Chapter 4: Chapter 4: A New Beginning

Over the past millennia, the lich had slaughtered thousands of cultivators, from mere Peasants and Scholars that could hardly resist zombies' claws to the aloof Viscounts and Earls that ruled over the various Sects that dotted the land. 

None could resist the immortal armies' advance, and with every fallen Sect, thousands would join the ranks of the dead to serve their new overlord.

Kieran had watched the lich eliminate the Sects without raising his hand. Even cultivators of the Earl rank struggled against his captains.  

The lich's conquest was relentless, but all tyrants meet their fateful end, especially the reckless ones. 

On one fateful morning, the lich attacked a Sect by the name of The Rising Dawn; it resided upon the most breathtaking mountain ridge beside the boundless sea. 

The endless horde slaughtered disciples, trampled farms, and torched estates, which earned the ire of the ruler of the mountain, one that resided within the infamous Marquess realm, second only to the Dukes and Royals.

Despite his massive army, nothing can withstand overwhelming might. The Marquess of The Rising Dawn floated in the air with the arrogance of a ruler. His perfectly tailored black suit contrasted with his enraged face, "Vile Manastrocity that seeks only destruction, I shall purge you here and now, or the heavens can forever shun my soul from the gates!"

And he fucking meant it.

Despite the lich's overwhelming power, magical knowledge and schemes, he was mere bones before the might of a Marquess.

The Marquess obliterated the army of cannon fodder in one fell swoop, and after a hard-fought battle, the Marquess barely managed to destroy the lich, but in the process, he sacrificed both his arms and half his cultivation.

The Rising Dawn survived the immortal army, and the Marquess returned to his Sect a hero.

Meanwhile, the vile creature the Marquess had purged awakened within that same stone room a few days later for the second time in his long life. His eyes burned brighter than usual, and within three years, he ascended to the peak of his power once more.

If Kieran learned one thing through this inheritance, it's that the greatest strength of a lich is the ability to resurrect. The Marquess was crippled, and the lich returned to The Rising Dawn's gates with a vengeance that few could squash.

The Rising Dawn would rise no more. 

 

***

 

The necropolis was abalze.

It was as if hell had descended on this mortal plane. Black clouds of soot and smoke engulfed the sky, with only the inferno below providing fleeting light.

The lich surveyed his necropolis of fire with a calm gaze. He knew after eight millennia that his life would finally come to an end. The surrounding Kingdoms had assembled their Royals and Dukes to rid the world of his regime.

The lich had hardly managed to contend with a Marquess cultivator. Hence, a gathering of over a hundred cultivators that surpassed that rank was enough to conquer an entire continent, and he was only a single, depressed and alone lich. How could he possibly compete? 

A man wearing a well-embellished tunic inlaid with golden thread and a bright red surcoat floated forward and levitated a mere few meters from the lich.

<Maximillian Avington>

<Royal Realm>

The system gave Kieran some surface details. Usually, it could only display the person's cultivation realm, but it also revealed their name, suggesting that even the system was aware of their feats.

"Any last words, vile creature?" Maximillian Avington stated in a flat voice.

The lich stood upon the balcony of his tower, his grey robes hung loosely over his bones, and he had his arms behind his back. His gaze never met the Royal before him. Instead, they looked to the horizon, where streaks of sunlight managed to sneak through the black clouds and illuminate the rolling hills below.

The lich answered after a while.

"I have no words to give."

The Royal was clearly impatient; his Qi began to circulate as a power that could shake the heavens themselves accumulated. "Before you are slain and forgotten in the sands of time, oh creature of darkness, what is thy name?"

As the wrath of a god descended upon the necropolis in the form of a glowing meteorite of pure Qi, parting the clouds as it fell, the lich looked to the sky as his end approached.

"My name... it has been so long I can no longer remember. I wonder, when was the last time someone heard my name? When was the last time I spoke to someone other than my immortal slaves that wordlessly obey?" 

The Royal grinned, "A fitting end for one such as yourself. Alone and forgotten."

The lich looked down at his feet; his robes waved around his undead form as the meteor descended. The world turned white as he uttered his final words.

"Oh, great being that resides within the stars, remember me, your eternal servant and conqueror of worlds. You who gifted me the power of unlife, don't forget me. I present my soul, knowledge, and experience to you so someone such as I can take the touch and continue what I could not."

He raised his head to the stars, and for the first time in the lich's life, he heard the voice of God.

<Inheritance Registered.>

And then the world went white.

<Race Lich: Extinct>

 

***

 

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<Unknown Inheritance Download Complete.>

<Recalibrating...>

Kieran's soul reawakened within the coffin of grey stone. He just lay there and stared at the floating text within his mind. "Unknown." Kieran stared at those words, and emotion washed over him, "It wasn't until your final moments that I realised I never even knew your name." 

Kieran paused to calm his thoughts. 

"The world may not remember you, but the many millennia I spent watching you was not in vain. You taught me magic, reinvented the magic system for liches and even managed to create the world's first resurrection spell. But more importantly, you showed me life experience, something that cannot be quantified but is worth more than anything."

"And for that, I thank you, teacher. I shall continue your legacy."

<Status updated...>

{Main Quest}

{Description: The System has granted you a unique opportunity, and it expects great things! Once this quest is complete, the host will be free from further system obligations. Astra has remained at the same civilisation level for ten thousand years. Your job as a system representative is to further this world's civilisation.}

{Current progress: 0%}

{Time limit: 50 years}

{Failure will result in the destruction of the host's soul.}

Kieran waved away the red box and glanced at his status page.

[Name: Victor de koschei noctus]

[Race: Lich]

[Position: Deceased Grand Elder of the Noctus sect (350 years ago)]

[Cultivation: Peasant (0/100)]

[Spiritual roots: None]

[Dao: None]

It looked the same apart from the change in the number of years his body had been supposedly dead. What drew his attention was the glowing golden button:

[Magic: UNLOCK]

Without hesitation, he clicked it.

<Magical body detected, evaluating...>

[Race: Lich]

// Mana Pool: Extremely Small //

// Magic Circles: 0 //

[Head] // Spell Visulization: 0/29 //

[Spine] // Spell Restraints: 0/26 //

[Hands] // Spell Formation: 0/64 //

[Chest] // Mana Pool: 0/25 //

[Legs] // Casting Speed: 0/60 //

<Magical knowledge detected, evaluating...>

// Theoretical Knowledge: Extremely High //

// Practical Knowledge: None //

Kieran felt a rush of mana surround his soul, and he could finally feel his body. It was cold, but Kieran couldn't even remember what being human felt like anymore; it had been so long, but now he had his own body. No longer was he a mere spectator.

He clenched his skeletal hand, and it scraped against the stone coffin.

It was finally time to begin his story.

He pushed up with his hand, and the coffin's lid fell to the side.

He was finally free.

---

Prologue End

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