First undead

Jack snapped back to reality, his vision blurred for a moment, but quickly cleared.

[Bond a soul as a sacrifice!]

The system's notification blinked insistently before him, cryptic as ever. Jack stared at it, wondering what it expected of him. He couldn't quite make sense of it—was he supposed to offer something up? 'How does one even sacrifice a soul?' he thought. 'Am I supposed to be setting up an altar or burning something?'

He knelt beside the burnt creature lying on the ground. His eyes flicked over its decayed body, still faintly smoking from his attack. "So, he brought me here to act like some kind of servant?" he muttered bitterly, glancing around as though Erebus himself might appear and explain the reasoning behind this task. 'It has to be the Great One,' he thought. 'Only a god would demand a sacrifice like this.'

Then again, he couldn't be sure. 'Or maybe... is the system itself a god?' A shiver ran through him at the thought. The deeper he dug into these powers, the more they hinted at something beyond mortal understanding. And Jack had never been a fan of gods. They all seemed to operate on favors, expecting loyalty and demanding fealty in exchange for the scraps of power they dangled in front of humanity.

'And now here I am,' he mused. 'Playing along like some kind of puppet.' But what choice did he have?

He ran his hand over the beast's charred remains, his fingers brushing against its dried skin. The fur had been scorched away, leaving behind a cracked, blistered shell of what had once been a creature. Jack's heart beat a bit faster. If this was what the system wanted, then he'd see it through.

[Corruption Activated!]

A dark aura surged around him. Tendrils of energy spiraled from his chest, creeping over his shoulders and down his arms before plunging into the beast's body. The moment the aura touched it, Jack felt a strange chill. It spread through his fingers like ice in his veins. And then the stench hit him—a nauseating, putrid smell that flooded his senses as the energy seeped deeper into the beast.

But he didn't flinch. He was fully engrossed, eyes fixed on what was unfolding before him. The black energy continued to invade the creature, burrowing into every pore and crevice, as though draining the life out of something already dead. And then—he heard it.

Shrrrri!

A faint, desperate sound, almost like a soul begging for mercy. But Jack's expression remained cold, detached. His heart had already hardened to such things, focused solely on what might come next.

The beast's blood drained, skin shriveling until it was nothing but a dried husk. Bones protruded from its flesh, and its eyes were reduced to empty, hollow sockets.

[Do you wish to bond with this soul?]

The system's message seemed to float in his mind. "Yes," Jack answered instinctively, the word slipping out before he had a chance to think. He felt almost hypnotized, as if compelled by something beyond himself.

[-15 Soul Essence]

The system confirmed his choice, and a surge of dark energy swallowed the beast's form. The energy spiraled and wrapped around the dead body like a shroud, dense and unnatural, so intense that it sent creatures within a five-kilometer radius scattering.

[Your servant awaits your command. Please create a command: ....] the system prompted.

Jack stood silent for a moment, listening, and a faint whisper seemed to stir within him. The right words came to mind like an echo in his head.

"Arise," he said, his voice low and firm.

A wave of energy shot through the beast's corpse. Its hollow eye sockets ignited with blue flames, pale and ghostly, casting eerie shadows across its skeletal form. The bones began to twist, clicking and creaking as they realigned themselves. Its form reassembled, standing on thin, twisted limbs, its flesh replaced by a dark, wispy shadow where fur once was.

[Congratulations! You have made your first bond.]

[You have fully taken up the legacy of the Lost God.]

[Inventory Unlocked!]

[All stats increased by +10.]

[Daily Quest Updated!]

[Bond Space Unlocked!]

Notifications crowded his vision, one after another, each more promising than the last. Jack's lips curved into a triumphant grin. He had finally broken through.

"So that's it…" he murmured, a glint of excitement in his eyes. "I've unlocked a new power."

The excitement of discovery surged through him. He recalled the countless hours he'd spent poring over books about summoning, reading advanced guides, trying to figure out how to tap into necromantic powers. But he'd had it all wrong. All he really needed was soul essence—the key ingredient.

In this new world, beast cores were often used to summon creatures. Alchemists and beastmen typically relied on magical cores to create bonds with creatures and bring them into battle. Jack had tried it a few times, but it never seemed to work—until now. 'The soul essence is the answer,' he realized, gazing at the creature he'd resurrected.

He felt their connection, a bond as strong as if he'd gained a new limb. The beast was his servant, bound to him in an unbreakable link. Jack's eyes drifted to its side, catching the faint glimmer of something embedded in its shadowy chest.

"A beast core!" he exclaimed. The core was a rare and valuable resource in this world, used for trading, powering runes, and even crafting weaponry. And here he was, with a new pet and a precious core to boot.

'Looks like the corruption didn't consume everything,' he thought, relieved. While some of the creature's other parts had withered to dust, the core remained intact.

Now he faced a small dilemma. He didn't want to leave his new servant out here, exposed and vulnerable. The creature's eerie, reanimated form would attract attention in no time.

The system seemed to anticipate his need.

[Bond Space: All bonded servants can reside in this space and can be called upon when needed.]

"Not bad," Jack murmured, marveling at the system's versatility. "Looks like there's more to you than I thought." He chuckled, tucking the beast core into his pocket and activating the [Bond Space]. Instantly, shadows engulfed the creature, swallowing it into nothingness.

Jack stood and stretched his legs, feeling a pleasant ache from the long chase. "That was exhausting," he admitted, "but definitely worth it."

A low growl suddenly rumbled behind him.

'Of course,' he thought with a dry smile, his fingers instinctively twitching, readying a spell. 'I keep forgetting whose body I possess.'

Jack's muscles tensed, every instinct screaming caution as he slowly turned to face whatever new threat was lying in wait.