The Forest of Mythos was unfathomably ancient and for many millennia, it had been regarded as having the longest living organisms in existence. In some legends, it was even said to have been the creator of magic itself. As the years went on, many alchemists claimed that its presence was ever expanding and would continue to, so as a countermeasure, quite a few mages sacrificed their lives to seal the area and restrict its never-ending expansion. To continue to protect the seal and any foolish adventurers, a mighty guardian was positioned to halt any and all access to it.

Before The Lich could disembark on his grand adventure, he had to ensure he was prepared. While not needing any traditional sustenance, he was still plagued with a type of hunger that could only be satiated by drinking concentrated mana potions. Unfortunately, he had just run out of the ones he “bought”, which meant he was forced to take a trip to the nearby town to avoid the negative effects of not satiating his hunger.

The Lich heaved a heavy sigh as he made his way through the thick forest towards the humble village, each step on the damp and muddy ground caused regret to grow from within him. Reaching the edge of the forest, he continued until he found himself at the gate of the town. Beside the barrier, two guards stood.

Even with its hood covering its revolting visage, the armored guards covered in chainmail were still familiar with what was facing them. Neither of them desired its unholy presence inside what they swore to protect, unfortunately they were forbidden to act on their longing to kill it. As they shifted to the side and allowed the thing to pass through the now open gate, they both simultaneously clenched their spears in anger.

The Lich was able to easily sense their hostility, and it enraged him. He had withheld murdering any of the village inhabitants for so long, even though they had overstepped his boundaries a countless number of times. On the other hand, he was no fool, he knew that he was a heartless being who killed on mere whimsy, and the thought of the fear he instilled made him smirk.

Waltzing through the village, he could sense the many eyes that watched his every move. With every step, he could feel the overwhelming mix of both wrath and disgust that filled the villager’s gaze. He saw that some even contemplated confronting him, and he so wished that they would, as then he could do as he pleased to them. Amidst his yearning to kill also existed a sort of empathy. This empathy grew exponentially until it began to war against his want to kill. This caused distress to flood his mind. This was the reason he regretted visiting the town, this was why he hated the villagers, this was why-

The Lich felt something tug on his cloak, forcing him back to the present. He tilted his head and glared at the small child who had touched his cloak with its disgusting hands.

“Are you ok, mister?” The young boy asked sincerely.

Hearing the words of the boy made The Lich realize he had been saying every part of his emotions out loud.

“I’m fine,” The Lich said, trying to suppress his own rage.

He yanked the cloak from the child’s grasp and began to walk away, but before he went out of earshot, he glanced back and gave a warning:

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“If you ever touch me again, I’ll cut off that hand of yours.”

With that, The Lich continued until he came across a sign hanging from a small shop. He assumed that this was the right place from the symbol of a vial that was carved onto the sign, and without a second thought, he entered.

The shop was simplistic, with only a few paintings strewn across the walls. In the back sat a counter with shelves lining the back wall that had a variety of different potions and elixirs. As The Lich approached, the shop owner glanced towards him. Unsurprisingly, he grew restless and an anxious expression was plastered all over his face.

“W-Welcome! What can I do for… You?” The shop owner managed to get out before nervously fiddling with his hands.

“You know why I am here. I am in need of mana potions.”

“Oh, well I apologize but we just ran out.” The shopkeeper gave a harmless smile while still acting very nervously.

The Lich chuckled slightly before breaking out into a full fledged maniacal laugh.

“You take me for a fool, don’t you,” he began before slamming his odd hands onto the counter, “You expect me to believe that you’re all out?! Especially of the most abundant potion you have?”

The Lich was right. The shopkeeper did indeed have an abundance of mana potions, and since he knew that this beast constantly fed on them for nourishment, he had purposefully hid them.

“But s-” The shopkeeper froze and looked away before finishing his sentence. “We are truly all out, I apologize for the inconvenience that this causes-”

The Lich interrupted the shopkeeper by lifting his fist and slamming it with such great force onto the counter that it broke in two. The frightened man cowered before the creature’s horrific strength before shakily pushing a wooden box of flasks that held a dark blue elixir out from behind the now destroyed counter to where The Lich could spot it.

The shop owner couldn’t even utter a word before The Lich hurriedly took the crate and left the shop. Outside, he squeezed his eyes shut due to the ache that began in his head.

“Bear it…” The Lich mumbled as he clenched his teeth tightly.

Gaining what he came for, he hastily traveled back through the village to the gate. He had suffered too much stimulus today and was on the brink of breaking down. If the villagers saw that he was struggling mentally, they would surely pounce on that weakness and exploit him because of it.

Just as he was nearing the gate, he passed what could only be described as a giant. The hulking knight wore silver armor with a peculiar bluish tint to it that caught his attention. Suddenly, The Lich contorted his body backwards, using his new momentum to face the knight behind him and launch his leg towards him. But Before the kick could connect, he halted it.

The Behemoth barely paid any attention to it before continuing through the streets. The Lich had almost dropped the precious potions, but was able to quickly reorientate himself before they fell.

“W-What?” The Lich uttered, completely dumbfounded at what just happened.

The attack that he had sent out was out of pure instinct, something he hadn’t done in a while. Hurrying out of the town, he mumbled about how he must’ve been too used to the weak humans around him and that caused him to react violently at a slightly stronger person. Just outside of the town he stopped dead in his tracks.

“No… That couldn’t be the case,” he mumbled, turning behind him to face the village once again. “I’ll need to keep note of that man, he could be the one whose soul I must obtain.”