Chapter 1- Wild Lich and a New World

"On the continent of Arantia, an unusual group frantically circles the summit of Mount Intellia."

Widely known as one of the tallest Mountains in the continent, few have ever reached its peak. This is due to some of the harshest conditions in the world, including seemingly never-ending hordes of monsters and beasts, to the cutting icy wind that threatens any who come unprepared.

On top of this, there are few resources this high up the mountain that interest any sane person.

"Right there, damn it!" With a resounding smack, one of the hooded figures on this peak slaps the one to his right.

"How many times do I have to tell you? This formula needs to be PERFECT!" Almost screaming, the figure's outfit is noticeably distinct from those around him.

Pitch-black robes embroidered with what appears to be gold—the back of his robe features an oddly alluring rainbow Skull.

"Our Master shall be born again, no matter what it takes! I will tear down those damn kingdoms and burn all of them for their crimes against us!"

Ranting non-stop, the figure who seems to be leading the group watches over the creation of what seems to be an archaic magic circle. With unintelligible symbols scattered seemingly randomly about, four other figures frantically move around it, making slight adjustments to ensure their success.

"Okay, boss, once the Shard of Creation is placed, the ritual should begin automatically!"

Saying this, all four of the other hooded figures back away from the circle. Their robes were noticeably less decorated than their "boss'" but manufactured similarly.

"Good, today is the day that Lord Gladius shall rise again!"

Once again yelling out, the Boss pulls an odd shard out of his robes. Appearing to be a piece of glass, this shard reflects a different color depending on the angle which you view it.

Slowly walking towards the circle's center, he gently places the shard into a designated spot. Backing up rapidly, he grins widely, his grotesque teeth clearly visible. Or the lack thereof, seemingly having more missing teeth than those that remain. And the remaining few are nearly black, clearly rotten from a lack of maintenance.

Before he could step out of the magic circle, however, the "Shard of Creation" began to let off multi-colored light wildly. The circle surrounding the shard gradually seemed to absorb this flashing light, the various symbols flashing with this rainbow light. Glowing with a dark light, they slowly release a dark, almost black miasma.

"Ha-Hahahaha! YES -COME BACK TO US MY LORD!" Laughing maniacally, the boss takes another step outside the circle as the shard begins to be dyed black by the miasma being released from the symbols.

"10 minutes left, boss." One of the figures to his left speaks out as they watch the circle intently.

"Finally, the day has come when our Lord shall regain his rightful place as-"

"THERE YOU ARE!" Suddenly, a booming voice cuts off the boss as a blinding white silhouette of a man floats up the side of the mountain.

"NO- STOP HIM!" Yelling out in fear, the five hooded figures turn around, facing the blinding light from their foe. "Charles, this is not your place! Leave now!" Nearly growling at him, the leader of the group raises his right hand towards the figure, a black cloud emanating from his fingertips and curling around his hand.

The cloud quickly condenses, seemingly liquifying and turning into a ball of black "water." Wordlessly releasing his attack, the ball transforms, pressurizing before firing toward the figure in the light.

Before the beam could reach the figure, however, it gradually evaporates as it attempts to cut through the light, not getting fair enough.

"Not good enough, Jack." Charles slowly responds, smiling as the beam dissipates. However, the blinding light makes it impossible to see.

"You and that damn skeleton will never rise again, humanity has come too far to be knocked down by you trash!" Immediately after saying this, Charles releases his attack; a beam of his own, though condensed out of his aura, a blinding white light.

As his beam moves at nearly imperceptible speed, it narrowly the group in front of him, as Jack swiftly tilts his head with inhuman reflexes.

Despite the beam seemingly being made out of light, it carries a gust of wind with it, knocking down the hoods of the group.

"Ugly as ever".

His body was much more visible due to his aura decreasing along with his attack, Charles' smirk is evident, though disgust is apparent in his eyes as he watches the group in front of him.

"Hahaha! Charles, do you think your light is that powerful? You can't even hit me anymore!" Proud of his dodge, "Jack" and his group don't raise their hoods back up.

With little to no hair, sickly pale skin with blisters across their cheeks, and scars plentiful along their scalps, the groups' iris' are a pale green, seemingly glowing at random intervals.

"You won't be leaving here." With his disgusting grin back on his face, Jacks' skin stretches, revealing the hole that pokes through his cheek, showing the dark cavity that was his mouth.

"Are you sure about that?" Charles maintains his grin, and Jack notices his fixation on the magic circle behind him. Briefly turning around, Jacks' eyes widen in terror, then are filled with rage as he notices Charles' actual target.

The Shard of Creation, oddly bolstered by the beam of light, is no longer letting off a rainbow light. Instead, the light is pure white, decimating the black miasma around it. Unbeknownst to any of them, the light also carries a destructive property, secretly erasing or changing the symbols of the array around it.

"NO- NO THIS CAN'T BE! DAMN YOU CHARLES!" Screaming in a rage, Jack turns around, releasing all the magic he can muster. His body slowly becomes more and more emaciated as he gathers a ton of the black cloud around his body.

Firing off the mass of darkness towards Charles, Jack lets out a single, silent tear as his body falls backward, unable to support its own weight. Labored, raspy breaths come from his mouth as he stares into the blue sky.

As their boss falls, the four skeleton-like men around him follow suit, forcing out all of their magic in a last-ditch attempt to kill Charles.

Watching all four of them hitting the ground like Jack, Charles lets out a light chuckle, slowly walking towards the now-blindingly white magic circle. As he reaches the center, the light seems to avoid him, not damaging him.

Reaching out with a triumphant grin, Charles wraps his hand around the shard, attempting to pull it out. Struggling to do so, he begins to use more and more force, the shard wobbling unsteadily the harder he pulls.

Right before pulling for the last time, Charles frowns, looking down at his body before his eyes widen in terror.

"Oh shi-"

BOOOOOOOOM

A blinding mix of light and darkness suddenly releases from the Shard in Charles' hand, shooting towards the sky while decimating the surrounding area.

The explosion could be seen from three different kingdoms around the mountain, shocking and scaring their inhabitants. As the dust settled around the mountain top, the beam gradually reduced back down into the shard, a light blue mass seeming caught inside.

Without a magic circle to guide this blue mass properly, it swiftly plummets through the solid rock of the mountain before reaching a large cave filled with white eggs. Slowly probing an egg with its "body" the blue mass seems to hesitate before shoving itself inside.

"Hmm? W-what is this?"

After a short while, the egg begins to shake, moving around erratically before a crack forms down the middle. Opening up all at once, a light blue insect pops out onto the hard cave floor.

Six legs, two antennae, a set of mandibles, and a three-segmented body. Oddly sky blue, the relatively small and slowly looks around itself, noticing many other intact eggs.

"W-where am I?" Attempting to examine his unfamiliar-feeling body, Jared notices his two front legs. He would have screamed, though his current body made that impossible.

"I- I'M AN ANT?!"