Akito, immediately jolted from his slumber, in a pitch black cell.
His breath quickened, as he looked around "what—were!" he blurted out.
Akito was afraid to move, so he reached within his robes, and pulled out a stone which had sigil on it. He raised it up, infusing it with mana as it glowed.
A beam of light shone from sigil.
Shining the light around he saw runes and sigils on the walls, they covered every inch of the walls.
He stood up, reading from the walls, "Fire. Light. Dispel."
He almost tripped on a pile stones, he picked one up and shone his light on it
"false sigils?" They were just like his stone but the sigils weren't formed correctly
What was he possibly doing here? Surely he wasn't learning it? Maybe practicing, some of these runes are powerful. It usually takes years for someone to get to this level, it took me longer without a teacher and I still do it terribly.
He then shone the light around some more, and stumbled upon a larger glyph design on the wall where he woke up.
It was a cross with multiple tiny sigils in each space between the ends which were the same length.
"OH MY!"
Akito inspected the dimensions of the glyph on the wall.
"Look at the size of it, this is astronomical. Only a runist could create a glyph of this magnitude!" he buzzed around it, still inspecting every inch.
Before he remembered he had pressing matters to attend to.
He turned to walk out of the cell just before leaving. He spotted a trail of dried blood and sweet marks scaling off the wall, shining his light five feet above him he saw a large stone slab that was slightly dislodged.
A memory passed through his mind
Please, I really want to get big and strong before I die. I have always been frail and weak.
It shouldn't hurt right? He is just a kid.
Fine, I will teach you the main few exercises I did and I am leaving ok?
YES!
…
swear if he killed himself doing those exercises.
You weren't supposed to do those that much, you need breaks!
HELLO!
Calm down.
Thank the chaos. So glad you didn't die on me
The corner of his mouth curved upward as he opened the cell door, and closed it.
Deactivated the stone and placed it back into his robe and picked up his staff.
Walking through a stone gap in the wall, the table where both the two guards sat out was deserted, their card game left sprawled out.
Akito could only think the worst had happened, as he walked out of the tunnel seeing the debris.
"Sorry quill and charlotte turns out i wasn't fit for the job either."
Akito carefully went up the narrow steps leading him out of the hole and walked through the doorway to the main prison hallways.
Wandered through the corridors, after some time he saw bodies of guards, their heads blown to pieces.
He held his mouth in shock stopping for a moment, I am sorry friends, I will find who did this. He thought as his eyebrows furrowed.
Pushing forward, the number of bodies he spotted were enormous,
After walking through many hallways littered with corpses.
Eventually he assumed the whole prison had been massacred.
Finally he entered a spacious room it was destroyed, "what happened here—"
Akito then sensed mana coming from one of the other passages so he jogged down it,
It took him down deeper within the prison. This place in particular was shrouded in darkness but he knew his way.
"This is one of the head bosses' secret rooms."
He ran down a flight of stairs and stopped, in front of a poorly lit door.
Suddenly as he was about to approach a sickle came from behind the point, tapped his Adam's apple, and a gauntlet tapped his chest.
"Oh bosses, you wouldn't guess what happened!" as akito explained, their purple flamed sockets flicked in the darkness.
"We would of killed you already janitor" the sickle retracted
"But you're lucky our master has use for you." the gauntlet retracted.
"Do you mean the head—"
Before he could finish he was ushered in
The door shut behind him.
"What!"
Akito's immediate attention was attracted by Zero who sat in a bent long position, his hands gripping his hair. A purple flamed fireplace crackled in front of him.
His now bare back faced Akito as he sat in silence.
"Necromancer ! Where is the head master!?! DID YOU KILL EVERYONE!" He tightened his grip on his staff.
No answer.
"HELLO! ANSWER ME NECROMANCE—" he shouted as he lifted his staff but suddenly he halted as a sharp power went through akito,
It stunned him in place, speechless.
Zeros watched as the fire waved.
"Do you want to be my disciple?" his voice echoed through the room.
Akito took a deep breath and with a softer tone "No i want to know what the heck is goi—" mana rushed from Zero's body and crushed Akito into the stone floor. He barely was able to hold himself up, blood dripping from his mouth and head.
"I will give you power and control"
Akito's bones creaked as he fought against the pressure.
"I will teach more than which you saw in the cell."
Akito's body kept fighting but a part of him buzzed with excitement,
i want that
This made his mind pause to think of the glyph and everything else.
"I can make you great with runes sigil and glyphs"
Akito felt the oppressive force get even stronger so he shouted "let me think first!"
It stopped, as he lay on the ground defeated physically face blank as his mind churned:
This place is long gone, what's the point in dying now and with an opportunity like this I could learn properly rather than by myself.
I am sorry fellow jailers.
This last thought lingered in his mind.
"I accept the master." Akito said his voice was weak but firm.
"Look up"
Akito painstakingly did so.
Unfolded above Zero, its iris was deep fiery purple, which sat in the middle of blackened abyss, it mimicked the eye of a bonewalker , a hollow socket with a fiery center.
It locked onto Akito, widening until it all went black.
…
Akito gasped, awake, he was instantly met with blinding light on his face.
He winced, shutting his eyes, "Ah it's bright!" his voice measured.
"AH YOUR AWAKE!" a delighted voice sounded out.
The light was cut off.
Akito's vision was fuzzy but he was able to make out Zero.
"Oh it's you." He said, slowly sitting up rubbing his eyes.
"I was wondering why I was on this stone platform." he said as he looked down, staring at his dignity on full display.
He blinked his eyes to make sure.
"WHY AM I NAKED!"
"I was about to tell you that, but I was doing some experiments after you died."
"What experiments!" he clasped his hands over it and tried to cover himself.
"Well I—"
"Wait, why can't I feel my eye?!—Mirror now"
Zero brought a mirror holding it up for him, he gave soft smile
"My face…my beautiful face."
Akito's right eye was shut with stitches, and his face was bony and so was his whole body he looked malnourished.
The fissure scar on his forehead began to shed flakes of skin.
Akito malnourished hand trembled on his face, his jaw slacked just looking at his face, his hair looked completely dead also.
"Listen, it's not that baaad." he dragged his words. "You only look that malnourished because you haven't eaten in days and the stitches aren't even permanent. I just wanted to try them—"
A fist went flying toward Zero, "I will kill you!" but he backed away as Akito fell off the stone table.
"Why do I feel so weak!" he said, now struggling to move himself on the floor.
"Well I told you—"
"Shut it!"
Zero sighed, hunkered down to Akito's level.
"Here, have this raw meat ball"
Akito eye brows furrowed immediately, stopping mid whining, "what meat is it?" he said, one half his face serious and the bottom half his mouth drooled.
"Meat? What other meat could it be."
"No, because I remember the cannery was empty."
"Where did you get that meat!"
Zero just looked at him, a grin tugging at his face, and Akito could already tell his next move, covering his mouth with his hand and the other he slapped the meat ball out of Zero's hands.
Silence hit the room, as Zero looked off to the meat ball rolling on the ground.
"You know, it took me a long time to get it into that shape."
"HOLD YOUR TONGUE YOU MAN EATER"
"It tastes just like animal meat, what's wrong with it?" Zero said curiously.
"Do you have no integrity or self control? What is wrong with you!"
"Its not something I prefer. I only ate it one other time, and that was because I was hungry."
Akito just looked at him in disgust then rested his head on the floor giving up.
I thought i would feel more impacted by serving someone who eats mortals but actuallly….
He glanced at the raw meatball.
His mouth began drooling, and his body jittered as if it was gaining strength again.
However his nose caught a whiff of something,
"Whats that smell?"
"Oh yeah you are a thrall, so your body is actively decomposing as we speak you might even see that your skin is a faded green." Zero said calmly.
"What?"
…
Zero titled his head in confusion.
"Am i dead?"
"Yes—"
"Truthfully?!"
Zero nodded slowly, still confused.
"What in the chaos! YOU DIDN'T TELL ME THIS"'
"I recall telling you early." Zero replied, scratching his head.
Akito began to tear up in one eye.
"I can't even cry properly" he whimpered.
"I would suggest you eat. Thralls due to necromancy usually decompose very slowly, but this is aided by them eating a lot of flesh. Flesh is not just a boost for them, it's the source of life besides the necromancer themselves which is the source of their existence." Zero said his face expressionless.
"When I said I wanted to be your disciple, I didn't mean to join you dead, fool!"
"I am a necromancy, what in your right mind made you think that you—wouldn't be joining dead—you gump."
Akito slammed his face into the ground, and whined more.
Zero just stared at Akito blankly, "I think you two will be great." he said as a smile formed on his face.
He then grabbed the meatball, lifted Akito's head up, by his hair. Shoved it in his mouth and slammed his face off the ground.
Zero then got up, and he began stacking two piles of books, suddenly another fist swung behind him, he weaved out the way, grabbed an orange book on top of the pile, whacked akito on the side of the head with it then knocked the top of his head, causing his jaw to shut on his tongue.
Zero grabbed the tongue and flung it right back into his mouth.
"You really thought after seeing the mess I made in this prison you would be able to touch me? Silly disciple." he said, dusting the book and placing it gently on top of the stack.
Zero took a step back from Akito "Now I want to train you. You will be doing combat training with those two bonewalkers and then you will learn runism with me since you don't need sleep. You will continue to go and learn until I wake back up then you go for combat training again. Rinse and repeat."
He then took a moment to look at Akito, his face was resentful, his skin much greener than before. Zero smirked, and walked closer "Are you not excited?"
"CHAOS NO!"
"Listen I know I tricked you, killed you and reformed your body without permission and now I propose to put you through even more chaos but do you not feel a sense of excitement within you, buzzing of what is to come next?"
Zero poked his chest
Akito looked down thinking to himself
He's right this is way more exciting. I get to learn runism properly!
"Ye—yes I— I actually do." he stammered.
Zero ruffled his hair "better!"
Akito tried to slap his hand but Zero pulled back.
"Bah! Move Zero"
"It's master now!" he pointed, making space.
"The last thing I want you to do is play that piano."
"What? I only learned a little bit with my late father but I don't think I could do that."
They looked at a Piano which was embedded into the wall, pipes spread out from it further into the wall around it and horns protruded from some parts of the piano as well.
"If you were to play this the sound would travel all over the prison." Akito said, walking over to it.
"The head boss played this only rarely."
"Don't worry about the purpose of playing it or how to do it. Just do what you can. There should be notes."
Brocker and vescoroth came in holding a coffin, they placed the silver and black casket on the ground. In front of Zero.
They both walked to one side of the room at the front of the room.
Akito tried to read the dusty notes.
He played the first key which sounded all over the prison,
Zero stood in the middle waiting tapping his foot.
Then two more keys, they were harder than the last ones.
He began to play, the sound vibrated around the room and stretched to the prison.
It was soft at first, then gradually escalated, as he played yet it remained gentle to the ears..
The deeper Akito got the more mana began to swirl around the room.
Soon his stitched eye bursted open, it shone with green fiery mana at its center with no eye ball, just the hollow opening.
As he rose and fell with tempo the eye took over, and played the song more vigorously. A wave of mana burst out from the piano, causing spirits of large portions to stir within the room, each differing in shapes and sizes, some of a mortal shape, some more foreign entities. Dancing within the room.
Zero observed as they pranced elegantly throughout the atmosphere, eventually Zero closed his eyes and began to mimic their moves.
The music then got more serious, as the coffin itself began to shake, the lid popped off as a 6 foot tall female skeleton rose from the coffin, and danced its way out of the coffin.
Both Vescoroth and Brocker began to tremble.
Akito's new eye became calmer, as the music softened up as well.
Zero spun, stopped and extended his hand out to the female skeleton.
The female spun and its skeletal finger fell on his hand softly.
"Teach me."
He pulled her in and they entered a dance together holding hands.
They both softly glided around the place, with continuous rise and fall actions, rotating and travelling counter clockwise around the floor.
Zero followed her perfectly as she led the dance.
Akito flowed rapidly across the keyboard.
Eventually the Spirits around them stopped their own dance and awed at them. At point Zero had become the leader of the dance and she followed him.
Akito rested dramatically.
Skeleton began to glow faintly as spirits around them began to envelop her, essentially joining in.
BAM! The sound made a powerful statement which was followed by the trickling of the keys.
Zero's face completely focussed at this point, during the waltz he supported her spine as she leaned backward while he leaned toward her.
Then BAM! The piano sounded as Akito stabbed into it.
Zero, being pretty small, was down at her ribcage, he looked up, her bone body flashed of white , blinding him and everyone..
….
Zero was shown visions in that moment.
First a bald woman with a long black robe, and one twisted horn sprouting on the left side of her forehead is curved into zigzag formation with the end pointed forward.
Picked stole a female human baby with grey hair and another elven male baby with yellow hair. She named them: the female human baby's name was Vivian and the elven male baby's name was Anor.
Taking both she trained them up to be chaosmancers of different delegations for years.
Once they reached the right age she sent them to different lands on a life long mission
Vivian was sent to Viscura.
Viscura was peaceful when she arrived; she first found 3 unwilling criminals and forced them under her influence and transformed herself using necromancy.
She then trapped Viscura in perpetual winter famine, plaque and corrupted its hearts. Spending several decades amassing power and control underground. Allowing Viscura to constantly toil meaninglessly against itself.
Until her underlings hatched a ploy to eliminate her by allowing Viscura to see the full extent of the weeds that had been growing. They knew it had to be cut, if not it would ruin the healing of the nation.
At that time she never would have thought it would have been her own minions that leaked her elaborate structure and system.
Though Vivian wasn't afraid. She had spent the last decades culminating in power and harvesting all the negative emotions from the spell she put on the people to bolster herself and her undead.
The war lasted 4 long years until their final battle began when they had cornered Vivian.
At that time everything had gone according to her three undeads plans,
Both smaller undead fought against the commanders this included younger versions of galerius, Deian and Jack.
Along with the lich fighting a younger amanda and burgos.
Then Vivian fought a younger Rakor Serene and Alcon.
Vivian used her runes, sigils and giant skeleton summons along with other things.
Vivian was winning her own fight but eventually she conceded some damage that put her in the corner. The lich and three bone walkers made diversions distracting the heroes as Vivian made a bone spike field to try to defend herself.
All three executed their final plan to kill Vivian.
She paused as they emerged from the bones.
She queried what they were doing and told them to help but a sickle and gauntlet went at her, causing a fight between them to kick off.
They all pressured intensely trying to kill her before viscura found their way there.
They knew all her weaknesses and how she did things along with this, they held back conserving mana just for this.
Vivian wasn't at her limit, at all and even though she had healed her injury she was being severely overwhelmed, by the now full powered undead.
After some back and forth, the final strike was landed by the bonewalkers, bursting sickle through her chest and slamming her body into the ground.
The lich was about her snatch soul.
Suddenly a rune exploded in the middle of them blowing them away and sending a alert to viscura to charge in,
She struggled to her feet, drawing a sigils on her hidden away in her skeletal body.
Alcon reached the place first,
One sword sheathed at his side and the other unsheathed.
He roared, charging to impale her head but he hesitated in his mind, she didn't even try to defend herself. Once his sword pierced her forehead.
She smiled softly,
Tears streaming down her face as she mouths to him "thank you"
Alcon's eye widened in disbelief then he pulled his sword out, she slumped to the ground.
Her body died but her soul was locked in place.
Alcon looked puzzled for a moment, shocked even.
Everyone reached the place.
"AlCON KILLED THE NECROMANCER !"
EVERYONE PRESENT CHEERED.
Alcone just looked at her body. Still bewildered.
After that it ended.
Back to the quiet room. No more spirits circled around the room.
As Vivian in her full form, she was a grey haired woman with pink eyes with a faded black center.
She was skeleton from the ankle up, but her legs and arms were covered by purple garments. Her ribcage was visible and spinal cord.
Her hands were flesh, her head and her feet.
Both her and Zero were on their knees now facing eachother
She had both hands on her on the now sleeping Zero's cheeks, she held his head close to her head.
"I'm so glad you made it child of Chaos. What a joy it is to see you in person" she only spoke at a whisper, her tone was light and soothing. She put her head against his forehead, closing her eyes.
"My purpose was for you. I am sorry I failed. I am sorry I was incapable of preparing the way for you. But with all that is left from me. Know that it is yours and at your disposal" She lifted her head and gently kissed his forehead.
She placed his head on her hard ribcage and held him close, rocking him from side to side, she looked down lovingly at him.
Zero just snored.
The bonewalkers violently trembled; they both blurted out "MASTER!" they ripped off their clothes, and fell to their knees and crawled toward Vivian.
Akito was now playing a different piece.
But his head twisted backward as his eye flared, a spirit left it. It was a man who roared in ghostly anger "VIVIAN!"
He flew fast toward Vivian.
But a barrier formed as the bonewalkers clawed and the man banged into the barrier; it didn't budge, nor did Vivian; she didn't seem to even acknowledge them as she held Zero peacefully.
Vivian hummed, white mana flowed from the barrier to Akito who watched worryingly at the situation.
The white mana flowed to the keys, he looked at them, hearing her humming through his ears which calmed him.
He began to follow the keys and play a different piece, she led him in her song.
"MASTER PLEASE TAKE US BACK" one bonewalker shouted
"THIS FEELING IS UNBARABLE." another shouted
"DON'T LEAVE US AGAIN!" they both shouted in unison.
The liches mortal spirit banged and clawed at the barrier, the more he did the more his spiritual body broke down and decayed into bone, and his spectral flesh tore off.
"OPEN THIS DOOR VIIVAN I WILL NO LONGER BE BOUND BY YOUR CURSES I AM FREE DON'T YOU SEE I WILL END YOU. VIVIAN OPEN THIS DOOR. OPEN IT AND YOU WILL DIE FOR SURE YOU CONNIVING FIND!" his spectral green body shifted to his lich form.
Akito lifted his head high as he played with both eyes closed.
Vivian sang wordless melodies, her voice matched with Akito piano which got more intense as she increased in pitch.
"MASTER PAY ATTENTION TO US PLEASE MASTER PLEASE MASTER!" the bonewalkers lamented "LET US BE IN YOUR PRESENCE AGAIN."
Akito moved with the rhythm, swaying his body.
THE LICH hit the barrier harder and harder.
"PAY ATTENTION TO ME! IS THIS MAN YOU CHOSE VIVIAN! JUST FOR YOU TO DIE FOR A PATHETIC CHILD. YOUR LIFE WAS MEANINGLESS. YOU SERVED A PITIFUL PURPOSE!!"
Vivian finished her wordless melody as Akito finishes the coda with the slamming of keys multiple times, the sound shaking the atmosphere. Vivian held tightly, her body fading to white mana.
"Thank you child, you have satisfied my soul in this communion" she cried spiritual tears hit Zero's face, and then slid into his eye and slid down his face.
Zero remained soundly asleep.
Akito held onto the last note of the piece, as she disappeared.
Zero landed softly to the ground.
A silence filled the room, as Akito opened his eyes slowly, took a deep breath, and turned behind him.
The bonewalkers at that moment stopped their lamenting "its gone?" "the feeling is gone!"
The both cheered as the barrier broke,
The lich roared with all his undead tongue "YOUR STUPID WENCH! COME BACK AND I WILL END YOU!"
He flew speedily toward Zero; his skeletal hand grew as he was about to slash down on Zero.
Both bonewalkers also charged in as well.
(Was this round 2?)
.
..
…
Just before a single thing touched Zero, his eyes shot open, simultaneously his power burst through the room stopping everyone in their tracks as he stood up slowly.
Both Brocker and vescoroth prostrated immediately.
Akito turned his body away, and faced his head down, fear hit his face, as his hands shook on the keys, keeping his head low.
The lich stopped mid attack, and slowly retracted it as Zero got up, the power Zero emitted caused his own being to tremble…
Did he get stronger?
No this was always me, I was just holding back. Don't you remember the cuffs lich.
What it can't be!
Oh yes it can!!!
Zero lifted his head up with great enthusiasm and his face was full of twisted delight.
His eyes were black with fiery purple centres.
"LICH I AM SO GLAD YOU SHOWED UP TO THE PARTY!! AND YOUR IN LUCK I THOUGHT OF SOMETHING NEW FOR YOU INSTEAD OF BORINGGG DEATH!" Zero continued to laugh through speech.
"Have you ever heard of soul trapping?"
He was silent.
"Yes yes yes !!! I will even do the deluxe addition for you."
His book of deluxe flew into his hands.
The book of deluxe flicked the page, "Wait juuuust a minute I need to find something." Zero said going away to his desk to find an item
Everyone in this room knew that if they moved an inch or didn't show some type of submission in his presence at this moment Zero wouldn't hesitate. Not even if he needed you.
The immense amount of mana circulating in the room itself translated that he could if he wanted to, distance didn't matter and who you were, didn't matter.
Zero tossed a gold coin that was slightly bigger than most in the air.
"You remember this Jerry?"
The liches eyes flickered with nostalgia.
Zero didn't even look at the page, or waist any time.
He outstretched his hand toward the ground a magic circle appeared then, spectral shackles binded on lich restricting him.
He didn't try to resist, his sockets fixed on the coin.
A devious smirk formed on his face,
"No crying this time?"
Zero threw the coin up and said "soul trap—coin"
A stream of mana bursted from the magic circle and travelled into the coin.
Then it stopped. Zero grabbed it from the air.
And looking at the coin it bore the liches trapped form on one side with the shackles and on the other side was the liches face.
Zero chuckled, "I will make sure you cry."
He zapped the coin with mana, the lich cried out from the coin, though Zero didn't stop the mana got more and more intense till the whole room was flashing with purple lights and once Zero stopped hearing the liches cries.
"You are not dead are you." he said disappointedly.
He shook the coin and tossed it,
Then heard a noise and then he zapped it
Zero everytime the lich stopped making noise he would throw him up and zap him again…
He did this for an hour straight eventually he lost his smirk, he just bore the blankest stare as if dissociating during the whole thing.
Zero's eyes turned to normal and his power calmed down gradually too.
Then he blinked out of it, he didn't make any funny faces or other expressions as he placed the coin in his book and moved on.
"brocker and vescoroth go place those books back where they belong. And Akito, go train now all night and if you're hungry go eat prisoners." he commanded
"Going for rest, don't wake me."
Zero left.