"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Zek screamed as the holy power burned his clothes, his bones, and his soul into nothingness.

The pain was unbearable. He reached out toward his black book. The pages were flying away, but it was in vain. It was linked to him; his phylactery burned along with his essence.

"NO! I won’t die, I can’t die!" He ripped one of the claws pinning him down, but he didn’t have the strength to stand up.

"It is over, Zek. Let your soul find peace in the afterlife." Said Gina, as she offered a prayer in his old mentor's name.

"Don’t give me that crap! You haven’t done anything in the past twenty years! Neither did you, stupid dragon, sitting in your throne looking down at everyone! I’ll not die. Even if my body and book are destroyed, I can be reborn. My power has transcended all of you!"

He refused to accept defeat. It wasn’t an empty bluff. Zek combined knowledge of the arcane, magic, and necromancy to make a discovery that no one had done before. He raised a single finger and used the last bit of mana he had.

"[Ouroboros]" his magnum opus, the power to reincarnate from nothingness. The holy fire finished consuming his bones, and Zek said his last words.

"I’ll return..."

*

*

*

The flashback ended, and Thanatos was once again in the empty void of darkness. He had too many things on his mind, but Zek was the first one to speak.

"Do you see it, boy? That was my defeat. My army collapsed after my dead and the powerful undead were slain by the other countries. Do you think you could have done something different? Are you still asking me to give up my life to give you another chance?"

"I-I no, I saw it. You did amazing. You defeated so many generals like they were bugs. Gina and the Golden Dragon were the only ones who could stand against you. Your last spell, you are here because you used it, but the power of the angel was too much, right?"

"Correct, Penitence’s holy sword continues to burn my soul as we speak. I don’t have much longer. Reincarnation would only accelerate my demise. That’s why I use another spell to summon a soul from another world to carry on my knowledge."

Looking back at the battle, Thanatos didn’t have any hope of defeating a single general there if he fought with his current power. He was still too weak. He didn’t dare ask for another chance. As long as the black book remained intact, he would return to life. He just had to accept that Underworld wouldn’t be there anymore. Adel, Neo, Eric, and Lia. All of them would be lost to time, or maybe they would be still alive as old people.

"I can’t accept it. Zek, I swear I’ll have vengeance on your name. The three who killed you. If they are still alive, I’ll kill them! Please grant me your strength!"

"Sorry kid, but I don’t want to die yet. Besides, the pain of losing your loved ones is going to become your power. Hold on to that hate and make them pay."

"Then… if we are going to be stuck together, tell me something. Rabase? Was that your country?"

Zek looked at the side for a moment reminiscing the past. "Yes, it was great land in the past, but now there are only ruins there."

"So that’s where you learn everything? The knowledge you spent twenty years accumulating and storing. If I want to learn to decode the glyphs of the black book, I should go there. Thank you Zek."

Thanatos thanked him from the bottom of his heart. Zek was puzzled by this sincere reaction until he felt the intent inside Thanatos' soul.

"What are thinking kid?"

"Should I tell you? I thought you could read my mind. Or maybe you are too weak?" Thanatos's yellow eyes look at Zek not as a mentor or an evil necromancer but as an obstacle on his path.

"You can’t escape. We are in the place between life and death. There is no other way; you have to wait!"

"No, I just need more power, a stronger soul that can resurrect itself one more time. You have the potential, Zek. I just need you to give it to me."

"If you try anything, I’ll erase you, Edgar Rossi!"

"If you want to waste your last chance of revenge, be my guest. Destroy me Zek and forget about your knowledge surviving in this world. Or let me eat your soul…"

He didn’t waste any time. Thanatos swam up to the dark skull and grabbed his soul.

He wasn’t sure how, but putting his soul on the line, he began to tear the essence of Zek out of the skull. Maybe it was because they were on a plane, neither alive nor dead. Or maybe it was because the two of them became intertwined when Zek summoned him for the first time. Whatever the case, a battle to devour each other began.

The two souls pushed against one another, like dogs fighting, trying to eat one another. Chunks of souls changed from one soul to the other until they fused into an unrecognizable mess.

Zek wasn’t taking it lightly. He had given too many chances to the boy in the past, but biting the hand that gave him everything was blasphemy, an insult as serious as that of those who killed him. He was furious, and yet he couldn’t bring himself to destroy him.

He didn’t have eyes or a face to look at anymore, but he felt the determination. A thirst for retribution that he had long forgotten. This boy was the same as him. No, he was more than him.

Thanatos was grateful, but he didn’t let that get in his way. He bit and devoured Zek's essence without a single regret.

That determination to erase anything that refuses to yield. When did I lose it? Was it after dying in the Capital against Gina, Thane and the Wise Dragon?

He spent thirty years alone in this void. He didn’t want to admit it, but he got soft. His hate got swept away by time and his status as an undead.

He didn’t want to die or let Thanatos free after that shameful defeat, but he didn’t have a choice. He was the one being consumed by the hate of his rival.

In his final moments, Zek acknowledged the true power of Thanatos.

"Yes, you aren’t a mere undead like me, but a Lord of Darkness." With that, Zek's soul found peace, not by redemption but by being consumed in the search for power.

[Level obtained: Devour of souls]

[Level obtained: Lord of darkness 5]

***

After the raid at Underworld's main base, the survivors retreated into the Great Forest. Thanks to the help of the demi human tribes, they hid from the Red Dragon incursion.

A week passed, and for the first time, the leaders, Neo, Adel, and Eric, reunited to discuss their next move as a syndicate.

Adel was the most hurt, and he spent five days in bed because of the poison of the assassin. Neo also got heavily poisoned, but with her demi human blood and the help of the spirits, it only took her three days to return to her full strength. Both walked to a cave close to the Neo home village.

Eric was guarding the entrance. This was the most important place for him. He greeted his friends and let them into the dark cave. Only a few torches illuminated the area. Behind a barricade made of wood and a door locked with a spell that one of the leaders of another tribe put in place. There lie the graves of Thanatos and Castess.

A flag hung from the ceiling. It was a crude drawing of the symbol of Underworld. It was a recent addition, but Eric asked Thanatos to make it since the other syndicates had one. A dark hand raising from a pit, it was his determination to raise to the top of the criminal organizations in the Republic. It had a second meaning that he only told Eric.

"We come from the bottom of society, so we can’t forget to look all around us. The most amazing people are in the most hidden places. If we can convince them to join us, then we’ll be invincible."

Tears fell from Eric’s face as he recalled that memory. The defeat was still fresh in his mind. He wiped the tears with his arm and he looked at his companions.

"What are we going to do?"

"There is nothing for us to do now. We need to wait. The members that we sent the other day came back. The building was seized by the army, and there are reports of several members of the Red Dragon doing business in the city. We have to hide until all this chaos calms down." Adel said, with a somber expression.

"And then what?"

"I don’t know..."

Adel was too shocked by the death of his master. The one who renewed his life's purpose died because he couldn’t save him. Without Thanatos, he didn’t have any interest in trying to keep the syndicate working.

"You don’t know? Are you going to make those bastards of the Red Dragon pay?" Neo said with pure anger. She was biting her teeth so hard they were making a creaking sound.

"Are you going to just let them take the city?"

"What else can we do?! One of the bosses is waiting for any attempt to reclaim the city. Without Thanatos, we don't stand a chance. We would be lambs charging at a lion’s mouth. Not only that, but Thanatos' real identity was found by the army, so they printed wanted posters asking for information about Underworld offering an obscene amount of money. Everyone knows he’s a necromancer, so he can’t get anywhere close to the Republic."

It was time to admit it. Underworld was finished. The other bases across the Republic were being snuffed out by the army or the Red Dragon. It would be only a matter of time before the news reached the Kingdom and other countries. If they had to run, this was probably their last chance.

"I’m not running! I swear on Thanatos and Castess's names that I will rebuild Underworld. I’ll make us the most powerful syndicate and destroy the Red Dragon!" Eric was determined to have his vengeance.

"Eric…"

"SHUT UP! You called him master, but when he needs us the most, you are looking for a way to escape with the tail between your legs. You’re the second in command. It is your duty to guide all the members that are still alive!"

"I can’t do it, you fucking idiot!"

"Why? Are you afraid? Is that it?" Eric grabbed Adel by the neck and shook him.

"I’m weak!" he confessed his true feelings. "I’m not strong like him. I wanted to learn from him. A fraction of his power would have been enough. But I’m useless."

Both Eric and Neo surpassed him in battle prowess. He wasn’t worthy of trying to lead his master's legacy.

"He’s going to come back. A necromancer's power, right? I’m going to wait as long as it takes." Neo put her hand in front.

Eric did the same, touching Neo's hand. They both look at Adel. He was hesitating until Neo said something.

"Stop whining. If you aren’t good enough now, then become someone worthy. Train like hell! I’ll help you and beat you till the verge of death if that’s what you need!"

Adel put his hand in with the others and swore to not hesitate again.

"From this moment on, the three of us swear with our lives to make Thanatos' dream come true!"

As they finished their loyal pact, a sound came from the coffin. They looked at it, and the cover broke open from the inside.