A sound soul rests within a sound mind and a sound body.
What happens at death? When the body decays, what occurs? According to the D'Araneas doctrine, the body returns to creation—it vibrates in the same rhythm as the world, becoming a part of it.
As for the soul, it reverts to pure potential; no longer the primary vital force that animates the spirit, it returns to its original essence. Thus, at death the soul ceases to exist as such, and the spirit animated by it is extinguished.
This is normally the case for all humans, but there are instances when, even in death, the transformed soul continues to animate a spirit. In such cases, in order not to be crushed by the world, one must have a strong spirit.
A case in which a lone soul was defying providence was unfolding at that very moment.
The body, drowned in negative energy, had corrupted the soul to such an extent that the spirit—on the brink of extinction—clung to its last flame.
Like a campfire battered by the wind yet still enduring, an unyielding will kept its spirit in this world. Its body existed nowhere after having been defiled, and the potential into which its soul had transformed showed traces of its spirit, which refused to be absorbed by the greater whole.
What was happening defied the normal course of things.
After an intense struggle, his spirit grew ever clearer as it tapped into the potential of his soul; this was the process through which all entities that defied the natural cycle—revenants—passed.
Bound by their unfulfilled desires and regrets, the fragments of their essence remained in the world in a non-human form.
And so, a new specter was born in the Palace of Shadows.
When specters are born, all they possess are fragments of their memories and the powerful emotions that influenced their birth; and the one who had just been born carried within him a great resentment—a burning hatred.
They are essentially spirits that can subsist with a soul that has lost its purity, leaving only potential, and with a spirit tainted by their will.
The Palace of Shadows was not a physical place, but a realm that existed on the spiritual plane. Since it could not be a physical locale, the entities that roamed there could exist only in spiritual form.
And it was the same for the specter who had just been born, who, though unstable, followed his instinct.
He had to return to the world of humans; the remnants of what had been his body—almost assimilated by the earth—vibrated.
Resonance.
His soul vibrated with the force of his will, and his spirit reconnected with his body, its remnants becoming the medium that would allow him to tread the earth once more. The potential of his soul, tainted by negative energy, had transformed his essence; now, he had become an entity that was to be feared by humans.
From the bowels of the earth, the remnants of a body merged with the decaying flesh of its surroundings; a corpse reformed, clad in the remnants of rusty armor. From it emanated a feeling that would unsettle any living being.
He had no vocal cords—it was nothing more than a heap of bones and flesh, in some places covered by armor. If his mouth functioned at all, then the laughter emanating from him could be heard in the vicinity. Having regained a body, he immediately knew that the time he had spent in the Palace of Shadows and the fact that he had survived all those trials were nothing short of miraculous.
He calmed himself, and the atmosphere cooled; from him emanated a serene aura. A spark ignited within him, and a black glow shone in his eyes—meeting his gaze was enough to induce nightmares in the unwary.
He turned around and examined his body.
He was certain—not because his eyes were closed, but because he could not see anything at all, neither what was around him nor what lay ahead. Instinctively, he knew why, but he wanted to verify.
He felt that he was filled with something he knew he had never felt before; it was the negative energy coursing through him, and as if it were as natural as breathing, he began to move his body.
He grew increasingly worn out by the effort, his body limiting certain actions, but he could still move; generating sound using negative energy remained within his grasp.
After that moment of verification, as if he had done this all his life— as if forbidden knowledge had been imprinted upon his soul—he released his intention, reinforcing the use of shamanic sorcery.
The intention was clear and spread through his being: Rise up!
In a macabre spectacle, the ground vibrated, spewing forth everything that was against nature; the connection with the spiritual world grew strong in that place, and the flow of negative energy condensed into a single point. Corpses emerged from the bowels of the earth, as if possessed by an external force.
Skeletons rose—of all types and various forms—but they were all the corpses of monsters; only that of the summoner resembled a human.
Among this horde of monsters, one stood out: it was the only orc, easily recognizable by its size and distinctive bony structure. As soon as this orc became aware of its situation, it understood everything.
While the orc skeleton marched, the others cleared the way for it; it was easy to guess that here, it was undoubtedly the most dangerous. It ended its march before a skeleton—the Death Knight.
The two stood face to face, and tension reigned in the cave, as if it were too small to accommodate the two monsters. The difference between them was that one, after understanding its condition, immediately knew how to control its body, while the other was like a dog suddenly placed in a human body; this disparity meant that it could not fully harness its abilities.
And to demonstrate this innate control over negative energy, the orc skeleton began to laugh loudly; its laughter spread throughout the cave and beyond, while the Death Knight before it could only stare, its gaze conveying its intentions.