Rise of the Supreme Necromancer-Chapter 53: The Master of All

"Please, Salia," Danit begged again. "There are so many other people who need you, too! The maids, the servants, the citizens... They are scared, but if you show them that things are alright... They will get better! And life will get better for them."

"Fine," Salia said at last. "I agree. But only if not a SINGLE undead abomination approaches my children, you understand. Even you!"

"But William was just asking about me—"

"Even you!"

"Very well, wife. But you will know better and change your mind, I’m sure. I’m sure!"

***

While this marital argument was going on, Aleric walked down into Castle Arstain’s lowest parts: the dungeons.

A lot of them were just cellars, but another part held cells for prisoners: simple stone boxes, one wall of which was an iron grate with a door. All of them were currently packed with captured militiamen. Previously, one also held several prisoners of Count Arstain, but all of them have already sacrificed for Dark energy. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

When Aleric and an undead jailer walked past the cells with militiamen, they moved away from him, huddling in the farthest part of the cell in fear.

But Aleric walked past them all.

"We put Chaplain in the cell down below, separate from all that rabble," the jailer said, leading Aleric even deeper.

Ahead, he felt Dark energy in the air.

"I thought all the cells were up here. What’s down there?" he asked the jailer.

"Looks like solitary cells. I don’t know more, master. I’ve only been working here for a day, after all. The old jailer ran away, I was told. I’m from Tronvill."

"Ah, I see."

The lowest floor only had five cells. The darkness was so impenetrable that even Aleric couldn’t see anything without a candle he took from the upper floor.

Powerful Dark energy was coming from these cells. From one of them, a sound of muttered prayer was heard.

"...the darkest night, thou will find me, the divine Light..."

"Open the cell," Aleric ordered the jailer, putting the candle into a holder on a wall.

Instead, he pulled out a dagger.

Chaplain Lodimar was still praying even when this dagger cut his stomach. Even his soul was praying...

But after being raised as an undead servant and understanding his new position in life, Lodimar finally went quiet and bowed to his new master.

"Chaplain Lodimar," Aleric announced. "Clean up, get a new robe, and return to your parishioners. From now on, you will manage the Oakdale’s Temple and priests as before, but instead of the Church of Light, answer only to me. For ordinary people, life should continue just as normal. With only a few small changes..."

Lodimar waved on his feet, looking really unsure.

"Yes, master... But how can I guide my priests and parishioners now? How can a creature of the Dark, like myself, pray to Light? How can I be a Chaplain without faith?"

Aleric scratched his cheek.

’Is this such a problem for him? It wasn’t a problem for Samuel... Or was it? When I first raised him, he was less emotional than nowadays. And he didn’t call me "Supreme Necromancer"... Oh, I understand now.’

Aleric smiled and stood taller. In his eyes was blazing new fire—not just determination to survive, but self-assurance.

To Lodimar, Aleric suddenly looked not like merely HIS master, but... Like the master of all!

"Don’t pray to Light, Lodimar. From now one, I am your god, and you will devote yourself only to me!"

***

Lodimar slowly bowed his head... Then went on his knees.

Aleric’s words gave him clarity.

Light didn’t answer prayers. Light didn’t grant salvation in life or in death.

But Dark did. Dark and Aleric, its wielder and messiah.

"I understand, Master Fenn! This is the truth I was blind to in life... But now, my eyes are open. I will teach the others what they were missing all this time!"

Aleric smiled, nodding. This was the enthusiasm he liked to hear! From someone whose job was to convince others, at least.

"From now on, I forbid any hatred of the Dark and undead in the prayers in your temple. Tell them instead that the Dark is just as good as the Light. They were taught that they would go to Light after death, but since when is the Light the domain of the dead? It’s the Dark, obviously! In life, they might still belong to Light, but they all will die eventually. And sooner than later, if they go against me."

Lodimar listened with rapt attention.

"I will do it all, Master Fenn! I will write the new holy book that will open the eyes of the living to what I see before myself! The glory of... Of... Of you!"

***

Lodimar left the dungeon to preach his new holy word, but Aleric was still curious about the lower level of the dungeons. He approached one of the empty cells.

At this moment, Spine Staff’s eyes flashed.

"Master... Can you sense it?"

"Light... Oh, I just want to see the light..." someone moaned quietly from inside the cell. But it wasn’t a sound heard by the ears. Instead, Aleric felt it just like he felt magic.

A person without a magical gift wouldn’t have noticed it.

"A soul bound to this place?" Aleric asked, approaching the cell.

"Huh? I know nothing about this cell, Master Fenn," the jailer said, but shushed at Aleric’s gesture and went to stand near a wall.

The door was already open, but the cell was empty.

"Curse... Curse on the entire Arstain bloodline..." the dead soul moaned again.

"Master, it’s a nascent ghost!" Spine Staff exclaimed. "Someone died in so much torment or sorrow that their soul couldn’t move on from the place of their death. If you bind it with your Dark energy, you can gain a powerful new servant. Ghosts can’t be harmed with ordinary weapons, while their own touch kills living with ease, no matter the armor they wear."

Aleric’s eyes widened.

"But how can I bind this ghost to just an item? You taught me yourself that you can’t just bind a soul to a body it doesn’t belong to unless I’m the "great" Xarvain himself. Unless I use a piece of jewelry, I suppose... But the stars I used for remnants of clerics’ souls earlier are too small for a full soul."

"You are thinking in the right direction, master. The artifact large enough to bind a soul has to be an item of much larger potential. You can make one, I’m sure. But... There are also other ways. Riskier ones, but faster."

Aleric smiled.

"This feels true for many other things, too. I’m listening, Staff."