174 Trials of time

Thing rare for him, he decided to create a very small light, just to lighten that dark path. But to his surprise, this light did not even last more than a centimeter away from the stone door. Feeling that this something was far more serious than he first thought, he threw a small fireball in the tunnel, just to see it. Unlike the dark flames he used to attack the souls, it was truly a regular fire, good only for burning wood and such.

The wave of flames that crashed on the invisible wall barely allowed him to steal a peek at who was in front of him. In fact, the only thing he had seen was just two weirds white orbs and a pack of white ropes. But soon, this image was superposed upon another he obtained a few days ago. Barely keeping his calm, he was incredibly excited to meet her, even if she had probably killed quite a few of his own men.

"Are you the dark soul that my liches met? Did you arrive from that circle of stones?" Even now, his happiness after seeing her was quite clear in his voice, making Leilade slightly puzzled. Finally entering the burned and damaged room, she could also examine with more attention who this One Reborn was.

Unlike most lich, it was visible that someone took great care to construct his body. Like she did with Malakov, as her envoy particularly enjoyed his current appearance. In fact, his hands finishing by four dark claws and his head hidden under a black hood, only letting his two horn easily visible was his own choice since apparently it was even more threatening. Too that, the small girl was obviously dubious, not knowing exactly who gave him that strange idea. After all, if someone was to ask what was terrifying, it was better to inquire about it to a duvodiad, as they were the ones facing true monsters.

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Anyway, back to lich in front of her. His entire body was protected by a black robe, not even letting his bony hands appear. The only thing she could clearly see was the two empty sockets and the rows of teeth, partially visible through the strange mask he wore. However, as she thought, those were not just some random outfits he picked up. They were there when he was first created, using mana to model them. As for the mask, it was made out of iron or something alike, only showing a human face, with a beard that should measure twenty centimeters at best.

Not answering right away, she gazed at the broken corpses that were hanging in the air, as much as the numerous inscriptions on the stone walls. Like the ones she saw outside of the small mountain, they were clearly representing numerous marks and emblems of the Demonic Empire. However, if that One Reborn truly knew about her, he wouldn't have asked such a stupid question. Meaning that something was off.

"Yes, I am. I arrived here merely a few weeks ago. Of course, I was welcome by those demons, that treated me quite unfairly." Walking in like she owed this place, she sat down on a table that still had a burned corpse on it. And by saying sat down, she levitated to give the illusion that she was actually standing on a material object.

"Yes, yes. That's it, that's what was supposed to happen. The demons, they have forgotten their own past. The one coming through the circle of stones is their enemy, and so you are. You fought them and survived, meaning that I was right. With your help, the demons stand no chance and even their precious word keepers will not prevent that." Almost laughing at his own words, he did not notice that Leilade was staring at him as she would do for a mentally challenged human.

Forgetting about the obvious issues with his mind, she picked up a foreign word she linked with that purple goat over there. "Is it one of the word keeper?" Pointing at the only corpse that was not completely destroyed by the assassins, she saw the human mask nodding vigorously. "Yes, yes. Those damn go-go-goaut, yes, goaut. They protected the second circle of stones, only they don't know it is not working anymore."

"Goaut, hum? And why is the second circle not working?" At this point, she already classified the One Reborn as someone that won't survive, unless some miracles happened. No one like to be in the presence of a madman, whether he was alive or truly dead. One could have a spark of madness and such, but she wondered how many years he had spent her alone, twisting in own soul in a weird manner.

"Because of ME! YES, ME! I … I … don't remember. But I did it, YES! The two circles of stones, one for the enemy of the demons, the other one for their ally. But too bad, the ally will never arrive while the enemy still could and you are here now. But I had to make sure, that you would come here, so I left a trace, a path toward this place." Even as he was speaking, he did not stop moving his hands in wide gestures. He also seemed incapable of staying in one place, often moving to the left and then to the right.

"Hum hum, I see. Because of your great expertise in spatial magic, you managed to modify a bit the portals created by Candaith, turning one into basically a dead end. You also managed to change the very form of the catalyst, while maintaining its properties just to show me the way. Just one question, if you are that strong, why the demons are still alive?" She did not believe a single word of what she said, because it was completely impossible for a random lich to accomplish it.

She would hardly be able to do it unless she had months to study in calm what Candaith had created. And from the looks of it, the undead and the demons were not that friendly, meaning that he couldn't have access to what was tightly guarded. She had met a patrol barely minutes after landing in this place, further confirming that the circle of stones was something important.

"Yes, I did all of tha … wait what? Maybe, I don't remember. You see, the demons are evil, they sent me in this place, condemning me to never see my family again. All just for the sake of one creature, they … they … AARH! MY HEAD!" Seeing for the first time the white hands void of any flesh smacking the side of the mask, Leilade looked indifferently at the situation. The more she conversed with him, the more she felt she was wasting her time.

"Before, I was just a farmer in Massalia, but now, I have powers beyon…"

"Massalia?" Cutting him right in his tracks, she was extremely surprised to hear this word. But soon, she realized something that made all the problems and issues she met to this day look logical. The fact that the undead helped humans recently and not a long time ago. Everything, in short. She hardly heard what the One Reborn was saying after that.

"Yes, Massalia. My place, before all of this. One day, I woke up, only to find out I was in this body, with weird memories inside my head. And that huge creature covered in fur, those goauts looking at me, telling me to take care of the circles of stones. But they didn't know, they didn't know it was me. They thought I was someone else, and then, I saw the humans." Clenching his fist, he smacked the arm of the demon near him, releasing his hatred.

"Treated like mere cattle, like some cows or something. And in my head, a myriad of spells, something that only magicians should know. And those symbols, everywhere. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw that head, that was giving me all of this, causing me pain each time I tried to forget. It was like I was given a second life, I was reborn, to make all of them pay. The human that gave me information, the monster in fur that told me to guard the stones, the demons that hunted the humans. HAHAHA"

Laughing madly, he extended his arm as he was slowly rotating his body, watching every corner of his room. Looking at all those symbols that made no sense to him, but that he knew were important. He remembered graving them into the circles of stones because he was ordered to. Only after stopping his laughter did he remember he had a guest, and he was not talking to a mindless lich again.

"But you arrived. You, the one that is supposed to be their enemy. So, all the time I waited is finally worth it. Now, will you …"

"Zärtar Kûrlam ô Jyzref." Her infantile voice once more cut him, but like precedently, he was not angered. After all, she was his ticket for his revenge. However, this time, she pronounced something he had no idea what it was. Trying to repeat those words, he could hardly see where was the verb or a name.

"Not understanding it? Really?" Her white eyes could not express any emotions, but if they could, right now, it would only be sheer disappointment. The One Reborn did not talk about Candaith, even after she mentioned that space bunny. Nor did he understood what she just said. That meant he was not the one she was looking for, or should she say, he was no longer the one she was looking for.

"Tell me, did I missed it by a hundred or years or more? Never mind, it doesn't matter anyway. He will probably know more." "He-e? Who-o?" Even if she hadn't change the tone of her voice, he could feel in his guts that she was not as friendly as she was before. No, it was even worse, she was considering him as her enemy. But that was impossible for him to believe that.

"No, no, no, NO! The demons ARE YOUR ENEMY! IT WAS CREATED LIKE THAT! I WAS THERE, I WAS THE ONE THAT DID IT!" Each word was pronounced with more strength than the precedent, as a pathetic attempt to convince Leilade. But she was already convinced, totally, to be honest. Only, it was something different that the One Reborn imagined.

"You, or should I say, the one that Akama trained, was present, it is a fact. However, it seemed that as Malakov experienced it, you humans are truly a pain in the ass. Always trying to remember, always seeking your past. Because of your selfishness, you almost ruined their plans. Luckily, I was too arrogant for my own good." He could not see it or even feel it, but she had already manipulated the shadows to wait right under his feet. Because it was time for her to leave.

"What? Why? How? I don't understand, why are yo … ARGH! MY HEAD!" Knocking once more his mask, she noticed some familiar traits appearing as it was distorted under the might of the bone hands. Not caring at all, she levitated the mask toward her, while modifying it slightly, just enough to see the face of the old Akama appearing.

"MY MASK! GIVE IT BACK!" Softly touching the stolen good, she did not even raise her head at this order. Soon, the screaming of the lich was silenced by the tentacles that appeared from the ground, ambushing the undead caster. Absorbing his memories, it was not as bad as the one of the Akûl she encountered, in the depths of the Wild Mountains. But still, it was only some fragments here and there, as the only intact images she had was after the One Reborn attacked the demons.

However, in her search, she noticed a very small spark that did not belong to the soul itself. Grasping it very carefully, she barely used her soul to see what was inside. To her surprise, she saw a small debate between Akama and Candaith, before the former approached the undead once more and murmured some stuff. She couldn't hear what he said, but it was easy to read on his lips that it was insulting toward the spatial mage.

Laughing at this sight, she did not disperse that foreign spark but instead transfer it to her inner soul. There, her other personality lifted her eyebrows at this sight, not knowing what the main Leilade was up to. "See for yourself. Also, take care of him." Leaving the spark like that, the young white soul looked with surprise at the exchange between the two men, before smiling too. Gazing at the mud she had wasted before, it didn't take long for her to build another statue, only this time, without any other intentions.