“And that is what we saw in the mirror.” Kazius finished, explaining every bit of his vision.

Remus had led the two to an area that was desolate so they could talk without being interrupted. The place was clearly where the Lich likely had tea, likely one of those habits he maintained despite being dead. They sat by an old wood table and two chairs with an elegant design. Roses were engraved on the wood, the set was clearly made with a lot of care. Due to the size of the chairs and the number, Damon had volunteered to stand beside Kazius. After all, he couldn’t even fit in the delicately crafted chairs due to his stature.

While talking, Remus patiently listened to his every word. It was hard to tell what the Lich was even thinking. While in his skeletal form, he didn’t have the most expressive of faces. The lights in his eyes seemed to grow dim before then brightening again. As if done thinking.

“The future, I have hated those devices that look into it so much for so long… If I were to make a guess… I think Lazne may have found something like this temple… And replicated the device in a smaller scale for the Oracle… Because Lazne would not have abandoned a temple like that if he had it in his grasp… So I believe the vision you saw from it is reliable… Not crafted by that traitor.” Remus finally spoke up, clearly cynical about visions shown by The Oracle.

“I suppose at least these terrible magical devices can do at least a little good… I refuse to allow any more of my family to die to those bastards… Of course, I will help you, if it is for Alice’s sake… It does make me feel better to know she has such good friends… And someone who cherishes her so much.” Remus admitted, clearly not disturbed by some of the worse aspects of the vision that Kazius had described. Perhaps he would have in his human days, but being a Lich had likely changed him some. Still, it did shock Kazius when he spoke of him cherishing Alice.

Kazius would blush a bit, caught off guard. “W-Wait. How did you know? I didn’t tell you I liked her.” He questioned in embarrassment.

Damon laughed, “Buahaha! Come on, Kazius! You have it all over your face!” The Werewolf teased smugly.

Remus nodded in confirmation, “That and well, when I talked to my granddaughter… Even though we were supposed to be catching up, you would be surprised how much emphasis she would put on you while speaking of her travels. Reminds me of my younger days, you two are quite adorable in my opinion… Of course… I would not have to tell you what I would do to you if you do not treat her well, correct?” He added, his expression while not expressive, intimidating none the least.

Kazius shook his head, “O-Of course not…” He would manage out with a gulp. Sure, Kazius was strong, but a Lich? Kazius knew better than to cross Remus, not like he intended to. It was clear he was just protective of the only family he had left, something Kazius could relate to.

“Good, I suppose I should expect as much from my apprentice.” Remus stated, sounding pleased.

“Apprentice?” Kazius questioned in confusion. Of course, he wanted to learn necromancy, but it wasn’t like he had asked the Lich about that just yet.

“Yes… Necromancy is an art… One I wouldn’t have had the stomach for while alive… But an useful craft that I had grown fond of over the years… A craft that you described knowing in the future… So clearly you have the talent for it… Of course, every piece of art is different. Most Liches use fancy little spells with their own flair, but I was not a spell caster. I actually quite despise Wizards and their strange rituals, over-complicating things. Sneaky veils… Raising your hands and a command is more than enough in my opinion.” Remus began to explain.

‘Wait… So that isn’t how it is normally done?’ Kazius would think to himself. Necromancy was banned in all 3 kingdoms. It wasn’t like he would have knowledge of the different methods of raising the dead.

“Well, to learn the fate of my family, as you can guess, I set off for a bit when I first awoke… As rare as we Liches are, I am not the only one out there. I met one other, I quite didn’t like the fellow, but he was a good source of information. He knew two others of our kind… Anyway… The method you described using is clearly mine, quite the unique one, actually. You should have seen his reaction when we spoke of our methods… I break a lot of norms when it comes to Liches… Before me, they thought they were this little elite circle of skilled magic users and Necromancers. They aren’t fond of me because I make them feel not so special. Some brutish former Adventurer sells sword.” Remus admitted. Indeed, he was quite different from a typical Lich, or at least from how Kazius pictured one to be.

“They spent their whole lives striving for immortality or Lichdom, while I never wanted any of this and stumbled upon it… Considering this, you can see why we don’t get along. They have the decency to leave me alone at least… I did get a few tips when I met him though, but I taught myself thanks to the many years I had here… I made myself some company while I was at it, as you can see…” Remus would finally finish.

“I see… So the fact I knew that style of Necromancy means at some point you taught it to me… But… Clearly I wasn’t that good… All I could do was preserve Alice as she was.” Kazius stated with a saddened expression.

“Not necessarily… Do you not wonder why I haven’t brought back my Rose?” Remus would interject.

‘Indeed, he has a point. Why hasn’t he? He clearly misses her.’

“Then why?” Kazius would question in confusion.

“Between my time buried in the ground and me actually learning Necromancy… Can you imagine how long she was dead for? After too long, the body will lose their connection to their essence, their soul. If I brought her back, she would be a mindless skeleton or zombie at this point… I love Rose too much to bring her back as a mindless undead… If I could make her a high-ranked one like a Wight, I would not hesitate to have her here with me… As selfish as such a thing may be… My assumption is, while you managed to learn enough to stop decomposition… By the time you came in contact with me, it was too late…” Remus admitted. In a way, in such a future, the fate of Kazius’ love was quite similar to that of Remus.

“Regardless, an apprentice of mine can’t be all that bad… I will teach you. And I hope this knowledge I pass onto you can be used to protect my granddaughter… I don’t want you to need to make her an undead… And she will need protecting even beyond just whatever event you got warned of… Fighting The Demon King… Oh, I wish you children didn’t have to do such things… And now there is The Church too… No… Teaching you won’t be enough… I will take you all under my wing. I know my way around weapons after all.” Remus stated firmly, the last bit more to himself than to Kazius.

“Really!?” Damon beamed, being quite excited it seems. He was arguably a prodigy when it came to self-teaching how to use a spear, but he never was taught proper fighting techniques.

“Thank you, Remus.” Kazius stated, feeling relieved even. This would indeed help him in many ways. Hopefully, it would be enough to protect his friends and kingdom… And above all, Alice.

“Don’t thank me yet, I haven’t taught you anything… Oh, Alice surely needs straining out if she got taught that garbage swordsmanship Ratier threw around… That boy never listened… Then Azanor could use some discipline… Yes… What to do about Eve…” Remus would begin to grumble to himself, walking away without further explanation, likely to prepare. When he got like this, even in this form, it was hard to not see him as an old man.

Kazius smile a bit to himself, he quite liked Remus. Sure, he did have his scary moments, but he felt like the old man meant well… And he understood his protectiveness… He hopes to become strong enough to make such a teacher proud, and perhaps earn his approval before attempting to start any sort of relationship with Alice.