The wind howled through the Aeron Estate's courtyards like a chorus of ancestral wails, as if the dead themselves knew war was coming.
Kaelen stood in silence at the balcony overlooking the shadow-drenched city. Dawn had long passed, but the sun was a muted smear across a storm-heavy sky. The very air felt stagnant—as if the world itself held its breath.
Behind him, the great double doors opened with a groan. Lira's voice was soft, but urgent.
"The Crimson Church has withdrawn their heralds. But they've left spies behind. Some were seen near the eastern wardstones."
Kaelen turned, his expression unreadable.
"Then they're already preparing to strike in silence before they strike in public."
He clenched his jaw.
"We prepare as well."
He descended into the crypts—The Forgotten Vault, the hidden sanctum buried under the estate for centuries. It was here, shielded by obsidian stone and glyphs of sealing, that Kaelen began building what would become his Dead Court.
With a flick of his hand, the ancient summoning circle carved into the blackstone floor shimmered to life, its sigils glowing bone-white.
"Nyxa. Bahlor. Step forward."
His two Named Units moved without hesitation.
Nyxa, the skeletal mage, hovered silently with her tattered cloak of shadow fluttering. She had begun to absorb ambient death mana through the ritual lenses Kaelen had embedded into the summoning circle.
Her hollow sockets pulsed like dark stars.
"You will become more than just summoned. You will be bound by name, soul, and evolution."
He extended his hand and whispered the Word of Binding.
"Nyxa—Accept the Path of the Shadow Lich."
A wind spiraled within the chamber, and Nyxa's body convulsed. Bones blackened. Her hands, once claw-like and crude, elongated into spectral tendrils. Her core flared and expanded.
🡲 [Nyxa Evolution: Shadow Lich (Phase 1) unlocked. Abilities pending Soul Synchronization.]🡲 [New Skill Path: Grave Magic – Tier I available]
Bahlor, the skeletal golem, took his place in silence. The creature's body was stitched together from jagged white bone, obsidian fragments, and shield plates carved with Kaelen's personal sigil. Still rough, still brutish.
Kaelen inserted a rare Obsidian Monster Core into the creature's spine.
"From bones to bedrock—evolve."
Bahlor's chest expanded as layers of stone fused into him. A deep rumble shook the ground.
🡲 [Bahlor Evolution: Earth Titan Frame (Phase 1) initiated. New Passive: Stoneplate Core – Reduces damage taken from magic-based attacks by 15%]
Kaelen stepped to the summoning furnace embedded in the Vault's center—the Skeleton Generator, now restored with his modifications.
He opened the control lattice and fed it six monster cores of varying levels, including one from a Wind Serpent.
"Begin automated batch generation. Limit intelligence, restrict loyalty to me alone. Let them learn through combat and proximity to Named Creatures."
A soft hum began. Bones floated from alcoves, assembling themselves with eerie precision. Weapons were distributed from an armory rack Kaelen had refurbished with salvaged blades and shields.
Within minutes, twelve skeletal soldiers marched out and lined up before him.
Each bore a slightly different aura—some smaller and quicker, others bulkier. None identical.
🡲 [Skeleton Generator Output: 12 Basic Summons – Quality Grade: C+]
🡲 [New Evolution Path seeded: Bladeborne, Shielded, Bone Stalker]
Kaelen moved back upstairs with Lira beside him. He paced the estate's length, inspecting the arcane infrastructure as he spoke.
"Distribute glyph-inscribed ashes across the warding circles. It will confuse diviners. Install mana-draining vines on the estate's eastern border. I want trespassers feeding me, not sneaking by."
Lira nodded. "And the Grave Mirror Array?"
"Activate it during the third watch. Any illusion or stealth magic will reflect into a false echo. They'll chase ghosts while my real forces intercept."
He turned to one of the servants—an awakened undead disguised as a butler—and gave an order.
"Begin reactivating the Outer Crypt. We'll turn it into an ambush corridor."
At moonrise, Kaelen moved to the moonlit garden crypt, accompanied by Nyxa and Lira. He brought a wrapped body retrieved from the Black Market—someone strong in life, and infused with fading magic.
Kaelen raised a black-gold phylactery. The [Pharaoh] skill ignited.
"You will live again. Not as you were… but as you are needed."
Ribbons of sand and soul-fragments coiled into the air. The corpse twitched, then stood. Not mindless. Not feral. Reborn.
🡲 [New Entry to Pharaoh Vault: Identity Fragment Detected]🡲 [Conversion Success: Blood-Cursed Elf (Rogue-Type)]🡲 [Gained Undead Variant: Bloodspike Assassin]
The creature kneeled before Kaelen, knives forming from condensed blood-shadow.
In the greenhouse wrapped in mist and silence, Kaelen met with Lady Seraphine Aeron, his grandmother and matriarch of the family.
She walked barefoot among the mana-charged flowers, her presence impossibly regal.
"So it begins."
Kaelen bowed.
"The Church stirs. They smell the power rising in me."
She offered a slight smirk.
"Then let them. A wolf is not dangerous until it bares its fangs. Show them your teeth, child."
"I will. But I will not stop there."
She nodded, proud yet somber.
"Then know this… your father has begun moving his pieces too. But we cannot reveal our full hand yet. Not until they show theirs."
Kaelen's gaze burned with new fire.
"Understood. When the Dead Court rises, it will rise not in secret—but as judgment."
Back in the Vault, Kaelen sat upon the basalt throne etched with his personal sigils. Around him, Bahlor and Nyxa stood silent. The skeleton soldiers lined the chamber. The Bloodspike Assassin perched above like a phantom crow.
And yet, it was only the beginning.
"Prepare the Field Trials. The next phase… begins now."
System Update:
🡲 [Summoning Limit: 3 Basic Units + 2 Named Units]🡲 [Summon Category Unlocked: Spectral / Assassin Type]🡲 [Skill Acquired: Death Lure – Draws nearby unbound souls to user's aura]🡲 [Named Unit Core Bond Progress: 1/5]