Chapter 1: Awakening in a Tomb

The ground shook and cracks formed around a stone coffin. A hunchbacked man in black cloak riddled with holes clapped his hands as the coffin lit up. The cracks widened, showing a burning liquid akin to magma and lava. Suddenly, a pillar of black light appeared from the stone ceiling and landed on the coffin, shattering the slab that covered it.

"Heh. Another Son of Undeath awakens. What kind are you?" the man laughed, his hands and face void of any flesh or skin.

The lava turned changed color and even the fires turned black and green. It was a variant of regular fire, expected of a first generation. An arm raised from the coffin, a gasp for breath heard as the hand tried to grasp the air. The hunchback giggled with glee as it saw black, burnt armor around the hand and arm. an upper body leaned up, revealing a black armored knight with cracks of fire in his armor. A visor covered his face and the helmet was one of ancient design, not worn by knights of the Era of Fire.

"A soul reborn from the Era of Dragons?" the hunchback tilted its head as the armored knight rose. The knight held his head as he looked around, bewildered. He had a shield with an emblem of a dark grey dragon with two heads and glowing green markings over its body. A black mane fell from the back of both dragons' heads with six horns on the sides of their heads.

"It's true. How rare. I thought they had all risen by now. Hmm. Let's see its soul," the hunchback murmured as it took out a spyglass and looked at the knight through it. "A tiny, dark grey lizard with two heads. Not a winged, two-headed dragon. Pity. Lizards are trash spirits. Maybe his spirit will evolve? Is the emblem of his shield his spirit's true nature? Interesting."

"Where am I?" a voice rasped as the knight turned to a hunchback. "What are you, fiend? Stay back!"

"In case you haven't noticed, you're already dead. Well, a Son of the Undeath. Welcome back to the world of the living, most of you anyway," the skeleton man laughed. "This is planet Dajarok, but the year 715 of the Era of Fire. The world you know is gone. Congratulations! You cheated death and was reborn an undead with your past life's memories!"

"I....died? Impossible! You can't trick me!" the knight roared as it drew a black bladed sword with a shining silver cross guard, manta ray grip, and a pommel with an empty slot for a jewel.

"Well, you're dead," the skeleton cackled. "Hey, don't beat yourself up. Being undead means you don't have to worry about life spans, sickness, or disease. Tell me, do you remember your soul fire being twisted and corrupted?"

"Soul fire?" the knight said as a white flash entered his mind and he held his helmet as pain wracked his head. "Father summoned an Emissary of the Undeath. Screaming. Withering bodies. Holding a general's daughter in my arms before something got pulled out from me: a white and blue flame. Then darkness. It was cold. So cold. Then the cold began to burn and I awoke here...."

"You're the eldest son of the emperor of the Venos Empire? HAHAHAHA! Finally, the last member of the imperial family is born. I knew your body was hidden here by an unknown force, but not an Emissary. Heh. What a prize you are," the skeleton cackled. "A first generation undead. Eight thousand years and the last one awakens at last."

"Eight thousand years?" the knight gasped and fell to his knees, his blood colored cloak in tatters as it flickered behind him. "Mages. It was those mages! It was me too. I was one of the twelve."

"Just so you know, mages are hated the most by humans. They cultivate the essence of the elements but don't use them for magic, enhancing their martial arts instead. Still, a human that could condense an elemental essence into the element is rare indeed. Like using fire essence to use fire martial arts," the hunchback laughed. "You can do both, a feat most undead can. All undead start with a human skeleton composition. As we grow stronger, our bones evolve and change shape. You can also take the bones of the living and replace it with your own to enhance it. Undead are the scourge of the living. Welcome to my world."

"This cannot be. The cycle of rebirth was broken?" the knight realized.

"Yup and it seems you were partly responsible. Don't want to let that little secret out. You can call me Bones. That's all I am and I was also a grave keeper before I was killed and eaten by an undead. I'll teach you the robes, as is my duty as one of the caretakers of this ancient tomb, though not this deep underground and hidden. You are in the catacombs of your once mighty empire. Now, let me teach you about your current situation," Bones laughed. "Let's start with your name"

"I am Cid Drake," the knight said as he was about to remove his helmet.

"I wouldn't do that. You can't really take it off until you form a fleshy body again. Until then, your body is only that of bones," Bones warned. "Well, Cid, this is the land of the undead. We currently inhabit a third or fourth of the world alongside demons."

"The enemy?" Cid gasped.

"Former enemy. You are Son of the Undeath now. The Emissary of Undeath disappeared after creating the first of the undead by killing, twisting, and corrupting the souls of the citizens of the Venos Empire. Nasty immortal, that one. The strongest of dragons are missing and the humans and magical beasts inhabit the rest of the world. Dragons are the strongest of magical beasts, a fact you should remember. Mages were killed off and hunted since that day, all the blame laying on the twelve mages and the emperor. Only light magic is not persecuted, deemed a necessary evil turned fanatical religion to humans," Bones began.

"The Celestial Church still exists. Must be those paladins and light mages," Cid noted as Bones nodded.

"Most humans resort to martial arts, the cultivation path of warriors. Humans subsequently became a bigger threat but were less versatile in combat with no magic from the other elements. The commons elements are earth, fire, water, wind, and wood. The rare elements are darkness and light. The unique elements are destruction, life, and death," Bones said. "That variant fire of yours just might contain elements of destruction. Only demons and undead have those elements and we are death elements given form and shape. Humans scorn but life and death as it tampers with both, a feat that reminds them of what brought the creation of undead anyway."

"That hasn't changed I see," Cid nodded.

"Undead are different than humans as we can fuse with our spirits. Humans think of spirits as weapons or icons of potential as the stronger the spirit, the stronger the human. Humans can also materialize their spirits to assist them but we can shape shift into them. Thus, our spirits are always beasts and not weapons or armor," Bones said, stunning Cid.

"No way! That's too fearsome," he cried, unable to believe it.

"And it is why we are considered monsters. Who cares? it's what we are now. Anyway, the undead only care about eating the souls of the living to restore themselves. After gaining a full body of flesh, we can hide among societies of the living. Every time we kill one of the living, we absorb a piece of their soul. Thus, our cultivation rates are faster. It is time you head above ground. Serve the baron and head out into the rest of the world once you develop a fleshy body. We should also give you a new name. Cid Drake is blasphemous to living and undead alike," Bones said. "Hmm. Sword in your right hand and magic in the other. No, a long sword. Hmm. Unclear what kind of undead he is and he is made of four elements. Hmm. How about Timber? Yeah. Makes sense."

"In what way?" the knight said, confused.

"Think of the reincarnation cycle as roots of a large tree. Each life can be counted as a root with the tree symbolizing the soul. You are an undead, a soul severed from that cycle. Thus, you can be considered timber," Bones said. "See, I am a genius. Never use the power of destruction. You can't handle it without a fleshy body. Darkness comes naturally to all undead. Use that magic first as you fight with your sword. Again, you choose to be a knight of slaughter or justice. You are an undead now. There is no going back. When you get a fleshy body, learn from the humans as you hide among them. Cid Drake is dead, eight thousand years dead. Only Timber remains."

"I understand. Thank you for telling me so much. I would probably have mentally broken down. How do I leave?" Timber asked.

"There," Bones said as he created a hole in the rock wall using magic, revealing a long tunnel. "It should lead you to the surface. Don't get bullied by other undead or demon. Above all, never reveal your past identity. I suggest opening some stone coffins on the way up. Might find some useful things in there."

"I see. Thank you. I hope we meet again," Timber said and entered the tunnel. The entrance disappeared as the rocky walls covered it and made it look as if it were never there.

"Oh, we will," Bones said but Timber could not have heard those words.

"Bones, we saw the pillar of darkness! We can finally slay the fiend," three paladins in white and gold armor shouted as they appeared an hour later. " Took us so long to get down here. Now, let's kill the body. Wait. What? Where is the knight? Where is that undead protected by the mysterious energy?"

"He's gone," Bones said as the paladins looked at him enraged.

"You betrayed us!" one of them roared.

"Your mistake was believing I was ever one of you. Why betray my own race? Idiot dullards," Bones laughed as spikes of earth impaled them.

"Huh?" one of them gasped as all three coughed blood.

"I finally gathered all the pieces and you want to end my fun? Fool. This world just got a lot more interesting. A first generation undead....the last one is finally awake," Bones smiled, but no flesh could display that as he always looked like he was smiling.

"First generation? The missing prince of the Venos Empire?" one of the knights rasped before choking on his blood as he died.

"Cursed lich!" one knight screamed, killing himself as his yelling expanded his lunges and allowed the spike to pierce him deeper.

"Beautiful souls. Just beautiful," Bones laughed, taking off its hood to reveal curved horns on its head, its back straightening to over ten feet in height. "Fallen paladins overcome by greed and lust for power. You really think I served you without an ulterior motive? Fools. Now you will be my undead slaves and I....I will have access to the knowledge within your head regarding paladins and the Celestial Church."

"What have we done?" the third knight despaired as Bones lifted a bony hand onto his face. He felt immeasurable pain for a second before there was only darkness.

"Good luck, Timber. I hope you don't disappoint me," Bones cackled as it carried the three corpses and vanished into the shadows, the room and the forgotten shield shattering as countless spikes of earth destroyed all evidence left behind.