A blood curling scream rang through the forest as a skeletal hand, black as the abyss, pierces through the earth. It grasps at the barren soil as flocks of birds take off towards the skies. A second hand clawing through following the first. A black skull with gleaming eyes bursts forth from the ground. Burnt soil bursting upwards as its displaced. A full skeleton breaks free of its prison, standing a moment in the center of a burned out crater. Moments later, it topples over.

Jyun Asamoto POV

I’m laying on my back. Mind blank. Enjoying the solitude that the darkness brings. Time flows strangely in this world I find myself in. Seeming to last an eternity in mere moments. So I was unaware of when or how I came to find myself in an unfamiliar room.

Shadowy figures, clearly feminine, were moving about. Their arms laden with trays of food, and pitchers of what seemed to be wine.

I barely twitched when I noticed that my skull rested upon the lap of an unknown woman.

“So he wakes,” she says, her fingers tracing the curves of my jaw.

“...” I stare blankly at the woman.

A hooded veil covers all but her glistening pink lips which are drawn upward into a slight smile. The white skin surrounding them seemed to glow.

“Speechless? Most are.” She continues as her smile grows wider.

“...” I keep staring blankly. Too tired to respond.

“Still weary? Then rest a while…” she whispers as darkness once again clouds my eyes.

Nox POV

A sigh escapes my lips as I lean back into the large velvet cushions. Fingers still tracing lines across the skeleton’s skull. I’m entranced by the coloration of the undead being. As the light from the dim chandeliers hits them, you can see a myriad of purple and blue dancing upon the black bones.

One of my maidens slowly drift towards us. A pitcher of wine ready to pour, but I dismiss her with a short wave of my arm. My thoughts returning to the skeleton in my lap.

I had noticed his presence the moment he had entered our world. The first abyssal having appeared after three centuries since the last had been destroyed.

A smile unwittingly appears on my lips as I remembered the adventures I had shared with the one named Jack. He had saved me when I was just a small lost girl on the outskirts of a ruined empire.

I was wary at first. He was an undead after all, but as we traversed the war torn lands, I came to know him. Despite how aloof and brutal he seemed at times, he was extremely kind. At least to those in his favor.

Jack saw the potential I had within me, and went to great lengths to acquire the spellbooks and tomes that I needed to learn the arcane arts. Even going so far as facing entire kingdoms on his own to obtain them.

He’d be destroying armies one second, and the next, he was patiently coaching me on how to read the letters. He became a symbol of terror and destruction, but to me, he was something like a father.

As I got older, our group slowly grew. A lich having joined us, along with a few skeletal knights. I felt strangely at ease amongst them. I guess it helped that Karalis had begun tutoring me in the ways of magic.

Before I knew it, our ragtag group had taken over the entire continent. Jack created an empire for the undead, and made me its queen.

Of course, this drew the ire of the gods, and they launched a crusade against us. The war was going badly. The coalition army was far too strong with all their blessings. They carved a path towards the heart of our empire.

Jack wasn’t one to sit idle, and rallied our troops to meet them. I tried to go with him, but he put me to sleep, and when I awoke he was nowhere to be found.

I immediately began attempting a summoning ritual to gain aid against the invaders. It took time, but I hardly noticed with how hard I was concentrating. So it was a surprise when I could hear sounds of battle from the room I was in.

Jack stumbled into the room as I was finishing the ritual. His bones looking as if they would crumble away. He whispered something to me as a lance of light shot through us both.

We fell backwards into the circle, and I had found myself here. Reborn as a god, finally immortal, but without my beloved to share it with.

A tear trailed its way down my cheek and fell onto the abyssal’s skull.

I feel a pang in my heart as he begins to fade away. I realize he isn’t Jack, but…

I shake the thoughts from my head as he disappears completely.

Jyun Asamoto POV

I can hear the wind as it rustles through the surrounding trees.

Opening my eyes, I see a familiar copse of trees as I sit up. I look behind me, and sure enough, I see the entrance to Vragska’s lair.

I get up on my unsteady feet to stumble towards it. Each step bringing me memories fresh with pain.

The sound of squelching mud giving way to the clacking of bones as I journey further inside.

“Who’s there?” A voice startles me, and I halt. It sounds familiar…

“God, now I’m hearing things.” I definitely recognize that voice.

“Henderson!” I call out, running full tilt.