Chapter 417: Undead

'I can't rule out that possibility. If my earlier guess is right, then I must find a way to stop him from getting that holy artifact!' A firm resolution appeared in Victor's eyes.

'But the question is how can I achieve it? With my current strength, it's impossible for me to even look at him from afar. Even if I contact Duke Michel and explain to him about his future demise, it won't work at all. No, it might backfire instead.' He wore a troubled expression on his face.

'Then, there is only one way. I'll do everything anonymously from now on.' He nodded inwardly and shifted his attention towards the notebook. Then, he spent more time perfecting the plan and finally turned his attention towards his pouch.

After that, he sat on the concrete floor, took out a fist-sized bluish stone from the pouch, and focused his full attention on the awakening stone..

In the meantime, a new type of water elemental energy came out of the stone, entered his body, and started strengthening the connection with his body and his soul's ice elemental affinity.

...

At this moment, a strange being suddenly woke up in a faraway world filled with nothing but nether lakes, barren land, and undead skeletons.

There was no sun, no moon, and not even stars appeared in the sky. The only light source was the strange nether lakes in every part of this world. These nether lakes emitted strange greyish light and illuminated the world itself.

Some called this world a Primal Nether World, while the other called this world as Underworld. There was a myth saying that each of these nether lakes connected with the Tree of Death itself!

These nether lakes were more like wombs for the souls who lost their way in the astral plane. When the mortal souls escaped from the Eternal River of Life, lost their way, and got consumed by the eternal darkness, they would end up waking in this strange world.

It was a world where undead Liches, necromancers, Death Knights, Grim Reapers, and Death Gods roamed around freely and caused chaos and destruction everywhere. They also enslave the newborn skeletons, nurture them to become undead soldiers and invade foreign planes.

It was a plane of chaos and evil.

Long ago, a Taboo Existence watched over the whole Underworld and guarded the Gate of Death. He judged the lost souls by observing their soul core and karma and gave them fair trials. He treasured the pure souls, cleansed the corrupted souls by giving punishments and harsh penalties. He was loved by the people and feared by all the Gods. He was the only being who even sentenced an Evil God to eternal imprisonment!

But before the era of New Time, he left the plane for some unknown reason and never returned. Alas, some legends mentioned that he was still hiding inside the Tree of Death and waiting for a suitable successor to appear.

Was there any conspiracy behind his scheme? Was he a good God, as the rumors say? Only time will answer.

...

Currently, a young human skeleton suddenly opened his eyes in one of the numerous nether lakes. His eyes were bluish and looked more like blue fire!

Once he noticed that he was underwater, he waved his hand in panic and tried to move upward. But just as he saw his white skeletal hand, his whole body got frozen and started to descend deep into the nether lake.

This young skeleton was none other than Titus!

As he saw himself in a skeleton body, he was frozen stiff. Despair and fear appeared in his bluish eyes. Just as he was about to be consumed by the nether lake and its mysterious veins, he heard an old man's voice in his head.

'Why are you panicking? You have a new life ahead, lad. Move on.' It was Charles's Will.

'Teacher!' Titus suddenly recalled the final moments of his life in Edhen Plane and got back to his senses.

'Are you alright, Teacher?! You've been battling against that strange purple fire for days!' He asked in concern, and at the same time, started swimming upward.

Yes, after Titus's soul entered the Astral Plane, some invisible force pulled him deep into the void and soon tossed him into a river of purple flame! It was a flame river that flowed in the endless void and connected to all the planes.

If not for his Teacher's Will activating the purple coin and shielding his memories and his original consciousness, the purple flame would've erased every piece of his memories in his Inner World. Also, if not for the strange link to this plane, Titus wouldn't have escaped at all!

'Not really. My Will is already on the verge of breaking down. I won't live for more than 6 hours, lad. From now on, you are on your own. Don't be a naive kid and be ready to face all the obstacles. Although you lost your physical strength, you are still a Rank-4 Shadow Lord Class Mystic. If my guess isn't wrong, you won't face any problem using the Rank-1 skills. Moreover, you also have previous life memories. Utilize this second chance properly.' Charles said in his mind.

'Y-Yes, Teacher.' Titus paused for a moment as he recalled something and asked.

'W-What about Daisy, Teacher? Is she really gone?' His voice contained a trace of pain and sadness.

'It's impossible to change the past, Titus. Instead, go and change the future. Break all the destiny shackles in your body and turn into a powerful existence. I don't know if my true soul survived the schemes of the Divine or not, but you guys must survive and reach the pinnacle level. If you want to do something for your Teacher, move forward and live without any restrain. So what if you become an undead? Find a way to evolve and become the overlord of the undead.'

Goosebumps appeared all over Titus's skeletal body, even though he had no flesh or skin.

'I'll not disappoint you, Teacher!' He said in a firm tone and continued to swim.

As Titus moved into the nether lake, he saw many similar humanoid skeletons floating in the nether lake and was startled deeply.

'Where is this place?' He asked.

'I'm also not sure about it either. But it's definitely an undead plane.' Charles said in his mind.

At that moment, Titus reached the surface and soon looked around with his bluish eyes.

There was nothing but endless barren lands that appeared all over the nether lake. Although darkness covered the surroundings, Titus still managed to see everything clearly due to his shadow affinity.

'I think I can use all of my skills to some extent.' He even felt that he could teleport in the shadow!

Nodding inwardly, he moved towards the land and soon reached there. Then, he tried to stand up but couldn't. He felt like a toddler. But after some time, he finally managed to stand on his skeleton legs, turned around, and looked at his reflection.