Lord Mors… the Lord of the Dead.
His pitch-black hair danced in the air as his majestic pale form gleamed with power. He had darkness swirling in his eyes and a deep glow of purple in his irises.
He was shrouded in pale darkness, his naked and glorious body toned to perfection as his stern gaze rested on his loyal worshippers. With a single question, he was able to establish his dominance over them and firmly solidify his authority.
… Though that wasn't at all what was going on Lucius' head.
'What's going on here? I was for sure killed by the explosion back then… yet what am I doing here? And what's with this Lord Mors nonsense?'
He was surrounded by at least twelve men who knelt before the circle he had woken up in, and also had a naked lady in front of him—all of whom believed him to be some sort of death god. Lucius would have found the whole thing to be an amusing dream if it wasn't for the fact that this didn't feel like one in the slightest.
For one, dead people didn't have dreams.
This also couldn't be some sort of near-death experience or 'life flashing before one's eyes' moment, since all of this was new information and was in no way related to any memory he had prior to this moment.
'It almost feels like one of those Webnovels about transmigration or reincarnation… but how can that be?' He found himself rubbing his chin out of habit.
What surprised him even more than his current predicament was how he reacted to it. Despite how confusing the whole thing was, he kept his composure and had a very stoic facade.
'Why is my heart so still? Why do I feel no pain or fear? This is strange…'
He felt numb all over, but not in a bad way.
This was a good feeling.
"I see." He finally murmured after a minute of silence. "So, you are my loyal followers and I am the Lord of the Dead."
"Indeed, Lord Mors!"
"And you are certain of this fact?"
"Yes, Lord Mors!"
"What makes you so certain?"
"We followed every single procedure to summon you here, even sacrificing a thousand virgins as the price for your presence."
'What was that? Did I just hear a thousand virgins?' Lucius' inner thoughts felt a tinge of composure slip away.
"I see."
"We never lost faith in your existence and power, even under severe persecution. It is an honor to be in your presence, Lord Mors!"
"Hm."
After concluding the brief conversation with the woman called Lili, Lucius was certain of two main things—both of which made his situation all the more dire.
'First off… this is definitely some kind of illegal underground type of cult.'
Their name—The Heresy Cult—already gave that away, but after hearing about virgin sacrifices and persecution, he couldn't be more sure. He had read online about groups like this, but he didn't think they were real.
'Does such a group exist in the 21st Century? I've never heard of a Heresy Cult before, though.'
Leaving that train of thought aside, there was the second observation he made.
'I am definitely not the Lord Mors that these people know and worship.'
That was a given, considering how he was merely a sickly orphan that died by an explosion and found himself in this strange predicament. This was most likely some kind of mistake or soul-swapping stuff that he had no idea about.
'If I had to guess… maybe one or more of those virgins wasn't actually a virgin and their ritual malfunctioned.' Lucius couldn't say for sure, but he was certainly sure that he wasn't a supreme Lord of the Dead.
'Still, it doesn't seem like I'm dreaming and all of this seems pretty real. That means I'll have to play the part of this Lord Mors—at the very least, until I find out more about what is going on here.'
For his safety, he had to be their Lord.
"Cult Leader… erm…"
"Lili, my Lord."
"Right! Lili… why are you naked?" As he asked this question, Lucius realized that he too was naked.
His body looked really manly, though, so despite being quite embarrassed by his nudity… he was also slightly proud of how perfectly toned he was.
He was particularly very impressed with his not-so-little neighbor down there.
'It's like two times bigger than what I used to have… and it's not even erec—'
"In order for the Summoning Ritual to be successful, pure souls must be presented to the Lord of the Dead in the form of a thousand and one virgins. A thousand virgins will be slain as a sacrifice, while the last one must be presented bare and whole before the Lord of the Dead as appeasement."
"I see…" Lucius said all of this as if it was a matter of course, but he was bewildered by such arbitrary rules.
'Who made up such rules?!' He cried to himself.
"Such is the will of the Lord of the Dead himself… your requirement for summoning."
The moment he heard those words, Lucius was even more convinced that he wasn't the Lord of the Dead that they spoke of. Whoever their deity was, he was a perverted edgelord that had no modern sensibilities of human decency and morals.
Lucius was different from such an existence in every sense of the word.
"And why have you summoned me… ah, and also raise your head." He added the last part as an afterthought, feeling a little uncomfortable staring at the lady's perked up ass.
He was also curious as to what she looked like.
"As you wish, Lord Mors."
Obeying him immediately, Lili raised her head and assumed a kneeling position before him.
'A-ahh…' The first thing he noticed was her clear crimson eyes.
They shone with such purity that they felt like gems, reflecting his purple irises that glowed like roaring flames. Her face looked pretty average—like that of a commoner, and her dark brown hair also seemed akin to the normal western kind.
She seemed to be a little endowed in the chest, but Lucius paid no mind to those features.
Instead, he focused solely on her face—or rather, her cracked but oddly alluring lips—as she answered his question.
"We, the members of the Heresy Cult, call upon you—the Lord of the Dead—to answer three of our prayers."
'Three? Isn't that a little too greedy?' Lucius thought.
He wasn't even sure that he could answer one, not to mention three. He was about to make a slight protest, but after considering the fact that they sacrificed a thousand virgins, he felt like he was the one extorting them.
'Let's hear her out first…' He decided to calmly approach the matter. "Go on."
"Firstly… we of the Heresy Cult desire revenge against our persecutors—particularly the abominable Lord of this land who has hunted us down and caused us much grievance and suffering. He and his kind deserve nothing but destruction for their blasphemous acts!"
Lucius could sense anger from her tone, which he deduced stemmed from some kind of loss.
'Did this Lord kill people she cared about? Hold on… Lord of this land? Why is she using that word?'
This wasn't some kind of feudal system where people were referred to as Feudal Lords, was it? That only happened in the Middle Ages, and the system was eventually abolished for more centralized forms of governance.
'Or is this some sort of religious reference I'm not sure of? Well, let's just keep listening…'
"Secondly, we desire the prosperity of our lands. These Dark Ages have proved tumultuous for the common people, and with the corruption of the Lords and inquisitions of the Church, it has become increasingly difficult to survive, not to mention spread the gospel of your greatness, Lord Mors. Please lead us into an age of opulence."
Lucius only nodded as he heard the exorbitant request.
Once again, he was bombarded with words that didn't fit the modern context that he was familiar with. Stuff like the Church's Inquisition and Dark Ages were stuff that belonged in the history of Europe's Middle Ages.
What did they have to do with the world he knew?
'Unless… don't tell me…?!' He had a slightly unsettling thought, but before he could dwell on it, he heard the final request.
"Lastly, we of the Heresy Cult desire immortality! We have followed the doctrines of Lord Mors and have cut off all ties with the corrupt world, purging ourselves of any attachments to life. We desire that you bless us with your undying power and allow us to live everlastingly in your service."
'This just keeps getting weirder and weirder…' Lucius told himself, remaining calm as he internalized the request.
He wondered where such grandiose and naive ideas came from, but even if he asked Lili she would probably say something along the lines of "It is your teaching, Lord Mors."
Even though the world had pretty much gone to shit, how were people still gullible enough to believe religious nonsense like immortality?
"These are our three requests, Lord Mors." Lili's voice contained increasing devotion as she clasped her hands together like a maiden of virtue. "Please grant them."
"And if I don't?"
Lucius knew it was a bit heartless to ask such a question so bluntly, but he had to face the facts.
He didn't know how to help these people.
'Rather than give them false hopes, I should understand what awaits me if I refuse.' At least by asking the question in such a way, he wasn't making it obvious that he wouldn't be able to assist them at all.
"No one can speak against the decision of Lord Mors. If that is your will, who are we to question it?"
'Then… that means I can refuse, ri—?!'
"If no deal is made, the ritual will end and you will return to your realm of eternal rest and death."
'D-death…?' Upon hearing this, Lucius felt a tinge of pain in his chest.
The pain of FEAR!
It wasn't actual pain. Instead, it was a phantom vestige left over from the trauma he suffered in his previous life.
'I… I don't want to die again.' He swallowed his saliva as he looked at the pleading eyes of the woman before him.
'If I reject their request, there's a chance that I will die forever. I don't know what awaits me in this realm that I will be returning to.' Lucius thought. 'Who knows if the actual Lord Mors is there waiting for me.'
He couldn't go back… not until he was certain he wouldn't die.
"Fi—"
~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!~
Before he could give a proper response, a loud explosion echoed from outside the dark and empty building that Lucius and the Cult members occupied.
'What in the world was that? Another bomb?!' He asked himself, feeling the phantom pain of fear rising in his chest.
It nearly broke his composure.
"Lord Mors, it appears the Knights have found us." Lili spoke up, causing his gaze to fall back on her.
"Knights…?"
"We knew they were closing in on our position, which was why we decided to go along with the ritual as a last ditch effort. A thousand of our members who were keeping themselves for this day sacrificed themselves for the ritual's completion, but it seems we have run out of time." Despite the tremors that kept reverberating, Lili remained calm as she addressed Lucius.
The other Cult Members were slowly panicking, but she was perfectly still.
"So what happens now?"
"We stand no chance against the Knights without your aid, Lord Mors." She stated plainly. "If you do not accept our request and consummate the deal… then we will all perish here."
Once Lucius was done hearing those words, the harsh reality set in instantly.
'I see…' His thoughts flowed. 'So it isn't just me that will die if I do nothing. You all will as well.'
He still found the situation weird, and felt the Cult Members were too dangerous and barbaric for his modern sensibilities, but there was no doubt that they were in the same boat.
If he accepted his role as Lord Mors, they could all live.
They would die if he chose the opposite.
"Very well, my faithful worshippers!" For the first time since he arrived in this world—no, in his whole life—Lucius raised his voice as he spoke. "Your sincerity has moved me, and I recognize your devotion."
There was no guarantee that anything would change by making his choice, but it was the only reasonable path he could choose.
And so… he decided to go with it.
"I, Lord Mors, will accept your deal and save you all from certain damnation."