His Mausoleum of Endless Dominion contained an enormous independent world. A world vast enough to sustain an entire civilization. With such a huge world, why not fill it with more undead?
Wasn't he at the perfect place in the entire universe to do that?
After all, under the influence of Death's Heir, the natives here were already no different from contracted servants in terms of obedience.
They wouldn't generate Evolution Points, but did that matter? Not really.
The Mausoleum possessed more than enough space. Food was unnecessary. Acmodation was unnecessary. Maintenance was practically nonexistent.
The undead themselves naturally absorbed energy from their surroundings. Keeping them alive required almost nothing.
Rather than allowing countless unique undead races to wander freely throughout the Netherworld, wouldn't it be more efficient to gradually relocate them into the Mausoleum? It would bee a true undead civilization. A living encyclopedia of the Netherworld's countless races.
Whether for research, experiments, military reserves, or future subordinates, there were simply too many advantages.
Of course, Michael had no intention of wasting time actively hunting down every undead he encountered. That would be ridiculous. His current priorities were still the Demigod's resurrection and his own cultivation.
However, if he happened to encounter an interesting undead, or any undead at all, during his travels, there was virtually no cost to taking it with him.
Michael's gaze returned to the stone platform at the centre of the settlement.
"What do these flames do?"
The Skeleton Chief followed his line of sight. Without another word, she rose to her feet. Although Michael's authority still rested upon her, the crushing pressure had diminished enough for her to move normally.
The surrounding skeletons instinctively stepped aside, creating a path toward the centre of the settlement.
Clack.
Clack.
Clack.
As they approached, Michael could feel the dense fluctuations of energy being increasingly concentrated. The pale-blue flames burned silently within a circular pit nearly ten metres across. Skeletons continuously approached from every direction carrying rough black crystals before tossing them into the fire.
The moment each crystal entered the flames, it dissolved into pure streams of energy that spread throughout the surrounding area.
Michael stopped beside the platform.
"So, what exactly is this?"
The skeleton chief then went on to explain that the pale-blue flames burning at the platform's center were a survival mechanism for her. Her soul, having merged with the skeleton body, had begun adapting to the Netherworld out of necessity, but adaptation carried a cost.
The longer she remained, the more the environment rewrote her, gradually converting what had once been a human soul into something native to the realm of the dead.
Left unchecked, the process would eventually run its course entirely, leaving her memories and personality intact while hollowing out the foundation beneath them.
The flames slowed that erosion. By harvesting the Netherworld's abundant dark crystals and refining their condensed death essence through the platform, she stripped away most of the environment's natural imprint before allowing the energy to nourish and purify her soul.
Without it, she would have fully transformed years ago and bee indistinguishable from any naturally born undead creature of the Netherworld. Every crystal the platform consumed bought her a little more time as the person she had once been.
Michael looked down at the dancing flames.
"Interesting."
Now he seemed to understand why she had bee a monster, and one with a high grade at that.
With a thought, he activated Detect. A translucent panel appeared before him.
[Soul Preservation Flame]
[Grade]: Extraordinary ★★★
[Description]: An artificially formed spiritual flame capable of refining dark and light-element energy to nourish and purify the soul.
"…A Three-Star Extraordinary treasure."
His gaze lingered on the pale-blue flames dancing within the circular pit. It seems he had actually underestimated this little settlement. A Three-Star Extraordinary treasure like this was no ordinary object.
This flame possessed exactly the type of soul-nourishing properties required for resurrection rituals. Unfortunately, its power was simply too low even if its grade was higher.
If it were allowed to mature for another hundred, perhaps two hundred years, then, with one or two additional treasures of parable quality, it might actually bee sufficient to revive a Demigod.
To think such a remote skeleton settlement possessed a treasure with that much potential.
Of course, potential remained only potential. At present, the Soul Preservation Flame was still far too weak for the ritual Michael intended to perform.
Yet weak did not mean useless. A Three-Star Extraordinary treasure was still a Three-Star Extraordinary treasure. Even if it could not bee the primary material, it could certainly bee an auxiliary one.
Or perhaps…
Michael's eyes narrowed slightly.
Can Infinite Evolution do something with this?
The thought surfaced almost instinctively.
Michael quickly suppressed the temptation.
"I can experiment later after leaving the Netherworld. I wonder if I can use it on that incense too."
Michael turned toward the Skeleton Chief.
"I'm taking it."
She bowed her head without hesitation.
"As you mand."
There wasn't the slightest trace of reluctance. The flame had preserved her life for decades. Yet under Death's Heir, she couldn't even refuse Michael.
Michael nodded.
"Good."
His consciousness immediately connected to the Mausoleum and fixated at once on one of its dark-element-rich regions. Soon, an enormous circular pit nearly fifteen metres across gradually formed.
Only after confirming the environment was suitable did he withdraw his consciousness. The preparations were plete.
Michael looked toward the Skeleton Chief.
"e with me."
She silently followed. The two walked away from the settlement while countless skeletons watched respectfully from behind.
Only after they had reached an open plain several hundred metres away did Michael stop.
He slowly crouched. His right palm rested against the black earth. Mana surged. At the same time, a faint yellow glow spread beneath his feet.
Earth-element mana. Although necromancy remained his specialty, Michael had never neglected the other elements he possessed, and even if his class did suppress them, his affinity was still higher than most.
Rumble.
The ground beneath the settlement began to tremble.
The Skeleton Chief instinctively turned around. Her violet soul flames widened.
The circular platform supporting the Soul Preservation Flame slowly separated from the surrounding earth. Cracks spread outward in every direction. Chunks of black stone detached. Entire sections of the foundation rose together as though an invisible giant had reached beneath the settlement.
Rumble!
The vibration intensified. A massive disk of earth nearly twenty metres in diameter gradually lifted into the air.
The skeletons throughout the settlement looked upward and simply watched their most sacred platform float toward the heavens.
Michael slowly raised his hand, and the enormous mass of earth ascended steadily until it hovered dozens of metres above the settlement. Even after lifting something weighing thousands of tons, Michael's breathing remained perfectly steady.
The floating platform slowly drifted toward him. The pale-blue Soul Preservation Flame continued burning undisturbed at its centre, as though nothing unusual was happening.
The Skeleton Chief stared at the spectacle in silence as she watched her most prized treasure being stolen right before her empty sockets.
"…"
Watching Michael do it so effortlessly, the difference between them became even clearer.
Finally, the floating platform came to a halt directly before Michael.
He slowly extended his other hand. Space rippled. A circular portal silently unfolded beside the hovering platform. Beyond it lay the vast dark landscape of the Mausoleum.
Without the slightest hesitation, Michael gently guided the entire section of earth through the portal. The moment it entered, the prepared pit within the Mausoleum weled it perfectly. The massive platform descended smoothly into place.
Michael smiled faintly.
"…Much better."
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