Nathan

Year 2849 | Month 9 | Day 12

Silence fills the room for several seconds as I examine the cage holding the undead creature. Its walls are completely made of a strange glass with some sort of glowing green energy coating it that reaches all the way to the ceiling, and it’s standing on some sort of gray base. Meanwhile, on the side of the cage facing me is a series of ten keyholes that almost make me pity whatever is locked inside.

Eventually the creature responds to me, “Greetings, young one.”

I raise an eyebrow at that as I walk around the room, just taking in the oddities of it. Most particularly the desks, various other normal cages that are empty, and a few lab tables and vials scattered around the place making it look like some sort of lab.

Honestly makes me wonder if this guy got trapped in a cage within his own laboratory or something.

When I glance back at the creature, I find it somehow looking at me incredulously despite not having any facial expressions.

Just how did it manage that?

“How you still live despite passing through the forest of miasma and its illusion outside of this tree aside, you don’t seem to be afraid of me,” the being says, seemingly unsure of how to take me.

Well, it’s kind of hard to die as an- wait a second, did he just say illusion?

“You mean there’s an illusion outside?” I ask, finally stopping in my walk around the cage.

Because that would certainly explain why it took me two days of walking to find anything.

The skeleton just stares at me for several seconds in what I can only assume is judgment before eventually asking, “How did you arrive here?”

That’s an easy question to answer. Also, I feel like I’m more carefree now… is it because I’m on a continent that’s already been abandoned by most of human society?

Yeah, that’s probably it.

Also the fact that this dude is obviously sealed away and can’t do anything to me.

“I walked,” I answer him before going back to walking around the room.

“Seriou- you know what? Nevermind.” The creature says, having given up on asking me that particular question most likely. “What do you say about helping me get out of here? I would reward you well.”

Without looking back at the creature and instead looking closer at the things inside of the odd vials, I answer, “That depends. Who are you and why are you sealed inside of a glass cage that’s most likely infused with life mana?”

Because life mana is the only thing I can think of that would seal away whatever undead creature he is. At least if the miasma around here and releasing from him himself is anything to go by.

The creature doesn’t say anything for a few seconds before answering, “You know, if I wanted to, then I could ki-”

I cut him off, “You could kill me right now blah blah blah, which would in turn end up trapping you here likely for eternity considering how old all of this stuff is. And then where would you be?” After finishing saying that, I put down the vial I had picked up before wiping the dust and cobwebs it had on it onto my pants leg and looking at the skeleton again while tilting my head ever so slightly as I finish, “So please answer my questions. Otherwise, I’m leaving.”

The skeleton’s jawbone literally drops open in a comical display of its shock, but I keep my face completely neutral as it gathers itself back up again.

I said that, but I’m not actually sure how powerful this thing is. Considering that it was locked up for what must have been a long time though, it’s probably strong.

As if answering my question, a wave of miasma pierces through the life mana on the cage to fill the room, making my flesh begin to melt off a little bit just for it to be forced back into the cage again by another surge of life mana from the cage itself. I then wait a second for my flesh to heal back up – happy that miasma only affects biological matter and not my clothes – to ask, “Are you done? Or will I be leaving now?”

The skeleton just stares at me with its bony body frozen in shock.

I give it a few seconds that quickly turns into minutes before sighing and going around to collect the vials. Because who knows? One of the things inside of them might be useful someday. Even if not for me.

It surprisingly takes until I’m just about done dumping them all carefully into my new spatial storage before the skeleton speaks again.

“Seeing as you’re clearly not normal, I will allow you to hear of my story.” I barely stop myself from scoffing at the skeleton’s clear arrogance that makes me wonder if it’s the same with all intelligent undead or just this one. “My name is Adalwolf Giese.”

I continue stuffing the last vials carefully into the storage before closing it up and glancing at the skeleton, who I find staring at me in silence.

“That was a short story,” I tell it before waving and beginning to make my way out of the room since it’s not talking anymore, “Have a nice day!”

“WAIT!” the skeleton shouts, his voice reverberating throughout the tree.

I stop at the entrance to the room before turning back around with an eyebrow raised as I ask, “What is it now? You stopped talking so I just assumed you were done.”

Although in reality he probably assumed that I would recognize his name or some stupid-

“Did you not hear me? My name is Adalwolf Giese!!” he repeats, making me want to roll my eyes. But I hold myself back. After all, it would be- “The only death magician in existence and the absolute ruler of the Kingdom of Giese!”

This time my mouth parts open in surprise, only to close again.

The previous name of the Kingdom of the Fallen – before it, well, fell – was the Kingdom of Giese. And the ruler was the death magician who blew themselves up. Although the man’s name was somehow lost to the ages, everyone kind of assumes that the higher Class magicians might just be hiding it.

But…

“You’re supposed to be dead,” I state in a bland tone before giving his skeletal and obviously ‘dead’ body a once over and repeating myself, “dead dead.”

The skeleton’s flames flicker out before reappearing, as if it had just blinked. It then asks, “Excuse me? How could anyone possibly kill a death magician? It’s just not feasibly possible.”

Now it’s my turn to blink in question at that.

“Whenever a death magician dies, the death mana within their body is used instead to keep them alive. And as long as they manage to stay in a place full of miasma and train their mana arcs, they will be able to exist for eternity,” he explains after seeing my confusion, before adding, “which is exactly what happened to me once those damned Class S’s teamed up against me. They then sealed my corpse away in this cramped cage for eternity. In my own damned laboratory!”

Huh. So I guessed right earlier.

He was sealed in his own lab.

Well, that’s a pity. But considering the amount of atrocities that the king of Giese did before being taken down, he probably deserved it.

“Interesting story,” I tell him with a nod, which somehow seems to make the skeleton perk up a little. But he lets out a stutter of shock after hearing my next words, “Well, Imma leave now. Have fun in there!”

I then turn around to leave the lab with my loot on hand.

So it was a good idea to follow the creepy whispering after all.