An electrified cloud of fluorescent green light absorbed Zho's bulky body, killing the tenuous light of the torches and filling the room with the same vivid color.
William's skin goosebumped, and the pulse of his phylactery-heart skyrocketed. He crawled back as much as he could, but his body was already the edge between the bed and the wall behind.
"Relax, William," said Artur. "there's nothing to fear. You're about to witness something incredible."
Neither he nor Miris looked concerned at the supernatural event before their eyes; both simply left their seats to sit on the bed next to William, leaving space for Zho.
The green light intensified, reflecting on their skins; the throat-singing man was now a light ball covered by creaking lightning and orbiting sparks. A chirring creak thundered, and a dazzle blinded their eyes before they could see the wicked, magical creature levitating ahead.
William's mind was in a trance; barely able to process the fantastic event before his young eyes.
Zho was gone, replaced by a strange figure surrounded by a greenish aura. Its head and shoulders were covered by a mauled dark shroud, behind which, a skull rested. Its eye cavities burned with green balls of lights, and a rusty crown covered by fangs surrounded its cranium.
The chest was covered by a darkened plate armor, similar to old silver or rusty steel. Chainmail adorned with purple and crimson gems covered its ribs, descending to a leather belt at the waist cramped with tiny bones, metallic spikes, and gemstones connected by rusty chains.
Its legs were protected by a mauled tunic made of the same cloth as its shroud. William noticed its feet were skeletal, just like its arms, which were covered by saggy sleeves above heavy gauntlets up to the palms, and forearm armor carved with hexagonal patterns.
Its left hand held a thick staff, covered by worn-out leather straps, black feathers, and hanging mini bones. The weapon's top and the head was a hollow hexagon, where a horned mini skull rested above.
A lilac ball of light ball hovered at its empty middle, surrounded by tiny brilliant wisps orbiting around it like a giant atom, leaving pink stellae traces behind.
The creature lowered its skull. Its tiny green lights stared at William and penetrated through his soul as his sweat froze. It then spoke, its voice deep and with an echo, although its mandibles didn't move.
"William Amber, you're beholding one of the ancestral undead forms, created by Lord Sekera himself, god of the dusk and dawn, life cycles, and father to all liches. It's the divine power achievable by those individuals with enough dedication and will. Those with enough might and knowledge are destined to unravel the mystic powers of the undead. Witness a fraction of the eternal power."
The shrouded skeleton spread its arms and straightened its back. The prismatic room began to tremble as if it was being struck by an earthquake, making the bed, the teapot and cups, and the seats bounce from their position.
William could swear the ceiling was about to plummet and crush them at any moment, but Miris and Artur looked at the green spotlight with enthusiastic simpers.
"...W-what the—"
"Focus, Will," interrupted Artur, not putting his eyes off the scene. "Just focus. This ain't no gypsy tricks."
The skeletal mage got surrounded by an energy bubble, reflecting rainbow colors as its green and pink lights inside fractured light outside. Various lilac-colored light beams emanated from its bottom, shooting at the hexagon-tilted floor, and spreading light through it like spilling water.
The liquid light disembarked across various points on the floor, forming aggressive swirls of evaporating green shine tides. As they grew in size and intensity, magical holes leading to obscure dimensions were born in their middles.
From them, skeletal hands began to raise, their bones brown and old. Armored skeletons climbed to the room, covered by rusty, worn-down chain mail and plate armor, or mauled shrouds and cloaks like the creature inside the bubble that Zho became. They carried sawed axes of putrid handles, dented swords of lacerated edges, or creaking spears of fanged tips.
It was at least eight of them; they raised their weapons, and together yelled a raspy, grave ovation. William almost thought they were to attack them, but they simply surrounded the gleaming lich inside the bubble that summoned them.
The magical portals of purple and green light from which they came from didn't vanish away; eclipses of uncountable dark moths buzzed out and winged uncontrollably all across the room.
They all conglomerated and surrounded the skeletal warriors or the lich inside the bubble. It was as if they protected them from external threats, ready to swarm any incoming foes.
William didn't know what to believe; what kind of wicked power did one need to conjure that dark magic? He felt powerless and small, unable to think about anything that could rival what had just happened before his eyes.
The transformed Zho spoke again.
"This is only a fraction of the abilities a lich can amass, William Amber. This is the potential that destiny has granted you shall you dedicate yourself to your new nature. But be fooled not; the existence of a lich is dangerous; it's not only a battle against the twisted creatures that would rather see you down; it's a battle against your own limitations towards the dominance of your weaknesses. The powers of a lich take great responsibility. Without it, you shall fall to the decadence of those not avid enough to wield them, as many have done in the past. Join us, and we shall be your guide through your new undead form. Choose William. The Zeimey Lich Order, or decaying in a foreign land where you have no power nor knowledge about."
William could hear his lungs expanding and contracting with each breath. He looked around, multicolor lights dilating his pupils like a firework festival. What to do? He still couldn't finish believing that was real.
Being brought back, seeing that strange gem on his open chest replacing his heart, beholding that magic by himself… how was he supposed to understand all of that so fast and accept it? If he still had a real heart, it'd be in trouble of suffering a stroke.
The shiny green eyes of the hovering lich magician continued staring at him, their light burning fire inside of William's chest he could not explain. The tottering skeletal warriors surrounded by puffy moths also looked eager at him. It was as if they expected orders, or the young lich joining their lines.
Even Artur and Miris had their eyes on him. The green-eyed lad had a joyful bright in his stare, contrasting with his dead and filthy look back on that ship. Miris wore a smile on her fine lips of olive complexion, her eastern eyes and jet black hair reflecting the rainbow colors around. William closed his eyes, the combined pressure not letting him think.
But, giving the overall situation a glimpse from outside, what did he have to lose? there was no going back home, and ever since he was brought back and turned into a lich, his new nature was as much of a curse as Zho wanted to say it was a blessing.
He was decaying, rotting again, and if he didn't control it —which he didn't have a clue how to— he would turn into an abhorrent creature he preferred to not think about.
He took a deep breath and self-affirmed his reasoning. If that was only a nightmare, he would awake the next day at his outpost in Sunia's coastal forests. But if it was not, then he didn't want to make the wrong choice. Any opportunities for a different outcome died when he was captured in Sunia. He announced his final decision.
"I… I accept... I will join your order."
Artur's and Miris' expressions turned into surprised, fully-fledged smiles. They traded enthusiastic looks with their jaws open, and then looked at the transformed Zho and his uncountable layers of magic.
The hovering skeleton nodded and raised its glowing staff. With a sweeping burst of white light, everything around was consumed with a blinding magical dazzle. When William regained his vision, the undead mage was gone along with its magic, the skeletal warriors, and the uncountable moths winging around.
The room was faintly dark for a second before the torches recovered their orange light, embracing the place with their warm and familiar mild illumination. The same eastern man of braided black hair in a trench tunic who Zho was stood again in the middle of the room, both hands behind his back.
His mongoloid eyes connected with William's. His lips turned into a smile.
"Very well, William Amber. Welcome to the family. We welcome you openly in the Zeimey Lich Order."