"The gate is ahead, leave me down here. I will begin reading as soon as I can." Arya put down the priest and let him go ahead.
As per the scroll's words to unlock the crypt, the priest began reciting the story. He could feel the power on the side.
"In the streets of Uro and Dynasty, a woman is worshipped just like the gods. Once a mother knows a child is growing in her womb, it becomes her duty to pray to her once a day. God can be left waiting for a prayer, but she can't.
There were high lords of the Snowfield Mountains, kings in the land of the gold men far east, the valley of the drakes and dragon cultists, and the priests of the Flame Lord.
All of them were divided by years of war, hatred, and betrayal. They prayed to different gods, but the woman was a constant."
The priest spoke in a gallant and clear tone, which was pushing Arya over the edge.
"Read it faster, you stupid old red fart, or else I'll spill you with my spikes." Roaring like a mad lion, Arya screamed at the red priest.
The priest was taking too much time, which the warlord did not have. Soon, the winter winds and snow would shatter the spells of the great mountains, and there would be no hope left.
The priest grumbled at the discourtesy of Uro's warlord.
No matter how powerful his armour and weapon might be, only the priest's knowledge could save them, but he didn't want to hurt the poor warlord.
"The gods of the realm beyond us gave humanity more enemies: dwarfs, giants, flame serpents, vampires, and the most vicious of all, the warlords." He continued ignoring Arya, but something else came her way.
"AGH..." The priest and Arya froze in their position, Arya tried to control but he pissed himself, but sadly even that froze inside his underwear.
"Can't you just read it inside your head?! The spell has broken, they are coming. Fog, snow, leopards, blood hunters, and wind serpents have entered our lands! I can feel the cold in my bones a thousand feet below the ground."
The warlord's face grew distressed. His teeth chattered, and his arms wrapped around him. The priest felt pity for the warlord and his people.
"Sorry, my Lord. But the door only opens when we complete the entire message of the grave. Keep the faith in your god." The priest turned his face and started reading the glyphs of the past once again.
"The warlords were born with golden light shining through their bodies. Immortal to any pain and calamity till the age of two birth years. After that, a cloud of knowledge would change their lives forever.
A small orb, as small as an infant's head, shall they touch and earn the power never seen by humanity. The power to manifest energy and control it greatly, some great enough to conquer all the lands. However, there was a cost."
Ahooooooooo!!!!! Shhsshshh!!!!
The sound of beasts reached their ears. It grew louder each second as the wind grew colder. The great tunnel behind them was turning to ice.
"It is the wind serpent. She knows we are here! Read fast, damn priest. If she enters the tunnel, we are as good as dead. I can't hold them with my abilities."
"I need all the time in the world, Lord Arya. Be kind. Only the last three parts remain."
"It's not like I can do anything else. Continue reading your verses, old man. I came to protect you after all." Arya closed his eyes and focused his mind, "For one last time, for the nation, for my love Ina and the revenge. I need to fight."
Then his mind went empty, Arya stood in a void, but it was not empty. A star far larger than Arya came in front of him and called upon its power and the energy flew into him.
"I need not win, I don't have to lose." Without a word, his clothes grew bright. His tunic was replaced by a coat of fine armour, and a spectre emerged in his hand, ready to fight.
The priest looked at Arya's transformation and turned his face to complete the last verses.
"The cost of a warlord's birth was the life of his mother. At birth, as soon as the child exited his mother's womb, that very second, the mother lost her life. It is the rule of nature to give and to take."
The priest rushed as the cold came to him. The warmth of his flame felt fading. The power of the lesser gods of the snow felt immense when his legs began to shake.
"People accepted this... a.. as fate, and women grew up fearing that they would lose their lives giving birth. But the generation needed to grow regardless." The priest joined in his hands as a short prayer to his gods, while Arya's eyes twitched in anger.
Soon, men began raping women in numbers, hoping for a warlord son or daughter to rise in society. The wish was granted less than ever. A generation never saw more than 20 warlords, equal for both sides, Uro and Dynasty. So, the two sides never conquered each other..." The priest stopped.
He felt the cold reaching him. His tongue froze as his teeth clattered. His voice betrayed him, and he couldn't speak a word without stuttering.
"Lord... Arya...!"
The priest turned back and saw the tunnel's stone covered in ice. Not far away from him, Arya held his spectre tight. The snow around him melted to water and steam in a second. He was focused and looking deeply into the ends of the tunnel.
Shhhh!!Shhh!!
The ice on the upper floor shattered like glass. A hissing noise echoed inside the walls while the debris came towards Arya.
「Natural ability: Shatter Land.」
Arya spoke as he waved his spectre on the ground.
"!!"
Spikes of stone pierced the ice from all sides, forming a closed barrier and blocking the debris.
Arya stroked his spectre again, and the spikes began drifting along the tunnel and destroying ice from all sides in the path. Then Arya faced the priest once again.
"What fool of a priest are you? Read the engravings no matter how cold it gets, hold your tongue, and keep reading. This is our only hope; my people are fighting beasts in colder winds. For the sake of the Flame Lord, re-"
"!!!"Shhhh!!Shhh!!
The spikes shattered in a single attack as Arya turned to his fate,
"The wind serpent lord, Alsana."
Covered in grey scales, wind protection covered her body and Arya saw its body was floating in the air due to the wind barrier.
Her golden eyes shone like Arya's armour, her mouth revealing large venom fangs with a tongue.
"Old priest! Don't look at her; only a warlord can see her for long. Alsana's poison will turn you to ash if you look at her for more than
A spectre glowed in light as Arya was covered in moving rocks just like Alsana, but his rocks moved much slower than her wind.
"I'll stop her the best I can. Read the engravings before I kill the serpent."
The priest rushed at Arya's notice. He focused on the engravings, reading them now faster than ever. If he was a bit slower, the venom would devour the young warlord.
"That was the state of the world when she was born. A poor girl of Uro, raised for Warlord Argo's wish for a warlord son. She soon became pregnant after two of the warlords were slain by the Dynasty. The day of her child's birth came soon enough.
SHHHHH!!!
"AHHHHH!!!! Bloody venom demon! My arm!" The voice of ice shattering, spikes coming out of the ground, attacks of sheer energy, the battle was going on fast.
"..." The voice of pain and agony hit the priest, but he needed to keep reading.
"A son was born to her. Shining in the golden light of the blessing of a warlord. The infant was immediately carried to his warlord father, who burst into joy hearing the news, but his celebrations ended soon after when he found the mother had survived the birth."
SHHHHH!!! The serpent's screams were getting closer.
"Doubting the child's ability to be a warlord, Argo swung his sword of judgment at the kid at that moment, but the sword could not pass the child's flesh. He was a warlord indeed, but how did the mother survive? No one knew. The message escaped to the world, and the mother became a rebirth of God from a whore.
Warlord Argo took the mother as his new wife, and the child grew up happily under his family. King Argo and his mother never had a child after.
The mother was not able to get pregnant. She loved her one son, and the family survived even after the wars."
"Please rush it, Old man! I beg you!!" A cry came from behind, but the priest did not look behind.
"Their son was a powerful warlord with unmatched strength, but he lacked a unique ability even after ten birth years of age. King Argo, his wife, and his child died on the same day in a mysterious event.
The world remembered it as a true tragedy, but still, the mother who lived to share the life of her warlord son was otherworldly. Her statues and her wish houses remained after she died."
SHHHHH!!!
The last verse began,
"That was how the world remembered the story, but it is a lie. The child knew his ability, but he lied to the world. That child was me...
I am the one who kept my mother alive for ten birth years after she died giving me birth, and I killed her on the day, I killed my father for what he did to my mother. I decided to hide myself from the world after a long life."
The words flowed from the priest's tongue, and warmth surrounded him; he did not stutter. The warlord wanted to come out at the very moment. Soon, there was only one line left.
"I wish for my power to come back to this world. Say my mother's name and, your wish is my goal."
"Ohh!! Lord of the Undead, son of beautiful Eva Unsborn. Come back to life and sing the—"
"Agh...?"
The priest's voice stopped at that moment. His body felt light and numb, and his neck got paralyzed. All sense of cold vanished from his body, he felt numbness, and his heartbeat increased blood travelled to every section of his body.
He looked down and saw the snake's mouth on his neck, tightening and injecting poison. Alsana had turned into a small snake to avoid detection.
His body began turning to ash from the bottom, and his life flashed before his eyes, his wife, child and his journey.
A small glimpse of his halved body lay in the corner of his vision. Arya was lying fainted and bleeding from his wounds.
The priest remembered his gods and his family, and tears rolled his eyes, he joined his hands to beg forgiveness to all who would die because of him.
First, his legs vanished, and his upper body fell on the ground, tears rolling down his cheeks, the head and soon the face turned to ashes, but the conditions were complete and, the gates of the crypt were open.
「Power: Lord of the Souls.」
The lord of the past activated his ability and the ashes of the dead, felt the return of their lord.
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