Another morning appeared for Saigunrai, as the Skull of the Sun god increased in its illumination. Warmarshal Julia Verruca was early drilling the troops stationed in Saigunrai. To her right was her best friend and Warmarshal Stephanie Chaoshood. They had been chatting well before the light dawned on the city.

"Well, what are you going to tell him when he gets back?" Stephanie asked Verruca while looking across the training. Stephanie had brought her new recruits to train with those stationed in Saigunrai.

"Nothing," Verruca said slightly disgruntled.

"I don't get it. It's been sooooo long since you admitted you liked old bones-" Stephanie was interrupted.

"Don't let his Grace hear you say that..." Verruca looked over to her.

"Oh, come on! Julia, he knows us... We are his Warmarshals for crying out loud. He's not going to lock us in the stockade." Stephanie complained.

"It's best to honor him at all times." Verruca was staunch.

"How are you going to even court his favor, if you can't talk about him casually?"

"I can do that. You just have to be respectful."

"Why am I even friends with you... sigh...?"

"Because I'm the only one that can tolerate you and your antics?" Verruca mused aloud.

"You know you should stop thinking aloud." Stephanie wasn't too happy with this comment.

"I wasn't thinking aloud." Verruca laughed.

"Well, at least you could get a laugh out of this. I haven't heard you laugh since you told me about the tiny ambassador." Stephanie giggled to herself over the topic of Emily. She found it strange to be an adult in a child's body, but super funny at the same time.

"Haaa~ Maybe you're right, but this is all his fault, to begin with. I know he lost parts of his memory... But... Why did he forget me? Shouldn't I have been remembered in his soul?" Verruca lamented.

"Julia... You don't know how souls work, so you can't say that... The fact that he has memory loss is proof that his soul was damaged. In fact, when there is damage to a soul that can cause memory loss, there is a high chance he encountered Lady Death."

Verruca stiffened a little. This thought had popped into her mind before, but she didn't want to think about it. She would rather be sad about Jack losing his memory, than scared that he might have died.

"Julia... Did you ask him if he met...? Lady Death?

"Ah... No... I'm afraid to." Verruca said.

"If he has been through the revolving door of death... and made it back... Then this can explain how he broke through to Emperor Rank."

A light flashed in Verruca's eyes, she looked over to Stephanie, "Explain."

"You should have studied more, that's why you're so big... All that training."

"Get to it!" Verruca was annoyed to have this brought up again.

"As undead, you would think we know more about death than anyone right?" Stephanie put on her airs and acted scholarly.

"Don't tell me a story, Stephanie... Just get to the point."

"You know, you are the biggest buzz kill... I don't know why Ken is into you at all."

"If you like Ken go invite him to dinner... I'm sure he would like that, the big ham."

"You know I have a husband," Stephanie said while sighing.

"And? Get another... Isn't that what you suggested his Grace do...? Take me and con...sort... Leslie" Verruca said through her teeth. The more she thought about it; the more she hated Leslie.

"Well old bones at home said if I wanted another man, he wanted another woman... So I'm not about to crowd our bedroom."

"Get two bedrooms and you can both sleep with your own spouses."

"What in all the hells would us being married be then? We might as well divorce."

"For your daughter?"

"You're doing that thing again... Sigh. Why do I always fall for this?"

Verruca shrugged innocently while smiling with her baby face, "What thing."

"Devil's advocate, damn it. Do you want to hear my explanation or not?"

"One second," Verruca said, as she waved over one of her generals. She gave a few instructions for the next maneuvers to take and then sent him on his way back to the training grounds.

"Okay, go ahead, remember to keep it simple."

"Ah... Fine. According to the first undead, when you die either one of two things happens. You go to the yellow springs, and get your memory erased to live another life."

"Does anyone actually believe that?"

"Duh! Yellow Springs, the lake of forgetfulness, Samara... Whatever you want to call it. It's a process in the next world to set up a soul to be reincarnated."

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"Alright, then what's the second thing."

"Sometimes... Special souls... Get a glimpse of what's actually going on behind the veil of the world, to see into the abyss and not blink."

"You mean he learned about what's beyond?"

"Yes... Verruca, do you remember what they taught us in school?"

"What part... I slept through most of it." Verruca said with a laugh.

"Pfft, obviously. No, the one true rule of the world? That everything is a trade-off. Anything gained is by trading in an equal or greater than price."

"Well yeah."

"He lost his memory, to gain more knowledge, and knowledge is power," Stephanie said grimly.

Verruca didn't say anything but was lost in thought.

"Julia... Tell me. Does he still trust you, treat you the same, or is he different?"

"Well, he... Well, he treats me the same, but he is... different now. He's not as kind as he used to be."

"Well if the Jordan incident is anything to go by, and the upcoming court cleansing is to go by, the stuff that lay outside of the world must be terrible for him to be like this."

"What do you mean by that? Do you have an idea of what he's seen?"

"Well... You know my family has a lot of books..."

"Duh," Verruca replied dully.

It was widely known that the Chaoshood clan was the scholars of Deagoth, and had libraries in each city, with the largest in Saigunrai, even if their home city was Sufenron, out of respect for The Holy Witch King. It was also known that The Holy Witch King was a bibliophile and also held a large personal collection of tomes and books. Many of which were supplied by the Chaoshood Clan. Being a scholar Clan, Warmarshal Stephanie Chaoshood was the oddball of the family, but no one doubted her Knight Rank cultivation or the knowledge she knew. She used the knowledge she knew to wield the awesome powers of chaos as an arcane cultivator. It was unknown how she managed to retain so much personality as an arcane cultivator, only Stephanie Chaoshood knew.

"Ok. Ok. Ok. I remember once reading another case where this happened. Its basically just old legends now. At the time, a human had died and seen what was outside of the nine realms."

"Nine realms?"

"Yeah, nine realms. Just know there is more than just the Overworld and the Underworld, there are seven other realms."

"Why not worlds?"

"Well, let me get to it."

"Oh... Sorry." Verruca apologized.

"It doesn't say what this human had seen, but it was so bad, that he wanted to unify all the realms under his banner to stop whatever it was. Do you know who this figure later became?"

"Who?"

"The Lich King."

"What?!"

"That's right. The same thing that happened to your boyfriend is the same thing as what happened to The Lich King."

"He's not my boyfriend..."

"Sigh... That's what you focus on?" Stephanie was at a loss.

Verruca remained silent while thinking over what Stephanie had just said.

"Look. Two things. First off, you need to ask his Grace if what I said is true. This would make a lot more sense if it is and if it is and he tells you... Then keep it to yourself! Don't even tell me. No one needs to know this, but by knowing this... This will help you know why he forgot. Remember the trade-off. Second thing, are you more willing to let his Grace go, and have nothing to do with him. OOOOR are you willing to share him? That is the question... What can make you happiest in your unlife?"

"I... I will heed your words." Verruca said after a pause. This would help to relieve her of some of her frustration if Jack had seemed beyond and explained his actions. As for the later part of Stephanie's words, she would think about later when she talked to him.

With the silence descending on their conversation, Stephanie broke the silence, "So Julia, if you plan to give up on his Grace... You can always date Ken!"

"Are you kidding me? I recently heard that he thinks I'm only into woman..." Verruca said breathlessly.

"Well, there isn't anything wrong with that per se... Maybe me and my husband will marry you, and it can be a 3p every night!" Stephanie said while laughing.

Verruca made no comment as she walked forward to her and Stephanie 's troops. She had decided that she needed to spar with her generals to keep them on the right track. Today would be remembered as the day the War-god of Deagoth spared nonstop all her generals and all the generals of Chaoshood. Many Bone doctors were called that day. These Bone doctors would later send letters of thanks to the Warmarshal the following week.

*******

Deep within the darkened corridors that lead into the inner chambers of the Grimnight Clan, within this inner chamber, a not so peaceful discussion had broken out among the Clan head, and the Clan Elders.

"You stupid rattling bag of bones, the whole lot of you!" The Third Elder insulted the other Elders.

"I don't know why you thought that the Doomcry Clan could defeat much less hold off the Frost Knights of the Frostgard Clan... They have to know what's going on by now. Soon as his Grace knows this... I've already told you what's going to happen!" The Third Elder finally ended this rant. He had been ranting in a similar fashion for weeks now, however now... The Third Elder had lost all faith in the Elders.

"Enough! We have already decided. With the protection of the Kain Family, we can start to begin a new foundation in Stonedge. I think it best if we make like the Kain Family and become the Grimnight Family, shedding the Clan name." The First Elder finally reviewed the rest of his plan.

"That's right. Once we become a mafia family, the governments will not interfere with our businesses." The Second Elder followed up and nodded. The Clan Head didn't like this change, as it meant that he would no longer be in charge of the family, even if only in name.

"You guys just don't get it. How are your vision is clouded by delusions... The Holy Witch King defeated Boss Crag and has taken him to Saigunrai. If that isn't interfering in the mafia, then you're all stupid." The Third Elder made his last speech.

"Do as you see fit." With this, the Third Elder rose and left the inner chamber. Thoughts flashing in his mind, he had made it up. He only had one way to bring him and his branch of the family out of this.

"Don't worry. He'll come around." The Clan Head said as he glanced at the back of the Third Elder as he was leaving.

"I'm sure we will." Both the First and Second Elder spoke, then laughed together. They had been planning a move to Stonedge for years, and the Jordan incident was the switch they needed to get to moving. They had finished their prep, strip-mined the Little Gloom mine, framed the Doomcry, and sold off a lot of unnecessary items for this move. If all went as well so far, they would be gone before the armies of the kingdom came knocking.

The Third Elder left the inner sanctum and went to his first son, James Grimnight. His son was in charge of the Little Gloom mine and was there when the mine collapsed. The First Elder had sent someone else to destroy the mine when James refused. James had already stripped the mine but knew the method to reactivate the materials in the mine to start the formation of new Glowstone. Glowstone was a metal formed by the elements with the right conditions and materials. He carried out the strip mining grudgingly, but he would not destroy the mine he worked on for years.

"Son." The Third Elder walked into the home of his son within the Clan to the east side of the Clan's massive quarter of the city of Sosuhalf that was their Clan's dwelling. It was surrounded by walls within the City, in the same vein as the Hollowell Clan, where they had been fighting against for years. It was, in fact, the Hollowell Clan that forced them to start their business affairs with the Doomcry, and their massive brothels.

"Yes, father?" His son was seated in his office writing. James was a writer in his spare time of fiction fantasies. His best selling book so far was called, "The Call of the Sun." It was a series about a young undead that ventured to the Overworld for adventure and wealth.

"The Clan is deciding to betray Deagoth and leave." The Third Elder said only this sentence when he turned and left.

James was left in thought for a moment, [So it's time to pack and leave... I can only hope his Grace will pardon us, but I would rather have my bones broken than letting those old pile of bones called the First Elder to get away with destroying my mine...]

Deep in the eternal dim night that was the Grimnight Clan's compound, many Grimnight packed and left with the Third Elder and his son, James. They headed with haste to the City of Saigunrai, hoping to find salvation in the hands of The Holy Witch King.