[You are invited to have a personal meeting with The Inevitable.]
Ludwig sat in his small room, staring at the notification hovering in his vision. His thoughts were a whirlpool of confusion and uncertainty. Was he truly ready to face this meeting? A part of him already knew what awaited—who awaited—judging from the title alone. He sighed, steeling himself.
'I should meet this entity,' he thought, his mind racing. 'And from the name… it's obvious who it is.'
After the chaos of earlier, Ludwig had slipped back into the academy and managed to blend in among the students who had gathered to watch the teachers extinguish the flames consuming part of the forest. He had purposefully made himself seen, bumping into a few classmates and joining the concerned crowd, a perfect alibi to avoid suspicion. Once the commotion had died down, he quietly retreated to his quarters.
As he reached his room, he heard the panicked cries echoing down the hallways, signaling the discovery of Vondel Thomas's charred corpse. Ludwig paid it no mind, locking his door and sinking onto his bed. The notification was still there, as clear as ever.
With a deep breath, Ludwig selected the option to accept.
For a moment, nothing happened, and he wondered if he had made a mistake. Then, his vision blurred, the world around him spinning before plunging into pitch-black darkness. It felt as if he were being pulled through a void, and when he came to, he found himself standing in an expansive, shadowy realm.
Before him loomed a colossal entity, seated upon a throne carved from ancient stone and bone. This being was skeletal, its bones a pitch-black hue, as if darkness itself had fused with the marrow. Gold and jewels adorned its form, shimmering grotesquely, and a crown of bone sat atop its bald skull—simple yet undeniably majestic. The throne it occupied was studded with countless skulls, the eerie mementos of innumerable deaths. Behind the throne, an intricate network of shimmering, liquid-blue streams flowed endlessly, forming rivers of spectral energy. Souls—shaped as skulls from every species imaginable—drifted within these rivulets, an eternal procession of the dead. Ludwig's eyes widened as he recognized creatures both familiar and fantastical, the sheer variety suggesting a dominion over all living beings.
Above the entity, a massive scythe rested on one shoulder. Though its blade appeared simple, like a farmer's tool for cutting grass, its presence radiated pure menace. Ludwig instinctively understood that even getting close to that scythe would mean certain death. He gulped, feeling small, insignificant.
The entity's eye sockets blazed with twin blue flames, as bright as the stars on a clear night. They fixed on Ludwig, as if looking straight through his essence. If Ludwig could put into words the being's presence, there would be only one.
"Death…" Ludwig whispered, the name escaping his lips involuntarily.
"It is indeed so, one who has died before," came the voice, a deep resonance that emanated from every direction at once. The entity's skeletal mouth remained motionless, but Ludwig felt the words vibrating through his very soul.
Wait… body? Ludwig looked down, surprised. His hands, his torso—this wasn't the slime-like shell he had become used to. This was his old human form. It felt familiar, real.
"This is a place for the soul and the mind," Death explained, "and that is how you perceive yourself within your mind. Thus, it is how you appear here."
"Deus Necros," Ludwig said, naming the god he knew was behind his resurrection.
The skeletal figure inclined its head slightly. "I go by many names, and that is one of them. But I prefer the one you spoke first, for I am Death."
Ludwig was stunned, though he tried to keep his composure. It wasn't every day one spoke to a deity, let alone Death itself.
"You have accepted our meeting," Death continued, "and I shall announce the reason for your summoning." The twin blue flames in Death's eyes flickered. "You wish to return to your world?"
Ludwig hesitated, considering the question. "Would returning change anything?" he asked. "My parents are already gone."
Death seemed to regard him thoughtfully. "Curious… Many have come before you, each one desperate to return to their world. It was their most cherished wish, even though none have ever succeeded. Yet you seem uninterested in your past life."
"Returning wouldn't bring my parents back," Ludwig said flatly, his voice tinged with grief.
"I can bring them back," Death replied, an unsettling promise uttered with perfect clarity.
Ludwig's eyes widened as he looked up at Death. He knew that such a being had no need for lies. As he had read somewhere before, the strong find deceit beneath them.
"Indeed," Death said, as if reading Ludwig's thoughts. "Lies are tools for the weak. So speak, Ludwig Heart. Do you wish to return and have your parents back? To a time before your tragedy occurred?"
Ludwig's heart, or the memory of one, ached at the thought. "Of course, I'd want that," he admitted, his voice barely a whisper.
Death's skeletal form seemed to shift, a faint aura of power crackling around the throne. "Then so be it," Death intoned. "Under my name, you will return—if you achieve a goal of mine."
***
[Eternal Quest Update!]
You have succeeded in completing the first stage of the Eternal Quest: {Meeting}.
Your Reward for completing {A Meeting with The Inevitable}:
Title: Apostle of Death
Your next mission is: Hunt the Seven Usurpers who have escaped Death.
Time Limit: Infinite
Reward: Return to your original world, one day before your original death.
Quest Difficulty: Impossible
***
Ludwig's jaw dropped as he read the notification. The quest details were sparse, and he couldn't make sense of what "Seven Usurpers" even meant. Before he could ask, Death raised one massive skeletal hand and plucked a skull from the throne's armrest. With a casual flick, the skull shrank and morphed into a thumb-sized lantern, which floated over and hooked itself onto Ludwig's waist.
***
[You have received a God-Level Item!]
Congratulations! For obtaining a God-Tier item, you have earned the title:
[He Who Bears the Power of the Gods]: +10 points in Luck status.
You now have a small chance to obtain double rewards from monster drops or receive a higher-level item when crafting.
[Soul Letting Lantern] {Bound}
Type: Cosmetic
The bearer can use souls in the lantern to empower themselves permanently.
As long as at least one soul resides in the lantern, the bearer will return from death.
Whenever a soul perishes by the direct or indirect involvement of the bearer, it will be absorbed into this lantern.
Upon death, half of the souls in the lantern will be sent to Deus Necros, while the other half will be consumed to return the bearer to a point in time before their death, with the bearer retaining knowledge of the event.
You shall always be perceived as alive by those who do not know of your death.
[You currently have {1} Soul inside the Soul Letting Lantern.]
Ludwig glanced at the lantern, its dim light casting shadows on the floor. Inside, a familiar face pressed against the tinted glass—a tormented echo of Vondel Thomas, the blond noble Ludwig had killed.
"Find the Seven Usurpers of Life and collect their souls," Death commanded. "Each time you claim one, I shall grant you what they held most dear. Now, go, Apostle of mine, and show me how well you struggle."
Ludwig swallowed hard, the weight of his new quest sinking in. There would be no turning back from this path. The flames in Death's eyes burned brighter, as if daring him to falter.
And with that, Ludwig's vision went black once more, the ominous presence of Death fading as he was pulled back to the mortal realm.