Lord Of The Lost

The Death Knight didn't spare a single glance at his own grave.

He continued his patrols, through the fiefdom, across the golden fields, and along the shadowy edge of the Black Forest.

Mounted on his skeletal Pegasus, he stood at the border, where the forest's corruption met the fertile land.

For a fleeting moment, William thought he saw a change.

The forest's creeping rot; the leprous patches of blight and alienation, seemed to ease slightly, as if held back by the knight's presence. The wounds of the earth no longer spread as aggressively.

William hesitated, glancing at the Death Knight's towering figure. Finally, he broke the silence.

"Was it the black magician who resurrected you?"

There was no denying the connection between the Black Mage and the Death Knight's return. William was sure of it.

The Death Knight answered, his voice harsh and resolute:

"The magician… resurrected me. Awakened me from my trance. Madness wraps around my spine like vines climbing a tree!"

He paused, his hollow voice tinged with defiance.

"But no matter how many vines, they will never bring down the tree!"

"They sought to break my will."

"And so, I raised my sword and spear and declared war on them!"

With that, he lifted his weapon high, a relic of his glory days.

The blade shone with a radiant golden light, neither fully a sword nor a spear, but something extraordinary in its design. Even after a thousand years, it emitted a glow so bright and majestic that William felt an involuntary pang of awe.

The Death Knight pointed his weapon toward the Black Forest, as though challenging it directly.

William blinked, trying to process what he had just heard.

So, the black magician had essentially pressed a doomsday button and then ended up stuck in the blast radius.

The entire situation was absurd.

"What were they thinking when they brought you back?" William asked, still baffled.

"They sought to make me a god," the Death Knight said, his voice slow and deliberate.

"But they are unworthy!"

---

When the Death Knight first awoke, it was chaos and madness that greeted him. Yet, amidst the confusion, he had found clarity. The first thing he did upon rising was destroy Shadow Castle.

"I regret not executing their leader," he said with a hint of bitterness.

His disdain for magicians was palpable.

William couldn't help but recall the legend of the Original Knight.

It was said that the gods punished the knight for daring to defy them. The black magician, sensing a shared grudge, likely thought he could turn the knight into an ally or even a god.

Instead, the Death Knight had unleashed devastation upon them. Shadow Castle, the result of years of the black magicians' labor, had been reduced to rubble in an instant.

"They really picked the wrong guy," William muttered, shaking his head. The magicians had gambled everything and lost spectacularly.

---

Still, William couldn't ignore the larger question hanging in the air.

"Are you still a 'knight'?" he asked.

The Death Knight didn't answer immediately.

He stared into the depths of the Black Forest, his figure unmoving. The wind swept past, but he seemed frozen in place, a sentinel carved from stone.

Finally, he spoke, his voice steady and unwavering:

"An oath does not change with the circumstances."

"The code of chivalry does not vanish with death."

His words were like a timeless vow, a promise that transcended even the decay of his own flesh and soul.

William said nothing, watching as the knight stood tall against the encroaching darkness, a lone guardian of a fractured world.

The Death Knight turned, his hollow gaze locking onto William. His voice, though rough and eerie, carried a fiery conviction:

"I stand here, unwavering!"

"When the world needs me, I will rise!"

"If the sky falls into darkness, I will light it with my own hands!"

"If wild beasts ravage the wheat fields, I will hunt them to the ends of the earth!"

"I will fight, no matter the cost, against mortals, against monsters, even against the gods themselves!"

"I will never submit!"

"I will fight them until the end of time, until death itself ceases to exist, until everything fades into nothingness!"

"Until the night ends and the sun rises once more!"

---

A flurry of black crows cut through the pale sky like streaks of shadow.

William wasted no time returning to the border town, where the Forum Master and Metatron awaited him.

The first thing he said upon arrival was, "That Death Knight is… insane."

His tone wasn't mocking but filled with awe. The Death Knight's unyielding beliefs and sheer willpower were beyond reason, almost incomprehensible.

"Even in death and rebirth, he's not just a transcendent on the 'Knight' path. He 'is' the essence of what a knight should be. Honor and dignity, to the very core."

Metatron nodded thoughtfully. "Perhaps it's precisely that kind of unshakable will that made him the pioneer of the 'Knight' path."

---

Metatron had spent considerable time studying the concept of creating new extraordinary paths.

"What I've learned," he began, "is that opening a new path requires more than knowledge, it demands extraordinary talent and unmatched willpower. Only those who possess both can reach the very peak of their potential."

He paused, then added, "The path's pioneers often stand closest to the ultimate truth of any extraordinary journey. It's no coincidence."

William frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it," Metatron explained. "The original Knight didn't align himself with the 'Knight' path. Instead, the path was molded in 'his' image. The Knight's path, as we know it, was built from his ideals, his principles, his life. In essence, all who follow the path are imitations of him; the ultimate template."

---

The Forum Master crossed his arms, a contemplative look on his face.

"The original Knight stood against the gods at the height of his power," he said slowly. "And the gods punished him. That entire chapter of history is… strange, to say the least."

"What's strange about it?" William asked.

"It's unclear," the Forum Master admitted. "Did the original Knight provoke the gods by attempting to become one himself? Or did he challenge the gods because he was dissatisfied with their actions? The records are too fragmented. The poems and stories that survive don't explain much about that time."

Metatron nodded. "But one thing is clear: if the original Knight had continued to grow, he might have reached a sequence that rivaled the gods."

"His ability to become a legend proves his potential," the Forum Master added. "Any path has infinite possibilities. But few pathmakers ever reach that level."

---

Breaking the heavy silence, the Forum Master asked, "Let's leave that mystery for now. Wallace, did you get the fragment?"

William smiled, reaching into his pouch. With a slight flourish, he pulled out a crumpled page and placed it before them.

The Forum Master and Metatron leaned in to examine it, their eyes widening as they recognized its significance.

"It wasn't too difficult to obtain," William said, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. But the glint in his eye suggested he knew just how valuable this fragment truly was.

This idea was originally brought up by Metatron: the value of knowledge does not increase by hoarding it.

When William showed the page's content to Metatron and the Forum Master, both were visibly stunned.

"The Flesh and Blood Path has six distinct abilities and characteristics?"

---

1. [Evolution]: Adapt and enhance your life essence through evolution, allowing quick adjustments to external environments.

2. [Control]: Master the flesh, sense and influence your body, even if parts are detached.

3. [Reproduction]: Create offspring made of flesh and blood, extending your power through them.

4. [Grafting]: Remove limbs from others and attach them seamlessly as your own.

5. [Sleeping]: Enter a state of stasis to avoid death and repair fatal injuries over time.

6. [Alienation]: Infect other lifeforms with your flesh, transforming them into servants.

---

William raised an eyebrow.

He noticed that [Growth], the characteristic he learned from Hope's fragments, wasn't on the list.

[Growth]: Extend your lifespan and elongate your life cycle.

The omission puzzled him, but it was clear that this path wasn't merely a study of biology, it was something far more horrifying and awe-inspiring.

---

The Forum Master and Metatron couldn't hide their shock.

For the first time, they felt the staggering weight of the Path of God.

"This is insane," the Forum Master muttered, half-seriously. "I kind of want to switch to the Path of Flesh and Blood."

Metatron shot him a withering look. "If you want to lose your mind and become a crazed lunatic, go ahead."

The truth was stark: everyone who embarked on the Flesh and Blood Path eventually succumbed to madness.

The page contained the initial template summarized by Hope, along with vague guesses about the potion formula required for transformation.

But knowledge alone was not enough to change one's path.

It required extraordinary characteristics.

Even with the characteristics and knowledge in hand, there was still one final hurdle; crafting the Flesh Potion itself, an act shrouded in mystery and danger.