Chapter 7: Chapter 7: Inner Turmoil

“Then let us begin. You will likely still rely on mana to fuel your magic. However, with time, you will learn to master death and use it instead. Speaking of, we already have the perfect source to use for your new power.”

From Alterum’s body came out several dark, misty tendrils. Each one wrapped around the fresh corpses of Emil’s teammates. Every body was covered and completely absorbed. The tendrils then all wrapped around Emil, surrounding him. They closed in on him, and he felt their icy power seep into his flesh. Then, a slew of system notifications popped up in front of him.

System update!
Mage class removed!
Class abilities removed!
Rank removed!
Class added: Necromancer
New class abilities added!
Rank added: Fully Mortal
Mana level max updated: 120→200
Grade updated: C+→B-

This was the first time his Sheet had appeared on its own like this. He only had a few seconds to look at it, however, before it disappeared again. But that had been enough time for him to see how much it changed.

The dark tendrils then began to slowly dissipate. The bodies were now all gone without a single trace, as though they had never existed. Emil himself felt strange, there was a jitteriness in his fingers and toes. A wave of vertigo suddenly hit him, and he fell to his knees as the world seemingly turned sideways. He clasped one hand against his mouth, doing his best to hold back the urge to throw up.

“Good, your body is fairing better than I had expected. I must give you a little credit. I had assumed that the power would cause you to faint, but I am pleased to see that you have the will to remain conscious. However, it still may take you a day or two to adjust. But once that is done, you shall be able to utilize these abilities and develop them. When you leave this place, always remember that I shall always be watching. Should you try to go against our agreement, I shall know. And I will ensure that you experience a fate so cruel, you would have preferred I killed you here instead.”

With that threat made, the light faded from the dragon’s sockets. The arcane power that held its bones together disappeared, and its skeleton fell back onto the ground. The stone slabs covering the entrance fell apart, opening the way back up.

When Emil’s stomach finally felt calm again, he made himself stand back up. There was a metallic taste in his mouth, but he tried to forcefully swallow it down. He walked to the passageway. Before, it had been completely dark. Now, however, he was able to see perfectly even without any lights. But when he went a few steps inside, he had to lean against the wall for support.

Tears began to stream down Emil’s face, as his mind caught up with the reality of what just happened. Less than an hour ago, he had been just a normal student trying to find a magical relic. Now fourteen innocent people were dead.

‘What am I supposed to do now, how could I just go back and lie about what happened? Even if I made something up and everyone else believed me, even if…’ His thoughts spiraled into an incoherent mess, unable to think anymore. Emil sat down on the floor, his arms wrapped around his knees. He dug his face into one elbow. And in the empty passageway, there were only his muffled sobs that could be heard.

But he could not wallow in his own misery and cry forever. Eventually, the tears dried up. Emil had once believed that he was desperate enough to try enough to improve his potential as a Mage. Now he had that power, though it had not been the kind he sought, it was power nonetheless. With shaky legs and one hand against the wall, he stood up once more.

“I didn’t have a choice, I don’t want to die. I didn’t have a choice, I don’t want to die.” He repeatedly mumbled the phrase aloud, his voice barely more than a whisper. Step by step, he slowly moved forward. Emil felt equal parts a victim of the dragon’s game, and an accomplice to his group’s deaths.

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He tried to convince himself that it wasn’t his fault. That they had all tried to survive just as much as him. It had just been by sheer luck that he was the one who got picked to be the sole survivor. If someone else had been chosen, wouldn’t they also have accepted the dragon’s offer so they could save themself? It was too late to go back and change the past. The fact that it was him who received this power would now be a permanent fact.

But what would he do now? Simply go back to Fire Light Academy and pretend to be a normal student again? Alterum had said that it would always be watching him, and Emil believed that would be true. Even now, he could still feel the dragon’s cold gaze piercing through his soul.

He didn’t know what exactly his new undead master had meant, when it promised a fate worse than death if he went back on their agreement. But since it was a being that even the gods feared, he hoped he would never know. However, if he truly never wanted it to make good on that threat, he would need to follow its command. Which meant using these new abilities to prepare the kingdom it sought and become powerful enough to one day free the monstrosity.

But if he succeeded in that side of his contract, then he hoped that being a powerful undead meant true immortality. Otherside, he knew that the gods of the afterlife would give him the cruelest of punishments. They might already, if they judged him harshly for even accepting these new abilities as a Necromancer. Emil let himself no longer rely on the wall, and walked on his own.

‘That’s right, my soul has practically already been damned, hasn’t it? Would anything I say or do now grant me forgiveness and mercy?’ A morbid thought crossed his mind. If he was already doomed, then why not go all in? To simply use this death magic to kill and build a kingdom of undeath.

He shook his head, trying to force it out of his mind. Emil was still a human, he was still a person. Even if he was found guilty and punished after death, he couldn’t so easily let go of his humanity. Only a monster would find it easy to give in and stop caring.

‘But… there’s not a humanitarian way to do what Alterum wants. So I have to become a monster anyway, right?.’ Was that not his destiny now, to eventually become undead? When that happened, nobody would hesitate to hunt him down with the intent to destroy him. So if he gained more power by killing them first…

Back and forth, Emil’s thoughts wrestled against each other. They were chaotic a chaotic mess, unable to stick to anything. He knew that he was in the moral wrong, to work with a being that would destroy the gods and mankind. But he also knew that he didn’t have a choice, and that the only alternative to fulfilling that mission was his own death. As Emil continued to travel back through the dungeon, the tug of war in his mind continued.

Emil had decently memorized the path they had taken on the way in. It took him a few hours, but he eventually made it back to the first main room his group had encountered. The stairs back up to the surface were right ahead of him. But he didn’t feel ready to climb them yet.

Emil went to lay down on the dusty ground. He had become utterly exhausted emotionally. Not to mention the physical exhaustion, from walking most of the day. He was tired, hungry, and thirsty. But right now, he craved nothing more than being able to get some sleep.

Maybe if he was lucky, this would have proved to have been nothing more than a bad dream. And when he woke up, he will still be a normal student that had a regular life. However, as he closed his eyes and drifted off, Emil knew that wouldn’t be the case.

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