Chapter: 232
“A small cult rose from our own ranks, at first they stole technology and research. Soon, to feed their experiments, they struck out against other nations; cities and forests turned to withered barren lands – and only we had the knowledge to stop them.”
The statue’s voice turned sad, and it had to pause for a moment before it continued its story.
“We set our pride aside and went after the cult. This was our problem that only we could stop. I served the King directly as he marched with his army, and for weeks we chased a small group of the cult through different nations; our supplies dwindled as we followed their wake of destruction… though this was all for nothing.”
“Unknown to us, this was a diversion, as a larger group of the cult directly attacked the defenceless Helvetia, and with a single spell the whole city was laid to waste. The spell drained life to strengthen itself, and it didn’t end until there was no life left to take.”
Jay nodded slowly.
“We returned to a black pit of rubble. Already low on supplies, we could not turn to any other nation for help, as they hated us for our loftiness and for the actions of the cult.”
“We rummaged through the ruins, searching for anything, and soon we found our only option – the soulstones… That very day, we made a pact with each other – a pact for revenge. With the advanced knowledge of our military manacrafters, hexamists, and stone wielders, we used the soulstones as our vessels – cursed ourselves and turned into the statues you see today… But this isn’t living.”
“With a single focus for revenge, we built these lofty pyramids, pretending to guard a treasure that isn’t here. It was all to lure the cultists back to us so that we may exact our revenge – though this was centuries upon centuries ago, perhaps they have already all died. The trap you fell into was one of the many which were meant for them… There are many fake treasure chests just like it.”
Jay was a little dumbfounded “So you’re telling me there’s actually no treasure at all here? Well thanks for saving me the trip…”
“Our treasure is our knowledge, young one. It’s safely locked away.”
“Oh… so if I help you, then will you give me knowledge? What is this knowledge about?”
The statue looked at the skeletons, then back to Jay.
“Hm… a necromancer. I will give you one of three options: Mind, mark, or host.”
“I’m listening…” Jay tried to sound casual, but his eyes still glowed with excitement.
“Mind will allow you to learn the craft of mind-moulding. This will let you create beings with sentience.
Mark will let you place an undetectable, invisible mark on someone – as long as you can see them. After you place the mark, then no matter where they are, you will be able to find them, and know exactly where they are.
Host will let you mentally enter the mind of a skeleton, controlling it as if it were your own body.”
Jay had to stop his mouth from opening as he thought to himself in excitement.
“Wow… mind and host both sound amazing, but if I’m going to get a lot of these undead, then the host skill will be weaker – It would be better to have an army of smart soldiers rather than a single elite amongst a pile of trash.
I can’t really see much practical use for mark other than for taking revenge. I guess I could put more thought into these skills anyway.”
After giving them some thought, Jay turned to the statue with his decision already made up in his mind.
“So, what do I have to do?”
“We are many, we are old, and our chance for revenge has been lost along with most of our sanity. It is my wish that you put an end to us.”
Jay received a notification but was too shocked to process it.
“What? You want me to kill you? The remnants of Helvetia?”