"Alright." Jack rubbed Leslie's small back.
[Verruca... Who is over the City Border of Sosuhalf?] Jack sent his message. He was becoming more adept at this new skill.
[War Marshal Aaron is currently here in the City, but his generals are still in the field there.] Verruca replied.
[I want Nicholas Grimnight's body secured. If it is with the priests... Take it and preserve it. If it's being held by the Grimnight clan... I don't care if you have to kill them all. I want that body.] Jack said with a chilly voice.
Verruca felt a shiver up her spine. This was the same voice he used in court today when he was toying with Jordan Grimnight. It made her clotted blood feel excited.
[Are you sure?]
[Whatever it takes. Hand this down as an order from me, The Holy Witch King. Damn anyone that would obstruct me.] Jack finally steeled, in full villain mode.
Startled, Verruca replied respectfully, [By your will, your Grace.] She then hurried off to contact War Marshal Aaron to hand down this edict. She only hated she wasn't there for the fight if there was going to be one. It was unlikely the Grimnight clan would step on the toes of The Holy Witch King for a cadaver.
When it came to cadavers, corpses without a soul attached, a new soul could be called to it, but it wouldn't be the same as the one lost. Undead would retire the cadaver of the fallen, as it was unseemly to them to reuse a corpse. This didn't mean some undead didn't do it, in some of the more remote and stranger cults and kingdoms.
"I can be a monster, Leslie. Please forgive me, in advance."
She snuggled closer to her love. "I know, dear... but how are you going to do it?"
"Don't ask..." Jack paused before continuing, "I need to go to my study for a few minutes. Come with me and wait outside for a few minutes, to see me off." Jack spoke decisively.
"...ok," Leslie said sheepishly.
Jack left, holding hands with Leslie until he arrived at the mysterious door.
"I won't be long. I am waiting for Verruca and Lucius to get their tasks completed before I can... take care of business." Jack walked into his study leaving these words.
Leslie went a door down to the waiting lounge. This was the same lounge she waited for Jack previously and was used by any one of the palaces to wait for The Holy Witch King to come out of his study. In most cases, it was only used by Leslie and Lucius.
[Alright, I need information on souls, true death, and powerful spells!] Jack wondered around the tables that were marked by the previous Holy Witch King. He glanced at a table marked "The Angel of Death," with a tome of the same name. [This must be the ultimate spell the last guy used.]
Jack walked over to the tome. It was one of the newer looking tomes in the study, and it appeared to be hand written in the strange language the undead used, Voidic. He then did his absorbing trick and gained the knowledge.
[Wow, out of all the Holy Hymns I've looked over, this is the least terribly written. Way to go, last guy.] Last guy had become Jack's form of address for the previous Holy Witch King.
[This can be cleaned up further, and I think I can make a few variations of this.] Jack walked over by the Glowstone he sat under previously, still bent on getting a better Cultivation spot. He sat down, and started working on new Holy Hymns based off the tome he just absorbed, "The Angel of Death."
Jack finally opened his gaze, this time the flames in his eyes danced a bit more... slowly... a bit more... wrathful. He had spent the last hour working over his spells and had a few he was satisfied with overall. He couldn't wait to give them a try.
He got up, went back over, and walked the tables for his next tome, but after a few minutes, his search came up fruitless. [The last guy didn't care about souls or true death... Who doesn't want to know what lays beyond.] What Jack didn't know was that The Last Witch King knew about both, but never played with them. He felt that if someone experienced a true death, then it was meant for them to pass.
Jack then searched the rest of the study, finally spotting a tome named "The Mysteries of True Death." This was exactly what Jack was looking for in a tome. What was odd to him was that the tome was on the last shelf in the study were he found the "The Light's Heretical side."
Jack absorbed this tome, as well, but after absorbing it he just stood silently in front of the bookshelf he had just pulled the tome... He felt that he shouldn't have absorbed this tome.
[Ah, if We really knew what was going on, it would cause us madness. Right, H.P.?] Jack found that, now that he knew what was beyond, he wished he didn't.
As Jack's only defense, he tossed the knowledge to the side, to deal with later. He had other things to deal with at the moment. If not for Jack's nihilism, he might have broke down at this moment from the knowledge of what lay beyond the veil of true death. True death was just another way of saying that the body was unable to hold the soul, or simply the release of a soul from its corporal container.
Conveniently, the tome also contained all the information he needed on souls, in addition to what he had already absorbed the last time he was here, before court.
Jack hadn't been contacted by either Verruca or Lucius yet, so he thought to get some more information on Holy Hymns. He really wanted to get other schools of magic tomes to see how they were written. Maybe all magic had a common syntax for writing spells or could schools of magic cross to others by the same spell. This would wait until another time for Jack.
After absorbing nearly all the tomes he could find, he felt the voice of Lucius.
[Your Grace, Jordan Grimnight has divulged the information you wanted. Jade Glowminer, mother of Consort Leslie is the matron of the Elegant Darkness Manor of Souigak City.]
[Thank you, Lucius... Get whatever other information from him that you can.] Jack replied.
[Ummm... The thing is... He only told us, on the promise that you would come to visit him. I'm sorry, but I agreed that you would. With your urgency, I felt you would grant him that.]
[Why does he want to see me?] Jack asked, but was wondering if Jordan wanted to assassinate him.
[I'm... unsure, but after court, Jordan Grimnight seems... different. Perhaps your soul extraction Holy Hymn had an adverse reaction, or caused some damage to his soul?]
Jack mulled this over in his mind, and couldn't see any issues with the interaction, and felt that both the extraction and the replacement of Jordan's soul was flawless.
[Shouldn't be, but I will visit him after I settle with the Grimnights.] Jack made his final verdict.
[Thank you, your Grace.] Lucius felt relieved, as he had promised on the behalf of The Holy Witch King. This would usually only occur with prior permission.
Jack left his study; as he walked back into the hall, he saw Leslie darting over to him.
"I know where your mother is now." Jack simply spoke.
Leslie made a small noise and looked into the bright dancing flames in Jack's hollow eyes.
"Do you know which way the City of Souigak is?" Jack asked Leslie. The hall was just as clear as when Jack had arrived. He always wondered where the traffic for the palace was in the halls, as no one was ever seen coming or going. Unknown to Jack, the palace servants had separate halls they walked to access the palace. Only select rooms of the palace had rooms with only one exit, such as his office or his study.
Leslie nodded her head, "My mother is in Souigak? Is she really... A matron?"
"I'm afraid so..." Jack said as he started walking to the court room. He only knew one way out of the palace, and that was through the court room. If he had asked, he would have known that there was back and side doors to the palace. Side doors for servants, and the back door to the royal garden that laid outside, which was exclusive to officials and parties.
[I need my regalia...] Jack thought, and spoke while walking.
"Leslie, call your hand maidens. I need my full regalia." Immediately Leslie was startled but complied. After her message summoned her head maiden, she wondered exactly what Jack was going to do. She figured he had already sent a War Marshal to get her mother.
Jack entered the now familiar double doors to the wardrobe room, even before the servants made it there.
Jack pulled Leslie close and patted her back, her head resting on his rib cage. "Leslie... I'm sorry. I should have moved sooner." he consoled.
"No, it's not your fault... I-I should of listened to you. I just never imagined that my clan would do this. I should of contacted my parents any way. I should..." She was interrupted by Jack, with a bony finger on her lips and the sound of "shhhhhhh."
"It's not what We should have done, but what We can do now, that is key..." Jack spoke. He paused briefly, "Please forgive me, in advance..."
As Leslie was going to ask what for, the room began to fill with her hand maidens, as they moved in a practiced manner. Jack stepped out of her current robe, as they dressed him.
Finally, in his full regalia, the Femur Ferula was brought. Jack picked it up and took a last look in the large mirror before he departed. [I am about to do something stupid... Aren't I?] he thought, as he turned to walk out of the Holy Entrance.
He pushed on the door with his left hand, as the door creaked open. Jack had never heard the door creak before but assumed it was do to all the noise that was made at his entrances to court.
The Holy sentinels of the court room guarding were astonished to hear the sound of the Holy Entrance opening, and they couldn't believe the sound that followed.
Clink... Clink... Clink...
They both had one thought, where was The Holy Witch King going in full regalia. This was only worn during special occasions and court. Exactly what did this mean?
As Jack made his way down the, now changed, white carpet that separated the court room, Leslie was close in toe. It wasn't until he had made it to the double door entrance to the court room did she realize that Jack must have not remembered another way to leave the palace... But why did he want to leave? What was he going to do?
Pushing open the door, he walked down the long set of steps. This was Jack's first time setting foot outside the palace, since his arrival into this world a month ago. When Jack thought of this, he felt that he had been here for a long time, but also like it was all within one day... A very odd feeling.
As Jack descended the stairs, he looked across the Holy City of Saigunrai. The palace sat at the highest point in the City, atop a large mound with a solid foundation. This hill was large enough to be of some size but too small to be a mountain. Besides this large mound the palace sat upon, the surrounding City and beyond were all flat lands.
Jack could see that the City was dimly lit, and he looked down to see his shadow on the stairs as he descended. Finally making it to the base of the stairs, Jack turned to look behind him at the colossal golden skull that was held high above the palace supported by seven towers. Its dim glow gave the surrounding area the effect of Twilight. The bishops of the Grand Minister regulated the intensity of the light provided by the Skull of the Sun God to create a macabre sense of a day and night cycle for the city. The Holy City of Saigunrai was one of the few cities of the Underworld to have a day and night cycle provided by light.
Now at the base, Leslie finally spoke, "What is it that you plan to do?" she could no longer maintain her silence.
Before Jack could answer, Lucius had returned from the jail quarters, and quickly made his way to his Grace. He was going to enter through the side door of the court room until he seen The Holy Witch King at the base of the stairs. In fact, he was not the only one to see The Holy Witch King. Many in the city center had seen the large form of The Holy Witch King descending the stairs, along with the judgmental sound of his Femur Ferula. Clink... Clink... Clink...
"Your Grace, why have you left the palace?" Lucius had asked. While The Holy Witch King was powerful, he was only one undead. If enough ants attacked a man, the ants could win. The Holy Witch King was the head, ideal, and icon of The Holy Kingdom of Deagoth. If he fell, the country fell.
Jack looked at both Leslie and Lucius. "Which way is Souigak?"
"Your Grace, you don't mean to travel there? It would take you a month to get to Souigak." Lucius responded wearily.
"My love, just dispatch your Templars. They can save my mother." Leslie advised, lovingly. She felt warm that her love was willing to do this, but she advised not to for his safety and the kingdoms.
"I didn't ask that. I asked which way is to Souigak." Jack firmly asked.
Caught off guard, Lucius pointed to the northeast. The Face of the Skull of the Sun God faced south, for reference.
"I'll be back with my mother-in-law." Jack said this, but felt funny about it. He hadn't had parents in over eighteen years. Now that he said this, he felt that he would like to have parents. The more he thought this over, the more he wanted to save Leslie's mother, as it felt to him... He would finally have that chance to save his mother.
"No, my Grace!" Lucius quickly dropped to a knee and pleaded.
"My love, my Witch King, don't go." Leslie also pleaded.
Jack turned to Leslie, placing a cupped hand on her face while lifting it to see into her eyes. She stared back into his flaming eyes. "You asked me to be your monster... I'm willing."
Jack bent over and pressed his teeth to her forehead. He wanted to kiss her on her head before leaving but felt awkward about not having lips, again the limitation of not having a flesh and blood body.
Leslie still felt she was kissed. She wanted to stop Jack but found she couldn't say any more. If he was bent on doing what she asked, she would let him. It was her that asked, after all.
"Stand back."
After saying this, Jack looked up into the sky, and spoke, "Zorehir."
In front of all the eyes in the city center, before the palace, before the eyes of Leslie, and Lucius, Jack bent slightly forward as a beacon of Holy Light pored from the sky. Smaller in diameter than the one when he last cultivated, this beacon was only the width of Jack. As the beacon subsided, surrounding Jack came to a layer of Light bound golden bones.
He called his last spell, "Skametoa." With another burst of light, Jack shot up into the dark sky high above the city. As he was ascending, the silhouettes of both Leslie and Lucius became smaller and smaller until he could no longer see them, dwarfed by the light of the Skull of the Sun God. He could see the many black roof tops that lined his city, and for the first time he could see an area view of his city. It was shaped like a heptagon, with a thick wall forming the outer areas. To the left of the City, he could see an endless ocean of Lava. His was a port city for the Brimstone Ocean that divided his continent from the others.
At the top of his height, he looked into the direction of Souigak. All around him, he unfurrowed his Wings of the Angel of Death, as a blazing light illuminated from him. He then departed to the northeast, as provided by Lucius.