A red light flashed repeatedly beneath the stone-brick roof with holes leading through it, followed by the light from the moon, and groans and shouts of frustration echoed in the throne room.
The decrepit elder waved his staff once more at the skeleton seated on the throne, and the red gem attached to the head of the staff shone once more before blasting a wisp of scarlet red energy at the skeleton.
It quickly closed the gap, and when it was an inch away from the skeleton's skull, it vanished into the air like the flame of a candle being blown out.
The old man stomped on the floor, his wrinkled and bony face twitching with frustration, "Why do you keep rejecting me!?" He glared at the skeleton, which stared at him through empty eye sockets.
Despite its lack of visible expressions, it appeared to be mocking the elderly man's attempt to resurrect it. The elder's teeth grinded against one another. Their pale yellow colour is visible to the outside world.
The vile stench emanating from deep within his mouth blew against the skeleton's face, heightening its disgust for the elderly man.
The elder gripped his head and swung his body away from the skeleton, a crazed and fearful expression on his face. "I've been here for two hours!" That damn eel will undoubtedly figure out something is wrong if I continue to linger here!"
He racked his brain before gazing at the red gem, which continued to pulsate with power that appeared almost malevolent in some ways.
"Fine! If it costs me this gem to gain control of you, I will make the sacrifice!" He gritted his teeth before turning around and jumping back a few meters away from the skeleton.
He then aimed the long staff directly at the skeleton, his fingers firmly gripping the rough, woody texture.
The part of the sleeve that did not cover his pale grey, skinny arms revealed his veins, which were quite visible despite their small size. After aiming his staff, his veins began to light up and bloat slightly.
Underneath his skin and inside his veins, something thicker than blood seems to pass through it and into his hand, clutching the black wooden shaft of his staff.
The substance in his veins then began to transfer into the crude-looking staff, flowing through it and towards the red jewel, which became brighter with each passing second.
It drank and drank the stuff provided to it until it was so bright that the old man had to close his eyes to protect his vision. He then aimed loosely at the skeleton and fired a blast that shattered the surrounding area.
Cracks appeared beneath the old guy, tearing at the red carpet his filthy bare feet were standing on. They then spread up the walls, rattling them and making them much less sturdy than they were already before.
BOOM...!
The blast sped through the air, reaching the skeleton before colliding with an invisible force. The collision cracked and shattered the wall behind the throne, revealing the dazzling white disc suspended in the dark night sky.
The moon's light permeated into the room through the large hole.
As time passed, the invisible force that held the big wisp in place was forced back.
CRACK CRACK CRACK
The air between the skeleton and the wisp began to break like glass, eventually fracturing and allowing the wisp to slip through and into the skeleton's body.
A red aura wrapped around its body before sinking and etching into its bones, merging with it and leaving the old man's mark on its body.
After a few more minutes, it began to shake violently on the throne, its hands mysteriously clutching the edges of the stone armrest—preventing it from jumping out of its place.
Its rusty armour clattered against both the seat and itself.
The sight of a skeleton being brought back to life under the light of the illuminating moon was both terrifying and awe-inspiring to all who witnessed it, other than the elderly guy.
After a few more minutes, the crimson-red aura around it sank deep into its body and began to concentrate inside its head, forming a deep, red-rich ball that hovered within it.
Its head, which had been tilted down and stared at its lap, slowly elevated, and its empty eye sockets now flashed a vivid scarlet red with little streaks stretching outwards.
It suddenly raised its gauntlets from the armrest it had been clutching with a bewildered expression on its face, "Where am I... And what am I?"
"You're my minion!" The skeleton then heard a voice so irritating that if it had ears, it would definitely cut them off to prevent itself from hearing it.
The voice felt like nails on a chalkboard.
"Minion...?" The skeleton held the right side of his face with his hand. The glow replacing his eyes that used to glow bright has now dimmed significantly before disappearing.
The streaks of light that stretched out from them had already receded back into it and disappeared along with it.
"Yes! Yes!" The old man enthusiastically nodded. "Although your mind must be clouded from such prolonged inactivity. It will come to recall your memories!"
"Memories...?" The skeleton did, in fact, feel like a large portion of its mind was elsewhere. Almost as if it refused to return to this body.
The elderly man approached the skeleton with trepidation, gripping its free hand, "Come! We must leave; it is no longer safe to loiter here."
The skeleton turned its sight to the man's face, appalled by his appearance. "Why... What's about to happen—" As the skeleton asked the elderly man what would happen if they stayed here, the massive arch entryway to the throne room began to fill with water.
The chipped, grey stone floor began to gleam as the liquid passed over it. As the moonlight reflected off the water, the two were able to see what was happening.
Fear crept into the elderly man's heart. He clutched both his staff and the skeleton's rusted metal gauntlet. He then closed his eyes and began chanting something the skeleton couldn't understand.
The skeleton then felt the building quiver as if something heavy had rammed into it. Dust fell and slid through the air, and numerous bricks from the walls and roof fell.
The ones from the ceiling plummeted and blasted into dust as they came into touch with the ground. The skeleton moved its head around its surroundings.
The skeleton then looked at the six pillars, each of which had a crimson banner connected to it with a metal hook.
Each banner featured a gold illustration of someone's life.
The first image showed a child standing in front of a burning house, while the second depicted a teenager standing over the corpse of a massive beast with a sword in hand. The third showed the teenager as an adult participating in a war.
The red banners with gold illustrations told stories that surprised the skeleton. It then looked at the others, eager to learn more; however, the three other banners hanging from the pillars appeared to be damaged to the point where it was impossible to decipher what happened next in the story.
The one closest to him appeared to have been cleanly sliced in half, with the only part of the illustration on the banner remaining: what appeared to be someone's head.
The skeleton assumed it wasn't the adult's head because it didn't look like them unless their hairstyle had changed during the story.
The one next to it appeared to have been destroyed by the claws of a beast. The claw marks are visible on the pillar behind the destroyed banner.
The last one made the least sense to the skeleton in terms of how it was destroyed. The banner's fabric appeared to have rotted/decayed, but the others showed signs of age to this level.
Just as the skeleton was about to question the chanting old man, it noticed a massive eye outside the entrance staring inside at them, particularly at the old man.
Its deep yellow sclera surrounded a massive black disc that fluctuated in size. The amount of water coming from the entrance gradually increased with its appearance. The water had flooded the room to about knee-deep.
Something was wrong with the water, though; small swirls could be seen on the surface, almost like small whirlpools.
Fortunately, the stairs to the throne kept them away from the mysterious waters that continued to enter through the entrance.
The eye staring at them shifted away as the giant maw of an eel appeared. Its dark navy blue, moisture-rich skin shone in the moonlight.
Its large snout emitted torrents of water, accelerating the process of submerging the room in it. It opened its maws, revealing teeth that were at least 15 metres tall, followed by a cloud of steam.
It then reared away from the entrance, exposing its long, elongated body to the stunned skeleton. Its underside was yellowish-white, with scale-like markings and long, deep scars from its many battles.
On its back, it featured huge crimson dorsal fins that extended all the way down past the skeleton's vision. 'This thing... It's a monster...' The skeleton reflected.
Its body trembled violently, not as violently as it had during its resurrection, but enough to demonstrate its dread. 'I don't want to die again...'
The water had reached their feet and soaked the fringes of the old man's soiled brown cloak and the skeleton's scarlet cape. The room began to feel cold, the sense of dread creeping into the skeleton's non-existent heart.
The creature, probably higher than the Empire State Building, drew back its head before lunging for the entryway.
'I don't want to die...' It replayed in its head like a broken record, its palm tightly gripping the old man's as it sought to console itself. As it saw the monster's wide-open jaws nearing them, it couldn't help but scream:
"I REFUSE TO DIE AGAIN!"
As soon as it yelled, a magic circle appeared beneath them. Its purple glow illuminated them from beneath the water before enveloping them in light.
The old man beside him suddenly screamed out, "[TELEPORT!]" His voice was full of desperation to get out of the dangerous situation they were in.
And just like that, before the eel broke through and devoured them, they teleported away, leaving only the residue of the magic circle's energy behind in the now...
BOOM!
... Destroyed room...