Konrad and his captains stood at the edge of the massive chamber beneath the catacombs of the dark city, the oppressive silence broken only by the distant dripping of water and the occasional groan of stone settling in the ancient depths.Their armor was silent, faces grim. Each of them knew they were walking into something worse than death—a confrontation with one of the oldest horrors of the Forgotten Shore: the Lord of the Dead.
The giant underground chamber was circular in shape and as immense as the grand hall of the Bright Castle. Its walls were built out of the same grey stone slabs as the mighty walls of the Dark City, but unlike them, the walls of the chamber were covered with whispering streams of cold, nebulous black water It was filled with bones.
Mountains of human bones. Skulls grinned from every corner, broken femurs and shattered ribs blanketed the floor like gravel.
In the center of it, a vast mountain of human bones rose from the ground, reaching almost halfway to the distant ceiling. Hundreds of thousands of people must have perished to create it.
It was where the people who built the ancient city and the impregnable wall surrounding it had disappeared to.
They were all here, piled onto each other in this vile monument of death. This horrid dark chamber was their final resting place.
The veins of crimson coral growing from the harrowing hill of white bones, almost like muscle tissue of some colossal creature. Following the coral pillars up, he finally saw that the dome of the immense chamber was broken, with pale sunlight streaming through the breach and falling on the ghastly visage below.
It had no true body. Its form was a constantly shifting mass of bones, vines, and coral fused together into a mockery of life. It was malice. It exuded death and memory, a lingering fog of despair so thick it weighed down on their souls.
But, countless green vines were growing from the mass of bones, some of them comparatively thin, others as thick as a human body. They weren't growing just between the ancient remains: the vines were bursting through the bones, too. Almost as if feeding on them.
Konrad raised his hand, signaling silence. Then he stepped forward, drawing his [Blue Mercury] Zweihander from. His voice was low, yet it echoed unnaturally through the chamber.
"Ave Dominus Nox!"
Without another word, he moved. Diablo charged forward.
Talos darted left, his long cloak flaring behind him, an ascended Spear in his hand. His indigo eyes glowing faintly, activating ability.
Tessai actived his ability, hardening himself, marched forward like a wall of steel, his giant mace containing crushing power.
Sevatar melted into the shadows wielding a odachi.
Gemma and Gunlaug in his golden echo took opposite flanks, preparing their aspects, while Seishan ummoned her sunlight shard memory which is a warhammer.
The Lord of the Dead stirred. Limbs of bones burst from the coral base, writhing like serpents, and launched toward them with horrifying speed. Diablo met the first wave with his lance, digging in his heels as the impact rattled through his bones.
Konrad danced around them, the Zweihander severing the limbs of ancient bones. But they regenerated instantly, growing back with unnatural speed.
Tessai let out a roar and hurled his warhammer into the mass. The impact shattered a limb of bone, but it reformed, bones flowing like water to repair the damage.
"We have to disrupt its core. Look for the origin of the coral!"
Sevatar appeared out of nowhere, slashing at the base of the mound. His blade sliced deep, but the creature retaliated by hurling a wave of sharpened bones at him. Sevatar moved again in a flicker, barely avoiding impalement.
Konrad narrowed his eyes, invoking his clairvoyance. His perception of time fractured, splitting into branching futures. He moved between possibilities, searching for a pattern in the chaos. He saw it.
Talos and Tessai moved together, one fast and deadly, the other slow and devastating. Talos reached the weak spot first, burying into a pulsing coral. The coral screamed. A shriek like tortured souls filled the chamber. The Lord of the Dead twisted, its form convulsing.
Seishan broke one bone limb after another with her hammer. Gemma also entangled couple of bone limbs.
Gunlaug threw himself forward, a golden hammer raised. He brought it down on the same spot Talos had struck, shattered a large chunk of bones with a burst of crushing power.
They fought the Lord of the Dead, even suppressed it in combat. But that isn't gonna last long. Soon they will run out stamina. Konrad made a plan and signaled his partners.
Gemma, Gunlaug, Sevatar, Talos, Tessai and Seishan started to entangle every damned limbs of the tyrant.
Konrad moved like a ghost. He saw the moment before it happened, ducked under a vine, and sliced through it with his sword. He leapt forward, straight toward the heart of the abomination.
Konrad jumped towards the pile of bones. His eyes glowing with electricity, in his right hand, a pair of sharp obsidian claws glowing with thunder.
With the charping of a thousand birds, the obsidian claws dove into the mass of bones and slashing it apart, exposing the vulnerable core.
Konrad saw it. The real core of the ancient Fallen Tyrant.
That core, which was made of human skulls and coagulated blood, was absolutely terrifying, malignant, and abhorrent. In its death, a shape of a fat white maggot could be seen, curled into a ball.
Konrad immediately jumped aside from the skeleton pile.
"Diablo!"
SHUOOO!-
A giant lance shot into the inner core of the bone hill with tremendous force. When the lance made impact with the tyrant, the bone hill shattered and thousands of bones shot everywhere.
Konrad protected his face from the income bones. His smiled behind his hand as he heard the spell spoke,
[You have slain a Fallen Tyrant, Lord of the Dead.]
For a moment, no one moved.
[You have received a memory.]
Then the entire bone mound began to collapse. Bones scattered everywhere. The crimson coral shriveled like a dying organ. In the rumble of bones, five crystal shard shimmered, pulsating with pale light.
He turned to his captains. They were bloodied, panting, some wounded. But they were alive.
"It's done," he said. "I have received the last shard memory."
No one cheered. There was only silence. They all understood what came next.
And none of them would survive it unchanged.
While walking away, Konrad thought,
"Well, Ling, you are avenged. Rest easy now. Your nightmare is over."
***
The Night Lord and captains of the Night Lord legion returned to the bright castle by afternoon. Most were in grim mood. The remaining captains in the castle, welcomed their successful return.
At night, Konrad summoned his status runes.
***
Name: Konrad.
True Name: Night Haunter.
Rank: Dormant.
Class: Tyrant.
Soul Cores: [5/7].
Soul Fragments: [3246/5000].
Memories: [Red Mane], [Bleakmail], [Blue Mercury], [Grinning Trophy], [Marble Chalice], [Black Box], [Burning Amber], [Mantle of the Night], [Wither Rose], [Iron Steel], [Widowmaker], [White cloth], [Sailor's Dream], [Justicfied Deed], [Starlight Shard].
Echoes: [Dread Lancer].
Attributes: [Nightwalker], [Outerspawn], [Flame of Divinity], [Clairguard], [Thunderheart], [Stygian Talons].
Aspect: [Night Haunter].
Aspect Rank: Divine.
Aspect Abilities: [Clairvoyance].
Innate Ability: [Paradox].
Flaw: [Mandate].
***
Konrad focused on the runes of [Starlight Shard].
***
Memory: [Starlight Shard].
Memory Rank: Ascended.
Memory Tier: V.
Memory Type: Garment.
Memory Description: [As the all consuming darkness devoured all celestial light, a shard of starlight fell from the heaven. The starlight shard was shaped and crafted into this graceful clock, granting the ability to resist the all consuming darkness.]
Memory Enchantment: [Sublime], [Mending], [Comfort], [Starlight], [Starguard].
[Sublime]
Enchantment Description: [This cloak is made of sublime silk].
[Mending]
Enchantment Description: [This cloak can repair itself].
[Comfort]
Enchantment Description: [This cloak is very comfortable to wear].
[Starlight]
Enchantment Description: [This cloak will forever resist the all consuming darkness].
[Starguard]
Enchantment Description: [This cloak grants resistance towards mental and divination attacks].
***
"Good enough. Now I just need to wait for Changing Star's return."