A Bored Lich

Chapter 273 - Becoming Doevm

Menla's spell sent Travis flying but the hypocrite wouldn't go down that easy. He bounced right off his inflated ego and proceeded to challenge the creation of a new spell; acting as if losing due to his own risky action was some sort of unholy injustice. 'Those kinds of people…' Cerlius thought to himself. 'If I had tortured people like Travis to death then I wouldn't bat an eye, but…' He grimaced as foreign faces flashed in his memory, each and every one twisted in agony. 'I wasn't picky back then, was I? It didn't matter who I tortured as long as they had a new magic.'

'That is why you are feared.' Larque replied.

Cerlius stretched his hands out. Mana rose from his body to construct a couple of magic circles; complex works of beauty - unfit to be woven by his bloodied hands. 'What changed?'

'You made a spell.' Larque replied. 'I'm a little surprised that's all it took…' The demon grew silent for a moment. 'Nevertheless you remembered a piece of Doevm, but there is a lot more to-'

'No, not Doevm. I mean what changed me?' Cerlius looked over the Demis, his fellow students, and instructors. 'I'm being pulled in so many directions at once but none of them are familiar. I see memories sure, but they're scattered around like puzzle pieces without a picture. Are you sure that magic is the only way to restore Doevm's memory?'

The demon shifted around. 'Liches are obsessed with three things: hatred of humans, magic, and immortality. Take your pick but make no mistake. We need Doevm back, not to dig up whoever you were.'

Cerlius's hand twitched, but he didn't voice any complaints. The rest of his time at the Reach was spent sifting through his own head for spells. Despite the area's freedom, he imposed restraints on his use of magic. Some of the instructors drew closer, but Lance would always get in their way.

The session ended and seven injured students (and Menla) had to be carried down by Demis. Travis, who was holding his bruised side, scowled at Demi who tried to help him.

'Come on. He's just begging for another humiliation,' Larque urged.

'He's like an injured animal.' Cerlius thought as the first-year group split up. 'Dangerous and unpredictable.' The last he saw of Travis, Instructor Jersin was pulling him away by the hood of his robe. All classes returned to their classrooms except for Cerlius's, who spread along the hallway such that each student stood in front of a Watchman.

"After the Reach…" Lance had previous explained to Cerlius. "You'll enter your private meditation chamber, where you will still your mind in order to increase your amount of mana. Since you were…unable to choose one, you'll probably be left with the broken one."

Cerlius gazed down at the broken statue. There were still blotches from parts that Lance had missed. He pressed his hand against it and the feet stepped out of the way. The wall behind it opened and he grimaced, for the interior was no better than the exterior. The walls, ceiling, and floor should have been smooth mirror, giving the impression of a wide expanse. He knelt down, using his sleeve to sweep a mound of shattered mirror into his spatial ring. Wide expanse? More like a broom closet. Only when he was confident that he cleared out the dangers did he sit down and closed his eyes. The cracked wall creaked itself shut.

'Breath in, breath out,' Cerlius recited to himself in the quiet chamber, glad to wipe away everything in his life, at least for the duration of his stay. Student, Human, Lich; this basic act overlapped all their goals, and for the first time in his mottled memory, he was calm. Seconds ticked by, turning in to minutes. Flashes of foreign memories occasionally stabbed into that empty plane which was his calm mind. Sometimes his leg twitched, or an annoying itch broke his concentration, yet for the majority of his time there, he sat and breathed like a normal person, a human. He smiled. Mana gathered around his spherical core, which boiled.

Sweat dripped down his cheek as he struggled to keep the balance between an ever-increasing size and shape. Every inhale was another layer added, and every exhale sculpted it onto the mass. In and out like rhythmic steps, two sets of steps.

Cerlius cocked his head to the side as a memory pierced through his focus and dragged him downwards, falling into a red sea. 'Larque!' He called, yet he got no response. Power surged, sending cracks along his core. Pain seared his entire body as he flailed about. Just as he was about to call out a second time, a hand appeared, and he grasped it.

The sinking sensation subsided as he was pulled to his feet. He was not in the Meditation Chamber, but on top of a bloody sea. Bodies, bodies, and more bodies. Demi-human, beast, Human, Demon, Fey, Celestial; all manner of corpses floated along a red swamp at the bottom of a mountain range. Standing in front of Cerlius was a man who looked familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. The darkness of the storm clouds overhead obscured parts of him.

The man turned to face Cerlius. He had long black hair that traveled past his golden eyes and ended at his slim yet powerful arms. He reached down and yanked an elegant black and gold blade out of the back of a red-robed War Monk. "Do you know who I am?" His hands quivered as they held Cerlius's skeletal hands. "Please kid, tell me you remember."

"I-" Cerlius's voice came out deeper than he remembered. "Wait a minute. Your voice. I know it. You were cursing. Damn them. Damn them. Is that right?"

"Yes," the man smiled, yet a tear ran down his cheek. Such an odd contradiction. Suiting of a human. His grip tightened. "But do you know who I am?"

Cerlius shook his head before looking around. Destruction littered the area. Great white stone buildings were in shambles, but most had survived the attack. Up high on the flattened mountaintops were even grander buildings, all but one of which were untouched. "Where am I?"

The man's grip went lax. He wrapped his arms around Cerlius. "You are at our home damn it. I'm sorry. I failed you. I failed your brother. I failed my wife - your mother. Please stay and let me fix you. I'll turn you back to a Human."

"Human?" Cerlius's two flaming eyes grew brighter and he shoved the man back. "Human." Black tendrils of mana sprouted from his bones, forming into thousands of magic circles aimed at the man. "You're a filthy fucking human!"

"I am so sorry Cerlius." Before the Cerlius's spells activated, the man vanished in a puff of golden life essence, leaving the Lich alone in a field of destruction. The Lich stood there for several moments, pondering. "Cerlius?" The Lich cocked his head to the side. "What a strange name. No…my name can't be something like that. No, it's something else. What was my name? Forget it. Only Humans hold such sentimental value towards their names. I guess for now maybe...Doevm will do. I'll figure it out later." He spread his arms out wide and countless black tendrils spread outwards, taking root in each and every corpse. Thousands of blank eyes opened. Thousands of Undead soldiers rose to their feet.