Rise Up

'What is this?'

Lucius felt a certain pull that he couldn't explain. 

The black shadows that were floating from the corpses warbled, slowly dancing in the air. They glowed dimly, almost transparent, but there was a certain luster about them that felt alluring—as if they were a delicious meal.

~Loooord Morrrssss…~

The voices were coming from the shadows, and Lucius could hear everything.

He felt like he could fade out the sound, but somehow… he didn't want to. The voices that came from these shadows felt urgent—desperate.

Something inside him resonated with them.

'These must be the Souls of the Cult Members who died.' Lucius concluded, seeing as that was the most reasonable explanation. 'But… what is this feeling within me?'

Tightly clutching his chest, he could feel a resonance within him that only seemed to amplify.

'I feel pulled towards their cries… but why? Is it because I'm the Lord of the Dead?'

No… this felt different.

Lucius rubbed his chin and took his time to process the resonance—the familiar emotions that rose from within him even though they weren't his. It only took him a few seconds, but he finally realized what was happening.

'The thousand virgins… they're crying out to me.'

Their sacrificed Souls were somewhere in his body, and they seemed to be pleading with him to save their comrades.

'But… how can I save them?' Lucius asked himself.

It would have been super helpful if he had some System or Status Window that told him what he could or could not do, but there was no such thing. He had already secretly whispered "Status Window", among a few other things, but there was no response.

That meant this wasn't a Lit-RPG Transmigration.

It was just a normal one.

'I don't have a comprehensive list and understanding of my abilities, which means I'll have to take my time to explore the possibilities.'

He didn't have the luxury of time when it came to this situation, though.

'If I am to guess… then maybe this is related to THAT.' Lucius slowly moved towards one of the rising shadows—the one closest to him—and reached out so he could interact with it. He narrowed his gaze, feeling subtle vibrations in the air as he did so.

The warbling shadow calmed down, and it fell into silent reverence.

Somehow, after that, Lucius knew exactly what to do.

"Rise up." He whispered.

~VWUUM!~

Once those words left his lips, a surge of power exploded around the corpse, and the floating shadow returned to the bloodied corpse. 

Lucius felt a bit of power leave him, but none of that mattered to him.

Instead, his full attention was on the sight that was now manifesting before his very eyes.

Once the shadow returned to the corpse, blackness shrouded the entire surface of the body, and it was completely submerged in Lucius' power. Afterward, the blood began to evaporate, and all the missing pieces of the body repaired themselves.

The process was swift—practically instant.

Afterwards, the blackness ascended and what was left was the rising form of a pale body.

The body still had darkness clinging to it, serving as a cloak that covered its naked form. It had rising black hair, blackened eyes, and a tall, thin form that made it appear like a sickly adult male.

Slowly, the person—or whatever one could call this entity—began to move.

He fell on his knees, his gaze falling on the ground.

"I am grateful that you acknowledged my call, Lord Mors." He spoke, his hollow voice displaying pure sincerity. "I swear my undying loyalty to the Lord of the Dead."

Lucius grinned, now standing upright as he looked at the kneeling man—no, Undead—who now served as another addition to his subordinates.

'Incredible! So I can even resurrect dead people?' 

Lucius was astounded by his power. He should have guessed that he could use this power since he had the 'Lord of the Dead' moniker, but there had been so many things going on that he never seriously considered it.

Until now, that is.

'What more can I do? Ah…' As soon as he had this thought, he felt the sound of the other Souls call out for him.

They must have sensed one of theirs being revived and desired the same.

~LOOORRRD MORRRRSSSS…~

~SAVEEEE USSSSS….~

~WE PRAY… TO THE LORD OF THE DEAD…~

'Look at these cheeky guys.' Lucius felt a smile tug at his lips. 'They don't want to be left out of the party, huh?'

That was fine by him anyway.

He wanted to have more subordinates, so this was the perfect opportunity to begin expanding his Cult and create an undying army of loyal zealots.

'After reviving that guy… I felt some sort of indescribable attachment to him. It seems he's connected to me in some way, which means I should be able to control him.' It almost felt as simple as him moving his own limbs.

The intuitiveness of his power nearly scared him.

'If I revive all of them, the same should also apply.' Then, his gaze fell to the fallen soldiers that also decorated the floor and building walls. 

'I wonder why I'm not seeing their Souls, though. Can I only revive people that were loyal to me before death?' 

This wasn't the time to ask those questions, though.

Rather than dwelling on what he couldn't do, it was more pertinent to focus on what he could.

"All… Rise."

Instantly, the same thing that happened to the first Soul occurred with all ninety-six corpses that cried for mercy.

~VWUUUSH!~

A stronger swirl of energy pervaded the room and darkness consumed the fallen ones.

Slowly, they all rose… and then knelt.

In a mere moment, all ninety-seven Undead yelled out their fealty towards their Lord and Master.

"WE SWEAR OUR UNDYING LOYALTY TO THE LORD OF THE DEAD!"

Lucius smiled, feeling the one thousand souls within him also sated. 

As this was happening, Lili and the soldier he had spared ran into the room, their eyes widening at the magnificently grotesque sight that now graced the ruined interior of the Cult Headquarters.

There Lucius stood, with pale creatures clad in darkness… all paying obeisance to his greatness.

"L-Lord Mors…!" Lili gasped, tears streaming down her eyes. "You brought them back!"

The soldier's face grew pale as he witnessed power that he had never before seen in his entire life. Only the Church had power to resurrect, and even then… no one was allowed to see such a ceremony.

To think that a small cult in an obscure part of a low-ranking Lord's territory could do something like this was unbelievable—unreal.

It could only be possible through the power of an exalted entity.

An entity that people called GOD!

"I swear my undying loyalty to the Lord of the Dead!" Lili yelled this and fell to her knees, and the moment the soldier did this, he mimicked her actions and repeated her words.

Everyone present in the room had said the words and were now in perfect submission.

'It looks like they are impressed.' Lucius smiled, walking towards the entrance of the building.

He was glad.

—Glad that he had so many people on his side.

'Now then… shall I try one last thing?' Broadening his smile, he walked towards the corpse of the fallen Knight. His eyes gleamed with purpose as he stretched out his hands to the corpse and allowed himself to concentrate.

'I wonder what faces they will make once they see this.'