THE STORM

A powerful winter storm forced me to wake early in the morning. I looked above the litebugs and at the Moonsun Dial bolted to the wall... it was barely a minute past midnight. As I prepared for the day, my morning daze faded, and I realized this marked the first day of winter. Tch—what an unruly omen.

I strolled into the Great Study to find accounts of historical Necromancers and saw that I had a trivial amount of books regarding necromancy. I grabbed the only two books I could find about necromancy and retired to my study.

I couldn't sleep if I wanted to. I was eager to account for the city's treasury and push back against Donatello if he had any complaints. And for that, I was sure to light the lamps in the hall outside my study to let my servants know I was awake.

A knock at my door.

LEON

Come on in.

I ordered, curious as to who it could be.

SERVANT SELINA

Pardon me, sire,

Selina, the nightly caretaker. How long has it been since we last spoke?

SERVANT SELINA

Master Gallito is here to see you.

Gallito, wrapped comfortably in his fur cloak, greeted me with a tired face.

GALLITO

Master Cain is here, Chief.

He uttered with an absolute lack of interest.

LEON

Already!? So quickly?

GALLITO

Captain of the Guards Otis mentioned they were flying Chief. They are being checked at the northern gates.

*****

With the arrival of Eldritch and her party, we were kicked out of our rooms by the innkeeper.

INNKEEPER

You bozos aren't paying as much as they're willing to pay. And winter's coming, so I need the puries. Sorry, lads.

I remember him explaining with a soft smile on his face.

Though, we weren't the only ones kicked out due to Eldritch. About six other parties were kicked out, but we were lucky to share the upper barracks of another inn with Drago's and Rosa's party. A few traders lodged with us along with that trader Mokoto saved from the Blaster.

The barracks were at least spacious, with a path between the row of beds. Three girthy wooden pillars parted the path, and a pair of Warming Crystals, provided by Drago, hung off the coat hangers on either side of the middle pillar. Beside each of our beds were polished cupboards, and at the foot of our beds sat massive footlockers.

I was cuddling with Panuka in our tiny bed, Mantis rested across from us, juggling his coin purse, Rosa's party took the following two pairs of beds, and Drago's party told old stories at the back.

My hand slid down Panuka's back, but I quickly adverted them—refusing to touch her center back—but she noticed.

PANUKA

You do know it doesn't hurt anymore.

HILROY

Yeah, but... I don't know.

She shivered and scooted into my torso. I adjusted the covers as I glanced out the window above Mantis. A blizzard raged outside all night and into the stroke of morning, trapping nearly every soul within the city.

HILROY

If the season doesn't stay too harsh, we could leave early.

She shook her head into my chest, but I continued,

HILROY

I know you're worried about your mother. We have enough money now to register for a Pass, and our citizenship should expedite the process.

The sudden crash of puries bouncing off the wooden floors startled the entire room, and we all craned our heads at Mantis.

MANTIS

Sorry...

He mumbled and began to collect his fallen puries.

*****

CAIN

You lot are a bunch of blundering idiots!

Cain exploded after finding out the head of Ire Farcatcher had dissolved into nothing within the vault.

GATE

As if we knew he could create clones of himself.

Gate retorted, his voice muffled through his full helm, for he was now donned in full armor.

Donatello, Gate, Gallito, and Otis were standing before the vault door with a bucket of ice spilled upon the floor next to us. Cain paced back and forth within the narrow hall while his companions stood back. I noticed an odd one dressed in several layers of robes and had bandages and scarves hiding his entire face save his nearly invisible white eyes and pupils.

CAIN

Of course, that bastard can!

He shouted at Gate.

CAIN

Where is your city mage!?

LEON

We don't have one.

CAIN

And that is precisely why you lots are blundering idiots! A city with no Mages!? How?

He yelled. I knew he was attempting to anger us, but I stayed calm.

LEON

The Fire Kingdom could've noted such skill on his bounty.

He stood in front of me,

CAIN

Where did you find him?

I raised my brow,

LEON

Where did I find who?

I asked arrogantly, and his jaws clenched.

CAIN

Ire! Where did that Hero find him?

LEON

Unfortunately,

I shrugged.

LEON

I have no idea since I have long forgotten.

I stepped back and bowed slightly while keeping my eyes on him.

LEON

Pardon my stupidity.

The contained fury upon his dark grey face with red triangular patterns was rewarding.

GATE

Isn't Ire Farcatcher but a young gent?

At the tone of his voice, I faced him,

LEON

He is, in fact.

I commented, playing along.

GATE

With all of its Mages, the Fire Kingdom couldn't handle such a gent.

LEON

Exactly,

I continued, my eyes scanning over Cain. His eyes of pitch darkness pierced through me from under his scarlet hood.

LEON

This makes me wonder how a city without a single mage will manage to find such a person.

Cain grabbed me by my tunic and pulled me close to his bitter breath. Gate and Otis had their weapons upon his neck before he was even finished pulling me in. I noticed his companions didn't move a muscle.

CAIN

Mocking me, are you?

He raised a finger to my eye,

CAIN

How easy it is for me to kill you and lie about how you died.

BANDAGED GENT

And then I will expose you,

His muffled voice rang out from the back,

BANDAGED GENT

And explain how the Chief of Dagon City died.

Cain glanced down at Gate's Willpowered sword that easily disturbed his mana ward before he eyed his plastered companion. Only then did he finally let me go.

CAIN

Where. Is. He.

He asked again through gritted teeth. But I was annoyed—furious, actually.

LEON

You'd have to go ask Eldritch, Hero of North Star.

I touted as I adjusted my robes and coat.

I gave away three hundred and fifty million puries while assuming our city would be rewarded seven hundred million puries. All while supposing my city—my goddamned city—will finally be safe!

LEON

She's on her way north.

With my current state of mind and the struggle to not shout back at him, I couldn't care less if he killed me right then and there—I had made a grave mistake, and it was devouring me from within.

LEON

If you leave now, maybe you can catch her.

A taunting smile slit across his face,

CAIN

Fine.

He chirped his hands up in defense.

CAIN

I tried. I really tried. But whatever. It will only be a matter of time before he comes back for revenge.

He backed away from us, eyeing Donatello with a smug expression.

CAIN

And all it took was a piece of paper, and the cockroaches came running.

He began to laugh at our silence as he turned to leave.

CAIN

Idiots! Blundering fucking idiots! Forcing the one person who tried to help—to leave! I will leave!

Otis and Gate went after him to see him and his companions out. I didn't move as my eyes rested on the bucket. I held back tears, the urge to scream, and the urge to bash my head against the goddamned vault door.

DONATELLO

Am I free to leave, Chief?

He asked as if nothing wrong had just transpired.

LEON

Yes,

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I whispered after a moment.

LEON

You are free to go.

DONATELLO

Worry not, Chief,

He said, bowing slightly,

DONATELLO

We will get through this.

And with that, he quickly departed. I watched him go, suddenly drained of all of my energy. My eyes fell back on the bucket of spilled water, and I clenched my jaws. All I wanted to do now was sleep and pray to Lady Luck that this was all a horrific nightmare.

*****

By morning, I had fully recovered. Despite Ebon's attempt to burn my body, they departed too quickly to see it through, allowing my headless body to cover itself in Water. My skull then grew out of my slain body, and I recovered quicker than usual. I quickly repaired the damage Yuna had done to my lair with her magic and completed preparations for my revenge by noon.

There was nothing else I wanted to do, so I decided to rest on a hilltop north of my lair's entrance. I sat shirtless upon the snow and eyed the winter clouds, blotting out the moonsun as a blizzard ravaged the lands. The pants I wore were loose-fitting drabs I picked out from my collected pile of armor and clothing...

PAIN

What a pain...

I whispered to myself.

I sat unmoving throughout the day, occasionally warming myself whenever I felt the sting of frostbite. I relived the anger and sorrow I felt after Mac and Clifford died. The taunting laughter and praise of my death by the city poisoned me with hate.

I relived the conversation Eldritch had with her party on their way back. Despite my dislike for the brute, her line of thinking mirrored my own.

ELDRITCH

I hope the bastard gets what's coming to him.

I Recalled the conversation.

ELDRITCH

I still don't get how this fool isn't dead.

COSMO

Maybe he's a clone.

Cosmo laughed.

EBON

If he was, he'd vanished from sight. Not even—

IVORY

Greater Clones.

Ivory interrupted. I smiled at the memory of her voice. It was unbelievably sweet and soothing.

IVORY

They won't vanish upon taking damage

I chuckled. All I wanted to do was rip out each one of their throats back then. But I was not angry at them anymore.

YUNA

You're right. Let's just hope for the best, for the city's sake.

ELDRITCH

Let us not.

She spat.

ELDRITCH

To Limbo with that bastard Leon. I would rather the body explode into a million husks.

COSMO

That isn't very heroic to say.

JOSHUA

Yeah, and I'm still holding his head! Stop jinxing it!

ELDRITCH

Oh shut it, I'm kidding.

It was their banter. I was sure of it. Listening to them talk, laugh, and joke was soothing. Not one of them made light of my death. Instead, they praised my strength and my uniqueness compared to the other Necromancers they fought. It proved difficult to stay angry at them. They only came after me for the puries. If I were them, I would have done the same.

But now, I peered ahead through the blizzard. Nearly a sea of white blanketed the air and hid the city from view. Despite remembering the young hapful children along the walls, their gawking smiles and taunting laughter at my death continued to annoy me.

I could swiftly garner my revenge by slaying Chief Leon. But they were all the same—just as Eldritch said. So, I had to make an example of the entire city—I have to leave it broken and barren so no one will attempt to rise up against me.

ABIMELECH

And what of the other nations?

He suddenly asked after nearly a day of being quiet.

ABIMELECH

You do not have to seek revenge.

PAIN

Do you want a second chance?

I asked him bluntly.

ABIMELECH

A second chance? Whatever do you mean?

PAIN

Being revived by me. Would you want that?

Uncertainty plagued his soul, and he remained silent.

PAIN

I have to admire your ability to not answer questions you are uncertain of.

My wraiths, twenty in total, had converged above me.

PAIN

I can send you to Limbo and set you free.

Anxiety plagued his soul, and I chuckled to myself.

PAIN

You and I have different standards of morals. But I like you. It has been so long since I talked to someone I could consider a friend.

ABIMELECH

I fear what may happen to my mind and will if I were to be resurrected by you.

He finally admitted, and I nodded in agreement as hundreds of my ghosts—phantoms, specters, and pretas were now hovering at my sides. As for my pretas, since they did not evolve and their sole purpose was to gather souls for me, I kept their number at five and kept them out of danger.

PAIN

That is indeed a fair reason. Of course, I will certainly test the outcome on something else before attempting to bring you back. But you have not answered my question. If you were to come back, mind and will untouched, would you?

And again, uncertainty plagued his soul as he could not find an answer.

PAIN

Though, you would likely come back as a vampire.

I pointed out with a smile, my gaze out the eyes of my ghosts looking down upon Eldritch's party camped out several miles north of Dagon.

PAIN

The good thing? You will be stronger and forever young... or old.

I chuckled to myself, feeling his soul relax.

A flurry of kagawks and soratakas flew above me and flew along the currents of the blizzard in a hypnotic dance. Brumaires, melting the snow with their fiery hooves, came to a stop beside me. Elokos clung to their backs and were armed with daggers and short swords.

PAIN

You have to at least miss the... tight penetration of boys.

Sudden embarrassment and guilt plagued his soul.

PAIN

Oh! There it is! Of course, we gents can never stop thinking about sex!

I let out a laugh.

PAIN

I saw the way you watched me bathe—

ABIMELECH

You disrobed before me so suddenly!

He argued.

PAIN

But you did not turn away. Did you enjoy my show? You were a father, after all, punishing young boys and girls. It's quite rare to have a Father into gents.

It was as if his soul was blushing.

ABIMELECH

Is that your true intention? To court an old relic like myself?

I shrugged, feeling a flutter of heat down my skin.

PAIN

You might not be so old when I revive you. Besides, I am a gent and could use occasional moments of bliss. You know I had a favorite Father. Speaking of—he once told me he looked into Limbo.

A sting of fear plagued Abi's soul.

PAIN

Any idea what he meant?

ABIMELECH

He broke his oath. His oath as a Father was to be free of dark magic. But I can sense that, unlike myself, he was caught.

I took a moment to remember Cleric Valentine as my lively arachnids finally joined my army of death upon the hilltop. Ten of them were carrying dead canadeer and lagardientes woven in their webbing for me to use.

ABIMELECH

Using your sols, I see.

He changed the subject.

PAIN

Not quite,

I corrected him as I looked through the eyes of my remaining arachnids, shadinus, and blindinu hunting down fiends in the southern plains.

PAIN

I am not ready yet.

A few soratakas had the Flight skill, allowing them to glide through the air and oppose gravity easily. With their ability, they could use their immense talons to carry canadeer and lagardientes back to the lair.

Meanwhile, my eloko familiars were tasked with fishing and hauling the fish to my undead familiars. The white arachnid... sols.... were constructing their magic while I watched the eloko sols perform their hypnotic dancing. I had once thought it to be an advanced skill, but it was not. Elokos simply had Basic Quickstep.

By the hour before the moonsun's shift, the snow had settled neatly upon me. I had not moved an inch since the stroke of morning, enjoying the harsh pain of snow freezing my skin.

ABIMELECH

You will become a frozenheart less you move about.

I smiled at his remark and conjured flames to heat up the surrounding area. My body quickly warmed, and the snow sizzled away into steam.

I stood,

PAIN

Now is a good time to fight. For every day is a good day to die.

ABIMELECH

The Way of Pain, by Leon Night.

He cited the book, and I nearly grinned ear to ear as I led my horde of undead critters and sols down the hill toward three golden hieroglyphs that seemed to warp the space around it.

But my grin faded as I commanded my flying sols and ghosts to converge on the city ahead of us. As we stepped onto the gigantic symbols, my mind recalled the happy faces of children, ladies, and gents.

The sting of tears reached my eyes, but I heated them away. The white arachnids finally joined in on the symbols, began the rapid movements of their limbs, and we were teleported away.

*****

A sensation of being asleep and awake at the same time washed over me, but I attempted to hold on to a pleasant dream of being a beloved king—standing out upon a castle's balcony and addressing my people. Donatello stood to my left as my trusted treasury keeper, Chambers to my right as my political advisor, and Court Wizard Coriando as my informer of the magical arts.

But as I held onto the dream, a winter storm approached from the distance. I wanted to give out orders, but I couldn't—I just stood there, smiling and waving at my people as the storm consumed them.

One by one, Donatello, Chambers, and Coriando had all been swept away by the storm, reducing me to a feeble position on a cold hard floor. Shivers ran down my body, and I bolted awake.

My body was drenched in sweat and limp. Despite the dew that soaked my body, I couldn't resist my impulsive shivering. I forced myself upright, and my eyes locked onto the Warming Crystals at the posts of my bedside—they were still there, glowing brightly. I sighed, wiping the sweat off my brow, and pulled off a few covers. I had no idea where the chill was coming from.

My eyes finally adjusted to the dullness of my room, and noticing the lighting in my room was darker than usual, I looked over at the litebugs—no light? Were they asleep? Or did they die? I was certain Cinda had fed them—my eyes snapped towards the darkest part of the room at the sudden prickle of someone or something staring at me.

The hairs on my body tingled, and my heart raced as I stared into two bulging reddish eyes of a massive ghost protruding partially out of the ground. It did not move, its presence absorbing the heat around it and forming crystals of frost within the jars of my dead litebugs. I eyed the door, and the ghost slowly moved in front of it as if to confine me.

Was this a dream? My body was weak, my hands shaking, and fear would not leave me as I forced myself to crawl toward my Warming Crystals. I began to pry one out of its metal hinge cup that was nailed into the post. It budged a little, and I tugged harder—the crystal cracked—the warming light faded, and the ghost was upon me!

I cowered back, smashing my head against the wall with my feet kicking into the air... but as I opened my eyes, the ghost had retreated back—fearful of my remaining warming crystal.

A throbbing pain radiated through my head—this was not a dream.

LEON

Cin—

My voice cracked as I tried to call out for her, all the while knowing there would not be a response.

LEON

Cinda!

I attempted again, and of course, no answer.

I clenched my jaws as I steadied my hands and reached over to carefully lift the Warming Crystal out of its groove. This time, I place my hand underneath, hoping to gently push it out from underneath. I felt it roughly slide up—jerking my hand away before setting it back underneath.

I pushed up on it, and it slid out of the groove and into my other hand—I jolted from the sound of screaming echoing from outside my quarters, and the crystal slipped from my hand.

LEON

No!

I lunged over—grabbing it with both hands—my hands were too sweaty, and the crystal slipped upward! I lurched out of my bed, diving for it. I caught it in my stomach, embracing it like a newborn child, but my embrace hindered its light, and the ghost came at me.

I opened my arms, allowing the light and warmth to radiate through the ghost, and it rumbled out in pain before retreating into the shadows. I carefully yet hastily stood up, the Warming Crystal sitting in palms with my arms erect before me.

I fiddled to open the doors of my quarters while balancing the Warming Crystal against my torso with one hand. As I swung the door open, I glanced back at the ghastly ghost—its body halfway into the floor as it seemingly peeked out from behind my dresser, watching me.

I stepped into the dark hall—the lantern sconces were all extinguished, and the hall floors were as cold as ice. My eyes adjusted, and sorrow stung my body. Cinda's shriveled body was sprawled on the floor just a foot away from her room door. What is going on? I cried internally. Why is this happening!? I yearned to break down and sob. I wanted to surrender and let the ghosts have at me, but I couldn't. I am the Chief!

I painfully stepped over her as I lifted the Warming Crystal ahead of me and saw two dead, shriveled quarter Guardians on either side of the hall. My heart began to race as fear nibbled at my very soul, but I furled my brows and stepped onward. I passed doors on either side leading into my servants' quarters. Kendo's door was cracked open, revealing nothing but shadows. I moved past more fallen guards before coming across Gallito's shriveled body, an extinguished torch inches from his hand glowing with a soft ember.

LEON

Gate...

I whispered and moved with urgency while avoiding the red glares of ghosts that hovered within the darkened corners, eagerly waiting for me to make a mistake.

Stopping before the Great Study, I saw light flickering from the top floor. I peeked into the study and examined the frost spreading along the walls and floors as if to be a living entity. Ghosts, big and small, hovered motionless near the ceiling. I looked into their eyes, and their gazes prickled up and down my body.

Their gaze poisoned my body with fear. I needed to move, but my legs were weak, and I began to tremble.

LEON

Come on!

I wailed. Emboldening myself, I bit down on my tongue. The fear and weakness subsided as a copper taste tainted my mouth.

I took a step into the Great Study and prepared to rush up the stairs when I tumbled, twisting my left ankle as the ground beneath my feet quaked suddenly. I cradled the Warming Crystal as I fell. But seconds after the sudden quake, a thundering shockwave ripped through the entire hall, and my vision spun as I was thrown through the air.