Epilogue One: Revival

Stahlia, 948

My eyelids felt heavy as awareness slowly returned. There was a fog hanging over my whole mind, as though it had not been awake for some time. That made sense; I had probably spent the past several months in a coma after all.

Fuck! What the hell was I thinking!? ‘Dying was my fault, this guy had nothing to do with it so taking it out on him would be pointless?’ If it wasn’t for that jerk I wouldn’t be here to begin with!

Haaa… No, what’s done is done. Hindsight is twenty-twenty and all that, but you can’t change the past. What I need to do now, is figure out what my future holds.

The first major question was how much of my life span had been spent, as well as what else may have changed. That much was fairly easy to figure out, it only took one quick mental command to call up my status.

Life Summary Screen:

Life Point Balance: 115 (+40)

Name/Age: Stahlia von Ris und zu Drakas, 16 (-4)

Gender: Female

Class/Level: ̧͘͟҉̕C͡͏͢u̸ś̨͡ţ̷͢͞͠ò̡͠m҉̛͝ ̡̡́́̀C̨̛͘ļ̴̴̢a̴͢s͏̧͝͝͝s͏͢͏́͝,̧́͡͠ ̨2̛͟͡0̶̀҉͘͘ ̴͘͟|̡͝ ̡͘͘͢͝C̴̢͟ư͞ş̧̕͢͝t̸̛̀o̴̧͡m̷̢ ̧͠C̶͘͡҉l̛҉͘͝ás̶̀͟͝s̛̀͢͠,̷ ̵̨3̷̡̡͞͝ Experience: 33500/37000

Species: Human (Halfblood[Revenant]) (NEW)

Social Strata: Nobility (Baron Ris, Drakas Kingdom || Princess auf Drakas, Drakas Kingdom)

Starting Gift: Small Seed[Available]

Title: Revenant*[Swap Title] (NEW)

Ability Values:

* (-1) Strength E: 128

* (-1) Endurance C: 224

* (-1) Dexterity S: 415 +46

* (-1) Intelligence S: 480

* (-1) Charisma C: 224

* (-1) Mana A: 281

Fighting Style: Drakan Style* [Swap Style]

Talents 5/5: [Browse Talents] P̶r̛ơdi̷gy ͞I҉II*,͢ ̀Ei͡detìc͞ ̡Me̢mơry͜ ̵II̵*, Śtea͞lt̵h̶ ͡V,̨ Ch̷ár͝m͟ Resi̛stan̛ce̵ I͢I*̧, Fléx̨i͟b͝le͡ ͢I͡I*̡,̕ ||͡ Mòn͠stȩr ̴Ha͝ndlįng ͘I҉II*͞, ͏D̶a͏g͝g͜er ҉F̧ìg̀ht̨i͘ng ̀V̕*,̨ ̕S̸wòrd ̛F͢ighţíng I͡I̴*҉,̧ U͝na͟r͡me̢d Fight̵íng͝ IV*̡, Aļc͏h̡emy̨ Corre̴çti̴o̴n͏ ̡I҉V̨*, Ţea͢chi̴ng͟ II*,͢ ̸M̡a͟na͜ ͘E͏f̀f̧i̕c͡íen̕cy͜ III̷*, ̶F͠ir̵e ̛Màg̢ic͏ ͝II̴I*́,̡ ̧W͜a̵ter͘ ҉M͟ag̨i̡c II*̢,͝ ̷Ear̵t̸h M͝agic I͟I̡*͢,͏ Wi͘ńd M͟agic ̡I̸I*̛, ҉I̷ce̕ ̢Mag͜ic VI̛*̡, Wi̷n̸téŗ Magi͘c ̷I,͡

Skills 5/5: [Browse Skills] D̶iv̢i̸nę ̡Auţho҉r͠it͠y[̛C̨la͜s̀s F̨ea̡ture͟s͡]*͝,̴ ͢F̀in͞es͜s͢e Figh͟tįng͝*, ̧B̷lu͞e ́B͏l̕oo͡de̛d*,͢ ́K̷inet̕ic ̷P̛e͝ŕce͟p̶t̡io̷n*̡,̶ ̕Ma̵n͠a ̴C͟ŗy̡s͡t͠a͞ll͡iz͏atio̶n*, |̷|́ L̢a̛ng̀u̸ag͡e P̡r͞ofi̶cien̸c̛y͘[̶Ce͢n̴tr̸al Huma͝n͢]*̷,̕ ̶F̷ig̕ht͞ing S͟ty̷le̢[S̵h͡ad̛o̴w҉ Bla͏d͏e]*͢, ͢Fi̴g̕h͢t͞i͘ng S͡t̶yle͢[̀Drak̷a͢n͝ ͞S͝t̕y͢l̶e]*, Rule Breaker*, Revenant Physique*,

Talents Experience: [+]

Unread Messages(1)

A lot more than expected had changed.

Let’s start from the top then.

Obviously, the first thing to jump out at me was the block of glitchy text that now made up the body of my talents and skills. Forcing myself to ignore that for now, I instead checked the first entry. The one for my age. According to the read out, I was sixteen now. If it worked like last time, then there was no way I would be able to hide this as a growth spurt.

I’ll have to figure out a way to explain suddenly aging four years… or rather, five years from almost everyone’s perspective.

The next thing to notice, that was arguably more concerning than my age was my race. It had changed from pureblooded to halfblooded, with my new genes coming from something called a Revenant. The question was, what the hell was a Revenant? It was a type of undead if my memory was accurate, but for some reason, the knowledge seemed fuzzy.

In a mild panic, I tried to remember various events from my past life; that was where my knowledge of a Revenant would come from. To my dismay, everything seemed fuzzy. Or rather, everything seemed disjointed. It was as though the memories belonged to someone else, not me.

Eidetic memory was acting up a bit before, but this is new. It’s like… like… I don’t know what this is like…

It felt a bit like my oldest memories, the ones from when I was George were faded. The detail was still there, and all of the specifics were available. They were just… distanced from me, like my body was holding them at arm’s length.

Forcing myself to take a deep breath, I moved on. My memory issues were not something so simple that a few minutes of panic would be able to resolve the issues. It was also likely that one of my other new changes might hold the answer to what was going on. The only real concern, was that the fogginess might spread out to other areas. As long as that didn’t happen, I could deal with it. The next line in my status caused a bit of excitement; my starting gift was now available.

Right, there was something about that right after the revival process started.

That being said, there was no indication that it had done anything. The entry had changed from “Locked” to “Available” whatever that meant. There was no indication that it was actually given to me. Rather, based on the terminology it probably had not. Though it probably wouldn’t have any major effect it was something I was curious about. After all, it had been hanging over my head for a rather long time. Always in the background.

Something else to figure out later. Moving on, the next item was my new title.

“[Revenant]: Awarded to those who have returned from a death-like state. Passive Effect: Changes race to Half Revenant. Active Effect: Renders Undead passive towards those who have equipped this title.”

That effect seemed like it might be useful, though it would require some caution since having undead ignore me in a group setting might raise questions. Though my whole existence required caution at the moment, so that particular point was rather moot. Either way, having this title equipped for now should be fine; it wasn’t like taking it off would change my race back to Human(Pureblood).

Moving on, all of my attribute values except intelligence had seemingly gone down one level. While painful, it wasn’t the end of the world; I could always raise them back up. There was even a chance that this was temporary, though that was unlikely. All in all, if that and the lost lifespan were the only penalties to literally dying and coming back to life, then I would say I got off quite lightly all things considered. It didn’t even look like the existing attributes had dropped at all, only the improvement values for my next levels.

Next up, my talents and skills were glitched to hell. I could still make out what they were saying, but inspecting them didn’t seem to work; no info box came up in response. The only skills that were legible, were the two new ones. These could also be inspected, so there was no fear of having to fumble around in the dark. The first skill was actually amazing as well, while the second sounded like it had the potential to increase my strength in unique and unpredictable ways.

“Rule Breaker(LP N/A): Skill awarded to those who have taken the Oath of the Rule Breaker. Grants a Fragment of Authority which shields the user from the influence of other’s Authority and Ruler Skills. Grants the effects of an Immunity Skill. [Select Skill].”

One moment later, I was once again the proud owner of [Ice Immunity] by proxy.

Well, that’s good. Losing Blessing of Winter was going to be a mixed bag; sure, it means I’m out from under the god’s thumb but [Ice Immunity] and [Cold Hearted] were useful. Getting the former back means I won’t have to change my fighting style too much, or rework any of my spells.

Though not having [Cold Hearted] also sort of sealed my “god mode” that shouldn’t be too much of an issue. Rule Breaker making me immune to ruler skills was probably the influence caused by getting angry towards the King of Wrath, or lustful towards the Queen of Lust. Not having to worry about that would be a good thing and was the primary function of [Cold Hearted] in the first place.

The second skill was Revenant Physique.

“Revenant Physique(LP N/A): Skill possessed by the half undead known as Revenants. Lifts restrictions on Undead Racial Skills. Causes mild discomfort or unease in living targets.”

On one hand, the part about lifting restrictions on a whole set of skills was a tantalizing process. If it was anything like Stil’s limited skills then there were probably a lot of fairly unique combinations to be had. On the flipside, the bit about causing discomfort in living people was a bit concerning. It would take some experience to determine how much discomfort, or even what kind of discomfort it was.

Hopefully, it would be something that could be overcome with charisma or some other skill; [Blue-Blooded] came to mind as one possibility, since it improved my impression when I was perceived as a noble. Since I was to be queen, that would mean that my impression would almost always be noble.

The very last thing to be investigated was the completely new line, “Unread Messages (1).” Focusing in on that line caused a new window to pop open. It looked suspiciously like an email inbox, and the one unread message was titled as having come from EvilGod. Skipping over the headline information that wasn’t important, I read the body text of the email.

“Hey, sorry for dealing with things this way but I had to go patch up a hole in the system. Don’t worry, it wasn’t your fault. When you get to reading this, you will have probably noticed some issues with your status. Don’t worry, that’s temporary… mostly.”

“The attribute scores won’t come back, that was caused by the strain on your soul spending so much time in the buffer. As an apology for that, I’ll give you a hint. Don’t get used to these though, they take away much of the fun. After your wedding, check out the highest point of the mountain.”

“Oh, and before I forget, since your tutorial ending got cut short your starting gift bugged out. I’ve attached it to this email. When you’re ready, just claim it from here!”

Checking the base of the email revealed an icon of a small pumpkin seed thing-looking thing with a paperclip attached to it. Since there was no point in wasting time, I focused on the attachment.

“Would you like to claim the Small Seed? Y/N”

Yes.

“Confirmed, Integrating Small Seed”

“...Complete…”

The moment the notice said the process was complete, a burning pain pierced my chest. Wincing, a grunt squeezed out from between my clenched teeth as my body doubled over in pain. Curled into the fetal position, my muscles started to spasm. It was agonizing, yet I could not seem to scream.

Finally, after several minutes, my body collapsed with a shudder. Covered in sweat and gasping for breath, the first order of business was to check my status. Everything was still corrupted, however the line about my Starting Gift seemed to have been replaced.

Instead of “Starting Gift: Small Seed[Available],” that line now read “Implanted Seed: Progress 0%”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

There was no description of what function it might serve when focused on. As far as I could tell, there seemed to be no differences in how my body felt, other than being sore after the whole ordeal. After a short time spent collecting myself and waiting for the trembling to cease, I quickly gave the rest of my status a once over. Unfortunately, nothing else seemed to have changed.

At least I know I have to do something to further that along… figuring out what is probably deliberately obfuscated though, after all. It would be more damn interesting that way, wouldn’t it?

“Stali Neechan!”

The impact on my bed was enough to cause me to bounce up slightly as the ripple passed through the mattress. It was time to stop pretending to be unconscious and face reality. To that end, my eyes opened and took in an extremely curious sight. Felicity was sitting on the edge of my bed, however, unlike the last time I had seen her, she seemed to have acquired a second tail.

“…It’s good to see you as well, Felicity.”

“Uhn! Claire says to congratulate you on waking up, and also to tell you not to keep such big secrets!”

“Right, the prince… sorry about that, I couldn’t risk leaking the information though, not even to you… Speaking of secrets though, what the hell is up with you?”

Felicity craned her neck around over her shoulder to look at the second tail. It was swishing around in a mirror pattern to her original. It was oddly hypnotizing to look at.

“Ah… it might be best for me to explain that. Felicity still doesn’t fully understand.”

“Right, was this the result of Envious?”

“Ah! How did you know?”

“Never mind that, it’s a long story; I’ll tell you and Rupert together. What exactly happened with… that?”

Claire shrugged, “Well we had to survive but Felicity and I lacked the skills necessary to. I planned to pick up a few talents by using Envious to copy them but it backfired. Or maybe it was a good thing, we haven’t really had a chance to figure it out since the prince locked us up in the castle.”

“Alright, but what exactly happened?”

“Well, Felicity got really weird for a while. Her presence in the body was super weak like she was sick or sleeping. After a week or so, I lost consciousness as well. When I woke up, Felicity was back to normal and we had a new tail. Rupert had some people appraise us and afterward, he put us on lockdown with round-the-clock guard.”

She gestured towards the corner of the room, where a knight nodded in my direction.

…It’s a good thing the contract prevents him from killing my family. It sounds like [Envious]’s second effect activated and Demonized Felicity.

Giving Claire a questioning look I asked her, “…And did Prince Rupert tell you what the appraisal results said?”

Claire shook her head, “No, but it isn’t hard to figure out. [Envious] made us into a demon, didn’t it?”

“Most likely, do you mind if I check?”

Claire shut her eyes for a moment, probably speaking with Felicity. A moment later when she opened them she nodded, “Felicity says that you can go ahead and check.”

Focusing mana into my eyes and giving it the divine aspect, I directed my attention to Felicity’s light. A moment later, her status entered my mind.

Name: Felicity

Age: 7

Species: [Nekomata(Juvenile)]

Class/Level: Demon Aspirant, 8

Social Strata: Slave(Owner: None, Drakas Kingdom)

Ability Values:

* Strength: B: 93

* Endurance: C: 85

* Dexterity: A: 131

* Intelligence: C: 85

* Charisma: C: 85

* Mana: D: 25

Talents: (87)[+]

Skills: Envy*, Talent Void*,

“Stahlia, aren’t you going to appraise us?”

“Huh? I just did. Your species changed… You didn’t demonize though; you became something called a Nekomata. You gained the Demon Aspirant class as well, and leveled up a few times.”

“You did…? But what about the head pats?”

It would seem that Felicity was back in control, at least I would hope that was the case. The thought of Claire asking for a head pat with wide kitten eyes was a bit disturbing.

“Huh? Wait, what the hell am I doing!?”

At some point, I had apparently gained the ability to appraise with my divine eyes. This would require further testing, but that wasn’t the most pressing concern at the moment.

When did I learn this?

★★★★★★

Epilogue Two: Freezing Hate

Fifth Seat King of Wrath “Five” Satan, 1,017 Years Old, Fifth Month of 948.

Where did things go wrong? I did everything I was supposed to. I followed Faust’s instructions perfectly.

Stahlia’s birth had been foretold by the Eighth Seat, Lord of Prophecy Faust. The prophecy stated that the one destined to take the tenth seat would be born in a small village, that she would be a prodigy holder, and that she would be in the Kingdom of Drakas. Stahlia had met all of those qualifications.

Even when she was picked up by the gods as a champion, it only further strengthened my conviction that she was the one. Giving her to my son should have corrupted her seed of power. Being bathed in his demonic mana constantly, it would have tainted the seed before it could bloom. That would ensure her fall.

Was my failure that my son was an imbecile?

Indeed, Dominic was a moronic, impertinent, simple-minded fool. His actions had jeopardized things on more than one occasion. The number of times I had to use my cover identity to smooth over his mistakes… it was infuriating. Laying into him with my own hellflame had been a most cathartic experience. Perhaps that had been going too far?

After all, it did make him desperate. I told Sitri to manipulate him into fixing his mistake. I should have been far, far more specific. She was supposed to make him come around and win Stahlia over with words. Not force himself on her. Granted, if he had succeeded then things might have worked out in the end. But that was a long shot; Stahlia had always been stronger than my useless son.

Granted, throwing her sister at her had been a longshot as well. Faust had called me in a panic, saying that everything was falling apart and demanding that it be fixed. The issue was that he didn’t tell me how to fix it. Blinded by rage, I had been unable to come up with a decent plan and simply decided to take my wrath out on Stahlia.

Me being the one in charge of infiltration was a mistake. If only Mephistopheles had survived the last war instead of me. He was always better at schemes like this, he wouldn’t have failed like I did. Leviathan might have been a good pick as well, though they weren’t even an option since they didn’t advent last time. Belphagor… yea, he’s always been useless.

My own wrath at everything falling apart had blinded me to the obvious; Stahlia was the chosen one of the winter gods. No amount of pushing on my part would have worked once she engaged her god-given skill. Far more likely, I would simply cause her to fall out of our reach entirely. If my head had been clearer, if we had simply talked, perhaps an accord could have been struck. After all, from what I had seen through her pet shadow, Stahlia hated the gods almost as much as we nine kings did. But I was blinded.

That brought me back to my present predicament. Encased in a block of un-melting ice. Of course in the beginning my rage and fury knew no end. There had been much for me to complain about, and I had ranted endlessly in my head. Over time however, my rage had calmed. It was strange; for the longest time the only thing known to me was wrath. But now, now things were becoming clear.

Stahlia had something else. I knew she did when she infused her pet shadow with something and broke off Dominic’s control. I thought then that it was just a unique application of Divine Element… Whatever it was did scramble the connection for a while. But Divine Element would not be able to explain that power spike.

Stahlia had grown in power extremely rapidly. In only a few brief seconds she had eclipsed my own mana several times over. There was no way a human body should have been able to hold that much mana. Reincarnated individuals did tend to get a few cheat abilities, but this seemed to go beyond that.

There were the words she spoke as well. Words I could hear and yet not hear. As if the knowledge of their meaning was stricken from my mind before she even spoke them. That was the impetus. Right after that was when I saw her mana spiking.

Stahlia had done something, something quite extreme. The question was, what? If my connection to the Nine Hells was still intact, I could ask Faust. Whatever she had done had probably been responsible for breaking his prophecy; if he was still the same as he was a thousand years ago, then he would be doing everything he could to figure it out. That demon hated being wrong almost more than Mephistopheles.

But whatever this ice was, it had severed that connection. All that could be done, was to wallow in my own mind. In a way, my anger cooling was a curse worse than death. Eventually, the ice would melt or break and I would be free, even if I died before then I would just return to my Hell. With my mind clear, I was forced to experience all of that time. Had my thoughts been clouded with rage then the time would pass much quicker.

For the umpteenth time I tried killing my vessel, but it was impossible to move or to form a spell. Mana was simply sucked out of the construct before the spell could take shape. Blood Magic was likewise blocked; the instant the mana left my body, it was absorbed by the Ice. At first, this had caused me to panic; if I died under these circumstances, would I be able to return to my domain? A soul was essentially just mana after all. But that line of thought was folly; the existence of the Hell Kings was like a rule in this world. The System was robust, it would not allow something small like ice that should not exist to break its rules.

No, not like a rule. It is a rule. When that bastard set things up and tricked us with the allure of power… That was the price we paid… That ass of a god, what was his name? Abel? Adelle? Adroni? That was it. He called himself Adroni. Then again, I was never too sure about the status of his dick.

Adroni. The one who had originally captivated my guildmates and me with promises of power. We would be given an entire world to play with. We would be gods of our own realms.

It was him. He must be behind what Stahlia did. He’s still fucking with us, all these years later! Damnit!

There was no proof of course, but once arrived at that conclusion it just made sense.

So Adroni decided to add his own piece to the board once again. Why now, after so long?

Stahlia had broken the rules. Her being that bastard’s pet was the only logical answer.

Is Fermina in on it? Has our own master grown bored of us?

There was no way for me to tell, but that was fine. A loud crack resounded in my ears.

I smiled.

It doesn’t matter. I know who the root cause is. That bastard. The object of our ire.

A second sound, like glass breaking. My vision was covered in a tapestry of cracks as the ice began to give way.

Adroni, the mad god. The bastard who tricked my friends and I, who continues to screw with us to this day.

The ice shattered, and my body felt a chill as the vaporous mana was absorbed through my skin.

Adroni, the object of my hate.

“Notice: Requirements no longer met. Skill [Lord’s Authority[Wrath]] has been removed.”

“Notice: Skill [Lord’s Authority[Hatred]] has been gained.”

“Notice: Skills and Talents have shifted.”

“Notice: Title Gained: [Tenth Seat, King of Hatred]”

“Notice: Name Change: Satan > Baal”

It had been a very long time since I last received a status notification. Eons, in fact. Even as my body convulsed on the ground coughing up blood, I laughed.

“Welcome back old friend! Ah, I had forgotten how I missed you!”

This, with this, I am free. Free to pursue my own goals. Starting with breaking this kingdom in half.

Shakily, I climbed to my feet as my body settled down. Wiping the blood off my chin with the back of my hand, I inspected my surroundings. It appeared that my frozen body had been placed in a cellar of some kind. Based on the quality of the stonework, my host seemed to be quite wealthy.

“You are sure that he has broken free?”

“Yes! I am certain, I told you didn’t I? No one could keep my master trapped, he’s simply far too strong!”

The two voices coming down from the stairs were ones easily recognizable to me. The first belonged to the First Prince of this thrice-damned country, Antonio von Drakas. The second, was that of my infuriating loaner subordinate, Sitri.

So that’s how I got here. Sitri must have charmed the prince and had him sequester my entombed body. That forethought will lessen her punishment.

The door swung inwards, and Sitri led the prince inside the room. Though the darkness was not an issue for demons like us, the prince had to squint in the dim lighting of the cellar.

“Ah, Count Francois. It seems you have very loyal subordinates…” His voice trailed off as he caught my cold glare.

“Antonio, I wish to have words with my subordinate, would you please excuse us?”

“Wha!? I am your sovereign! The rightful king of this country! You will not…”

Something about my tone must have tipped Sitri off, as she quickly cut off the prince.

“Your highness, please understand the circumstances, my lord has just recovered from a terrible experience. Surely you could forgive his rudeness?”

The prince paused for a moment before nodding, “Alright, Just this once. Be grateful for my mercy, I expect great things from you.”

Once he was gone Sitri sighed, “Do you have any idea how hard it was to get in his good graces with only my charisma? What about you? What happened?”

This is… surprising, she sounds genuinely concerned for my wellbeing. Something happened to her.

“What do you mean, only your charisma? Charming a man as petty and simple as Antonio should not have been an issue for you?”

“Well excuse me! That fucking whore only ripped my soul to shreds and sealed my classes and skills! What do you want from me!?”

“That is none of my concern. All of this is your fault in the first place.”

“And how do you figure that!? I was only following… your… orders…”

Whirling around, I glared at the impertinent succubus.

“My orders were to fix your mistake. Your mistake was driving Stahlia and Dominic apart. Fixing it would be to fix their relationship, not make him try and RAPE HER!”

Raising up my hand, I invoked my favorite skill. The activation gave me pause though, as it had undergone a drastic change. Rather than sheathe my hand in Black Hellflame, my hand was now coated in white fire that seemed to be shedding snow rather than smoke.

I see, anger burns hot but true hate is ice cold. You might be a bastard, Adroni, but you have good aesthetic.

Sitri realized what was coming and shrank back, “No, nono, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! You don’t need to punish me, Wrath. I won’t make that mistake again!”

“One out of three, that’s a failing grade. Indeed, you will not make that mistake again. However, I do need to punish you, and my title is no longer Wrath. You may refer to me as Hate.”

Closing in on Sitri, I raised my hand.