Deus Necros

Ludwig clicked his tongue. The sound was sharp, annoyed, the sort of noise that meant he’d already lost the argument and hated it. Why would the Imperial family keep bothering him is beyond his understanding.

“You do know that you don’t have a choice in the matter, after all, you’re the hero…” she smiled, Ludwig knew she was making fun of his misery.

Her smile was too bright to be innocent. The word “hero” was used like an insult, wrapped in silk.

“Women are scary,” Ludwig said as he sat upright. He fought beasts and monsters, and faced a dragon head on, though it was merely a conversation. He even killed Demi-Gods and stood in front of Necros. And as an Undead, he had no fear.

Yet the persistence, endless, smiling, confident persistence, made him feel cornered in a way violence never had. He could punch a monster. He couldn’t punch a marriage proposal without consequences.

But something about Women’s incessant persistence in trying to court him scared him deeply, it wasn’t fear…

“It was something worse than fear,” sat at the edge of the thought, unspoken, because speaking it would make it real.

“They give me the creeps,” he said, and further illustrated it with a shudder.

The admission came with a grimace, genuine disgust, like he’d stepped into a swamp and the smell wouldn’t leave his clothes.

“Stop whining, man, every other man in this continent would be envious of you,” she said.

Kassandra’s tone was brisk, dismissive. The kind of dismissal that told him she’d heard enough complaining for the day.

Ludwig looked at her with eyes that, for a second, shone purple and returned. “Would they…” he thought…

The flicker was subtle, almost a reflex, and then gone. The thought, however, lingered, sour in his mind.

He thought about his situation, his mission, and the many unfortunate and dangerous events he had gone through and still has yet to go through. Would anyone truly envy him if they knew the price of his current fame was what he went through and what he has to face up ahead? Would their thoughts change?

The envy of others was always based on what they could see. None of them had stood where he stood. None of them had felt the weight of Necros’s gaze, or the smell of the Yellow River, or the taste of victory that felt like ash. Nor the many events before that.

“So when are you departing?” she asked.

Kassandra didn’t let him drown in thought. She dragged him back to the practical, where deadlines lived.

“I have matters to attend to.”

He kept it vague because specifics created leverage.

“You need to be there in three days… the Emperor insists.”

Her voice held no sympathy. “Insists” was the kind word for what emperors did.

“I’m sure you can find a way for me not to go, I already did more than enough in the desert…”

Ludwig’s tone carried the first hint of pleading he’d shown all day, the kind of plea disguised as complaint.

She pulled out another letter; it had the imperial seal, unlike the princess’s three-page letter. This one had two words.

Kassandra held it up like evidence. The seal was heavy, red, and absolute.

“Be here.”

Two words, no room to argue, no room to negotiate.

“Shit…”

The curse was quiet this time, resigned, the sound of a man realizing he was caught.

“Anyway, the Emperor is adamant on your presence. Regardless of whether you want to be there or not. Seems like Alexander explained things thoroughly. “Kassandra said.

Ludwig’s lips twitched, not in amusement. The idea of Alexander “explaining things thoroughly” made his mind immediately run through worst-case possibilities.

’I sure as hope he didn’t, I’ll be hung the moment Alexander or Tull mentions me using dark magic.’

The thought came fast, sharp, and it sat behind Ludwig’s eyes like a headache waiting to bloom.

“I’ll do it, fine, anyway, what’s the situation up north?” Ludwig asked.

He pivoted, because if he couldn’t escape the ceremony, he could at least focus on things that mattered. The north meant monsters, waves, and the kind of trouble that didn’t smell like perfume.

“You need to talk to Celine, man, you’re being a bit too cold.”

Kassandra’s tone turned needling again, and Ludwig’s brow furrowed immediately.

“Celine? Cold? The hell does that have to do with anything? I want to know if the monsters are still pouring in.”

His impatience showed. He didn’t like being redirected into feelings when he asked about survival.

“Ah poor Ludwig,” she sighed, “Anyway, things are fine, the wave got pushed back, and it seems like the Tower Masters are trying to make a barrier that stops them from advancing.

The sigh had just enough pity to be annoying. Still, the news itself loosened something in Ludwig’s chest. Pushed back. Barrier. Fine, for now.

“Would that even work?” Ludwig asked.

His skepticism returned immediately. After all, if a barrier could solve all of that, wouldn’t that have been done ages ago?

“If you have enough money, anything is possible. But…”

Kassandra let the “but” hang, the way people do when they enjoy holding the next piece.

“But?”

Ludwig’s tone sharpened, impatient again.

“There are talks of doing pioneering into the dark continent, a reclamation of land… Seems like they found something interesting beyond the mountains of Solania…”

Ludwig’s eyes narrowed, interest pulling him forward despite himself. “That piqued my interest. What did they find?”

He leaned slightly, elbows resting on the chair arms, the posture of a man listening for opportunity.

“Well, besides some rare minerals, mana crystal vines, and a lot of resources that are hard to obtain in the empire… they found traces of civilization.”

Ludwig’s gaze sharpened, and even the jars on the shelves seemed to watch.

“Oh… now that’s interesting…” He said as he leaned back.

The words came out quiet, thoughtful, the kind of interest that didn’t announce itself loudly because it didn’t need to.