Resentment.
All the dead have something they regret. Regret for not caring about your loved ones, regret for failing to protect someone, regret of failing to protect someone or something.
Sometimes the regret stems from their actions, and sometimes because of others.
That regret sometimes brews resentment, which the dead carry with them. They cannot be laid to rest in the afterlife or continue in the world of the living carrying that resentment.
Without external help, this resentment never dies. Ordinary people can't sense the deep grudges or resentment of the dead. Only a necromancer can help them.
That's why, dead with immense resentment, refuse to be resurrected. It's the only way to show their desire and hope someone could take the burden off them.
However, the necromancers often think of such corpses as a problem child. No one likes a kid who throws tantrums, and the necromancers were no exception.
They would often abandon such corpses and look for someone with fewer issues. Someone who did not require coddling.
However, Aaran did not have that option. The gods would not allow him to refuse free entertainment. That's why they gave him a quest before Dread could dissuade him.
Unaware of the gods' plan, Aaran opened his eyes and found himself in the middle of a busy town square. But things were off. Instead of humans, he saw goblins and elves roaming around.
They didn't act like savage beasts. Before Aaran were docile creatures that acted no differently from the humans. Elves and goblins were two distinct species he couldn't imagine coexisting, yet they did.
"What is going on here…?"
Before he could understand anything, a massive explosion shook the ground. The creatures screamed as they ran to safety. With another explosion, the building before Aaran crumbled to dust.
Within moments, the peaceful city had turned into a graveyard of sorts.
Aaran turned around and saw an army invading the city.
An army of humans.
Some goblins rushed to get weapons while others ran into the buildings for safety. Strangely enough, the elves didn't move. The goblins were panicking, but the elves were as calm as ever.
Before Aaran could think what was happening, a chariot rushed towards him. He tried to move, but his feet remained rooted to the spot. Unable to move, he raised his hands to protect himself and waited for the impact.
To his surprise, the chariot phased through him. Only then did Aaran realize it wasn't real. It was the hobgoblin's memories, and he wanted him to see it.
"How is that possible?" Aaran mumbled. "That hobgoblin was just a fragment of my imagination. How can it have memories I'm unaware of?"
The only answer was that Aaran's dream wasn't entirely a dream.
It made sense. Aaran was resurrecting those creatures in his dreams, but if they weren't real, then how could he keep them in his inventory?
The gods must have fused his dream with reality at some point. A reality he could only live through a dream.
Either that or the eternal vault had created a new corpse altogether. But Aaran leaned more towards the former.
"These gods and their messed up paradox…"
As he turned his gaze back to the city, Aaran saw the humans tearing through anything that came into their path. Women, children, elders… they killed everyone.
The goblins fought back but were no match for the humans' magic.
Suddenly, Aaran realized something.
Only the goblins were fighting the humans and vice versa. The elves didn't attack the humans, and the humans left the elves untouched. The goblins screamed for help, but the elves remained silent.
Then Aaran saw him.
The hobgoblin that he wanted to resurrect.
As the goblins fell, he kept fighting the humans. But it was a losing battle. Eventually, he was too exhausted to move and was captured by the humans.
Soon, those who didn't die were chained together. The hobgoblin's half-elf children were among them. But his Elven wife wasn't captured.
Everyone could see what happened. The elves had betrayed the goblins and the hobgoblin's wife was the main perpetrator. She stood next to the humans, staring down at her injured husband.
However, she didn't have any malice in her eyes, only tears.
Aaran couldn't understand why she was crying. She had betrayed her husband, and yet she was shamelessly crying before him?
A moment later, Aaran understood the reason.
A human handed her a dagger, which she aimed at her children.
Aaran's blood ran cold.
No… she wouldn't…
The halflings cried for their mother to free them. Instead, she stabbed them tp death.
The hobgoblin screamed, struggling against his chains, but he was powerless.
His wife, the woman he gave everything, slaughtered their children right before his eyes. The other elves soon joined, helping the humans in their massacre.
The hobgoblin's soulless eyes stared at the ground when someone gently lifted his face. His wife's tear-stained face appeared before him. The face was the same as the day they met, yet he hated it more than anything.
No… he hated himself more.
He hated himself because it was his selfish decision to accept the elves and house them among themselves. The goblins protected the elves and helped them return from the verge of extinction, only to be betrayed.
"I had no choice," she whispered, kissing him. "This… was for the best of my people. As their queen… I had to help them. But in the next life, I'll give my all to you. I swear in the name of Aressia."
"Don't fuck with me…" the hobgoblin snarled. "You think I'll repeat this mistake? I'll rip you and your backstabbing kind with my own hands! You will pay for what you did tonight! YOU HEAR ME!"
The elf let go and turned away, ordering the humans to finish the rest. The elves left, leaving a few humans behind to kill the hobgoblin.
That was all Aaran saw before things turned dark again. Only this time, he wasn't alone in the darkness. The Hobgoblin sat before him, holding the wooden toys his children once played with.
"No one will take you away from me…" he mumbled, getting up. "I will kill anyone who comes before me. Human… elf… god… everyone!"
The hobgoblin jumped to his feet. His hateful eyes met with Aaran's. He let the humans take away his everything. He won't let that happen again.
"Die, human!"