“Hmmm…” I hummed to myself, echoing in the dry, stale room. My fingers tapped onto the arms of my throne. I looked over my bony hand. Literally, bony. With no flesh within sight on my hand, it was a wonder how one could even move it. I moved my eye onto my palm; a slightly luminescent metal lay there. Though long decayed, my body had parts of it plated with an ancient metal whose name was even forgotten in the annals of history.The room in which I sat was dark and decaying. The walls, once smooth and decorated, now lay scratched and falling. Cobwebs were common among the furniture as tables and chairs lay around disorganized.Even with the apparent lack of a nose, I still had a sense of smell, just as I could perceive sight without eyes. The room smelled an unmistakable stench of decay. I was probably used to the smell or didn’t notice it until now. Either way, the lack of ventilation in the general area was part of the blame.Amidst my thoughts, I could hear light stomping and metal

After a few days of walking, we eventually stumbled upon the road Uno was discussing. Although he called it a road, it was more of a dirt path. This road was probably used frequently in the past and was now deserted.We started following a direction as suggested by Uno since it would inevitably lead us to a city. I got excited as I started seeing more animals and different types of trees around. The forest surrounding the mountain stronghold didn’t have many animals because of, obviously, the large presence of undead.But as we move further from the stronghold, life reappears. We had not seen any animals for at least a few centuries, so we enjoyed the scenery more than we thought. However, the master chef in my group was thinking something else since she hadn’t gotten fresh ingredients for a long time.Although I sent countless numbers of scouts through the years we spent inside the stronghold, the information they could gather was limited. After all, most of the scouts were mindless

By the second day of our tour of Aon, we had toured much of the outer layer of the city which boasted exotic places such as the Garden of Life, whose plants were seemingly moving by themselves, giving the expression that everything in the garden was living, breathing, and thinking. However, we had to cut our tour short because, for some reason, the largest plant in the garden attempted to attack us.We quickly escaped and let the guards handle the problem. I was sure it was trying to attack everyone in the vicinity and not just us. I mean, for what reason would a holy plant attack us?The Great Holy City of Aon hosted many types of people ranging from humans to elves, from fairies to lycans, and from beggars to nobles. It was a truly cosmopolitan city. I wondered if all the cities in this world were like this. I like being optimistic, at the very least.Throughout our tour, we learned many things about Aon, its religion, and its culture. From what I gathered from the priests and the h

My mind hadn’t felt this relaxed since a thousand years ago. I stretched my bony body as I put on my clothes once more. I got out of the large bathroom and complimented the monks on their hot spring.“Hot spring? The bath springs of Aon are known to be really cold...why is there steam coming out of the bathroom you just got out of?”My companions and I ignored the ramblings of the priests as we left to tour more around. It had been a few days since we left the stronghold, but we’ve already felt like it’s been a year.Although our bodies didn’t tire, we still enjoyed the mortal pleasures of enjoying a comfy bed and lying around, not doing anything for a while, every so and often.“Should we enjoy some fresh beds in a tavern?” I asked my companions. The group agreed in unison so we decided to head to the market district of Aon.Although not as busy as the Great Cathedral, the market district still boasted a great number of people. As the types of shops varied, from simple food shops to

I clenched the dagger that I held tightly. It was found by one of the Inquisitors in our search. The dagger had the mark of the beacon of Aon, it’s metal was of high-quality mithril. Its clean blade suggested that someone had maintained it meticulously daily. The sheath was covered with leather of unknown origins, but its hardness suggests that it came from a very strong beast.“With this, it means the forces of Dark had even penetrated the Great Cathedral…” an Inquisitor said with shame.“How did they manage to get past without us noticing? We should have detected their essence of death,” Another one cried.“The only explanation is that they’re not even the undead or a demon. Start searching for more clues,” I ordered the Inquisitors. They bowed before disappearing into the shadows again.There were signs of the owner of the coins everywhere. From the Great Cathedral to the market district. What was his agenda? What does he achieve by leaving trails for us to follow? Was he mocking u