The dead leaves crackled under Seth's feet. Passing through the bare branches of nearby trees, the crimson light of the Necromoon tinted the world with a bloody hue. Despite his soul being half-corrupted, this sight only elicited disgust from the necromancer. The putrid sll emanating from the advanced decomposition of nearby corrupted beings further insulted his senses.
He skirted around the reanimated corpse of a giant wolf, continuing his path, indifferent to the motionless necro elites awaiting their orders. The Necromoon's army was highly hierarchical, and even Tier 2s couldn't ignore the commands of a Tier 3. A Tier 3 he had long prepared to et.
His superior's lair was as terrifying as it was labyrinthine, but the gradual saturation of the ambient aether by the Necro Concept confird to Seth that he was on the right track. Finally, he caught sight of a towering Tal Quercus amidst a forest of dead trunks. In an attempt to protect the surrounding forest, the colossus had absorbed much of the Necromoon's curse. A futile and vain decision: its descendants had quickly joined it in death, and the valley had beco the base of the corrupted.
Seth slipped into the hollow trunk through a crack and entered a room with gray wooden walls. In the center, a concentrated crimson beam struck an amber tank. The Necro Envoy floated in a bloody liquid, purging her wounds of harmful influences. As long as they were present, the Concepts and Auras of the Tier 3s actively fought against her vitality.
Seeing her head still separated from her body, Seth concealed a smile.
"You claim to have information about your so-called rivals?"
The voice of the Necro Envoy resonated directly in Seth's head, demonstrating exceptional mastery of the aether and keen knowledge of the soul.
"I was able to speak with the First and analyze his behavior," Seth responded aloud. He was perfectly capable of responding ntally but saw no point in arousing his superior's interest.
"And I have the mories of the forr owner of this body. I hope for your sake that you are not wasting my ti..."
Threats were a tool that had to be wielded carefully. Due to their power, a Tier 3 Marquess was naturally threatening. Seth perceived his superior's words as an admission of weakness.
"I have seen the elites you are gathering here in hopes of wiping Oasis. It's a bad idea."
"You are quite impertinent for a Tier 0. Very well, entertain : why should I give up on these attacks?"
"You will give Sun Points and experience to the First. If the giant Necro hasn't killed him, nothing will."
"His loved ones will die."
"Which will only strengthen his hatred against you. You would beco his main target."
The Necro Envoy raised an eyebrow. "Am I not already?"
"You have seen the mark staining his soul as I have. It is recent and carries a... divine scent."
The servants of the Necromoon all possessed a special Talent: the ability to see souls. Useful for hunting the living, it truly shone in the hands of a necromancer like Seth. The mark covering Priam's soul was clearly visible to him.
"... Does this have anything to do with the Herald's task? Finding the beast preparing for Apotheosis?"
"I believe so. If we let him live, the First will lead us sooner or later to this monster."
"I see." The Necro Envoy remained silent for a few seconds before nodding. "I have just given new orders to my hordes; they will attack the tribes."
Seth noted that the Necro Envoy was decisive.
"And the Var Elegis?"
"The Herald will deal with him."
Seth widened his eyes slightly. If a Tier 3 Marquess refused to take revenge once her convalescence was complete, it ant she thought her chances of winning were uncertain.
"Is the potential of the Var Elegis greater than that of the First?"
"He has multiple bodies, technology superior to that of the hoplite who beat you, and leads a galactic empire. If you want to face an AGI enhanced by the System, running on quantum processors, and sponsored by a Tier 9, be my guest."
Seth remained silent. He only had to close his eyes to recall the hands of the Terminator separating his head from his body. Without his subli mastery of the soul, he would be dead, leaving Osiris behind in this terrible world.
"Dying once was enough for . But couldn’t you win if your body was restored and... enhanced?"
The Necro Envoy remained silent for a few monts before taking the bait. "My body is ravaged by draconic poison and nanobots. What can you do to change that?"
Seth simply took a seed from his pocket. Devoid of the System, the Necro Envoy analyzed it with her aether before deploying her Domain. The seed left Seth's hand and entered the tank to gather genetic information. A few seconds later, it germinated, absorbing the sap to grow. Taking on the shape of a fetus, it matured to the size of a full-grown woman.
Before the eyes of Seth, a younger and more powerful clone of Mirscella appeared. Inspired by Priam's race change and Jasmine's clone, Osiris had done a fantastic job. Modifying and improving the rituals, he had succeeded in cloning bodies, creating shells perfectly adapted to the soul of the original.
In a few years, his brother had succeeded in accomplishing the dream of the Duatian civilization. It was an Achievent that the System had deed Mythical.
The head of the Necro Envoy began to sink as her new body opened its eyes.
"Such vitality is amazing," smiled the corrupted after transferring her soul from one body to another.
"My brother is a miracle worker," confird Seth.
"Too bad he's not a servant of the Necromoon, but I guess that would diminish his affinity with life. I would like to et him."
"I fear that may be impossible."
A heavy aura fell upon Seth's shoulders, causing him to grimace. The Tier 3's soul was mighty.
"Your gift does not make you my equal. You will learn that my demands are orders," growled the Necro Envoy as her new body absorbed the vitalizing sap, and thus energy.
Despite the weight on his shoulders, Seth's second personality burst into laughter. The Necro Envoy was surprised by the reaction.
"Has resisting the influence of the Necromoon driven you mad?"
After a few seconds of silence, Seth smiled. "Tell her."
"Not yet," Seth replied to himself.
"Tell what?" asked the Necro Envoy.
"That you were foolish to transfer your soul into this body," Seth laughed despite himself.
The eyes of the Necro Envoy narrowed dangerously before widening. "I can't change bodies anymore!"
Seth clenched his jaw for a few monts before madness took over.
"I'm afraid [Homo Elysian Obsession] binds body and soul," cackled the necromancer.
His obvious split personality eventually disturbed the Necro Envoy.
"My analysis found nothing strange about this vessel!" she cried out. For a servant of the Necromoon, a modification of her soul was more terrifying than any physical injury.
"There's nothing wrong with this body, it even has a significant boost of vitality," said Seth, stalling for ti.
"My instinct told it was safe!"
"A Talent capable of manipulating instinct... The First has truly created sothing terrifying," Seth acknowledged as the Necro Envoy's body continued to absorb the vitalizing sap of the Tal Quercus. Already, the surplus vitality was surpassing her weak Constitution, causing tumors to appear rapidly. "And my brother turned it into a weapon."
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In a scream, the Necro Envoy broke the tank and leaped towards Seth. Summoning a spectral armor, the latter blocked, parried, and dodged physical and spiritual attacks. Faced with a superior opponent, he lost his first arm in less than a minute but did not despair. Cancer would soon take his opponent's body, and thus her soul. Osiris had prepared a trap from which not even a Tier 3 Marquess could escape.
"Your brother is a monster!" the Necro Envoy scread as her eyes beca blind. Even without the potent sap, the vessel's modified vitality was slowly consuming it. Osiris had even found a way to hinder Micro and its control over regeneration.
"He's an angel," Seth smiled before anger distorted his face. "And I am the demon who will dirty my hands in his place!"
His two personalities allied, and the necromancer continued to stall the Tier 3, proving that he deserved to be the First’s rival.
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