Chapter 15

Lewis stared at the dark elf in terror and astonishment. He had moved faster than his mind could perceive, his wounds closed due to self regeneration, and the miniature vines wriggled about searching for their corresponding parts. The elf stared at the phenomena in pure curiosity.

"What wonderful regeneration and plant control. Are you also a nymph? No, that's not possible, I can only sense human mana from you… and something sinister, something akin to me. I see though, I cannot take the seedling from your finger, because she belongs to you now. Yes, I see what I must do to gain this overwhelming power. I must kill you in order to transfer ownership to myself." The elf contemplated. He looked at Lewis, and once again, faster than Lewis could see, he was gripped by the neck in the elfs free hand. His glossy black eyes stared into Lewis's soul, nothing but a deep abyss existed within his eyes.

"I have been buried in this wasteland for well over two hundred thousand years, waiting for someone to release the hold that Yggdrasil's seedling held over this place. I suppose in thanks, I shall kill you swiftly, and painlessly, consider it my mercy." The man's voice was raspy and dry, like sand blowing across a desolate desert in a dry wind. His hand tightened around Lewis's neck, the vines thickened in the spot to prevent the oncoming death. His right arm was within reach of the miniature vines, they reached out towards each other, connecting. The man was oblivious, his sole intent on crushing Lewis's neck, it wasn't until the arm he held was ripped from his hand and the lance was thrust through his head that he realized what was going on. He dropped Lewis and Lewis jumped backwards, coughing and sucking air back into his lungs. Lewis left the lance in the elf's head, naively believing that the elf was dead. 

"How full of surprises you are! As I stood there distracted with killing you, even in that moment, you found an opportunity to strike! Your tenacity is remarkable, but pointless. Nevertheless, I commend you for such a feat." The elf stood up and ripped the lance out with a sickening sucking sound. The elf threw the lance far away, but not so far as to be completely out of sight.

"He's become a greater Lich, his hatred and resentment had plenty of time to marinate and absorb the malice from the other souls that lingered. Absorbing all of that undead life energy must have restored his original appearance to this point. I can lend you my power, but it comes with a severe price." The nymph quickly explained. Lewis stared at the Lich for a moment.

[Elvedrin Violeur(Greater Lich)

Age: 201,608

Rating: 317

STR: 307  CHA: 50

DEX: 502  MAG: 526

INT: 483  CON: 34]

"Why is a B-Class boss monster in a D-Class dungeon?" Lewis asked nobody.

"Human, you need to answer me! Do you want to use my power?" The nymph shouted a little louder.

"Not right now. I need to get us away from this creature. First, I need to get my lance." Lewis slowly backed up towards the lance, keeping his eyes on the Lich. The Lich smiled and Lewis felt an impact on his left side that flung him away from the path to his weapon. He splashed into the water and sank a few feet below the surface. Lewis struggled upwards and pulled himself to the surface with a gasp. The Lich stood above him, waiting, he reached down and pulled Lewis out of the water and punched him directly in the gut. Luckily, the vines took a majority of the impact, so Lewis only suffered from having his air expelled from his lungs. The Lich threw him once again, now simply toying with Lewis, enjoying the first victim of his aggression.

"Struggle, struggle. It's truly all you can do. But the more you struggle, the more fun I have. Perhaps we can do this for all eternity!" The Lich laughed. Lewis had landed, and something pierced through his vine armor, into and through his side, piercing his intestines. Lewis sat up with difficulty and grabbed the object, it had a handle and Lewis looked down. It was a single edged blade that had pierced through, the black blade of the undead knight. Lewis gripped the handle and yanked the blade out, he felt a tad bit more confident with a sword than a lance.

"Human, I advise you to just run away. You do not have the power to defeat him right now." The nymph advised Lewis.

"My name is Lewis, if you can call me that instead, I'd be grateful." Lewis replied as he stood up.

"Lewis… are you telling me your true name?" The nymph questioned with an odd sense of hope in her voice.

"It would be awkward if it wasn't." Lewis replied, readying himself against the dark elf lich.

"My name is Acotali, the lost daughter of Yggdrasil, and last guardian of the Light Elves. With our names we form a bond, my power is your power. If you die, I die. If I die, you die. The price is paid, the blood sap of Yggdrasil now flows through your veins. The sins I have committed are now your sins, my curse is now, also your curse. The light of Yggdrasil will never shine on you, but its shadow will empower you." Acotali, the nymph, spoke in a ritualistic tone, as if she had just performed some sacrilegious right. Lewis was silent, contemplating the words spoken, but he felt the same as usual. Lewis shook his head and began to back up towards the now vacant campsite.

"Are you done speaking with the seedling? If so… die!" The Lich, having noticed Lewis speaking to the nymph, kindly waited for Lewis to say his goodbyes to the seedling. As soon as Lewis had stood and began backing away with the freshly acquired weapon, he chose his moment to attack. Lewis's heart began to speed up, the enemy that stood before him was not one that he could win against, and he was beginning to fear he wouldn't be able to survive the Lich either. The dark elf reached Lewis's position and thrust his hand into Lewis's chest, aiming perfectly for his heart. Lewis coughed blood, his vision began to fade, cold enveloped him.

"Now, the seedling is mine!" The Lich tossed Lewis to the side, taking the ring from his corpse as he did so. He tossed the heart next to Lewis with a laugh and slipped the ring onto his finger.

"Now, little seedling, give me your true name! I command you as your master! Ahahaha!" The Lich cackled with a feverish look on his face. The ring remained silent, which irritated the Lich. He began swearing at the object, but no response came. Lewis began to twitch, his vines darkened with crimson and ash, Lewis's regeneration quickened and the miniature vines grabbed his heart and drew it back into his body, sealing back up and reviving him. His eyes snapped open, an odd sensation filled his body.

[Warning, the user is no longer connected to the realm of light. System malfunction detected, system maintenance in progress… Time Remaining until system is available: 20d:7h:46m:08s.]

Lewis felt slightly stronger, but not by much. It was more like an adrenaline rush than anything. The sword was still in Lewis's hand and the Lich was swearing loudly. When Lewis looked at him, the usual stat window didn't appear, instead he saw the mana swirling about him. All of the mana turned dark as it approached the Lich, condensing around a small area on its lower back, where the spleen would be located. Lewis stood up and began to approach the Lich, the sword pointed at the spot, and he stabbed forward and through the condensed area. The Lich froze, slowly it turned its head and looked at Lewis with clear and hateful eyes that were filled with terror.

"How did you…" The Lich began to turn to ash and began to blow away as the swirling mana stopped flowing towards him.

"The mana… was concentrating in this spot…" Lewis commented with some confusion.

"My core… you found it with just your eyes?... Ah, I see, you had already formed a bond with the seedling, making this ring naught but a shell now… your eyes, they are similar to hers now, but different… Hah, so this is what true defeat is, no more second chances. I hope… your life is full of darkness and destruction…" The Lich had trouble speaking, but finished what he needed to before turning into a pile of dust as he gave in to death's final embrace. The ring fell to the ground and turned to rot before sinking into the mud. Lewis stared at the spot of mud for a moment before turning away and heading for his lance. Looking at it made him think of the kobolds, wondering how they were doing. Lewis picked the lance up and had his vines hold it to his back, followed by the black blade. Acotali appeared next to him and followed him towards the entrance.

"How does it feel?" Acotali asked Lewis.

"How does what feel?" Lewis replied while continuing forward.

"To have abandoned humanity and the light?" Acotali specified.

"I never had either to begin with." Lewis responded plainly.

***

Ariel was waiting for Lewis outside the dungeon, her face filled with worry, anxiety and anger. Once Lewis stepped through the portal, with Acotali, her face changed to that of relief and anger. She ran up to Lewis and pulled him into an embrace.

"I told you to stop trying to prove something! What if you got yourself killed?" Ariel chastised him.

"Technically, he did die." Acotali answered honestly. Ariel looked at the girl in confusion, analyzing. The girl's gray eyes that held a silvery sheen, her white hair that reminded Ariel of freshly fallen snow, the black dress that revealed too much of her savory dark skin. Ariel felt an odd sense between Lewis and the girl, like an inseparable bond.

"Excuse me, but who might you be?" Ariel became hostile towards Acotali as she pulled Lewis away from the girl. Lewis, being ungodly exhausted for some reason, simply allowed it.

"I'm his soulmate. We are bound by the thread of fate in life and death." Acotali again replied honestly. Ariel turned red and looked at Lewis heatedly.

"Send her away! She gives me bad vibes." Ariel turned her glare back towards Acotali, staring daggers at her. Acotali, sensing the jealousy, actually smiled mischievously.

"Oho? Aren't you a bit too old for him, hag?" Acotali asked, tauntingly. Ariel turned tomato red.

"Haa! You looking for a fight you little bitch?" Ariel dropped Lewis, who legitimately fell to the ground, staring up at the bright sky indifferently. He could hear Tali arguing with Ariel, and Ariel threatening Tali. Lewis sighed and struggled up.

"Tali, help me up." Lewis called out. Tali immediately left Ariel and supported Lewis. Now that Ariel was actually paying attention, there was a fresh, large and bloody hole right over his heart. Ariel turned pale and started to shake, the more she looked, the more she saw. The right side of his shirt was missing entirely and covered in blood, his eyes were pure silver, his skin was darker, and his hair had undertones of white. Everything seemed similar to the girl called 'Tali'. 

"Lewis, what exactly happened in that dungeon?"

***

Lewis was laying in his bed, staring up at the ceiling, exhausted from all that had transpired. Tali was walking around the room, enjoying all of the new sights and foreign objects.

"This is called a… lantern?" Tali pointed at a lamp. Lewis looked over and chuckled.

"Close, but it's called 'a lamp'." Lewis replied.

"Hmm, a lamp? Like the thing you find with genies in them?" Tali mused aloud.

"Again, not quite. Different lamps, that one lights up the room through electricity." Lewis explained.

"So it's an electric lantern?" Tali seemed to be stuck on the lantern idea.

"Yes." Lewis gave up, but Tali was happy with the discovery. Lewis turned back to the ceiling and stared at the countdown message. There were still twenty days left, and Lewis felt as if he had lost a part of himself. A knock resounded on the door, signifying that dinner had been prepared. Lewis sighed and dismissed the message as he got up and approached the door. Tali, seeing Lewis leaving the room, followed him. The dining room was on the first floor and Ariel was already sitting at the head of the table. The table itself was already set with varying vegetables, mashed potatoes, gravy and two roast chickens.

"You prepared a good amount." Lewis commented as he sat down and reached for the vegetables. Tali reached over and slapped Lewis's hand away. Ariel looked curiously at the girl, who sat calmly while taking a chicken wing.

"Vegetables that use the light to grow, will poison you. Same with fruits, seeds, nuts, flowers, leaves, bulbs and roots." Tali explained. Lewis stared at the girl in bewilderment.

"Now wait a moment… I thought nymphs could only eat like plants or something. Not animals…?" Lewis looked at the fresh steamy buttered mashed potatoes woefully and spoke in confusion.

"That's true for Nymphs, not Lampades. As I am not really a tree nymph connected to light, but rather connected to shadows or darkness, I'm considered more of an underworld nymph. Therefore I am nourished by the creatures that contain darkness, which every breathing, swimming, walking, hopping, or flying beast has that darkness. Light itself will weaken you, while the night or shadows will empower you. It's just the price that needed to be paid for bonding our souls." Tali explained.

"These facts would have been nice to know… wait, that sounds like a fucking vampire! Oh God, please tell me it isn't that cringy, by the grace of all that is holy." Lewis paled.

"Relax, vampires are a myth. They were derived from lampades or nymphs that had fallen from the light. A burned down forest, polluted body of water, contaminated breeze, battlefields where rivers of blood were spilt, etcetera. All of those could be considered a 'Lampade', though we aren't real lampades. Lampades were simply nymphs of the infernal rivers in the underworld, oh and they hold the torches, which sucks for them." Tali went on to describe off topic.

"As long as I'm not a fuckin vampire, I'm good. I'd kill myself otherwise." Lewis sighed in relief.

"What do you have against vampires?" Ariel questioned Lewis.

"'It's a disgusting, over-romanticized trope and it's whole fan culture should die.'" Both Tali and Lewis responded heatedly. Ariel stared at the two with a defeated expression.

"I don't think vampires are that bad…" Ariel muttered softly and dejectedly. Lewis proceeded to ignore her comment, not wishing to develop an argument or sour notes between them. Lewis tried to take a bite of mashed potato, only to turn and vomit it back up, Tali began to scold him for not listening. 

*Meanwhile*

A boy wearing the brazen crimson colors of the Midgard Academy sat in Lewis's old apartment, holding a slip of torn paper with coded symbols and their corresponding letters. He looked down at the bloody figure of Lewis's old landlord.

"I'm not gonna ask you again, Cabrón. Tell me where Lewis is, and I'll let you go." The boy was named Juan Carlos Velasquez Delgado, a genius from the Velasquez and Delgado families. He was also nicknamed, 'El Perro de la Guerra', The Dog of War. His thirst for a fight seemed unquenchable and a wartorn path was all he left behind in his search for a satisfying fight.

"Listen… uh, a- amigo-"

"Que no soy to amigo pinche weto cabrón! Tell me where Lewis is!" Juan cursed in Spanish before raising his voice while lifting the old man by his hair.

"I- I really don't know! He was moved without warning or notice!" The old man grimaced.

"By whose order?" Juan continued questioning, lifting the landlord up a bit higher.

"H- Hephaestus! The Hephaestus Guild! That's all I know, I swear!" The old man pawed at Juan's hand in an attempt to relieve the tearing pain on his scalp. Juan tossed the man towards a wall, though it wasn't with all his strength, Juan still sent the old man through the wall and into the next room, which was the kitchen.

"Why are you lying to me, viejo?" Juan stood up and slowly walked into the next room. The old man laid slumped against the now destroyed stove. 

"I… really do… don't know." The old man breathed out. Juan shook his head in disappointment.

"Listen to me viejo, if you don't give me answers, I'll go downstairs and drag your daughter and grandchildren up here. Maybe seeing them with broken necks will get you to talk huh cabrón?" Juan threatened the old man.

"Okay! Hah, alright… Lewis was moved out of the city limits… He's living with some guild member, but I don't know who. The estate is thirty miles west of here… that's all I've managed to get… Please, let me go now." The old man admitted everything he knew. He struggled to get all of that out with what little breath he had. 

"Gracias viejo. Pero, nunca dije que te dejaría ir… vivo." Juan leaned in and stared at the old man maliciously, his eyes turned a shade of blue, a blue like the abyssal depths of the ocean.