Pestilence: Rise Of The Pure Undead

Lady Fe was a stunning woman, abnormally so, in fact… Each and every single one of her movements felt like that of a most holy being, an angel descended from the heavens and gracing mere mortals with her sacred presence, when she smiled, it was though time itself slowed down to appreciate the beauty of her expression, all words she spoke was an auditive blessing, soft like clouds, perhaps even softer than that…

Milo blinked a few times in quick succession before slapping himself across the face.

Similarly, his sisters seemed to be coming to their senses as well.

'That was close… Is she using some sort of mental attack? Or is that just how she is naturally?' he hoped that it was the former, it would be much simpler to deal with something that was a conscious attack instead of a purely passive attribute, moreover, seeing how easily it had affected the three of them, Griar did not dare imagine how a native of this realm would react to Fe, they would probably be enamored from just catching a glance or from hearing a single word.

"You don't want to say? What a shame… I was hoping that we could get to know one another" Lady Fe chuckled in the most pleasant manner Griar had ever heard "I do know that you three belong to the group of runaways Lord Loimos mentioned, it must have been heard to leave your previous lives behind, in the Emerald Realm, perhaps I could interest you in what happened after you left? I am up-to-date on such topics" Lady Fe did not budge in the least, standing in the exact same spot and the same, non-threatening posture, and yet, it felt as though the situation was going to devolve into a fight.

No one responded to her, but she continued on anyway.

"I am afraid to inform you that the Emerald Realm has fallen, absorbed by the Undead Empire, the denizens have submitted to the rule of undeath, and I have even heard that some of the fallen livings have already been brought back as undeads… Do you know anyone who passed away in that realm? Can you imagine being able to meet and speak without a beloved one you thought was gone forever? Ah… It is hard to imagine, isn't it? Here, let me help you visualise it!" the High Priestess raised her tall staff aloft, and in an instant, the golden decoration became intertwined with vile tendrils of stagnant water, the dark substances coalesced into the center, forming a singular eye.

And in an instant, before Griar could react, before Lizi could surge forward using the spell she had been silently weaving this entire time, before Louizon to bring down this entire mountain down with a full-powered blast from a blast spell- Before any of the three could anything, the world around them turned dark, and they were all alone.

Lost in what appeared to be a dimension of eternal darkness, they could see themselves perfectly, but all else was completely dark, trying to manifest light did nothing to illuminate the surroundings.

Whether this place stretched into infinity, or was confined to just a few meters, was impossible to tell, walking forward did not seem to actually do anything, whichever direction you might try to take, it felt like you never moved from where you stood.

There was no sound in this place, until footsteps rang out from behind.

In an instant, the darkness was gone, replaced by enormous fields and hills of lively green.

Griar had no idea what was happening, or rather, he did not know what to do, as this was pretty obviously an attack from Lady Fe, its nature seemed to be tied to the mind in some sort of a way.

The young man looked for the source of the footsteps, and once his eyes landed on what was causing them, he froze.

Lizi and Louizon ended up in a very different place than their brother, from the darkness, they found themselves in an ancient forest of giant trees, a place that seemed to belong in the Peaceful Realm, but neither believed that they had been taken back home.

For some reason, they were together here as well, and despite not believing it at first, it seemed like they were both truly real, none of the two was an illusion conjured up to trick the other.

"I think we've been caught in an illusion, we better wake up before anything happens to our actual bodies" spoke Lizi with a sense of urgency, attempting to cut into her palm to see if a bit of pain would wake her, but it was to no avail.

The sound of bones clicking against one another echoed throughout the forest, putting the two young women on guard, but their expressions turned ugly as they watched what looked like a giant serpent coiling around the giant trees, its head unseen.

The creature's body was not covered in scales, but in fur instead, grey fur- Its body was about as thick as a person's torso.

For some reason, despite the situation being horrifying, Lizi and Louizon felt an inexplicable sense of peace wash over them, as though it was obvious that the serpent was not a threat, and instead, a friend.

"Do not be afraid"

"As was decided by the old carver, my name is Fallael"

"Friends of the old carver, inhabitants of the Peaceful Realm"

"Let me give you a hand in your journey"

Only then did Lizi manage to say something.

"How can you help, Fallael?" she asked, finding it strangely natural to address the fur-covered serpent, whose head remained unseen, in a friendly manner, as though her very being was aware that Fallael was a friendly force.

"Beyond the Peaceful Realm, there is little that I can do, but I shall help you wake up from the darkness, your minds were clouded by the vile gaze birthed from the melding of that foul water, dispelling the traces of such things, is easy, it will only take a moment"

"Well… Fallael, the two of us are here, so where is Griar?" asked Louizon instead, the seemingly infinitively long body of the snake moved a slight bit across the trees.

"Do not worry for the safety of your younger brother, he will also awake soon, another assistance simply got to him before I did… Whilst we wait for that moment to pass, Louizon… I would appreciate if you could be more mindful with your magic, the flesh of slain creatures is meant to be feasted upon, and the unclaimed land is a place of gathering and living, so avoid destroying it, if possible"

"Huh… Sure?"

And in the next instant, they opened their eyes again.