“If you were an intelligent undead who could see in the dark and you wanted to use darkness to ambush someone who couldn’t, how would you go about doing it?”
There was a long silence.
“I’m glad you understand.”
Magical light couldn’t be extinguished with water, and conversely, the Word of Negation that could erase a magical light wouldn’t erase a fire that physically existed. If we used two kinds of lights, it wasn’t very likely that we’d lose both of them at the exact same time. It was one of the fundamentals of exploring.
Once I’d prepared our light and performed a few additional equipment checks, we cautiously made our way through the wet soil passage, keeping alert for any signs of a cave-in. We soon reached the burial chamber at the innermost part of the mound. At that instant, my entire body was assailed by an abnormally dense unholy aura.
Al let out a frightened yelp. I froze completely and my hair stood on end.
No. No, something was wrong.
This was no normal, naturally occurring undead—
“Welcome to my temporary abode.”
A voice echoed from deep in the darkness. An icy chill ran down my spine.
That thick aura, so strong it made you want to drop to your knees — I’d felt it before. Al was shaking violently, both of his hands still wrapped tightly around the handle of his battle axe.
“Has it really been two years, warrior of the flame?”
In the darkness at the back of the burial chamber, red eyes glowed. He was grinning. I could see it in his narrowed eyes.
Chapter 4
Several wooden coffins were lined up in the burial chamber. The ceiling was shaped into a stable arch, and patterns reminiscent of flowing water were drawn on the walls in vivid red. The chamber went back a little way, but it couldn’t really have been called spacious.
“I can’t protect both of us.” I called out to Al as I took a step forward. “Run as fast as you can.” I steadied my breathing, focused on the circulation of mana
—
“Oop. Easy there, warrior of the flame. You too, dwarf.”
I could feel his satisfied grin.
“If you’re intending to fight me, you can have the victory right now. I am not an Echo today, you see.”
Once he said it, I noticed. His presence wasn’t as concentrated as it had been back then, nor as overwhelming. The strength of it was incomparable to the average demon or beast but, conversely, that was the extent of it. It was not the aura of that unreasonably absolute being.
I pointed Pale Moon’s luminescent blade towards the back of the chamber.
There was an altar where animal bones had been laid. They were probably a totem for ancestral spirits. Sitting atop the altar was a raven with glossy black feathers and red eyes that felt somehow sinister.
“A Herald.”
Heralds communicated the will of the gods and were a step down from the more powerful Echoes.
“Very perceptive.”
The sense that he was smiling got even stronger.
“Oh, and you can feel at ease. I haven’t laid a single hand on the dead in this burial chamber. Their souls have already returned to the great cycle, and a makeshift troop would stand no chance against you anyway.”
The raven’s eyes narrowed.
“Yes, thanks to the thrashing you gave me, I won’t be able to manifest an Echo in this land for a while, no matter what I do.”
Al seemed to have been stunned to silence.
For a while, huh? How long was “a while” in a god’s terms, that was the question. Was it a few years? A few decades?
“And so, as you can see, I sent out a Herald and—”
“Decided to go fishing?”
“Very perceptive once again. My word, you are as sharp as ever.”
I got the feeling that, for some reason, he was becoming more cheerful each time he spoke.
“Nasty, you are.”
“Oh, I’m sure fishing is always very nasty business for the fish. That is the nature of a god. We cannot be measured by human standards.”
The unholy aura the hunter had sensed here in Pillar Mound must have been the work of the raven before me who was the god of undeath’s Herald. He knew that if he dangled a hook into this region with an undead sighting attached to it, I would be highly likely to take the bait. If he didn’t catch me the first time, he could just change locations and try again. It was a very patient and godlike approach. Only…
“It doesn’t seem like you’re after revenge for last time.”
“Yes. Firstly, I owe you an apology.”
“What? ”
“My previous Echo displayed disgraceful behavior in its final moments. I feel deeply ashamed. There was no excuse for it.”
The raven sounded completely serious.
“An Echo is an attempt to project the power and mind of us gods into the nature of a person or fae. Some distortion is necessary. Newly born Echoes tend, to varying degrees, to be infantile, emotional, and rash. Of course, that doesn’t make it acceptable.”
My mouth hung open. I never thought I’d hear words of apology from a deity, from an actual, unmistakably real god.
Al’s mouth was flapping. This being’s aura alone was enough to make anyone feel certain that he was a Herald of the gods. It was no wonder that Al was so confused at the sight of him talking to me in such a friendly way.
”Oh, dwarf. This ‘warrior of the flame’ and I have crossed blades once before. Although I had been worn down quite a bit by his mentor by that point, I must say, he was a formidable foe. How long has it been since an Echo of mine was last destroyed by a pure human? Not to mention that he seems to have become stronger still since then. He may even stand on a par with the heroes of legend if he continues to—”
“Stagnate.” I stopped him, using a deliberately threatening tone. It didn’t seem as though he was going to actively fight me, but what was in front of my eyes was still a Herald of an evil god with dangerous ideas. I had no idea what he was planning. “I have no intention of being drawn into a conversation with you. What do you want?”
“How unfriendly. What’s wrong with indulging me with a little chat?
Has our relationship turned so cold?”
“What kind of a relationship do you think we have?”
“Come now, don’t tell me you forgot that impassioned night we spent together? We both spent a little time on the receiving end.”
“I wasn’t aware that gods enjoyed jokes.”
The raven clicked his beak in representation of a laugh.
“And so, today I have come with a topic of interest for the big, strong warrior who caused me to die a little death.”
“Do I have permission to break your neck?”
“Gracious, no. What a horrifying thought.”
While casually exchanging words with him, I tutted internally. Now that I was attempting to have a proper conversation with the god of undeath, I could understand even more deeply how formidable he was. In terms of simple strength too, of course, but even more so in terms of his other aspects.
This god could really speak. You could trade jokes and quips with him. If you told him your troubles, he would surely listen intently. He might even sympathize. He would try to work together with you to find a solution or guide you in the right direction with his godly powers. And he would be sincere the entire time.