(Author: Hello! Surprise double release! Elgar survives and returns home from the catacombs. First he must report to his father and discovers frightening news. He also discovers the power in the Urn of the Demon King. Is it a curse? A Blessing? Enjoy.)

Chapter 5: Global Tremor

"HAHAHAHA! My son returns! Glorious!" Edward laughs as he grips the Elgar's shoulders tightly. "You did a good thing killing my older brother and his idiot sons. I assume you brought the treasure and accomplished your mission?"

"Yes father," Elgar nodded and deposited most of the gold and jewelry in the room. Edward shouts in alarm as the room is piled five feet high in gold coins alone with another feet of jewelry and armor and weapons. Luckily, all the doors and windows were closed. Otherwise, the gold would pour out and the rest of the Maltos clan would try to covet some gold.

"Good! Very Good," Edward laughed and deposits it all in his own storage bag. "Thirty percent will be given to the patriarch and he will declare it as an anonymous donation by one of our benefactors. This will also keep the fact that you killed my elder brother and his bullying brats a secret. I assume other events transpired in the catacombs?"

"Yes father, an ancient lich was guarding the treasure but Tristan killed it," Elgar said. "I also found a sword with an amethyst mana stone. You no longer need to hire that general who will teach me how to use the spear now. I need a sword master instead. I found a new sword, but the blade seems to be made of stone."

"I knew you'd learn the sword!" Edward boomed with approval. "Honestly, I never intended you to learn the spear anyway. Kings and generals wielded swords. Wait, did you say the blade was made of stone?"

"Yes. Why? You know of it?" Elgar asked.

"That is the Founder's sword!" Edward laughed. "The real blade is a dark purple holy metal. It is encased in stone until you awaken the sword using the wielder's own mana or qi, binding it to him like a storage bag. Quickly take the sword out and sit down in a meditative position! Once you imbue it with mana, grip it with your sword arm."

Elgar immediately sat down and took out the sword, laying it on his lap. Edward grinned happily and told his son to imbue mana into the sword. Elgar closed his eyes and black mana poured into the sword. His mana was black as he was part demon. The sword vibrated and the stone cracked. After a few seconds, the stone shattered, revealing a dark purple blade with the same runes that seemed to be made of lava. Excited to test the blade, Elgar grabbed the hilt of the sword. Elgar howled in pain as the stone fragments swirled around him and turned his entire right arm, from the shoulder down, black with strange tattoos that seemed to be made of lava. He rolled on the ground in agony as the inside of his arm felt as if it were submerged in lava.

"Ah, I was right about that little side effect," Edward said as the pain wore off. "You see, the sword can only be used by its true master which will have his sword arm transform like yours. The Founder was a powerful mage you see, but he loved martial arts. The problem was that he couldn't cultivate qi as he was a mage. Qi and mana are spirit energy, but they cannot coexist in the same body. On his travels, the Founder found that sword and was able to use fight using qi techniques with mana instead of qi. He was able to experience the joys and struggles of both mages and martial exponents. As an elementalist with the ability to use qi, he was unstoppable and invincible while he was interested in being ruler before he gave the throne to his son."

"Then how did someone so powerful die?" Elgar asked, admiring his new arm.

"He didn't. You saw the grave right? It was empty and it had a magical passageway to another dimension. He built the catacombs there for his descendants so their remains would not be desecrated. After all, every time one of our own died, we said we 'buried them' with the Founder. He also left that behind for his descendants before he ascended so they would access some of his treasures. He obviously found a new sword and left your new sword behind as an inheritance for a fellow mage who wanted to follow the same path. The path of a king!" Edward sighed in awe. "We never knew his name and the records only stated that he was known as the Founder. The tattoos on your arm allow you to use sword qi techniques. As for the runes on the blade, the Founder left no records on that. I believe you'll find out in due time. Go see your little twin brother and sister, Edwin and Elaine. They missed you while you were gone. Oh, try not to get mad too much when they tell you the news. Your little brother and sister didn't believe you would learn the spear. I also told them the news, but I think I'm better off if you hear it from them. Take care now!"

Elgar stared at his father, narrowing his eyes. While he headed for his siblings' room, he flexed his right arm while he lifted the Founder's sword and experimented swinging it in a downward slash. His right arm seemed fine, but he discovered he couldn't cast any spells with his right hand when he stored the sword in his storage bag. Instead, his right arm seemed to burst with strength.

"It converts the mana in my body into qi," Elgar realized. "HAHAHA! An elementalist created an empire with mana and qi at his disposal. I can only imagine how strong I would become to create an empire of my own with necromancy and qi. My future is peerless! Limitless!"

"Big brother!" two twins shouted as he walked into their room. Unlike him, they had no horns and the whites of their eyes were black. They were related to him through his father. In the public's eyes, his father remarried after his mother was assassinated to ease his pain. In reality, he remarried as he had accidentally gotten her pregnant while he tried to drink the pain away. Elgar didn't care as he never knew his family in his past life and barely remembered his human mother.

"You bring a souvenir?" Edwin asked, looking eagerly at Elgar's storage bag.

"Your arm is weird? Is it hurt?" Elaine asked.

Elgar just laughed and gave Edwin the skull of an undead warrior and one of the daggers he found, the blade being made of gold. He also gave a ruby necklace to his little sister.

"Try not to hurt yourself Edwin. A predator has to know both his strengths and his weaknesses before initiating the hunt. You can't use a sword as you're too small but the dagger is the same as a sword to you. Elaine, my arm is fine. Be sure to learn politics well from father. After all, you're the smart one," Elgar said.

"So when are you getting married big brother?" Elaine asked as he put the necklace on her neck. "You going to meet your fiancé soon?"

"WHAT?" Elgar asked, incredulous. "What fiancé?"

"The academy you will attend in two years when you turn thirteen. After you spend two more years learning necromancy and swordsmanship, daddy said you'll meet your fiancé in the city where the five great academies in the empire reside. Right Edwin?" Elaine asked, looking at her elder twin.

"Don't bother me! I'm practicing using my dagger!" Edwin shouted, holding the dagger with both hands as it was made of gold and quite heavy.

"Well granddaddy promised long ago to another elder that he would marry the eldest son of daddy to the elder's granddaughter in gratitude for saving daddy's life," Elaine said. "Mom says that the elder is the reason dad didn't die while your mom died. Sorry big brother."

"Marriage at a young age must be a human thing," Elgar sighed. "Elaine, who am I..."

He was going to say more, but Tristan appeared behind him. Elgar had no choice but to say farewell to his siblings as he followed Tristan out the house. Tristan heard about Elgar's new transformation and approved, saying that is was a good thing. Elgar was a necromancer, but he was also a member of nobility. Being able to use qi techniques would help save his life against assassins experienced in fighting a mage. Elgar and Tristan entered the second level of the basement of the library. Tristan apparently placed runes all over the walls as Elgar reported to his father.

"Place the urn on the small table," Tristan said as he pointed at a small table in the center of a large rune circle. "Open the urn and discover your destiny young necromancer."

Elgar placed the seemingly ordinary urn on the table and breathed slowly as he opened the urn. All of a sudden, Elgar shouted in shock as he became a mass of black mana and was sucked into the urn. Tristan's eyes opened widely in shock as the urn closed and seemed to radiate black mana. The urn seemed to be a pocket dimension. How else would Elgar be sucked into the urn?

"Where am I?" Elgar asked as he appeared in an empty space. He saw black mana swirl all around him as if it were alive. He also saw pieces of amethyst crystals within the black mana. He couldn't move his body and could only float helplessly as the mana went into his body. He wanted to scream, out loud but the pain was so great that he couldn't make a single noise. The amethyst crystals seemed to dissolve and spirit energy raged into his right arm. Elgar finally screamed in pain as the pain lessened over his body as it concentrated on his back, two demonic wings bursting from his back. While still predominantly human in appearance with draconic horns and gold colored eyes, his blood had turned dark purple like his sword.

"At last, a worthy member of the demon race appears. Not only that, the soul is that of a Dragon King ranked dragon," a deep, ancient voice said. "Reincarnation? Heh, a part demon, part dragon as a hero and a necromancer at that! I welcome you Ancient One. Seeing the power of your soul, you used to be as stronger than the likes of even I. How did you die?"

"I got bored and there was no new meat to eat. I also had no interest in returning to the Immortal Realm," Elgar answered.

"Boredom? No new meat to eat?" the voice laughed. "You are truly a dragon. However, your soul is even stronger than mine. You would have been fun to fight to the death with. Alas, my body is destroyed and my soul was locked in this urn by an Immortal King. Humans. They fear the unknown and assume dragons and demons would kill them."

"Time has changed on your planet. My new body has demon veins. It seems the empire I was born in tolerates non-humans albeit with the exception of dragons," Elgar sighed. "What did the black mana and amethyst do?"

"Ah, it made your body strong enough to withstand talking to me," the voice laughed. "You see, your soul is vastly superior to mine, but your body is just as weak. If you were any other demon kind, I would have killed you, but perhaps you will finish what I failed to do. You see, I want you to ascend to the Immortal Realm and kill the Immortal King who killed me and cast me down to the Mortal Realm. It may take you centuries, millenniums even. However, I know that someone as powerful as you will be bored being a king in the Mortal Realm. Kill the immortal human. Will you do this?"

"For the power to eat magical beasts of any kind once more, I'll do anything," Elgar said. "Being a king is merely a means to an end. As king, I can eat whatever I want. With necromancy and martial arts, no one can stop me. As I kill, I'll have more enemies. I was stupid to kill all my enemies in my previous life. In this one, I'll let them live to enjoy watching them struggle a little longer before they serve their purpose and die. To a dragon, only food and power matters. The power to take and protect what's mine. To discover new meat and enjoy its delicacy."

"Then receive my power and become a necromancer like no other," the voice laughed. "Show the world that the light cannot block the darkness. Do not falter as you walk the path of kings and blood. Enjoy it for the journey is more exciting than its end. For in the end, it is but an undiscovered crossroad to another end and then another in a eternal cycle."

Elgar's vision turned crimson as black and red liquid appeared out of nowhere and entered his body. Information flowed into his head. Elgar's eyes widened as he had gained the ability to manipulate space such as gravity. The liquid broke his bones and replaced it as it crystallized. However, his horns were not shattered and remained.

The whole planet shook as the Urn of the Demon King burst and released Elgar. Tristan fell to his knees in shock as he felt mana and qi radiate from Elgar's body. As Elgar stood on his feet, he stretched his wings once before willing them to disappear into his body. He had lost more of his humanity but still looked human save for his blackened right arm with the lava tattoos and the wyrm horns on his head.

"What happened in there?" Tristan cried in awe as Elgar stopped radiating power as the mana and qi settled in his body and right arm.

"I met the soul of the Demon King and gained its power," Elgar laughed. "Come Tristan, we only have a little over two years to learn necromancy and I will spend some time learning qi techniques as well. There is much to do. I could care less about my fiancé until I meet her and deny the marriage."

"Yes young master," Tristan shouted as he bowed on one knee. "I will do all that I can to make you the best necromancer the Mortal Realm has ever seen. I have also become a rank eight mage, Mage King, as the mana radiating from the urn went in my body as I tried to prevent it from leaking to the outside. The whole world shook as you were released. They will know a new age is coming. I only hope I can see it before I become a rank 9 mage and ascend to the Immortal Realms."

"A global tremor," Elgar murmured as he left the library with Tristan. "Let it tremor. I will be a necromancer king like no other. Let them try to stop me. Once I master my power over space, necromancy, and martial arts; I will have no equal! No one will be able to stop me as I conquer the land. A whole plane tis beneath me! I need enemies to slaughter. I need wild magical beasts to sate my hunger. No one can stop me! HAHAHAHAHA!"

Chapter 4: Ancient Lich Main Page Chapter 6: Last Two Years