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"Did you know, Young Prince? Souls didn't exist before. They aren't a natural part of the Universe."
Louis slowly opened his eyes, finding himself floating in the Limbo between the Five Seats above the Eternal Radiance and the Purgatory where billions of wailing souls clawed at him from below.
"Souls are a fabrication of a monster that brought Fantasy to this Universe—a dangerous cancer to Reality."
The Nameless Entity floated before Louis's soul as he drifted along the river of light and darkness. Louis listened, intrigued, yet his mind wandered elsewhere.
He was still processing everything he had endured, barely able to meet the creature's gaze. This irritated the entity.
"Are you listening to me? Hello?"
The creature waved a hand in front of Louis, testing if his unfocused eyes followed the motion.
They did not.
"Hoh, already broken, huh? Yes, I saw what you did there. Impressive, I must say."
Louis continued staring blankly at the brilliant skies above Purgatory. This was the first time he had truly lost everything. Even after dying while killing that bastard, it all felt meaningless because he couldn't stay dead in that world.
"I want to die…"
He looked hopelessly at the monstrosity before him. The winged creature smiled wickedly, laughing at his pitiful plea.
"That cannot happen."
"Let me die…"
"Already giving up?"
"…"
"I thought so. You're not the type to give up easily, right? You have to keep fighting, my prince. Or else I'll never get my revenge."
"What did my grandfather do to make you hate him so much?"
"Oh, what didn't he do… He ruined my plans—plans I prepared for hundreds of thousands of years. He trampled my dreams. He stopped me from saving the Universe. He's no hero. Your grandfather is a monster. Yggdrasil was supposed to be destroyed, Fantasy eradicated. Now, because he stopped me, your planet is contaminated by Fantasy. Look where that got you."
"What?"
Louis was stunned. He had never heard anything like this before. Even William had no knowledge of such "lore" from the game.
"Well, remember that each time you die, I grow closer to you."
"…?"
Louis's eyes widened as he noticed a small black protuberance growing on his left leg—a contaminated part of his soul.
"W-What is this?"
"Haha, would you love to know? I suppose so… Goodbye for now, my dear prince. Keep fighting. Keep dying… It'll benefit us both."
Before Louis could ask more, the river of light and darkness consumed him, hurling him back in time.
As he regressed, he noticed a small black hand attached to his soul, staring at him with sharp red eyes.
♢♢♢♢
Forest of Hollow Salt, the First Layer of the Dimensional Labyrinth.
Louis opened his eyes slowly, feeling sharp pain in his abdomen. Despite the agony, he remained calm. He reached for the knife and pulled it out. His eyebrows twitched slightly, but that was all.
At some point, he had grown accustomed to pain—or perhaps to this specific pain. Yet it still flared through his body, making him feel alive and alert even as the poison tried to claim him.
"This poison…"
For a moment, he wondered if they might have used something similar on his mother. But recalling her unparalleled healing magic, there was no way she couldn't cure simple anti-dragon poison. Even if she couldn't, his father would have found a counter.
What afflicted his mother was more like a curse—a soul-deep affliction planted by a powerful Grievance from another dimension. It spread like poison but wasn't truly poison.
"Am I back to how I used to be, or…?"
Louis checked his connection to his Spiral and the two Spiral Fragments. His Incarnation, the Gravewalker, was there… but the Crownless Heir was gone.
"I am… Tier 8!"
His eyes widened. His Fantasium remained, and his body felt much tougher. The poison struggled to spread as his Fantasium awakened upon regression, suppressing it though not eliminating it completely.
"Status Display…" he whispered.
♢♢♢♢
Name: Louis Drakeheart Yggdrasil
Classification: Sinner (Dragon–Human–Anomaly)
Spiral: Hollow Spiral of the Ashen Wyrm, Desecrated Soul Spiral Fragment, Self-Flagellation Spiral Fragment
Tier: 8 – Graveborn
Fantasy Heart: Level 20/50
Vitality: 228
Strength: 193
Intelligence: 166
Dexterity: 216
Fantasium: 1950
Fantasium Affinity: 1%
Madness Index: 17%
Bonds:
Dragon Family Bond – Mother Benladra (Level 10/10)
Friendship Bond – Mirai (Level 2/10)
Elemental Affinities:
Ash Element: A+ Rank
Ice Element: A+ Rank
Void Element: S Rank
Dragon Element: E Rank
Incarnation:
Gravewalker – Tier 8 (Growth: 21%)
Necromancer Fragment – Tier 9
Pugilist Fragment – Tier 9
Known Abilities:
Ashen Frost – Tier 8 (Growth: 23%)
Death-Sense – Tier 8 (Growth: 7%)
Soul Enslavement Fragment – Tier 9
Iron Body Fragment – Tier 9
Potential Abilities:
Pending Spiral Resonance
♢♢♢♢
"It's… all there…"
Everything he had achieved, all his efforts—they remained.
None of it had been in vain.
Louis couldn't help but smile, chuckling until he drew the attention of his assassins. They stared at him in disbelief.
"What's wrong with this guy?"
"Huh? What… what's with that Fantasium Aura?"
"Icicle Spear."
"Huh?!"
CRASH!
Louis raised his hand and cast the spell, instantly killing the man beside the Necromancer.
The Necromancer's eyes widened beneath his mask, face twisting in fear as he stumbled back.
Louis stood calmly, fixing him with a serious gaze.
"W-What…! What's going on?! Weren't you…! Weren't you a weakling?!"
"Weakling? I am the only Prince of the Frostbane Kingdom, Louis Drakeheart Yggdrasil! You think I'd fall to a joke like this poison?"
"S-Shit…! I have to—"
"Gravewalker!"
Louis's Incarnation surged forward, seizing the Necromancer and hurling him to the ground before Louis. Escape was impossible. The ash-formed Gravewalker glared down with intimidating red eyes.
"W-Wha…! I have…! I…!"
The Necromancer struggled to speak, terror silencing him as the Gravewalker loomed.
Then massive metallic hands pinned him down, binding his arms to prevent him from raising any undead.
"Uugh! Damn it! Why! Nobody told us you were this strong!"
"Cardoon Zorba is your name, right?"
"…Huh?"
Zorba froze. His third eye opened wide as he analyzed Louis. The prince stepped forward and removed the helmet, revealing the man's true appearance—a black horn, a third eye, and long purple hair.
"You're a Spiralwalker of the Desecrated Soul Spiral, and a Sinner. You were captured by the Vultarn High Dominion after killing your brother in cold blood, correct?"
"T-That's…"
Zorba couldn't believe it. The prince knew everything—who he was, why he was here. His eyes filled with awe and fascination. Never had he met someone who understood him so completely.
"The Vultarn High Dominion is an enemy of the Frostbane Kingdom. I know you hold little loyalty to them. So I have an offer."
"O-Offer?"
"Switch sides. Join me, Cardoon Zorba. Become my subordinate. Work for me, and I promise you'll always have the finest corpses for your zombies."
"W-What? Just… how… how do you know my name?"
"I saw through you. I won't reveal how—it's part of my Spiral."
"…!"
"I also know about the chip in your head."
"Yeah… Even if I join you, I'll die the moment they find out. They'll blow my head to pieces!"
"The chip is planted below your neck, right? Not inside your skull."
"I-It's not?"
"No. I'll extract it now. Stay still. Drink this tonic once I'm done—the wound will close quickly."
Louis had already recovered his belongings. He selected a tonic and handed it to Zorba.
"Huh?!"
Zorba gasped as his head was pressed to the ground. Louis cleaned the poisoned knife with Ice and Ashes, then sliced into the nape.
It hurt terribly. Zorba screamed as blood flowed and muscle was exposed.
Louis reached in without hesitation until he found the device and tore it free.
"Gaaaahhh!"
Zorba screamed again. Louis examined the blood-covered, blinking chip before tossing it aside. He avoided destroying it to prevent alerting the Vultarn High Dominion.
"Drink the tonic."
"Ugh…! Gulp…"
The necromancer drank. His wound closed slowly. He gasped, touching his neck and realizing the hard, irritating object was gone.
"T-This is…" he muttered in disbelief. "You… you did it…?"
"Yes," Louis nodded. "Zorba, what do you want from this world? Why did you become a Spiralwalker?"
"…Ah." Zorba looked down, sitting as he gazed at Louis's glowing eyes and majestic presence—something he hadn't noticed when stabbing the pathetic, whining noble earlier. "I… I want a world where all the bastards who hate and discriminate against me for who I am… could die agonizingly. I want a world where I can walk the streets without people staring at me… like I'm a monster… I want a world… where I can be free."
"I see," Louis smiled. "The Frostbane Kingdom is full of Anomalies—people from Yggdrasil. They're widely accepted. Sinners like us are known there. Though some discrimination exists, as a prince, I face none. I will change my Kingdom to fully accept us for who we are. But I won't stop there. I'll change the world and do everything possible to halt the Dimensional Labyrinth."
"Y-You dream big…" Zorba muttered.
"You don't believe me?" Louis asked with a confident smile. "I'll prove it. We're the same."
"Ah!" Zorba's eyes widened as the corpse of the man Louis killed suddenly stood, groaning. "You're like me?!"
"I possess the Spiral of the Desecrated Soul too. The ritual failed, so I have only a Fragment, but I fully understand your incredible power, Zorba," Louis said. "In this world, you'll never meet anyone else who truly appreciates your worth like I do. I need you, Zorba. Come with me."
Louis extended his hand. Zorba stared, stunned.
Zorba had lived his entire life hated, discriminated against, spat upon. He had endured misery and bitterness, always yearning to be needed—to matter.
Now, that chance stood before him.
The chip binding him was gone. He had found a kindred spirit—a ruthless prince unafraid to kill when necessary.
For a moment, it felt like his entire life had led to this.
It was Fate.
"Yes… gladly, Your Majesty. I swear to serve you from now on, with my very soul."
Zorba bowed and swore loyalty, using Soul Enslavement on himself to bind eternally. Louis was shocked.
"Isn't this too easy? He's that type of person, huh? He was truly starving for someone to value him and his talents."
Louis smiled and clasped the offered hand, helping Zorba stand and meeting his eyes as an equal.
"Zorba, we'll return to my Kingdom now. They may imprison you upon arrival, but I guarantee I'll do everything to free you and keep you at my side."
"Yes, Your Majesty. I believe you."
"For now, are there more soldiers from your country here?"
"No. I killed them all earlier and turned them into zombies. They're scattered through the forest, serving as my eyes."
"So you could have attacked me at any time, yet you didn't?"
"I… wanted to hear what you had to say."
"I see. I misjudged you, Zorba. You're not only special—you're smart too."
"Hahah, you flatter me, Your Majesty… This is the first time anyone has flattered me, in fact."
"You've been alone this whole time, haven't you? Struggling against Fate, against the world. No more, brother. Today, our new lives begin. Come with me. Let's forge a new future."
"Yes!"
It had taken only a few words of inspiration for Louis to gain Zorba's absolute devotion. There could be no better subordinate.
Yet the risk of betrayal lingered. Louis didn't lower his guard completely, even after the necromancer's oath.
So what if he did? Louis could just as easily sever that bond and strike him down.
But that suited Louis perfectly. Zorba was the ideal person to keep him alert and on edge.
And if Zorba ever truly betrayed him, Louis would not hesitate to kill him and consume his Spiral Stone. It might even upgrade his Spiral of Desecrated Soul from a mere Fragment.
However, he valued Zorba more as a living ally than as a simple Spiral Stone. For now, he allowed the man to live, keeping him close.
It helped that Zorba was mentally unstable, like most Sinners, and had quickly developed an unhealthy obsession with Louis.
It disgusted the prince, but he recognized the advantage in it.
"Zorba, your zombies will be too dangerous where we're going. Retrieve their souls and abandon the corpses."
"Understood."
Zorba closed his eyes. The souls of the twelve soldiers he had mercilessly killed and reanimated floated before him.
"Shall I store the souls for now or release them, Master Louis?"
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