Karnak, Monarch of Death

When he opened his eyes, the first thing Karnak saw was a blond man in his twenties with a rather unassuming look.

Who is this? He seems rather familiar.

He began pondering when a voice he knew well reached his ears.

”Excuse me... Is that you, young master?”

Ah, now he remembered.

”So it’s you, Varos.”

The young man before him was his loyal servant in his younger form, before he became a death knight.

”This feels a bit different than I expected,” Varos said, blinking in confusion.

”Hello, my mortal self... I thought this would be the start of a new life... maybe a bit disorienting... something along those lines.”

Karnak didn’t bother to rebuke him.

”Honestly, I thought it would be something like that too,” he agreed.

Who would have thought that everything would change instantly? The moment he closed his eyes and opened them again, he was standing in the past. The change was so sudden it hardly felt real.

”Bring me a mirror, would you? I’d like to check my appearance,” asked Karnak.

”A mirror, you say? As if we’d have something that luxurious at this point,” Varos replied, unimpressed.

When he’d ruled the world as the Monarch of Death, a mirror would’ve been a trivial, cheap item, but as the illegitimate child of a local noble, a mirror was a luxury out of reach. Instead, Varos scrutinized Karnak’s face for him.

”No need to worry, young master. You look exactly as you did at twenty—thin and scrawny, black hair, black eyes, and even that perpetually arrogant expression,” commented Varos.

”Is my expression really that bad?” questioned Karnak.

”I kept telling you to soften up a bit, didn’t I? You could have looked decent, but no. You look as if you have an eternal grudge against the world. Tsk, tsk.”

Karnak gave an amused smile.

”At least some things haven’t changed.”

Even after coming back to the past, Varos was still Varos.

”You’re as insufferable as ever.”

And Karnak had kept this insufferable servant at his side for over a hundred years. By now, he was far too accustomed to Varos to be even remotely annoyed.

”Yeah, I guess I did have a lot of grievances against the world when I was young.”

Karnak glanced around. They were standing in a dimly lit cave. A small table was set against one wall, with an open book resting atop it. The only source of light was a single flickering candle. Karnak picked up the book, noticing it resembled a pad for scribbling rather than a proper tome.

He murmured, ”Here it is, the beginning of everything.”

This was an ancient manuscript he’d discovered hidden in his family’s storage—though ancient manuscript was a generous term, as it wasn’t even a proper book. It was a crude notebook without even a title, scribbled in messy handwriting. It wasn’t a published work either. Rather, it was someone’s personal jotting. Yet it was from this book that he had first gained the knowledge to step onto the path of necromancy.

”Let’s give it a try...”

Karnak snapped his fingers. A tiny flame, no bigger than a fingernail, ignited and consumed the old manuscript as it grew.

Fwoosh!

In an instant, the flame turned the book to ashes and died out.

”So, this is the extent of my necromancy at this point.”

Karnak nodded in understanding.

”As I expected. It figures, since this is around the time I first got into necromancy.”

Varos, watching in shock, asked, ”Uh, was it okay to burn that?”

”Why not? I have everything memorized anyway,” came the answer.

The book didn’t hold any special power. It was just a simple book of knowledge.

”It’s not like it contained anything advanced. Just the basics of necromancy,” Karnak assured him.

He hadn’t become the world’s strongest necromancer through this book alone. Rather, it was through traveling the world and acquiring ancient knowledge bit by bit.

”If anything, that’s more reason to burn it. If this book allowed me to start learning necromancy, then it could do the same for someone else.”

If it had enabled him to take the first step, then some other fool could stumble onto it too. Moreover, if anyone found him with this book, the best he could hope for would be a hanging. The worst, being burnt alive at the stake.

”It’s useless now anyway—no need to leave something that could cause trouble.”

He brushed off the ashes before looking toward the cave’s exit. In the distance, he could see a faint glow.

”Shall we head outside for a bit?”

***

Karnak let out a scream.

”Argh!”

Varos was equally startled.

”Wh-what is this?”

A massive flood of light was pouring down on them from above! It was a blazing, terrible brightness, threatening to set the whole world on fire.

Varos murmured in a daze, ”Oh, I know what this is.”

”What?”

”Sunlight.”

”Come to think of it, this is what the sun was really like, wasn’t it?”

Both men wore blank expressions as they looked around. In the meantime, their eyes adjusted, and they could finally see the world clearly. It made sense, after all. They were no longer undead but fully human again, so sunlight shouldn’t feel like the fires of hell. The brightness had only blinded them for a few seconds. The rest was just... a psychological overreaction, perhaps? And yet, there was still more to be amazed about.

”Oh!”

”The sunlight feels warm, young master!”

”The smell of grass! I can smell the grass!”

”I can smell the earth, too!”

What overwhelmed the two like a tidal wave were things that every other human in the world took for granted and barely even noticed. Karnak and Varos shed tears of pure emotion, and then they were moved again by the very fact that they could cry.

”Look, Varos! Tears! I’m crying real tears!”

”I’m even getting snot!”

”I have saliva too!”

”At this rate, I might even be able to piss!”

”Of course you can! We’re human again!”

”Let’s stop with the gross details here.”

Either way, they’d regained their true bodies. They were now capable of feeling sensations, emotions, and wonder. The price they paid was the loss of absolute power. They were no longer the strongest necromancer or the most formidable death knight in history.

”Ah, who needs that nonsense!”

”Exactly! Being all-powerful didn’t make us happy anyway!”

Turning to his loyal companion, Karnak called out, ”This time, let’s live like real people!”

***

Two men walked along a path in a small forest on a small mountain. They were being bathed in the warm summer sunlight filtering through the green trees. Both wore plain, slightly shabby travel clothes. The blond young man suddenly raised his hand to his forehead, shielding his eyes as he looked up at the sky.

”Nice weather,” he commented.

The handsome young man with sleek black hair replied absently, ”Yeah. Really nice weather.”

The sun blazed down, and the sand sparkled. It was truly a fresh, warm day.

”Isn’t it a bit too hot?”

”Yeah, the sweat is starting to get annoying.”

”It really is. This whole sensation thing is oddly irritating.”

Karnak, the black-haired youth, sighed deeply.

”So, living in a mortal body is this much of a hassle, huh?”

It had been half a day since they packed up their things, left the cave, and hit the road. Now, they were hot and irritated, hungry and annoyed, thirsty and exasperated. Their initial excitement had faded, and, over time, they found themselves already longing for their former powers again. Truly, there was a reason people called human hearts fickle.

”Well, there’s no turning back now, so I suppose I’ll just have to get used to it,” Varos grumbled while unfolding the map. ”We should be approaching the village of Darha by now...”

He scratched his head while comparing the map to the surrounding terrain.

”It’s been so long that I don’t remember a thing.”

After all, they had traveled back over a hundred years. It was no wonder he couldn’t remember a thing.

”There should be a tavern there, right? It’s a roadside village.”

”Of course. That’s why my younger self chose this spot.”

They had arrived at the time when Karnak had secretly left his family, seeking to master necromancy. He had hidden in a cave in a remote forest for a few months to quietly begin his studies of dark magic.

”Judging by my current level of magic, I’d say it’s been a couple of months since I first gained necromantic power.”

”So, not the exact moment you first tapped into necromancy?”

”Well, we’re crossing over a century of time. A small discrepancy is only natural.”

They still needed food while mastering necromancy. But in a desolate place like this, finding such services was a stretch. That was why Karnak had specifically chosen a cave near Darha village.

Darha was a trade village located on the central trade route of the Kingdom of Eustil. It was equipped with inns, taverns, and shops to cater to traveling merchants. Thus, Karnak frequently sent Varos there to fetch necessities.

”Come to think of it, I think I remember that,” Varos murmured. His eyes suddenly lit up. ”Wait, does that mean we can enjoy rich wine and juicy beef now?”

Ignoring the eager sparkle in his servant’s eyes, Karnak put on a sad expression.

”There’s no way a small village like Darha would have that kind of high-end fare.”

And even if there was, it wasn’t as if they could afford it.

”We don’t have any money,” Karnak added.

”That’s right, we were poor, weren’t we?”

Varos subtly lifted the small coin pouch at his waist.

”It’s got a bit of weight to it, though it’s all just small change.”

At this point in time, Karnak didn’t even have access to higher-value currency like silver coins.

Gold coins? He’d only ever glimpsed them from a distance. Karnak sighed heavily.

”What’s the point of coming from a noble family if it’s completely bankrupt?”

He was the despised illegitimate child of that ruined household. He vividly remembered scraping together what little he had saved for this secret journey—so vivid, even though it was a memory from a hundred years ago.

”So that’s why I was so desperate to learn necromancy, huh? It finally feels real, coming back to this.”

As he walked, Karnak reminisced about the past.

”Does this mean I’ll have to face my parents and my two brothers again? Ugh, I’d rather not.”

”Ugh, I don’t want that either,” Varos grimaced.

With a family that was already destitute, his relatives had been especially harsh toward Karnak. After all, an illegitimate child was bound to create trouble, and with their own struggles, his two brothers had only heaped scorn on him, treating him with every bit of disdain they could muster. Naturally, young Karnak had ground his teeth in resentment toward them.

Would he really be able to keep his composure if he met his brothers again? Thinking of the past, Varos looked at him worriedly.

”You’re not going to pick a fight with them the second you see them, are you, young master?”

”Oh, come on. Not this time. I’ll just flatter them a bit and keep my head down.”

”Isn’t that exactly what you couldn’t do back then?”

Karnak let out a dry chuckle, recalling his past deeds—he had brought ruin to his family, killed his brothers, and committed countless other sins.

”Now, I can manage it. I’ve matured, haven’t I? I’m not that reckless twenty-year-old anymore.”

”But right now, young master, you are exactly that reckless twenty-year-old.”

”Ah, but up here,” he tapped his head, ”I’m over a hundred years old.”

Back then, his youthful pride had driven him to act out, unable to endure their contempt. Now, he was sure he could let it slide.

”When I think about it now, they weren’t even that harsh.”

Back then, he’d thought the world’s misfortunes were all his to bear, but after all he’d been through, he realized his brothers had only behaved like any other human. They were miserable, so they took it out on him.

”Wait a second... Come to think of it, they were a bit much, weren’t they? Actually, now that I think about it, I’m kind of angry.”

”See? That temper of yours hasn’t gone anywhere,” Varos replied.

”I’m joking, I’m joking.”

Karnak waved his hand and continued walking along the mountain path. Their current worry was simply getting a meal, rather than their distant family estate.

”By the way, what should we do about money? Should we find someone on the road and... relieve them of some?”

”Aren’t we supposed to be living like decent people now?”

”Oh, right, force of habit...”

”Robbery is a habit for you?”

”Are you pretending to be innocent? You’ve killed more people than I have!”

”Yeah, but I revived them afterward.”

”I was the one who did the reviving—you were just doing the killing.”

They continued their banter, which consisted of a blend of jokes and the truth. Eventually, they emerged from the forest to a field. In the distance, the village of Darha came into view, faintly outlined against the horizon.

”Let’s just find something to eat first. We’ll think about the rest later.”

Varos’s face brightened at Karnak’s suggestion. They still had to save some money for their journey home, but they could afford at least one meal.

”Agreed, young master! I completely agree!”