The Crypt had gone quiet.
Not silent—purposeful.
A week of relentless training had transformed Iden's army from a legion of summoned skeletons into specialized, semi-sentient units with instinct, precision, and adaptability. But now came the next challenge—not of war, but of expansion.
Iden stood atop a jagged ledge just outside the Crypt's main gate, gazing out across the forested valley below.
"It's time we make this more than a hideout," he murmured."Time to build a home."
The Necromancer survivor stood beside Rael, silent but present. He had proven himself trustworthy—warding off wild beasts, bolstering undead guards, even helping Rael stabilize wounded units during training.
Iden finally turned to him.
"You never told me your name."
The man blinked, as if remembering something distant. "I... forgot it."
Iden studied him a moment longer, then said quietly:
"Then I'll give you one. From today onward—Kael."
A flicker of emotion crossed the Necromancer's face. He looked at Rael briefly, who gave him a soft nod of acceptance.
"Kael," he repeated, almost reverently. "I'll carry it with honor."
With the Crypt as their heart, Iden gave orders to expand in three directions:
North: Nyra led a stealth-recon team of scouts and archers, mapping the mountainous pass.
West: Kael and Rael moved with a group of tanks and builders, setting up fortified platforms in the forest.
East: Iden led a direct construction force to start laying the first outlines of what he envisioned as a village—their village.
Every group was accompanied by specialized warriors for protection and rapid-response skeletons to defend the builders.
It was on the second day of expansion that the East team—Iden's team—discovered the signs.
Charred trees. Empty streams. Shallow graves.
And then—people.
Not other candidates. Locals.
Emaciated, hiding behind bark-woven huts, the people of this forest-world had lost everything. Their village had once been fertile, until the dungeon spawns and mutated beasts overran their waters and stole their land.
They did not ask for help.
They only watched.
Until Iden stepped forward.
"This place… is being built for survival," he said calmly, raising no weapons. "For order. For life.""Come with us. Work with us. Eat, drink, rebuild. Not as servants. But as allies."
They stared at him with disbelief.
And one of them—a woman with a carved bone staff—knelt.
"You command the dead," she whispered. "But your eyes carry the living."
They followed him back. A dozen to start. Then more.
Builders began constructing basic shelters, expanded food storage, and farm plots with the aid of the native foragers.
Kael and Rael coordinated medicine and undead patrols to ensure safety. Nyra's scouts established warning lines and trap webs across the ridge.
What had begun as a Crypt had now become a settlement.
And what had begun as a lone Summoner had become something closer to a leader.
"Name it," Kael said one night as they sat at the edge of the building site, overlooking torchlight and the sound of hammers on bone-wood."This place. What will it be called?"
Iden stared forward, thoughtful.
"Not yet," he murmured. "Not until it's more than walls and watchmen.When it's a home—for them, for us… for all the lost."