoming a lich, then why would it go through all this trouble to try and convince me I was turning into one? This all felt like it could have just been one giant hallucination as I possibly just came down with a sickness or something from that cursed swamp. Up until I had the area cleared out, everyone had full helms on, except for me. So, it was quite possible that I had come down with some sort of sickness.
The Lich stared at me, looking as though I had just given it some bad news and remained frozen in place. I stared at him while it seemed like he was frozen in time. I stood up, curious about what was going on with him. I slowly reached my hand out to him when it suddenly seemed like time had unfrozen, and he quickly grabbed my hand out of the air faster than I could react. I struggled to remove my hand before he pulled my hand, placing it over his chest.
“You are a foolish young one but hold a lot of power, perfect for one who will replace me. I hope you enjoyed your life as a foolish angel.” He said, with an intense smile on his face.
He slammed my hand into his chest and started to chant, and a giant white light was beginning to form around our hands. I caught him looking down at the light, giving a worried look, but was somehow stuck in his chant. Things around us started to become distorted; the air looked like how young children drew swirls to represent the wind blowing, but far more intense.
The chanting stopped as the energy from my hand started to cause the Lich to look as though he was a slice of bread being rolled into a ball before being absorbed into a giant ball of white light that retreated into my hand. The black void of nothingness started to shatter around me as if I had just thrown a large rock into thin glass. I covered my face with my arms, hoping to protect myself.
Once the rumbling and sounds of glass shattering around me stopped, the once black void was now a white void. Something had caught my attention behind me, as it sounded like something was tapping a sword against a wood plank. After what happened during my “visit” in the black void, I chose to not turn around but remain still, wondering when Genesis and them would be able to awaken me back to reality.
I could hear and feel whoever this was getting closer to me before finally feeling a hand placed on my right shoulder. Whoever this was, they had to be tall, as I stood at least 8’ tall, but it appeared they were possibly taller.
“My child. Do you not wish to turn around to see the face of that who saved you just over a thousand years ago from the demise of that forsaken planet?”
I was still looking at the hand, wondering what was going on. While it was a female voice, it was different than the other voices I had heard during my time here and sounded far more feminine somehow than the rest.
“Excuse me?” I asked, turning around, wanting to face this being. Upon turning around, she towered over me by what seemed like a mile and appeared as though she was made from pure light, so bright that I felt as though I had gone blind. I shielded my eyes with my hands, still trying to catch a glimpse of this glimmering woman in front of me.
“Forgive me, I rarely take a physical form as I do not hold a physical presence to those around me anymore. I shall take appropriate measures to ensure that we may talk momentarily in a way easier upon you. Allow me a moment to change into a more suitable form for you.” She said, her voice echoed, sounding as if she was all around me.
The light started to dim as I could see between my arms her shrink to about my height. Once the light fully dissipated, I removed my arms from infront of my face. Upon looking at her, I was shocked by her features. She wore a long white dress with lotus brooches on each shoulder and a green laurel on her head with white and gold highlights. Her hair reached her lower back, brown in color. Her eyes were white, with pearl blue irises. Her skin appeared smooth, with a touch of the perfect tone that women desire to get after a day in the sun at a beach.
I stood there, staring at her, unsure what to say. I had forgotten entirely her original words. She looked at me, smiling, before walking closer to me. Her presence soothed me, though I had been in her presence before. I could have stayed in this weird dream-like state with her around, as she was my personal definition of sheer beauty. She looked at me as if she waited for me to say something.
I bowed before her, “Hello miss, it is an honor to stand before you.” I said, pleased to be in her presence.
“Thadeus, our time is short, but I wish to explain as I feel like you should know how I chose to bring you about to the world of Angels, Humans, and other races,” she said, raising her hand to the top of my head. “There are only a few moments remaining before those working to reverse what happened to you succeed. So, listen carefully.” Her tone changed to concern.
I looked at her, having a look of interest in my expression.
“Very well then, I’ll be quick. When I first saw you on that planet, I knew you’d end up being special. That family of Elves who had came to your quaint mountain village is how you caught my attention. While the rest of your village saw them as outsiders and freaks, you welcomed them with open arms. You were the only one there, in that entire village of other humans, to accept them.” she said, smiling. As she went on, a tear came out of her eye that turned into a pearl as it left her cheek.
“Despite the clear differences between you, you became friends with their son, and against the will of those within your village, you chose to take up learning the style of magic while also teaching him how to interact with others. Despite all the hatred towards your non-human friend, you always stood up for him and ensured that he felt welcomed in the village.” She paused momentarily to see if I had any questions before continuing talking.
“However, I started to wonder about you as I could tell that you would not be able to control the level of magic you were learning and had concerns after your family found out about your secret lessons, which caused them to be chased out of the village upon the village elders finding out about it.” She took her thumbs to her shoulder straps, lifting them up slightly before placing her hands back to her sides.
“Upon returning from outside the village to retrieve some firewood for dinner that night, you had discovered your newfound friend and his family no longer remained due to the actions of those around you. You ended up losing control of the newfound power and ended up slaughtering your entire village before setting the mountain on fire. I continued to watch over you as you ran down the mountain when you regained awareness to the nearest road to seek help.” she paused again, looking as if she was full of regret as if she could have stopped this.
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“Due to the severity of the fire, the first one who found you picked you up and made haste to the nearest city where you spent about 20 years living on the streets before a woman had taken you off the streets and into her home where she provided for you in exchange for mutual services, and bonding, but it didn’t last as you disliked living like that. By this time, the planet started to see war with other planets approaching despite remaining neutral in a war between the Angelic and Demonic beings.” She paused briefly to give me time to process this, but I was more interested in listening rather than talking or asking questions as time was short.
“As the planet remained neutral, they took in wounded soldiers of all races no matter what side they had fought for, as they wanted to ensure that everyone could have their wounds tended to and have time to heal without fear. This angered a mighty world that eventually came and started to attack the world you inhabited directly. The angels who inhabited the planet decided on where to move everyone, opening portals in every major city to somewhere safe and remote away from the war. You were there with a wounded angel, helping people get through the portals, putting your life last as just before the planet exploded, pushing that angel into his own portal, causing it to close behind him. Resulting in you surviving the blast enough for me to come in and ensure you be reborn again as an angel yourself.” she said, sounding proud of me near the end.
I looked down at the ground, scratching my head slightly, trying to process all this information that had just been dumped upon me. I do remember floating out in space, but nothing before that. It felt like it happened deep within me.
“So, why choose me then? Of all the beings and humans out there, you picked me. Why?” I asked, not completely understanding. On one hand, I had killed an entire village of people and destroyed a fire. But on the other hand? I helped evacuate who knows how many innocent women and children, which I felt no regrets about.
“I chose you because I knew that you would be able to do far greater good, and unlike the other Angels, you were created differently. I’m sure you have noticed you appear to be different than the others around you. I’ve been watching you and noticed that you do not act like the others, as you are friendly and appear to want to fight for justice. So far, you have only thrown those to the wolves who do harm to those not able to defend themselves.” She paused, sliding the sleeves of her dress to the side of her arms, allowing her dress to slide down her body.
“Press your right hand against my chest.” She said, demandingly.
I could not help myself but to look at her body. To my surprise, she displayed no signs of being female or male. I did as she requested, though, and placed my hand on her chest. She smiled and stated that it was a pleasure to finally talk to me directly. I slowly started to move closer against my own accord to her. It was as if I was being sucked directly into her. I tried to move away but found myself frozen, unable to move until I had been sucked into her body. It looked as though I was traveling through space at an astronomical speed with stars, planets, and the void of space combining into a mass of multi-colored dots.
I could see myself approaching a peculiar yellow-looking light, and it was rapidly approaching. I was unsure what this strange light was, and as I hit it, I closed my eyes, uncertain of what would be on the other side.
When I reopened my eyes, I was lying on a cot, surrounded by a few others. Gabriel, Genesis, and a couple of medical assistants all stood over me, looks of concern filling their faces. As I opened my eyes, Genesis’ face revealed that he was relieved I had finally woken up.
“It’s a miracle!” he exclaimed. He grabbed hands with the other medical assistants, and they all started dancing together, shouting, “WE SAVED HIM! WE SAVED HIM!”
Gabriel wiped his forehead with his forearm, giving a relieving sigh.
“Young Master Thadeus, seeing you awake gives us all such joy. Typically, those infected by Lich’s do not return fully intact as yourself has. Had you not awaken as yourself, you would have turned undead and been purged. You are the first of our kind to return fully as yourself with no extra features or other problems in the Kingdom's known recorded history. To my knowledge, this is the first time anyone has woken up normal.” Stated Genesis, sounding excited.
Gabriel started to walk out of the room. “Thadeus, come see me when you’re feeling better. You’ve had a rough month but have done some amazing things. These guards will remain with you until you regain your strength.” he said with a tone that sounded so calm that I wondered if he had been worried about me. It was strange hearing this from him, of all people.
I looked up at Genesis, trying to sit up. My whole body felt stiff as a board as I did.
“Master Healer, if it is okay with you, I’d like to return to my quarters for the remainder of my rest. It’s been a while since I was last able to be around my servant. It’d bring me great pleasure to be in her presence,” I stated, trying to sound as if I had other reasons to want to return to her. In reality, I had wished to return to my own quarters so I could have a few extra moments of peace to myself. Had I only been gone for a couple of days, I may not have been in such a hurry to return, but I wanted to take advantage of having some time to myself.
“Your new quarters have been set up. The servants have also been told they should expect to serve you in any way possible as you will be their new master. They have agreed to do what they can to help you feel comfortable as possible and do everything within their power to ensure that serve you well.” one of the guards said to me while assisting me to my feet and walking me to the door.
The other guard followed close behind me. My entire body was stiff, and I found it slightly difficult to walk.
"Young Master Thadeus…” Genesis said, “Upon returning to your room, please rest for two to three days. If you need anything, have your servants fetch myself or one of my assistants. They’ll be able to retrieve me with the help from one of the guards who’ll be there to assist them in the event they need to leave the floor.” He looked at the guards as if neither of them had any idea about ahead of time. They both nodded as we exited the room.
Going down two flights of stairs proved difficult as I found it hard to bend my legs in order to walk. We eventually made it down to the floor that I now inhabited. The guards allowed me to place my arms around their shoulders, and as we walked past the servant's quarters, I yelled out for Selyse, telling her to follow us. She opened the door with an excited expression, which quickly turned to concern.
“Master Thadeus! What happened?!” she yelled out in concern.
The guard closest to her motioned for her to follow us as they carried me around the corner to a wooden door with my name on a golden plate with the title “Right Hand” underneath. The guard to my right opened the door with his right hand, revealing a room large enough to hold several beds, 2 large windows, and a loft. In the room, there was a large bed and a bunk bed. It appeared that this room may have been for the guards.
One of the guards set me down while the other one hobbled me over to the bed.
“My lord, this bed here is yours. If you wish to lay with your servants, you will have plenty of room for your desires with them. There is a bunk bed suitable for your smaller human servants to share if you wish to have them sleep in here, and the loft above has a spot for peaceful studying with a small window with a door should you choose to study up there. This was once a small garrison, but seeing as how you are taking the room, this floor will have only you and the other servants. Official orders from Gabriel state that you will have this room to yourself. One of us will patrol the general area in your absence, but you’ll be left alone for the most part.” he said in an informative way, bowing as he sat me gently on the bed.
Selyse was standing behind him, trying to figure out what was going on.
“Excuse, sir guard, what is wrong with my master?” she asked. She was visibly concerned as she has never seen me be carried around by guards, nor barely be able to move.
The guard looked at me, wondering if he should answer. I gave him a nod.
“Young servant, your master experienced a close encounter with that of a Lich lord while out on a mission, becoming infected after destroying it. While he will be okay, he will have to remain in bed for at least three days. During those days, I request you do what you can to ensure that your master remains comfortable and assist him however you can. One of us will remain near the stairs should you or the other servants need to retrieve Master Healer Genesis or any supplies for him.” he said while looking at her as if he wasn’t sure why I requested he inform her.
“Bed is tall. I need to reach bed.” She stated. I started to catch on to how she spoke to myself and the other servants versus how she spoke to the guards. To the guards, she spoke in broken words and made herself out to be unintelligent. It started to make me wonder if all the servants did this, or just her.
The guard sighed, looking around the room, trying to figure out what was around that he could use to prop up against the bed to help her up and down. He walked over to the bunk bed, reaching under it before the sound of a wooden object being drug against stone was heard. He looked at Selyse, giving her a “come get this” look. She ran over to him, retrieving it from him, bowing, before running back over and placing it against the bed.
Within my view, I saw her slightly struggle to get on the bed, and it took her a moment to get back down. Once she was sure this would be acceptable, she got back on the bed and curtsied as the guard, who surprisingly gave her a smile, before the guard walked out and closed the door.
She listened to ensure that he had completely walked away for some reason before turning her attention to me.
She took off the elegant cloak she had on, revealing her bare chest to me and her panties.
“Look, Master Thadeus, look at how nice my undergarments are! They are so comfortable. Thank you.” She said with excitement.
I let out a chuckle, which felt as though I had been stabbed through the chest with a hot blade freshly pulled out from a blacksmith oven. Selyse could see that this had caused me a bit of pain and climbed off the bed. As it was now dark out, she walked over to the bunk bed and climbed into the bottom bunk, blowing me a kiss as she got under the covers and saying “Good night Master…”
“Good night Selyse,” I said loud enough for her to hear.