2022-01-19 21:52:58Kyle glanced around in a panic as it struck him. “It’s a Lich, you dumbass!” He scolded himself. “It’s dead already!” He looked away from the bone dust slowly swirling on the ground, and scoured the room with his gaze.
A phylactery! That was what he really needed to find! That was what Liches used to store their souls in… Or something like that. He couldn’t quite remember all fantasy lore in a stressful situation like this.
A phylactery… What would it look like? A bottle? A box? He’d never seen one before! He felt like he was looking for needle in a haystack, except the needle wasn’t a needle – it could be anything! Because why not!?
Annoyed at the early demise of the Knight, the very much unnecessary resurrection of the lich, and his lack of knowledge on what a phylactery was supposed to look like, he turned his gaze towards the dust again, hoping to see some form of clue.
Maybe a line pointing towards where the phylactery was? Or perhaps the Lich’s soul would float towards it? No? Nothing?
His shoulders dropped. The boss’ health bar was still flashing red, and it hadn’t filled up at all yet. “Ok, let’s search!” He mumbled in an attempt to give himself a morale boost.
The boss room was, as he had noticed before, circular. There were two exits, though both were blocked right now. Obviously. Because the boss was still alive. Well, ‘alive’ was a strong and technically erroneous word to use for a Lich, but…
“AH, focus!” He shouted at himself. Now was the worst time to be stuck on semantics! He forced himself to look around. There were two large piles of old books on either side of the entrance. They looked so old that a single touch would probably turn them to dust.
There was also the throne made of probably human bones. He had noticed that before as well. And… nothing. There was absolutely nothing else in the room.
With a sigh, Kyle ran up to the nearest pile of books and swung his blade towards them. Maybe the damn Lich had hidden the phylactery in one of the books, the same way people hid guns or alcohol bottles: in a small cavity between the pages.
To his disappointment, the Lich didn’t disappear once he was done massacring a pile of books, and neither did he disappear when Kyle sighed in disappointment. The young man dashed to the next pile of books and wailed on them with all the strength he could muster as well, only to continue seeing a red flashing health bar.
He gritted his teeth. If the Lich revived now, he would have absolutely no chance of survival. He didn’t have the resources to kill a boss. No way.
He turned his gaze towards the throne. There, that was the only place left where a phylactery could be hidden. He felt whatever hope he had drain away. How the hell was he supposed to smash up the entire throne?!
“I hate you already!” He shouted at the Lich-dust swirling on the ground as he passed by it. As soon as he reached the throne, he reached up and searched for handholds. He grabbed one of the bones sticking out of the throne and pulled down with all his weight. Seeing as it didn’t break apart, or fall off the throne, he quickly pulled himself up.
It took him a short moment to pull himself all the way to the seat of the gigantic throne. He couldn’t help but wonder about why a human size Lich needed a giant sized throne. It made absolutely no sense unless the Lich had shrunk somehow. Which… To be honest, was an absurd mental image.
Kyle shook his head and focused on the task at hand. Phylactery! That was what he needed to focus on. He pushed himself up on his knees and looked at the backrest of the throne, at the armrests, anywhere he could see. Yet he saw nothing but the ashen white of bones, heard nothing but the creaking of the dead. It was quite unnerving, really.
As desperation set in, he climbed up on his feet and looked around again. Where on earth could this Lich have hidden his phylactery? He felt a lump form in his throat as the health bar started flashing faster. It was about to revive itself, he was sure of it!
A faint glimmer caught his eye as he turned to shoot a glance at the pile of dust that once was the Lich. A green light shone through the right armrest of the throne.
“AHA!” He shouted as he grabbed the bones covering the phylactery up and started prying them out. It didn’t take him more than a few seconds to uncover the phylactery.
As soon as he touched the phylactery, the flashing health bar filled up. Kyle pulled it out of its hidden place, and as he raised his hand to smash it into the ground, a system notification popped up.
‘Lich Cacophus Defeated’
‘Achievement Unlocked: Lich Killer’
‘Level up:
Kyle – Lv. 19 Unclassed
INT 10 | WIS 10 | DEX 10 | STR 10 | CON 10’
‘New Quest: Cacophus’ Plea’
‘Item Received: Cacophus’ Phylactery’
‘Alert: Cacophus’ Plea is a special quest. It can only be completed by a single player.’
Kyle froze mid motion as the system bombarded him with notifications popping up one by one.
“WAIT!” A scream echoed in his mind as he finished reading all the notifications, startling and almost causing him to drop the phylactery. “PLEASE BE CAREFUL WITH THAT, IT’S WHAT KEEPS ME ALIVE.”
Kyle’s eyes widened as he looked down to see the Lich Cacophus looking at him from the ground below. “PLEASE DON’T SMASH IT.”
Kyle glanced around, then back at the Lich.
“You do realise that you were trying to kill me just now, right?” He tightened his grasp around the phylactery. “What makes you think I’m ok with letting you uh, live?”
The Lich’s eyes, which at this point in its life were just green glows in a hollow skull’s eye sockets, somehow managed to widen. “YOU PEOPLE ALWAYS WANT POWER, RIGH? I CAN GIVE YOU POWER!”
Kyle narrowed his eyes. “How can I trust you? You’re a god forsaken Lich!”
“THE GODS HAVE NOT FORSAKEN ME, I’M ON GOOD TERMS WITH THEM!” The Lich protested.
“What?”
“BESIDES, YOU HAVE THE PHYLACTERY. MY SOUL. I WOULDN’T BETRAY YOU AND RISK PERMANENT DEATH.”
Kyle narrowed his eyes. “And what exactly can you do to make me stronger?” He asked, slowly lowering his raised hand.
The Lich’s skeletal face once again proved to be surprisingly expressive as it puffed a green smoke with relief. “WELL, I’M A LICH. HOW ABOUT AN UNDEAD ARMY?”
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“Hi…” Kyle mumbled as he stepped inside. The dust, the burn marks and any battle mark on the ground and walls had vanished. The marble floor was pristine, as if it was laid down just a few hours ago.“MOST OF MY POWER IS RESTORED NOW.” The Lich kindly informed him, by nearly blowing his ears off.“Please keep your voice down. I know you like shouting, but it genuinely hurts me.” Kyle reminded him as he let go of the hilt of his sword.“SORRY…” Cacophus replied with a surprisingly little voice. His green eyes’ glow dimmed as he covered his mouth with his skeletal hands. Kyle couldn’t help but chuckle upon seeing him like that.“It’s fine. As long as you’re careful, it’s fine.” He said, almost feeling bad for the Lich. “So… what now?”“MY RESEARCH IS MOSTLY DESTROYED.” The lich shot him a hurt look. Green mist escaped
The Lich's Master Chapter 5: Elves and a Particular Knight
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The sound of metal hitting the rock walls of the caves echoed. The rhythmic sound was quite annoying, and clearly audible even after closing the door leading outside Cacophus’ room. Kyle’s gaze followed the Lich, who seemed to be disinterested in the noise. How he was not bothered was beyond Kyle, but then again, the man was dead. He had been dead for who knows how long, and he was a Lich. If anything, he must have developed quite the patience during the centuries he spent being dead. Kyle sighed. As much as Cacophus was dead, he was not. And this noise was seriously getting on his nerves. He wanted to ask what the hell the Lich was making his skeletal workforce do, other than meaninglessly expanding the caverns, but Cacophus had (very loudly) asked not to be disturbed as he inspected the crystal fruits. Kyle already regretted his choice to wait until he was done. He was seriously going through every single fruit, checking them one by one. Every time his bone fingers
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Chapter 276: The Ancient City of Necron (4)
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Chapter 275: The Ancient City of Necron (3)
“Oh for fuck’s sake.” Kyle rolled his eyes as the enemy charged at him and his allies. Jeffrey’s ridiculous accusations and ignorant behaviour was the last thing he needed at the moment.Droigheann unsheathed his blade and struck the ground with it. Black veins spread across the grey marble plaza, originating from his blade. They leapt off the ground, reaching for Jeffrey and his allies.“Fire storm!” A voice boomed. Kyle flinched as a whirling storm of flames burnt away the roots and veins. Droigheann gritted his teeth and removed his swords from the ground. “Damn mages,” The Demon grunted as he stepped forward. His helmet materialised in his hand, and he promptly put it on.“SHALL I DISPATCH OF THEM, KYLE?” Cacophus’ sudden question surprised him. “Yeah, please help Droigheann.” Kyle hissed as he pointed at the group. “We shouldn’t waste much time on them.”As he spoke, several shards of crystallised light formed at his fingertips. He fired them at the man leading the charge.“AS YO
Chapter 274: The Ancient City of Necron (2)
Kyle took the first step down the grey marble staircase. As his feet touched the ancient slabs, he involuntarily flinched.Azazel and Droigheann followed just a step behind, along with Cacophus, who chose to float next to them.“AMAZING, IT HAS BEEN PRESERVED PERFECTLY!” The Lich exclaimed, pausing just a few steps in, and carefully inspecting the waist high walls preventing them from falling off the side. “LOOK AT THIS CRAFTMANSHIP!”Kyle shot a glance at the waist hight wall. It was covered in intricate carvings from top to bottom. Just a few meters of this wall must have taken weeks to create, if not more. “Yeah, it’s amazing.”“Just like the legends.” Droigheann carefully ran his finger along the carvings. “A city of ancient wonders, housing powers beyond imagination, made from the most beautiful materials by the best craftsmen ever to grace the face of this world.”“Seems about right.” Azazel pointed at the buildings. “Any one of these would have taken months to perfect, if not y
Chapter 273: The Ancient City of Necron (1)
The Necronomicon’s pages turned on their own. Kyle waited patiently for the book to settle on a page. Once it did, he read through the spell. It was a modified dispel spell.“Stand back, just in case.” He said to the others. Everyone took a few steps back, even Cacophus who had just arrived. The Lich didn’t speak, but the green glows in his eye sockets glimmered and lit up brightly with excitement.Kyle’s lips curled up with a faint smile for a moment before he turned his gaze back to the Necronomicon. “Open thine gates, lift thine veil.” He recited the spell’s words clearly. “Allow me passage to what is rightfully mine, as I hold the Book of Ancient Secrets!”A moment passed before the spell fully took effect. The barrier around the Ancient City of Necron began to lower as Kyle felt his vitality drain with alarming speed. He looked down at the back of his hand with a panic as the few locks of dark hair dangling before his eyes slowly began to turn white.The mark of the Evertree glow
Chapter 272: The Records Restored
The elderly woman took the two pieces of the hourglass in her hand. A faint, almost mellow smile appeared on her lips as she closed her fingers around the pieces of the hourglass. “I am in your debt, Azazel, young man.” She whispered as she clenched her fingers further. The muffled sound of something cracking sounded. Then, a fine dust flowed from between her fingers. The cool breeze caught the dust, carrying it away from the patio. The elderly woman smiled. “No, come back.” Her voice was calm, almost as if she was speaking to an old friend. “I’m right here.” The wind whirled, suddenly changed its direction, and blew the dust right back at her. She closed her eyes and smiled. Kyle braced himself for… something. “It’s alright now.” Her motherly voice reached his ears. “It feels good to be whole again.” She turned her gaze towards the sky. “It is a beautiful day, isn’t it?” Kyle disagreed. Dark clouds covered the sky. “It is good to have you back, Record Keeper.” Azazel bowed his
Chapter 271: The Hourglass
It was a misty morning and getting out of bed felt like a huge chore. He still dragged himself out of bed, albeit slowly, and staggered towards the hot spring. He paused in front of the mirror for a second. The bite marks on his neck were awfully visible. Vis had definitely taken some of her frustrations out of him last night.He let out a sigh and went to take a bath. She was rightfully upset, and he didn’t care about how he looked too much. He bathed, then got dressed and opened the door of his room, only to see Droigheann standing there, leaning against the wall.“I didn’t realise you’d come out.” Kyle said as he fixed his cloak and hair before the mirror.“You were asleep.” Droigheann explained with a faint smile. “You found the second half of the hourglass.” He stated with a hint of curiosity in his voice. Kyle nodded. “We did. We almost died for it too.” He shuddered. “I’m never going back to the Celestial Plane.”Droigheann laughed out loud. “That is indeed a good idea.” The De
Chapter 270: The Waking World
His eyes shot wide open, and he stared at the grey ceiling above him. A couple of moths were walking in rough circles. One of them tried to fly, only to continuously hit the ceiling afterwards.He blinked a few times as he tried to figure out where he was.“You’re awake!” A panicked voice reached his ears. “Rhealis, they’re back!” It took him a moment to recognise Vis’ voice. A cold hand pressed against his forehead as he slowly began to notice the numbness around his right arm. There was a mild pain too.Footsteps approached as Kyle tilted his head to look at Vis. “Did something happen while we were gone?” He asked with a crusty voice. He licked his dry lips. He could use some water right now.“Your arm got charred!” Vis hissed wide eyed. Was she angry? “And the Fallen Angel’s wings started bleeding!”“Indeed,” Rhealis approached them with a glass of water in her hand. She helped Kyle sit upright, then gave him the glass. He drank it without hesitation. The water passing through his
Chapter 269: The Wasteyard of Heaven
Azazel led him through the distorted landscape in a hurry. “They can’t see as well here.” The Fallen Angel explained as soon as they walked through a cathedral door and fell upwards. Kyle hit the ceiling with a muffled thud. A thick, soft carpet had broken his fall.He moaned with pain still. Constantly falling somewhere was slowly taking its toll on him. His back couldn’t take many more falls. “Why?” He asked as he sat upright and rubbed his sides.Azazel flew up and closed the cathedral’s door. “Because of the distortions. They don’t see things as you do. They see what something is, can be, and was.” The Fallen Angel hesitated upon seeing Kyle’s confused expression. “You don’t understand, do you?”Kyle shook his head. “Nope.”Azazel’s shoulders dropped with disappointment. “When you see something,” The Angel said, speaking slower th
