In the middle of an endless ocean of darkness. A single body was drifting without direction or purpose. The warm embrace of shadows was comforting, that familiar old feeling. It has been a while since Thanatos felt it.

He opened his eyes and gazed at the darkness all around him.

"I died..." He wasn’t surprised; he only felt disappointed and angry at himself.

From the horizon, a figure emerged from the shadows. The red lights inside the skull gave his presence away. It was Zek. He didn’t have arms anymore and his vertebrae were broken. He was slowly disappearing because of the wound in his soul.

"Welcome back, boy. It’s been a while since the last time we talked. Let me give my congratulations, hahaha. You have survived almost seven months since that little apprentice of the hand killed you. Not bad."

"Not bad? Did you have any idea what was happening? My friends, Underworld, I don’t even know what happened to Lia!" He screamed as he stood in the sea of darkness and looked into Zek’s empty eyeballs.

"Don’t mess with me! You know exactly what happened. You can read my memory. You know exactly how I feel!"

"Yes... That’s why I want to congratulate you. You learn through battles and experiences. You build relationships based on friends, enemies, coworkers, and even loved ones. You had it all; your heart was full and now they took it from you."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" Zek laughed like a mad man. Thanatos's anger boiled and swam toward Zek.

He moved in front of him and, with his claws, grabbed the giant skull. He tried to break him, but the bone was too hard. He pushed his fingers as hard as he could, but only dark blood came out of his claws.

"SHUT UP! You think it is funny. Your useless book hid secrets until the very end! You told me you'd give me the power to do anything. I can’t even kill the army or the Red Dragon or some measly assassins…"

He let go of Zek, defeated and with dark tears coming from his eyes.

"I couldn’t protect anything... not a single thing."

He failed at everything. His new life ended up short and he lost all things dear to him. Underworld and his subordinates. Adel, Neo, Eric, Lia... Castess's face was filled with sadness and hope as he told him about his dream. He wasn’t going to fulfill any promise.

"Exactly. You had everything your heart desired and they destroyed it. An army of cowards that can only follow orders instead of thinking. A syndicate that only cares about power and obedience destroys everything in its path. A shady organization that empowers themselves by using the reputation of their previous work and only comes to deal the last blow and steal the credit."

"Worms, every single one of them. Lowly, pathetic, insignificant humans. What makes them right? A higher power or is some law they invented to justify their wars and oppression! Don’t forget this day, Thanatos!"

"I’ll never forget or forgive."

"Yes, hold that hate in your heart. When your bones are crushed, and your organs destroyed into an unrecognizable pulp, remember the hate! This hate is going to become your source of strength. You can reach heights that people think are impossible. They'll call you a demon and a monster, but you'll show them... show them!"

"Tear their dreams and hopes to pieces; family, friends, riches, work, art, wishes, love, and hate. Raze it all. So, when others come to take from you, point to the pile of bodies on your back and say: You and everything you care about are going to join this pile if you stand against me!"

Thanatos held every word from Zek’s mouth. He was going to claim his vengeance. Even if everyone was dead when he revived, he was going to raise hell in their name.

"Tell me, Zek. How long do you think it is going to take me to revive this time?"

"At your current level, I would say about fifty or sixty years."

"Then can you do something for me?"

"If you’re going to ask me to revive you, forget it. I barely had any power left. The spell would take the last of my essence and I would find true death."

"Remember the promise we made when you resurrected me? If I killed the assassin, I could have things my way."

"Yes, you did, but that was before. You already tried it; it was a nice effort. Your ‘Underworld’ was a nice experiment, but you saw what happened."

"Your dream, tell me?"

"What?"

"I already promised to make a bunch of dreams come true. One more is nothing. I carry it with the others on my back. Please Zek resurrect me and I’ll make sure to make your dream come true."

"Kid, what makes you think I’ll agree to do that? My dream is to have my power and knowledge survive. Even if it takes you 100 years to walk again, I’ll be happy-"

"You’re lying. You are not a monk or a benevolent man. You chose me because we are similar. I can tell now, you hate to lose just like me."

"I hate to lose?"

"Yes. Sure, you want to preserve your knowledge, but that’s just a part of it. Your head is speaking logically, but your soul is screaming for revenge. You want to make them pay."

"And you think you can do that? HAHAHAHAHA. Boy, you couldn’t deal with the army of the Republic and a syndicate. The line between confidence and recklessness is very thin. You stand no chance against any of them."

"Then are you just going to die? You can’t use the spell to summon a human again. I know it! You don’t have arms or ribs anymore. How long can you last against the magic that is destroying your soul? You lost Zek, admit it."

Thanatos looked down as he spoke.

"It feels like shit I know. I lost too, but I’m not giving up. I’ll make them pay, so don’t let them win. Put your faith in me! I promise to leave a scar so big in this world that both of our names are going to haunt people’s nightmares for hundreds of years!"

Zek remained unconvinced. He read Thanatos' memories when he died. The last few months passed inside his mind like a movie. He wasn’t the same as before. He was more powerful, but the real change was in his heart. He wasn’t a hurt kid anymore; he dealt with his pain and regret...

"Still, you are powerless in the grand scheme of the world. I saw all your battles. You gained power and knowledge, but you’re missing experience."

"Then let me see them. Show me the ones that killed you and how they did it."

"You think if you came up with a plan, I’m going to resurrect you?"

"No, I want to see the enemies I’ll have to fight in the future."

They could read each other's minds. There wasn’t any attempt at deceit or lying.

"Fine, I’ll show you the day I lost, my second biggest regret."

The ocean of shadows shifted around Thanatos, and he was transported to a memory.

***

Thirty years ago, in the Capital of the Republic of Selus. The army of death had come from the west, destroying everything in its path.

100.000 undead under the command of the master necromancer. The most heinous and terrible wizard on the continent. Zek of Rabase.

The Army marched with one goal in mind. The destruction of the Republic.

The main forces consisted of low-level skeletons and zombies; they were cannon fodder. The middle level undead were Death Knights, Banshees, Corpse Collectors, and many other types. The most dangerous undead were capable of destroying cities on their own: Apocalypse Knights, Orbs of Madness, and Flesh Giants.

It was the most terrible army ever seen in the land. The Republic would stand no chance against this army, that’s why an alliance was formed. The Republic of Selus, the Kingdom of Axes, the Draconic Empire, and the Nation of Los. These four countries put their differences aside and joined forces to stop Zek. They knew if they waited for the Republic to fall, they would be next.

The countries mobilized their armies to help, but the size of the undead legion kept them at bay. Zek split his forces to entertain the other countries in small battles. He was buying time as he advanced toward the Capital of Selus. His first objective was to destroy the Holy See, where the most powerful priestess resided, Gina Adler.

***

"High Priestess Gina. The council of 52 is ready to receive you." The attendant gave her a cordial bow and guided her toward the central chamber.

Before Gina could enter, she already heard the tumult and voices of the council members. There wasn’t anything surprising about the current situation.

A massive legion of undead was besieging the city. Dozens of towns in the nation were reduced to ashes as the army made its way here. Zek came to deliver the final blow to the Republic by destroying the Capital.

"We need to evacuate the citizens!"

"Where? You know how many thousands of undead are waiting outside the walls? We can’t escape!"

"Where is the Kingdom and the nation of Los?"

"The messenger said they were fighting undead in the back. They probably aren’t going to make it in time!"

"Where is the Golden Dragon? He still hasn’t shown up. He promised to help us!"

Complete chaos. Everyone screamed to have their voices heard, but no one had solutions. When faced with imminent death, the true colors of a person shine. As expected, most of the council was panicking. They were nobles and merchants. Of course, they were concerned about their safety and that of their families.

It was thanks to the army that the city hadn’t fallen yet. The Supreme General, Lor Kingston, was the one responsible for organizing the troops. He didn’t waste time and sealed the entrances. He ordered the civilians to hide in shelters and divided the army forces to defend the Capital. His most recent course of action was to talk with the High priestess of the faith and discuss the situation.

They agreed that the one who should deliver the plan to the council should be Gina since Lor was busy with the troops. Besides, having a holy authority could inspire them in this situation.

Gina walked toward the center podium and cast a spell.

"[Mass calm]" her scepter glowed, and light radiated through the chamber. The men and women stopped talking as the panic subsided. They looked at the center of the chamber.

They recognized her immediately. Gina Adler: She was 30 years old, but she rose to the position of High Priestess through natural talent in holy magic and popular adoration. Her golden hair and eyes were so beautiful that people got enchanted by just watching her. Some call her an angel in the flesh.

"Honorable men and women of the Council. Please do not panic. You’re the leaders of our nation. Without you, the citizens don’t have hope. I have talked with the Supreme General. It's true that we’re facing an unprecedented crisis. But we are not alone!"

"We have allies that are fighting in other places. I received word from the Kingdom that they are sending a unit of their generals directly to help. The main force is advancing through the Great Forest. We only need to hold out for a few days. We have 20.000 soldiers plus the members of the Faith. The reason he attacked us first is that we have his weakness. The light always purges the darkness!"

She hit her scepter on the ground, and the council applauded. Their hopes were revitalized. The optimism disappeared as the hands stopped clapping and everyone turned their eyes upward to see a black mist taking form.

"That!"

A hoarse, hollow voice began to speak. from the mist.

"Hello, people of the Republic. My name is Zek."