How strangely time and fate interwines the destiny of beings so different from each other. How often for three separate souls there is one reunited.

How two souls united and separated become again reunited after dead.

And how strange the turns of fate and how tremendous are his bolts of outragious misfortune.

A long time ago in a senseless forest there was a house. A wooden, well protected house. And in a strange creature habitated, it was not evil by any means just strange. The other creature of the forest looked strangely at that creature who prefered the silence of trees to the chatting of a friend or the warm of a woman. Voices circulated about him, how many pacts he had to do, how much he had to work, how much pain he had to inflict himself... only to find himself blocked there.

For how his condition was peacefull he was blocked, blocked and without a way out. A sage had once told him to find a forest with a hundred talking holes, and he found it, and there he will find his truth.

Whatever the sage meaned by this he didn't knew. It was more than ten years that he was there and no signs of truth or illumination appearead to him.

"I told you! Master Lazurus is crazy, crazy as an ogre!"

"No what you say, Lazarus is just confused. Not crazy."

"And why if he is just confused he collect all those souls? He could become a god with them!"

A conversation of two of his workers eardropped by him.

In reality that was true, if he wanted he could become a king. Even more, he had knowledge and power, and yet... he seeked for something more. He didn't care if that soul could grant him the ability to fly or if this other could make him resistant to heat, what he cared was studying and truth. All else was useless for him.

In his house, a house that had become a deposit, one could easily harm himself if he didn't knew what to do.

The deer head for consciuss and gave bad and good advices combined. The chest was a mimic ready to eat every thief. The mirror was enhanced.

Many times the lady of the ladies, a succubus and local queen of that settlement tried to raise his mood. To give him some pleasurable distractions before he continued that journey that for him never ended, not at dawn, not at twilight, not even in dreams. Maybe that was what made him tragic, he was so close, he had practically arrived, and yet he was unable to see the end, for him truth was denied.

War and peace came, soldiers, raiders, pillagers, palladins. Many monster rush to the battlefield in hope to gain some loot or glory, that prospect invited many. But not him. While many rised and fell, while many died for a coin or a shiver of fame he remained still. This gave him the fame of some sort of wise creature who could resolve problems, of a wise sage detached from passions.

The fires of war had burned for long when he decided to extend his walks beyond the forest. There was no one so he walked freely immersed in his thoughs, no monster of creature dared to steep on his way.

On such a walk the air smelled of ashes, on the distance echo of battlefield where raging. Nothing about him obliviously, even the most ignorant of raiders knew a strong demon when he saw one. Or so he hoped. He wasn't even at half his walk and he already sended a dozen souls to oblivion.

It was in that moment, immersed in the reading of a book, that something hitted him. He looked down, it was a children of not even ten. He looked around, several hunting parties where cutting down survivor.

"Sor-sorry si-sir!" the boy said to him.

"You don't have seen much of the world, have you?"

"N-No... I was ill for a long time, to be honest I am still ill."

"What is your illness?"

"I belie-believe some sort of feve-fever. I contacted them after being bitten by wolves and..."

"And?"

"A strange wolfy creature saved me and wet me of his blood"

Only at that moment he closed the book and looked at him.

The legs were bleeding and breaking, the eyes were nearly close, his hands were dirty, his temperature feverish.

"You can come with me if you like"

"Real-really thanks!"

He picked the boy up and brough him to his home. It was no mercy that made him act but curiosity. He had never see what happens to a body cursed by wolves kept alive artifically. Maybe nothing, maybe finally he was saw the truth.

And so for many nights the boy was pray to horrible pain, his face distorted by the illness, his muscules in spam, his eyes nearly white and his mouth wispering non-sense. Yet despite all his exceptation the body survived and the curse was now gonne. This wasn't in his plans.

So he gave the boy some clothings, some food and made him his servant, or more appropriately, his reminder and notes and document bringer.

Despite the constant dangers and moodiness of the monsters there the boy grew relativily normal. He had friends, hopes, dreams and his heart beated faster when seeing certain girls.

Year after year passed by and the boy grew strong and capable, Lazarous more and more malinconic.

One day Lazarus sended him to the queen carrying some documents and chemical flasks.

A task that he much enjoyed because so he could meet a nice demoness that he like talking to.

He found the queen in a state that could only be described as confusion. His hairs were whiter than usually, his flesh not so fleshy, his eyes less bright.

"My queen...?"

She looked up at him and recompose herself "yes?"

"Lazarus has send me to give you this documents and flasks"

"Ah" he paused "tell him that I don't care anymore, I would continue to pay him of course."

Latter that day he talked to his favorite demoness

"Lazarus and the queen are so strange! Everyone here is getting depressed! Why she and he don't live together? They would make a great couple!"

"My mother told me that was proposed to him years ago, but he refused. Inside they are like the day and the night, one lost because his flesh is fadding away, the other because his spirit is weaking"

"If you say so..."

One day, while he accompanied his manster in the evening walk, Lazarus stopped.

"It was here that I found you... you didn't had seen the world..."

"I still haven't seen it?"

"Lazarus I never leaved the underground since then."

"You are right... take this, now you can leave. Travel the world and be free"

He gave him his walking staff and went away

The morning after he departed and travelled the world.

He saw many things in his travels: the strange beings of dead peak, the pridefull ice dragons, the mad creations of the eye and the zelotry of the order. Yet he always wondered, through happy and dark times, what was Lazarus doing, was he dead? How long those creatures usually live?

He was on the other side of the world when he reached a ranch, managed by a big and friendly ogre. They talked and drinked all night, and when the ogre defence were completely gonne he showed him the ranch.

"Here is where I kept those bloody beasts" showing him a variety of humanoid creatures, monster, abbomins to be sure, but still with that little bit of consciousness to understand what was going on, and to fell the pain.

"You must know how many times they tried to escape! They always try to escape! But I always cut them down with this" he said grabbing his macchete, I always cut them down!"

"Not always" an animal voice said

"Shut up! That was an exception!" the ogre replied

"What, what?" the ex-boy said while a bit, no, totally drunk.

"Once someone escaped from here. It happened only once, he was special."

"He was an idiot! Always with this peppy talk about hope!"

"What was his name?"

"I don't remember, I don't give names to those things. He gave a name to himself, it begun with L"

"L?"

"Lancer?" an animal voice said

"Lazarus?" the boy said

"Yes, yes Lazarus! What a strange and maleducate beast, never to obey!"

His eyes widen, he was shocked. He picked his sword and cutted the friendly ogre head, freeing the rest of the creatures.

It was a long travel, when he returned he found the home empty and on the garden a grave on it written:

Here rest Lazarus, manster of herds.

The end.