Myths Reawakened

“Who is it?” Sidney asked bluntly with an icy expression. He just wanted to end this conversation as soon as possible.

The Lord of the Void, formerly the legendary mage Marshall, had once been Sidney’s pride. He used to feel incredibly honored to have a Legendary-rank mage as his master, but later... well, what happened next was common knowledge. He wished he could go back in time to shoot his past self.

Stop smiling, damn it! That rotten old man is trouble!

He wanted to cut ties with his master, but unfortunately, it wasn’t his decision to make. For one, there was no changing that they had been master and student, and whatever sins his master committed would be stains on his record as well—they would always be ammunition for his political enemies. More importantly, everything he’d learned, he learned from his master, which meant the old man could find him anytime, anywhere.

Sidney found it baffling. All other legendary mages who went mad threw themselves into the Astral Plane and remained isolated there until they completely lost their minds, but not his master—he’d left behind a divine idol as a mark so that he could pop back home from time to time to check in and chat with his student.

When news first broke that his master had gone mad and betrayed the church, Sidney was skeptical. He had suspected political persecution—the higher-ups were starting their favorite pastime of infighting again. His master was eccentric, but fundamentally a devout mage with an unwavering faith.

That was what he had believed until Marshall’s token twisted into a golden idol, and he named himself the Lord of the Void. Sidney tried throwing away the idol, but it kept returning to him.

The first time they met after his master betrayed Nature, Sidney had drawn a firm line: a pious believer like him would never associate with a traitor. Don’t contact him again. He was afraid the Goddess of Nature would misunderstand.

The Lord of the Void had smiled and given him an address where several boxes of magic books were hidden, detailing how to advance from Gold to Legendary.

Sidney failed to resist the temptation. Though he claimed that he wouldn’t go, his body followed his heart and took him to the location. He dug up the precious magic books and, unable to discard the golden idol, hid it in the void he had constructed with his thoughts.

During their second meeting, Sidney repeated the same line, “Don’t contact me again. I’m afraid the goddess will misunderstand.”

The Lord of the Void responded with the same smile, this time bringing him several rolls of parchment recording knowledge from the other side of the Gate of Truth, including life magic that the Church of Nature had been researching.

Sidney had shamefully called out ’master’ after a long silence.

By the third meeting, the Lord of the Void began making demands. Of course, he claimed to be a good master who cared about his student and would never force Sidney to do anything—he could refuse, and Sidney did want to.

However, he knew that he couldn’t bear the consequences. Once word got out that he was in contact with a traitor, the church wouldn’t let him off the hook with a simple slap on the wrist. Best-case scenario, he’d be featured in many a wanted poster and be put on bounties by multiple sects, attracting the hateful bounty hunters from the Free Mage Alliance. Worst-case scenario, he would be shipped directly to Red Leaf Asylum and enjoy his own prison cell.

Sidney knew the asylum all too well; that hellish place would drive even the sane insane.

Initially, the Lord of the Void’s demands weren’t that alarming or difficult, but after a few increasingly sketchy requests, he asked Sidney to smuggle the idol out of Londan.

Sidney refused vehemently—it was impossible. He would never do it. But under the Lord of the Void’s scoff, he lowered his head and silently took the idol to send it away. He remembered clearly that the delivery destination wasn’t in Windsor, but the Geocentrism Sect ended up established in Enrod, and a damn large-scale sacrifice was attempted.

That time, the Lord of the Void had told Sidney that it was a master’s final request to his student, that he would never bother him again. Sidney wasn’t truly convinced, but didn’t question it, either. The idol was gone, so it should be the last time.

But today, the idol reappeared.

The rotten bastard was evil—not a word of truth from his mouth! Sidney regretted everything. If only he hadn’t gone digging for those boxes.

“His name’s Wayne. Yes, that should be the name. He’s a mage apprentice, most likely from Londan. Some time ago, he was in Enrod...”

The idol flashed, projecting a headshot in front of Sidney. “Find him, but don’t kill him. Bring him to me. I want to meet him in person.”

Sidney didn’t ask why. He memorized the face and said in a low voice, “Marshall, this is the last time!”

“Of course. I swear it.”

Sidney lowered his head in silence, feeling a cold despair in his heart. Betrayal was like cheating—the first time would always be followed by numerous more instances. There was never a last time. No, he had to find a way to break free of this bastard’s harassment, or death would be his only ending.

There was a way, Red Leaf Asylum being one option. But the process would be too complex, and one wrong move could land him there. He had considered the plan before but decided against it due to the high risk. Then the Geocentrism Sect happened, and compared to being screwed over by the Lord of the Void, the asylum seemed to pose a lower risk.

The worst outcome was ending up in the asylum anyway. Why not take the initiative?

The Lord of the Void chuckled darkly. “You seem troubled, my dear student.”

And you don’t know why?

Sidney replied with a frosty expression, “I do have my concerns. The Death Knight has left Palis for some reason. He’s now in Londan—both his warhorse and sword have been witnessed.”

“Impossible!” the Lord of the Void declared.

“You seem to know something, Master?”

It was ’master’ when he needed something and ’Marshall’ when he didn’t. He had a flexible morality.

His eyebrow jumped up. The old man was a real bastard, but there was no denying that he had a knack for knowing things.

“The Death Knight had his head stolen. He’s no longer in control of himself and has to obey another’s command. He’s betrayed Death.” The Lord of the Void raised his voice with fervor. “The once unrivaled Death Knight is just a prisoner at another’s mercy. His honor, pride, and freedom are all stripped away. My student, do you know how incredible the world beyond the Chosen Land is?”

Sidney gulped, shocked. He pressed impatiently, “Where exactly are you? What have you seen?”

“Hahaha, I’ve seen the true nature of the gods! My student, your faith is worthless. Stop believing in—”

“Shut up!” Sidney’s face turned steely. He quickly turned and strode away. “I’ll find that person for you, and I hope you keep your end of the deal. This is the last time—otherwise, I’d rather die taking you out than let you manipulate me anymore.”

“Hahaha—” The idol’s golden light dimmed. It murmured, “The awakened are gathering. Under our Lord’s protection and guidance, the faith in the deities is going to crumble...”

“My student, you’d better reach Legendary rank as soon as possible. A new era is about to dawn.”

***

Click-clack, click-clack!

In the mist-shrouded cemetery, hoofbeats rang out crisp and clear, shattering the cold silence and injecting the scene with a touch of vibrancy. If one ignored the faces of the rider and the mount, that was, or the scene would only seem more chilling.

Wayne, wearing the skin of the Death Knight, rode the undead horse with his undead hound in tow, wielding a bone sword as he chased skeletal rabbits across the grass patch.

Once you learn to hunt rabbits like a dog, there’s no turning back!

He didn’t care if it was beneath the Death Knight. He was having fun, and that would make Julia and Do happy, too.

Whoosh!

A flash of white light, and the rabbit split into pieces before reassembling into a skeleton in three seconds. It continued hopping around.

The one-sided hunting soon became a bore. He turned to look at the grave mounds and headstones. If he remembered correctly, the dead were usually buried here with the head facing east, symbolizing resurrection at sunrise.

There was no sun, but the moon did hang high.

Wayne raised Shadow Nightmare above his head, and after a flash of light, a deathly cold surged out in waves, rippling across the cemetery. After a brief silence, hollow figures responded to the call, pushing open the rotting coffins and crawling up from underground.

Clack!

Clatter—

Under the hazy moonlight, the Death Knight, riding his warhorse, put the hundreds of skeleton soldiers into two camps, leading one against the other in battle.

“Charge, comrades!”

Roar—

What else was he supposed to do—storm into Londan and shed blood until crimson rivers flowed?

“Master, your riding skills are getting more and more impressive. You’re a genius,” Do praised. She could tell that Julia was having a grand time being ridden.

“Not bad, I guess. It’s mainly because I’m in good shape with no excess weight.”

Wayne rattled his skull and said mockingly. The Death Knight skin was perfect in every way except for the loss of desires. He didn’t understand it yesterday, but today, he came to a realization. He had no hormones since he was a skeleton with an empty skull. His intelligence was the one piloting his skeletal body, so naturally, he would feel no worldly cravings.

After an intense battle, he cut down the last skeleton, feeling bored again. Why didn’t he share this fun with others? He turned to look outside the cemetery.

How about marching through the streets with a skeleton army and creating a new urban legend personally?