Making sure that the undead that he had just created was fully just that, in the odd place between life and death, Cyrus took off his mask letting his other half remain vigilant of the outside world.
Dragging himself into the world within, he once again began soul tunneling into the undead, establishing a connection with it.
"It is slightly more difficult to do it from within here, but having my full focus negates this completely" thought the dark half as he moved his senses completely over to the soul within the undead.
Opening his 'eyes' in the soul, he once again saw the disjointed scene of random memories playing out all around him. They were even more disfigured than last time, with the human figures in the memories barely resembling human looking silhouettes.
"The corruption is also far worse than last time, completely destroying the memory just a few moments after it begins to play out."
Doing exactly as he had done before, he spread himself thin to locate the main controller of the soul. He found it easily, having the experience of the previous search under his belt, but was surprised to see the difference between the two controllers.
"Its just a hollowed-out husk…" noted Cyrus, seeing what looked like the flesh of a human being infested with thousands of squirming black worms.
"So there is a difference between souls, the corruption is far worse than the last time which perhaps represents that there is less 'humanity' in this undead. A trade off is that it is far more powerful from the start, as evidenced by the massive amount of…lets name them soul leashes for now. Even a weaker undead can slowly be brought to an appropriate level of strength, however. What I really care about is how it affects me being able to take control of them."
Thinking such thoughts, he once again turned himself into a whirlwind of destruction. Far more powerful he was this time around with his full focus in play.
"I can still vividly feel a connection to my own soul world, maybe I can even use it as an offensive tool against the soul of another. Alas, my counterpart was right when he urged caution against such actions. Until I know for sure whether a still completely living soul can easily replenish or repair itself I should not touch it" thought Cyrus as he was slowly destroying all the soul leashes.
Eventually he made it past the massive wave of defense, driving a drill like appendage into the core of the controller in an attempt to take it over.
"Hm? There is no reaction from the controller this time. Is it that far gone? Does this mean I have an easy time o-" thought Cyrus, his thoughts interrupted as he felt a wave of pressure descend upon him.
The entire soul world was being used as a weapon before his very eyes, using its power up entirely in one go, to eradicate Cyrus in an apparent act of double suicide.
Not letting the shocking and dangerous situation get the better of him, Cyrus immediately pulled back out of the soul world using the long trail of smog that he left as a lifeline to drag him back at impossible speeds.
Just as he returned his awareness fully to the world within, he was greeted by the sight of the undead in the outside world exploding into smithereens on its own.
Replaying the memory in front of him again and again he came to a conclusion,
"So a lack of humanity most definitely does not make it easier. In fact it makes it downright impossible. As for why, could it be that without any humanity there is no desire for self-preservation? Bah, how difficult this process is but this has revealed two key facts. The first is that there are indeed differences between people's souls as well as the state of the soul prior to undeath affects it once they become an undead. Knowing this, a few ideas come to mind" thought Cyrus with a smirk.
Signaling to his other half, who was currently in control of their physical body, to put the mask on so that he could take control he returned to the physical world and immediately set off for the prisoner cells.
"Let's hope that there is something to work with in this crew of cannibals, else I will have to keep replenishing my supply of subjects until I get lucky. Thankfully, these people should not be the most principled bunch in the world seeing as they turned to cannibalism so easily and even continued the practice until they were caught."
Walking up to the cells, he stood in front of them and pulled out an empty jug of wine from his storage.
He smashed it against the metal bars as hard as he could, shattering it completely and creating a deafening noise that was made even louder as it rebounded off the stone walls.
The prisoners all awoke from their rest, most of them having a fearful or submissive look plastered all over their face.
Cyrus walked from cell to cell, glaring at each prisoner to gauge their reaction. By the time he reached the last of the four prisoners still alive, his face was a scowl of displeasure.
"The first three were completely useless, but this one… this one could work" thought Cyrus as he stared at the final prisoner.
This particular prisoner was laying on his back on his metal bed, throwing a small rock he found somewhere in the air with one hand and lazily catching it with the other. Acting more like he was just enjoying a temporary imprisonment rather than a certain death.
"You are quite at home here, even considering the fact that two of your fellow prisoners have joined the afterlife so recently" began Cyrus, intent on understanding the mental state of this tool.
The prisoner caught the rock for the last time, sitting up slightly and focusing on Cyrus in interest.
"The mage appears at last, or should I say the apprentice one. Human experimentation at such a young age, wow, and I thought I was the messed up one" snickered the man.
"He can speak in such a way despite the situation, good, good. He will do" thought Cyrus inwardly.
While outwardly he said,
"You are going to die no matter what. Do you understand this?"
The prisoner simply shrugged and said, "Duh, these crimes written on the chain are not for show you know. I do not really care though, it was fun while it lasted. At least I got to do what I wanted before I went out, unlike what my life would have been like if I had chosen mediocrity instead."
"Interesting outlook, but I came here not to hear how you view life but instead to offer you a deal. I will only offer this once, so listen well" began Cyrus, watching the prisoner carefully to make sure he kept his interest.
"While it is a fact that you will die no matter what, there is a possibility that after your death you can still remain conscious to the world. That is, you will lose your current form and die in that sense but you might live onwards in a state between life and death."
"That sounds familiar, something that every farmers wife tells their kids as a way to scare the brats into submission: Fear the undead, for they lurk in the shadows of all who are unjust. Is that what you want to do to me?" asked the prisoner.
"Correct, but to be clear I have been doing that for all the prisoners and will continue to do so with all those that come after you. The deal that I am offering you is to not strictly be a mindless monster that only exists in a state of perpetual hunger, searching for anything that can prolong its short existence. Instead I am offering you a way to retain your sense of self, memories, and perhaps even personality after you become one. Such a thing is exactly what I am researching here, and your now deceased two cell mates allowed me to form a process of which I can now do just that" explained Cyrus.
The prisoner thought the offer over for a single second and asked, "Why specifically me though? You did not offer this deal to any of the other prisoners, who might I add are likely to jump at any chance to not truly die. Me? I have always pursued what I wanted, I care little for life and death."
"Because they are too weak, too useless. When you transform from life to undeath there is an inevitable decay that will occur and will continue to occur if you do not receive the fuel to keep you going. When I transform them into undead their decay will be so great that they are useless, while on the other hand you should be able to retain most of yourself. I will then keep you as intact as I can the moment the process is done, then begin the process to allow you to retain most of yourself forevermore."
"Hmm, so this means that I am quite valuable in a sense. I doubt you are open to negotiation though, huh. That leaves only one question then, what do you require from me specifically and what will I be doing in that state?"
"Simple, you must submit to me completely. If your soul rejects me it will either be impossible for me to complete the process or it will take so long that whatever is left of you will be a shell of your former self. While I can still use such a shell, it would be in your best interest to not be in that state. As for what you will be doing, well that is simple…" said Cyrus, his face twisting into a maniacal grin.
"I will slowly craft you into my first undead warrior, whose loyalty is unquestionable and prowess unmatched. You will be the first of a long line of warriors, who will slay my enemies near and far. You will eventually be able to wield power you never thought possible and use it in whatever way you see fit so long as my will is obeyed. A body that never decays, rapidly grows in strength, and plenty of enemies to crush beneath your boot…what could be better than that?" said Cyrus.
The temptation behind Cyrus' words was not small, especially to one who was condemned to death.
"Souls and controlling undead? Typical mages and their insanity I say, but the offer is tempting especially since I have no alternatives. Eh, well it sounds like it could be fun so why not? I am in Sir Mage" said the prisoner, trying his best to sound respectful towards the end.
"Indeed, this is your only choice but it is not a bad one at all. You could even say this is a first step for the both of us, the first step of many on a long road to ultimate power."
Opening both the cell doors wide open for the prisoner, he watched in excitement as the prisoner dragged his chains along the ground and headed towards the location of the lab that Cyrus pointed out.