"W-who are you?!" I managed to speak. My voice felt so cold and dry as it escaped out of my throat. But the man didn't even faze. The two of us were alone in my room. I didn't know what to do. I made no move. Not even a flinch. There was no feeling of danger nor hostility. There was no threat in his presence.
The man had his back on me. All I could see was his long silvery-white hair. Based on his voice, he wasn't as old as my mother, but he was no teenager either. It was deep and cold like the ocean. He was wearing a black cloak that draped on him.
"I can't tell you my name yet. If you want to know, then you must first learn how to wield that blade." He muttered. His voice colder this time. "It is made of the finest and purest Basilican Steel. Even I don't know the exact properties it holds. Your patron must have highly adorned you, boy."
"Then you're not the one who left this here." I replied.
"It is still a mystery who left that sword in your room." The man muttered. "In fact, its presence had actually caught my attention. It led me to this place. I'm a bit jealous, to be honest. To receive such a gift means you are of high importance."
"Me? Important? That's a good joke. I'm practically invisible at school." I was bewildered by the man's compliment. "You can actually take this sword from me, and I would be completely helpless."
"I wish I could, boy. I wish I could." The man spoke rather grimly. "But alas, the blade had made its choice. And it has chosen you. Even if I kill you, it will not grant me its ownership. It will simply meld into the shadows."
"So how did it find me?! I'm just a normal kid. Living inside a normal house. With a normal mother. And studying in a normal school." I exclaimed. I gulped down so hard from the nervousness that he must've heard it. "You're not making sense."
"Look around you." The man muttered dryly. I then realized there was something different in my room. It was damp and dark. The sinister aura on my walls had dispersed some, like tendrils trying to grab me. At the same time, it was eerily silent. The sky outside had a purple glow. It was a freaky sight. Even for me. "You're already in another dimension."
"What?! Where am I?!" I demanded. I threw the blanket to the side and gripped the Nyxian Blade firmly, pointing towards the man. The nightmarish color of the blade had taken an even darker glow. "Take me back home!"
"You're the one who went here in the first place. And I wouldn't point that thing at me if I were you." The man warned, his back still on me. He was calm and collected despite the threat. But I, on the other hand, was trying not to lose it. "You're in Death. Although you may also call it as Asphodel."
"I couldn't remember dying, so I don't think I'm dead." I frowned. "You killed me, didn't you? Or at least attempted to. "
"I wish I did, but you're the one who transported yourself here." The man calmly said. My death seemed like a joke to him. "You don't even know you're a Necromancer."
"Impossible." I gasped. "But aren't they supposed to summon the dead and not the dead summoning them back? And I don't remember taking up Necromancy class at school."
"Necromancy is a lot of things." The man chuckled. "I am only able to enter into Death like you, but I cannot communicate nor command the dead. It is not the magic that I do focus on. But you can be so much more in this art."
"And I can't even go back to the living world." I was picking up. When I looked around, the objects inside my room were perfectly replicated. Based on what I understand, it was like another dimension overlapping our own. And seemed that I can transport myself back and forth. But doing it seems a lot more complicated. "Do you call this as so much more?"
"You have a lot more to learn, little child." The man muttered. "We will meet again. But for now, you should figure it on your own. You're more intelligent than Israfil's vessel. I know you can do it."
"Wait! Where are you going? You have to teach me how-" But before I could say more, the man collapsed on his shadow, and he was gone. I was left alone in Asphodel, and I still have yet to figure out how to go back to the living world. "At least I have a sword with me."
I started by walking around my room. It was the same way I left it. However, the lighting was way different, and my skin felt so cold as if I was actually dead. My skin had become ghastly pale, which didn't look good at all. Maybe I only have limited time in Asphodel before I would kill myself in it. To make things worse, I accidentally peeked through my window and saw a few people walking on the pavement.
I scanned them, and I knew that they were spirits at first look. One or two must have noticed me because they were staring in my direction. And that was not good.
Some of them had a bad injury that would have killed a person off. Some chills ran up my spine. So, I went back into concentrating. I took a deep breath and focused. Slowly, my body began to warm up, and the sinister aura was slowly fading away. After a couple of seconds, the room had a brighter and warmer glow. My skin color went back to normal, and there were no more glaring spirits outside my window.
However, I was still gripping my Nyxian Blade, which was still as light as a wooden stick would be. I was amazed at how balanced it was. Obviously, I could kill someone with it, but the weight of it perplexed me more. Hopefully, it won't break in half when I strike someone. But the biggest question was, how could I get rid of it.
"Okay, magic sword. Begone!" I proclaimed. But the double-edged blade was still in my hands with its nightmarish color staring back at me. I shook my head in disbelief. "Abra Kadabra! Shazam! Expelliarmus!"
But when I looked down, I noticed that the Nyxian Blade's shadow was darker than my own. I raised it up and willed upon it. Imagining it like how the man had vanished. It took a while before the blade collapsed into black smoke and disintegrated. In a couple of seconds, there was no trace of the Nyxian Blade.
I smiled. "Good boy."