Lichdom began long before magic was cast.
One had to arrive at a single, irrevocable conclusion that death was unacceptable.
That was the first step to becoming a lich.
The second was the acquisition of this forbidden knowledge. The rite was never taught freely. One had to be willing to cross moral thresholds, as the knowledge itself was a test.
Aspiring liches gained the dark secret through bargains with dark entities of the universe. This gave them knowledge, but also enslaved them in the process.
Aldo Wagner had already accomplished the first two steps.
And now… he had to sever his soul.
The old man sat within the prepared runic formation, his body restless and his mind constantly echoing with mad ravings. The ritual inscribed in the book of the devil had already stripped away exhaustion, pain, and fear, leaving only awareness behind.
He could feel the physical corruption that permeated his body slowly corroding away under the effects of the ritual magic.
