Beginning Of The End

Lucius had a small problem.

It was the prime reason he was summoned in the first place, and in a sense it had been helpful in giving him the push he needed to revive the Cult Members and have new subordinates that could protect him.

However, he could see this very thing becoming a nuisance to him in the future.

That problem was the collective souls of the thousand virgins.

'Not only is it an invasion of privacy that they're able to influence my thoughts and emotions, since they're inside me, but I don't feel comfortable with their nagging…' 

So far, he had acted in accordance with the best wishes of the Cult, but what if he did something that wasn't in their best interest? 

Didn't that mean these Souls would trouble him without end?

'I don't want that!'

And that was why he decided to get rid of them.

Of course, he wasn't just going to extinguish them, even though he felt like he could do that if he wanted. Taking that route would not only be a waste, but it would also be stupid of him, considering how much he didn't know about Souls or the Cult in general.

Extinguishing them could even mean he would cease to exist as Lord Mors, since the virgin Souls were the catalyst behind his summong.

'Instead, I will transfer them into a vessel.' Lucius smiled, looking at the dead Knight that lay at his feet. 'I don't know if this will work, but it should.'

His outstretched hand pulsated with power, and he felt the thousand souls rise from within his belly. They rose to his chest area, causing darkness to begin circling that area.

The way the souls danced in his chest felt like a heartbeat—racing and pulsating rapidly.

However, he ignored the distractions.

"Go forth." He said in a small whisper.

~WHOOSH!~

Instantly, almost like a bullet made of powerful darkness, the cluster of souls rushed towards the targeted host. They invaded the corpse from the gaping wound in its chest, instantly plunging the whole body in murky darkness.

The corpse began to convulse, devoured entirely by darkness.

Lili watched in glee, and the soldier behind her appeared frightened by the unnatural sight. The rest of his loyal followers watched on in silence, perfectly still.

Then—

~SHUUUUU!~

A soft hiss permeated the air, and the darkness solidified around the knight.

"Rise up."

It hearkened to Lucius' command, slowly ascending from the blackened ground. As it did so, its tall body and muscular physique created a shadow that covered everything around it.

"Haa…" Steamy breaths escaped its lips as it exhaled, and its blackened eyes had a glow of deep scarlet within its seemingly vacant abyss.

With sophisticated dark armor clinging strongly to its body, and its much larger build than everyone present, it felt more like a figure of terror than anything else in the room. The black mist around it slowly began to settle as it fell on one knee and saluted Lucius the same way a Knight would.

"Lord Mors… this most Loyal Knight swears undying loyalty to you…" Despite saying this, it wasn't done with its words.

"Please bestow a name upon me."

'Ahh…' As Lucius heard this, he realized what was happening.

Unlike the other Undead that he raised, this one was different in nearly every way. Not only was it created using a thousand Souls, but those Souls had to possess a body that wasn't naturally theirs; creating this abomination of nature.

—A Death Knight.

'It doesn't have an identity of its own, so it's just the collective will of the thousand virgins.'

Lucius smiled, already deciding on the perfect name for it.

"Legion." He spoke. "That is your name."

As the Knight heard this, it fell on both knees and prostrated itself before its one and only Lord.

"Legion… Legion will serve you forever, Lord Mors!"

'So it speaks in the first person, huh? How amusing…' Lucius' smile turned wry, suddenly feeling a wave of dizziness hit him.

He hadn't felt this weak in his new body until now.

'W-what? Why did I just feel that way?' He stumbled and took a few steps back, holding onto his head while his face remained calm.

The weakness intensified.

For a moment, fear arose within him and a question popped into his head.

'Am I going to disappear?!'

By releasing the thousand souls into another body, had he unintentionally sealed his fate and undone his summoning? He hadn't thought of that consequence before taking action, since he simply wanted to get rid of the invasive presence of the souls… but now that he was feeling his consciousness slip away the thought appeared.

If that was indeed the case, then he had made the most idiotic move!

'No…'

Despite the fading consciousness, though, he didn't feel any strong apprehension of death.

There was no phantom pain.

'A-ahh… I get it now.' He smiled to himself. 'It's not that I'm about to disappear. I just used up my energy.'

As the Lord of the Dead, Souls served as a source of his power.

The reason the soldiers didn't get revived was most likely because he had unknowingly consumed their Souls after killing them. He wasn't certain about it yet, but that was what his instincts told him.

He had used the Souls as a fuel source for reviving his fallen zealots as well as creating Legion, and now his tank was empty.

'Fuck…' Now closing his eyes, he felt his body descend to the ground. 

Moments later, it hit the cold surface.

Even then, Lucius felt no pain at all. He just felt the cool touch of the ground and the final embers of his consciousness slip away.

'... I'll leave the rest to you guys.'

**********

"L-LORD MORS!"

Nearly everyone present screamed at the same time once they witnessed their glorious king fall to the ground. The only ones who didn't react too outlandishly were Lili and Legion.

Even Luca screamed in concern—just because he felt like it was the appropriate thing to do as a member of the Heresy Cult and a follower of its teachings.

"He has run out of Soul Essence." Legion whispered, slowly rising as Lili approached the limp body of the Lord. "He used the last embers to bring us to life… such kindness…"

"Indeed." Lili smiled. "That's just the kind of person He is."

The other Undead watched with concern as she wrapped her arms around his sleeping form and embraced him. 

No one said a thing.

Only their leader was allowed to touch the Lord in such a way—as evident by their obviously close relationship.

"Now that Lord Mors is on our side and has defeated our pursuers, our immediate problems have been resolved." She spoke, turning to everyone in the room. "To prove our usefulness and eternal devotion to Him, we must not be idle."

Everyone nodded in instant agreement.

"Legion, you will take Lord Mors to His resting quarters. The ten survivors must nearly be done with the preparations."

"Understood."

"The rest of you will clean up this mess and repair the building. I believe you still know how."

"Yes."

They still had their memories and egos intact thanks to the power of Lord Mors.

"I will have to take a small look around the premises and establish a cloaking barrier to serve as a temporary solution to our much bigger problems. Afterward, I'll join you in the Lord's quarters." 

"Understood." Legion said, already carrying the body of his Lord on his sturdy shoulders. "What about him?" 

All eyes fell on the oddball in the room—Luca.

"Y-yeah… what about me?" Luca asked, pointing at himself as he gulped.

The piercing gazes of everyone was frightening, forcing him to break into cold sweats. He could feel shivers down to his bones, his innocent face begging for mercy.

"He will come with me on patrol." Lili said with a soft sigh. "Lord Mors spared his life, so he is one of us."

"Really now?" Legion narrowed his gaze on the scrawny soldier.

"You disagree?"

"How could I?" He replied almost instantly. "I just find it difficult to understand the Lord's rationale behind the decision."

Lili chuckled.

"Well… I can make a few guesses."

Everyone turned to her almost immediately, their eyes shining with curiosity.

"This soldier works for Geralt, that bastard. I'm sure he has valuable information about him and can be used in numerous ways that will advance our cause moving forward."

"Ohhhhh!" Everyone gasped in surprise mixed with admiration. 

"Indeed! Our Lord Mors is thinking about our benefit and already plans to begin fulfilling our prayers to him."

"Ahhhhh!" They all gasped again.

All of them looked in the direction of their sleeping Lord, admiration present in their teary eyes—though it wasn't possible for them to cry.

"All hail Lord Mors!"

"Hail!"

"Hail!"

"Hail!"

Luca fell to his knees, banging his head on the ground, as he joined them in hailing.

As always, he would do anything to survive.

"In any case… what is your name, newbie?" Lili turned to the boy and asked, right as the cheers were dying out.

"A-ah… it's Luca!" He replied.

"I see." She smiled. "Welcome to the Heresy Cult."

"T-thank you. I am in you care."

Despite how averse he initially was to the atmosphere, Luca was slowly finding warmth in the place. These were definitely not ordinary people, and he was surely out of place among them, but he felt like he would survive.

"Hehe! Look at the little sport." Legion chuckled with his especially deep voice.

"Go easy on him. He's still new." Lili smiled. "He'll need more meat on his bones so he can be useful to Lord Mors, though."

"H-HEY!" The Undead protested almost instantly. 

After all, they were skinny, albeit tall.

"Ah… sorry." Lili apologized with a small laugh, and in no time at all… they all began to laugh.

This was an amazing day for everyone, after all.

The great Lord of the Dead had been born into the world of the living, and three of his future Nine Heretic Vassals were present in the room.

Here… in this small and crumbling building… marked the beginning of the end.

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[A/N]

Thanks for reading!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and it seems we have hit the 10 chapter mark. If you wish to continue… then I'm glad the story has your interest.

More adventures will come, and even greater moments will be shown.

The future is certainly dark.