Chapter 1

Awakening

This is such a stupid way for our civilization to meet its end.

If only someone had the curiosity to look at the northern continental glaciers over the last few hundred years…

There were so many things we could have done to save ourselves, we could have moved the City, erected a giant wall and many other things... but we did not.

Even until a few minutes ago, had we gotten our act together, we could have still saved both the City and ourselves… but yet again: we did nothing.

I look outside of my room, toward the ocean. There is a black line growing from beyond the horizon: a tidal wave so massive it defies reason.

would say there is no more appropriate end for our species than us awaiting our death without trying.

I may look like I am criticizing the others but I am the same. I too am too busy moping and being self-conscious to take actually take a step forward and do something about it.

Then again, if we were not like that, we would not be facing this problem in the first place… and more importantly, my life would not have been so boring and fruitless.

It is not my place to complain, though. I did nothing to change myself or the situation I was in. Even in my last moment, I am still doing nothing… unless you count waiting for death as doing as a choice.

There is still time, I could leave the city, go into the world, explore, and live an unfamiliar life in an unfamiliar world.

But I will not. “I really wish I had that kind of resolve!”

Upon those last despondent words, I put myself to sleep: the type no one ever comes back from.

<><><>

“I am awake?”

That should not be possible! I should be dead, this was the eternal sleep spell: instant death with no hope of return…

Did it fail? I must have been interrupted by the wave…

No, who am I kidding, the spell is perfect: it has been used by my people for eons and never once did it fail.

Is it not more likely that I made the mistake?

Should I consider myself lucky? Since I somehow survived both my spell and the tidal wave.

Either way, I have no clue where I am. Last I remember, I was in my room but there is only darkness around me and this is not the darkness of a moonless night, unless it is inside a closet, far underground during said moonless night.

I try opening and closing my eyes but it makes no difference. How strange though, not counting magic tools, there should at least be some mana in the air, and yet I see nothing.

I do sense mana though, but it is either very thin or far away.

I try to move, but to no avail, I know there is some resistance but I do not feel it… yes, I do not feel.

I try pushing harder and harder and then, suddenly my arm move. It was only for a bit, but it did move.

There is something off though. Ever since I have awakened, I cannot help but feel that there is a sense of incongruity.

I care not for that conclusion. I would even go as far as to say I am reluctant to acknowledge it but it seems like the only option.

“Am I interred?”

Why did I have to go and say it out loud?

Do not panic! No, it is too late for that. Calm down, Me! Take a deep breath and think about something else.

A deep breath? Great job, now there are even more things I do not want to think about!

Forget it all. Calm yourself again. Take a deep breath.

I am not doing on purpose. I just do not know any other relaxation technique.

I sigh, but there is neither sound nor feeling of air on my lips.

“There is no way around it: I did not survive.”

I do know much about the undead, but I think I am rational.

Well, there are the constant panic attacks and the denial of reality, but I think they are pretty natural reactions to my situation.

I do not feel particularly murderous or hateful either, although that might be because I have yet to find someone or something to feel murderous about.

I feel sane, but then again, oneself is the least suitable person to determine one’s sanity.

“At any rate, I am a specimen worth studying. Unless, I really start murdering the living, in which case that would make me be a deadly curiosity.”

While I was occupying myself with all this internal monologuing, I managed to move my hand in a position somewhere I can see.

Is it really seeing? It feels somewhat different from what I am used to.

At least, I can make out the flow of magic circulating in my hand, and it appears thicker and stronger than in my memories.

I try clairvoyance, farsight, and a lighting spell, but none of those work. Which is not exactly surprising since I am buried under... under what?

I do not know, but what I do know that digging myself out will take a long time, a very long time.

I was never the most athletic person around… but not the worst either.

Well, it should not be so bad, I am not a person anymore, and if what I know is right, I do not have to worry about hunger and tiredness.

If, what I know is right. I am no expert on undeath, and my own experience already disproved a lot of what I know… knew to be true.

Oh, right, there is always teleportation, it can get me out of here in an instant! Or kill me… there are… were a lot of stories of people crashing against buildings and the ground at incredible speed.

In life, I was not the most courageous and enterprising person around – which is saying a lot considering my kin – and death does not seem to have cured me of my fears.

Let us get digging, and I will keep teleportation as my last and final option.

<><><>

I have reached the outside. Finally.

It has only been about two or three days – as perceived by me. I cannot speak for the accuracy – of constant labor.

“Thank you ground for being so soft!”

Many more thanks to my new body, I like how it is so strong and immune to fatigue. I mean, normally, I am pretty useless without magic.

I attempt to stand up but instantly fall back down. Among other things, my center of balance is wrong and it feels like treading on ice.

Unable to stand up and so I decide to crawl and as I progress towards the exit, my senses get more and more overwhelmed…

At first, I only felt it was strange to perceive living things, no matter how small, but they were very few of them and it was not that different from mana perception so I paid it no mind.

But I had to change my mind when a gust of wind suddenly thrown thousands, no billions of them at me!

The vision – for lack of a better word – was too much for me.

Overwhelmed by, and despite the fact I should not be able to feel pain, all I could do was to scream in pain and terror.

“STOP! MAKE IT STOP!”

But it is not like those tiny creatures chose to come in the first place, they go where the wind carries them without a will of their own.

“I WILL KILL YOU ALL!” says a voice that I do not recognize as mine.

The vision stops. I do not know if the Me that is not Me killed them, or if the environment of the tomb that used to be my home did, but it does not matter.

I crawl back to my damp – or so I assume – dark – undeniably – hole.

I am myself again. It is as though my previous murderous instincts were a lie…

If this is the way undead perceives the world, then it is no wonder they are so deranged.

My cowardice saved me there, Had I teleported, I would probably be a raving bent on world destruction by now.

These new senses of mine are dangerous, insanely so. If I am intent on leaving – and I am – I need to learn how to control them… and myself.

“I am so glad this place is so dead!” is certainly a strange thing to be thankful for, but I really am.

The feeling my sight gives me is reminiscent of a detection spell, although, in many other ways, it also reminds me of my mana perception.

The latter, I already know how to control but not the former, not yet.

Nevertheless, I am not without options. Creatures that can use magic to detect life and mana are not rare and as such, there are spells to conceal both.

Thankfully, I used to hunt wyvern a lot, so I am adept at those spells.

I only need to inverse the effect, to hide life from me rather than the opposite.

It might be wishful thinking, and I have no guarantee it will work, but what else can I do?

I cast the new spell and crawl out again – altering the spell was easy since it was only a matter of changing its direction – and find nothing: not a speck of life.

“Should I consider that a success?”

It proves it works, but in retrospect, it was not just a matter of changing the direction: I need to be able to filter what I see if I am to use these senses at all.

Do I really need to? Using farsight or clairvoyance to move around would be easier and far less dangerous…

I crawl back inside, dispel the spell, and make some more adjustments. Now, it should filter all creatures smaller than a beetle.

“This place is so desolate.”

It appears only smaller life-forms can strive in this environment… then again seeing how they suddenly died earlier, strive might not be the right word.

I look intently at the few insects and feel no incentive to kill them.

This is a good start, but not enough to prove my rationality.

For my next experiment, I catch a worm. Not by choice, it was the only one who did not, or rather, could not flee from me in time.

“I do not feel like killing you either.”

I release the creature, and it tunnels away from me as fast as it cans: my words were obviously wasted on it.

Now that there is no immediate risk of going insane, I want to get a good look at myself and see why I am unable to stand up.

And the actual reason is pretty simple: I am a skeleton but not of the fresh variety.

It is strange that my bones are like stone and yet appear to be undamaged.

“I was hoping for a fleshier undead.” But that might be for the best: rotten flesh is not a pretty sight, and it probably makes it worse when it is your own.

At least, I now have good explanations for my lack of sight, tactile sensation, and also why I have a new center of gravity.

Although, when I was crawling and digging, I knew where the ground was; it had a resistance to it, albeit not as obvious as when I was alive and certainly not up to the point I could tell what I was touching.

I cannot help but as myself this question. “How does it work?”

It is very obvious that the undead must have a number of ways to detect and feel their environment… otherwise, they would not be much of a threat.

This sensation is peculiar but worth studying, but it will have to wait until later. For now, I want to concentrate on perceiving my environment and getting around.

<><><>

I often heard the words persistent, vicious, hateful, tireless, hunger-less being used to describe the undead.

On the other hand, falling all the time, being unable to get up, getting stuck on walls and tripping over every stone, were not usually used, if ever.

So why does only the latter apply to me?

I stop using clairvoyance, forcefully shut magic vision, and then make the life concealment spell as powerful as possible.

Doing so, I hope it will help develop my other senses.

<><><>

At least a day as passed – there was light when I first got out, then it was night and now there is light again.

Other than that, I cannot tell: I cannot feel the temperature and the salt flats and ruins covered in shells and dry mud do not give me much information to work with.

I cannot say I have made much progress with my senses, but at least I can awkwardly walk a few meters without falling.

“This is not so bad for a four-days-old.” Or is it a bit over seven hundred old? I suppose it depends on how I count.

<><><>

How much time has passed? I do not have the slightest idea: it could be days, it could be weeks.

One who does not eat or sleep does not feel the passage of time in the same way.

However long, my training as paid-up: I have reached the level where I can perceive my surroundings well enough to not fall over pebbles – farewell my mortal enemies, your existence will be promptly forgotten – and other small obstacles.

I have never considered the fact that skeletons’ feet have barely any surface to them, and it makes it very easy to trip.

Which reminds me. Note to self: “I need some shoes with a lot of padding.”

What about my sense(s?). I can use them, but the inner working completely eludes me.

It is as though I have a projection of my surroundings in my head that I can expand or retract at will.

How precise? Very precise… so much that when I expand it too much, it becomes painful to process.

Yes, painful. Despite having neither flesh nor nerves, the undead have an uncanny number of ways to feel pain and tiredness.

How lucky of me to have retained the worst part of being alive.

I suppose a tireless body and a tireless mind are two entirely separate things.

Stranger yet is how the projection is somehow linked to my ability to feel: even when I am not touching objects I can sort of tell their texture, albeit not as well as when I touch them, and even less so than when I was alive.

Dare I say I have all the basics covered now?

Probably.

Should I now explore my weaknesses?

Certainly.

Do I want to do it?

Absolutely not! This is going to be painful, and that is something I am absolutely not looking forward to.

Nevertheless, it has to be done. Common sense says that undead are weak to Chi and fire. Although I fail to see why fossilized bones would be weaker to heat than flesh.

As I am going to cast many spells, it also appears like a perfect opportunity to test my concurrent casting skills.

In life, my best was around five similar spells, or three of a different nature… assuming it did last not for too long and did not mind the slight headache.

I first conjure a temporary elemental construct of fire, then one of ice, of lightning of Chi, of Sha and lastly, a lesser golem.

That is six spells at once, and yet I feel fine.

There is a notion that Undead are creatures of Sha but ever since I have become one of the undead, I have not been able to differentiate between the states of mana.

Before doing something that will obviously hurt myself, I modify a healing spell to use Sha instead of Chi – a very weak one, because I am not a masochist – and cast it over myself.

Nothing notable happens, which is a good start.

Next, I cast clairvoyance then scrape my left pinkie bones with a sharpened stone.

I had not taken the time to observe it yet, but the wound closes incredibly fast and in a few minutes, it is as good as new.

For the next test, I hurt myself again, albeit far more deeply than earlier.

It is interesting to note that both times, there was no feeling of being hurt.

I cast the Sha infused healing spell and see the wound close in a matter of seconds.

That confirms the theory: Sha acts for undead like Chi for the living and I can still heal myself when I get hurt.

It is peculiar though, as healing spells – or at least the one I altered – normally boost the body’s natural ability to repair itself.

I do not know why or how my fossilized bones can have such properties, but I suppose it is yet another interesting trait of the undead.

For now, all that matters is that I can now pursue the other experiment knowing I can heal myself if need be.

I am still fearful of Chi though. I got hit by a Sha bolt once when I was a child, and it was not a pleasant experience.

I start with fire, since it is the one I am most curious about – and the least fearful – then ice, lightning, Sha and stone.

Unsurprisingly, I take the most damage from the constructs with a physical component, nominally the golem and the ice elemental.

There is little doubt that as a skeleton, I am much more resistant than when I was alive.

Last is Chi and… I am really not looking forward to it.

As an extra precaution, I order the Sha elemental to heal me, and cast a modified slow acting spell over myself.

“Elemental, cast an atta… touch my hand lightly!”

PAIN assails me, quickly followed by a spell of darkness.

When I come back to myself, I find myself welcomed by the sight of small craters and the still fuming corpse of a bird.

It does confirm a weakness to life energy but… I cannot call this experiment a success if that is what happens every time I am hurt.

As even magic beasts know to use the opposite element when they fight – even wyverns, who have stomachs for brains – my weaknesses are all too apparent and if that is what happens, then I am not fit to go out in the world yet.

I know I need to build some resistance, but the training is going to be painful.

<><><>

I always had the habit of speaking to myself, but it has been getting worse and unlike when I was alive, I cannot use the excuse of the recording tool.

Even back then I had a feeling of loneliness and disconnection – like everyone else – but it cannot be compared to now: they might all have wanted to be left alone, but at least they were there.

Right now, I am as isolated as one can be as apart from the occasional bird, there are no animals.

Those lands belong to the dead, but despite my condition, I do not consider myself one of them.

I would give anything to have a Child by my side, or a rabbit… or anything as long as it can interact with me of its own will.

I do have the theoretical knowledge to make one – a child, not a rabbit – but without materials, documentation, and tools, it is nothing but a pipe dream.

There were hundreds of them in the city, at the time our demise but seeing as I cannot detect any mana, I doubt there are any functional ones.

I look at the Sha construct, who has been my only surviving companion over the last few weeks.

My training is showing results: I can now bear some pain and have no trouble moving around in a difficult environment.

I could train more by increasing the stimuli, but I am neither courageous nor masochistic enough to do that. Also, I feel like staying here is no longer an option as I am getting to the point where I would tame a wyvern for the sake of having company.

I take my recording device – I made it from a big salt gem and stone – to register my thoughts.

“Recording!”

Where does my mana come from? What is its nature? I seem to have an inexhaustible supply, yet there are barely any in the air and it certainly does not come from my food.

Since I have no measuring tool, I obviously cannot be sure but as I said, there is so little around that I should see the difference

Am I tapping into an outside reserve? Does it come from my body? Does it have to do with the theorized fourth state of mana?

“Stop recording. ”

I know firsthand that there exists a frightening number of tiny life forms floating all around me. They might be the one giving me their mana – in which case, I am probably killing them by millions – but I have no way to know without looking and I do not want to go through that experience again.

As for my next move, there used to be a forest in the south, down the mountains and crossed by two rivers.

I think this new environment will be suitable for training, and hopefully full of animals. Dare I hope tamable ones?

I mock myself. “Meet the new undead, gloomier than any of the previous breed!”

Something comes to mind and I take my recording device again.

“Set new entry as auto-read for any new registered owner. Recording!”

If you have found this tool then it means I am dead... Deader? If you follow the western river north up until the mountain, you will find an artificial path in the mountains.

Beyond stands a salt plain, but long ago it was the center of civilization. We had great knowledge of magic and we stored it all in a great vault.

Whoever you are, it can be yours. You only need to dig it out.

Please, do not let our wisdom die with us, it was the only thing we could be proud of.

“Stop recording!”

I may have chosen the easy way out before, but I have been given a second chance and I do not intend to squander it: I will live to the fullest, even if I have to fight to.