King Lich left the room, but not before ordering me to sleep with Lilia tonight just in case, I nodded to his words, I can't leave Lilia shaking like this! And Lilia didn't seem to want to separate either, she's still squeezing my arm tightly, I admit it hurts a little but it doesn't matter....
- Lilia, shall we go to your room? -I asked because the atmosphere is very tense, Lilia is still in a state of hypervigilance, refusing to move on her own.
- Yes, that's fine. - His words were really weak
- So... Shall we go?
-Yes... -No matter how hard I try to move forward, Lilia prevents me from moving, she remains static, in the same place, in the same pose...
- Lilia... We can't go to your room if you just stand there, you know? - I'm already finding your attitude exhausting, but unfortunately, there's not much I can do in this situation, so I just sit and wait.
After an eternal 10 minutes of tense silence, he finally moves. Her face, which previously had a watchful look on it, now exhibits an unusual serenity, and her smile lights up the room again. She seems genuinely happy and, without wasting any time, she says to me: "Mizuki, come on! What are you sitting there waiting for?" Again, a silly smile, but it's the Lilia I've become accustomed to these days.
After walking for a while through the corridors, Lilia returns to wakefulness, dedicating herself to observe the shadows that accumulate in the corners. Although she has lived in this castle for hundreds of years, she now seems to feel an irrational fear of the shadows, a behavior I haven't seen her display since I arrived here, somehow reminding me of a scaredy cat...
Suddenly, before turning to go to her room, Lilia stopped us.
-Is something wrong? - It's very obvious that I'm confused, why can't we go through? I don't see anything different from usual, no matter how hard I concentrate it just looks like a normal corridor....
- We can't go through this hallway, let's turn around. - Lilia is still watching the shadow, but the words she says... she sounds very confident that we CANNOT go through there or rather, it sounds like we SHOULD NOT go through there, despite that, I still want to ask 'Why, what's there?'
-Why, what's there? -Oops, I said it out loud, I was just going to nod and follow her, I didn't want to ask that out loud....
- The shadows that are in that hallway have been contaminated with ghostly shadows, you don't want to touch that unless you want to have 'ghostly dreams of the afterlife' - Lilia's voice, a serious voice, different from usual.
- Ghostly dreams of the afterlife? -After my question, Lilia was silent for a moment and then continued.
- You see, do you know about the different dimensions and existential planes?
The following information does not need to be memorized, so don't try to grasp it all at once, okay?
- I have read a good part of these concepts, the dimensions refer to the different places in the world; Ánima Espectra, an ethereal world where the souls of the deceased find their final destiny, if they have behaved well or badly their destiny will be decided here, it is a world where only souls can enter (not all souls can enter); Nexus, the 'normal' world where we live; Demonikha, a world mainly associated with demons, it is a place where life is very difficult, the environments are very hostile and changing; Oniralia, is a surreal world where dreams and nightmares take shape, it is a world linked to souls and the mind; Naturara, world of lush forests and utmost tranquility, in this world is the largest number of spirits as well as spirit kings and other creatures of natural / spiritual type; Abyssnocturna, a world full of forgotten creatures, strong, dark, lost, etc.... A desolate world, its ground is a floor of stone and gray dust, the sky always shows a starry sky, in fact, most Undead invocations come from there; Resplandiére, In this world dwell shining creatures and resplendent landscapes; World of God, in this world God is said to dwell.
After hearing my answer, Lilia seemed to be perplexed, did I say something wrong?
- Uhm... Honestly, I only know "Underworld", "Hell", "Spirit World", "Primal World" and "Dream World". , "Hell", "Spirit World", "Primal World" and "Dream World", so hearing those names is a bit, Father, what do you think? -After saying that, he stared at one of the shadows in the corner, not a shadow in the hallway, but in the corner, after a few moments the shadow began to materialize into the Lich King and with a curious voice he said.
- Humu, you are well versed in ancient knowledge, aren't you? If you weren't a guest I would have already opened your skull to investigate what's going on inside that head HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. -I don't know why, even though I'm laughing, I don't feel comfortable....
- Father, you scare him, Mizuki, don't worry, father would, but as you heard, being a guest.... Being my guest he won't try, well, not at the beginning...- Between whispers Lilia said something but I couldn't hear it, even so, I still don't feel calm... Is it strange?
- And regarding what Mizuki said, he's right, the original names of each world are those, only Nexus? uh, so far I learn the name of this world, we always called it "Alphila" but Nexus sounds better - After saying that he clicked and several Undead appeared, undead of ostentatious clothing, almost as ostentatious as that of the Lich King, they wear robes of a Blood Red, richly decorated with gold thread embroidery snaking along the fabrics in intricate patterns. Over their shoulders, they wear sumptuous cloaks, embroidered with golden thread and dotted with glittering gems that reflect the light. On their heads, they wear black hoods with gold trim, framing their faces and highlighting their empty eyes that emanate a dim light. Lilia, upon seeing them, knelt down and introduced them to me.
- Venerable elders, it is an honor to be in your presence. I thank you for the guidance you have given me over the centuries. Allow me to introduce my new friend, Mizuki. -Before he could continue, one of the elders stopped him.
-Oh little Lilia, there is no need for so many words, sometimes a few are more than enough, now then," The old man looked at King Lich and changed his tone from a soft and playful one to a serious one, "What is it? I'm very busy organizing the library and I don't have much time. - Library? You said "library" didn't you?
- I want the world name "Alphila" to be changed to "Nexus" in all records. -At his words, we were all left with our mouths open.
-You want to change all the tomes where "Alphila" is mentioned to "Nexus"? My lord, that's crazy! The word has to be repeated countless times AND in different volumes!
- I want it done before next year. -After that sentence, everyone began to complain, but the Lich King did not falter, he just sighed and with a firmer voice said.
- Didn't you understand me? You have half a year.
-My lord, you said 1 year, why did you reduce it to half a year?!
-3 months. -The king kept reducing the amount of time and the Undead he called panicked.
-We will, we will!
-Humu, that's where they should have started, so I hope it will be ready before 3 months.
- We're leaving, we must start now! - The Undead disappeared immediately, although Lilia tried to stop them saying "Wait, I didn't properly introduce you to my ami-ga...!" of course she couldn't stop them and ended up losing.
The Lich King, seeing this said: -What were you talking about to get to the subject of the different dimensions?
- I asked Lilia about why we can't cross this hallway. - I say as I point to the hallway that leads to Lilia's room.
- Is that? It's tainted with ghostly shadows, it's the *sigh* remnants of ghosts, in this case, the Queen's remnant, so it's very concentrated, even I would have difficulty if I touched it by accident.
-But... Why? - The Lich King sighed again.
-The Phantom Queen is unique.... She's cursed by God, just like me... Actually... Lucia, the ghost queen, isn't a ghost, there's... there is a background to this whole situation, but you don't need to know that. The ghost shadows will put you to sleep and put you in an altered dream state, it can be one of the following effects: your memories of the past, the ghost's memories, a lucid dream, a cursed dream and since she is the Ghost Queen, a prophetic dream. The hard part, you won't know when you're sleeping and when you're not. - Hearing that description, I reflexively moved from my place to one farther away from the shadow.
- Are you worried about ghostly shadows?
- A-A little...
- They don't last long. Here is a spell that can help you, I don't know if you want to learn it -At his words I activated "Analyze" and "Quick thinking" to pay attention to the spell, when the Lich King asked me if I was ready I nodded and the spell I managed to hear was:
Shadows of the past, wandering in the gloom,
To my call answer, from the worldly shadow.
my ancient words thou shalt answer,
I will vanish the shadows that linger like ivy.
Darkness entwined, you memorize the ether,
Intertwined with the essence, in shadows you slip.
Eternal bond, I reveal your secrets,
Before me you submit, in my spell you vanish.
Ancient song, somber and deep,
The wave of dissipation, to the realm resounds.
Ghostly shadows, to the past I give you,
Their fate is fading, your fate I seal.
Fade away, shadows that wander aimlessly,
My essence fades you, in the wind it diffuses.
Eternal sealing where portals close,
[Spectral Nullification], darkness awakens.
Once the spell ended, I saw how a ghostly light slowly was removing something from the shadow, I could not distinguish what it was, but a smoke was coming out, it just made a small fragment that looks different, I can't say why it looks different, it just looks different.
- As you can see, it's a spell that everyone can use, so why don't you try it," The Lich King points to the small shadow that was isolated in the corner, "Should I try it? Never mind, I'll give it my best shot!
- I understand, I will try. - At my words, Lilia, who was on the ground dejected, gets up and wanting to say something, is silenced by her father, I do not pay much attention and start with the pronunciation of the spell and the gestures that the Lich King made:
Shadows of the past that wander in gloom
To my call answer, from the mundane shadow
To my words you must answer
I will vanish the shadows that linger like ivy
Darkness entwined, that to the ether you memorize
Intertwined with essence, in shadows you slip
Eternal bond, reveal your secrets
Before me you shadow, in my spell you vanish.
Before I could continue with the next part of the incantation, I started to feel weak, I started to see blurry and feel cold again, gosh, how many times must I feel like this in this other world...? Ever since I died, every chapter of this new story of mine I have had the same symptoms
Ancient song, somber and deep,
The wave of dissipation, to the realm resounds.
Ghostly shadows, to the past I give you,
[Spectral annulment].
Before I could even finish the third stanza, I had to finish the spell, fortunately, it was not destroyed and the spell worked relatively well, but the power was very weak, although the shadow was erased ...
- How... How did I do it - My voice was cracking and I was in a cold sweat, the Lich King for his part, was he holding in his laughter?! W-Well, at least Lilia is looking at him with a 'Are you serious?' face.
- Buahahahaha! Did you really do it? W-Well hahahahaha At least you got to the, to the third stanza.
After a while, everything calmed down, but I'm still upset! All my mana was drained and I only had 5% left (117.6 points).
- Mou, Father, why did you make Mizuki try that chant?! Mizuki, sorry, that's a High/Medium level spell, it requires 500 mana for the first stanza, 5500 for the second, 17500 for the third and 125000 for the fourth.
- One hundred and twenty-five thousand for the fourth stanza?! - I think I lost my composure a little, but does it really take that much mana!
-I know, I know, it's a lot, isn't it? I can barely get through one verse of the third one....
- And you say it daughter, Mizuki was able to take 3 verses of the third with only 2,000 mana, you must hurry or Mizuki will beat you.
-Mou Senior, I think he already did it....
- H-How much mana do you have? - I'm afraid to ask, but my curiosity gets the better of me.
- Don't you want to see our statistics better? - It was the Lich King who said so, honestly I do want to see it, but... I'm afraid of what I might see...
Seeing my distressed face, both King Lich and Lilia sighed and showed me their statistics:
KING LICH NV 9700
Health: 10,044,000
Mana: 33,048,612
Strength: 70,000
Magic Defense: 1,784,200
Magic Damage: 10,219,212
Intelligence: 6200
Speed: 115,000
LILIA NV 370
Health: 10,005
Mana: 5,305
Strength: 210
Defense: 385
Magic Defense: 1685
Magic Damage: 2755
Intelligence: 600
Speed: 720
Spiritual power: 1,235
- Are you serious? - God, I imagined a big level difference but not such an abyssal one! 30 million mana points?! The 125,000 points from earlier isn't even 1% of his total mana....
Perhaps because she sees my discouraged expression, Lilia comes to hug me and caress my head.
-Ya, ya, Mizuki, you may look very strong, but it's only because of your cheating titles. - She whispers in my ear.
-I heard you! And it's not just the titles, it's also my contributions to the war and training.
Lilia just looks at him with displeasure.
- Well, well, I don't stand between you. - The Lich King melted back into shadows. After a while, Lilia releases me and with a smile says.
- Well, I think it's time to go into the room, don't you?
- Y-Yes...
It's the first time I enter Lilia's room, so far, we've been playing and sleeping in my room, it's not really necessary for Lilia to sleep, but in her words "Since I became Undead I haven't needed to sleep, but still... I sleep 8 hours a day, at the beginning there were people who objected to such a lazy princess, but they couldn't say anything when they saw my talent with magic, so.... If I can sleep..." Truth be told, Lilia is someone very strange, most (If not all) of the Undead in this realm look dead, but Lilia, besides not looking dead, also has vital signs and body heat (albeit very slight).
As I enter the room, the first impression I have of the room is that it is a very tidy and clean room, all the objects seem to be in their place and seem to have a definite place. There is a subtle fragrance of flowers hanging in the air, lavender perhaps?
The walls are covered with tapestries in shades of purple and subdued colors that emanate a soft light, creating an eerily cozy atmosphere. In one corner, a collection of stuffed animals and cuddly creatures is piled up, each one carefully placed to look like a custodian of tenderness amidst the darkness.
There is a canopied bed, adorned with sheets and cushions in shades of purple, facing a corner where a stuffed bat figure hangs on the wall. Next to the bed, a bedside table holds heart-shaped candles, illuminating the space with a soft, warm light.
In the center of the room, an antique chest of drawers displays Gothic-style jewelry and accessories, contrasting with the delicacy of flowers in a nearby vase.
A desk adorned with notebooks decorated with lace and pearls reveals Lilia's penchant for writing and documenting her thoughts. In one corner, a small aquarium contains vibrantly colored fish, providing an unexpected touch of vitality amidst the atmosphere.
The curtains, purple and black lace, billow softly, letting in moonlight and stars reflected on the surface of a dark mirror on the wall.
- How nice... - They were words I said between whispers to myself, but Lilia seemed to hear it and started to blush, while whispering a light "Thank you..."
- Make yourself at home.
As I look around carefully, there is one corner that catches my eye: The desk.
- Do you like to write? -I ask her as I approach the desk, my pace is slow and I move my hands slightly as I walk, as if I were humming a song, maybe it could be because of the intoxicating scent of Lavender or because it is Lilia's room, but it doesn't matter.
- Y-Yes... I usually write down every single thing I do in my diary... I-I still have books of poems I've written but... I'm not very good...
I stop in front of the books, they are some books lined with purple lace, they look very adorable, but before touching them I ask Lilia if it's okay to read them.
-N-Not yet... M-Maybe in the future.... - He started to lock up and his face was totally red, I get it.... I'll save that for another time, instead, I divert my attention to the aquarium.
-This aquarium...
-I-it's mine, I asked my father for a pet and that's what he gave me, there are 17 imperishable swimming petal fish, 6 spectral sparkle fish, 1 half moonlight fish, 2 eternal destiny fish.
- S-Sounds like very rare fish....
- The imperishable swimming petal fish are Undead fish, at the beginning I had them alive, but.... They couldn't keep up with immortality; the spectral scintilla fish are in the lake of wailing, it's far away from here and they still have thousands of years ahead of them; The half moonlight fish I don't remember where it lives, but it will stay alive as long as it bathes in the moonlight every month; The fish of destiny are the rarest fish there is, they are found in the river of destiny, it takes 2 to live almost eternally, if 2 of these fish swim together their energy intertwines and improves, whoever consumes their flesh will be able to live longer, will have enhanced magical power and... No, it doesn't matter!
Again Lilia turned red, uhm.... In this story I usually get a lot of headaches and Lilia usually blushes a lot, doesn't she?
- L-Let's go to sleep!
Lilia didn't wait any longer, she lay down on the bed and covered herself with the sheets... I guess I'll have to sleep without sheets...
- I'm coming, I'm coming...
Well, that's the end of another day in this story... I wonder what destiny has in store for me...