As Lumian was feeling relief from overcoming the most recent trial, a most foreboding sensation crawled upon his skin leading the fine hairs to raise whilst forming Goosebumps. One moment he was in a barely lit room filled with monsters’ bodies and the next he was within an everlasting expanse of darkness with no end in sight.
SHINK
A piercing wound where a large weapon stabbed Lumian straight through the heart spilling blood everywhere while he coughs up blood from the throat. The feeling of searing pain tore at his flesh making his thoughts appear hazy. Falling to the ground, Lumian struggles to keep his eyes open as he reaches outwards with his hand trying to cling onto something, anything at all.
Gurgling from trying to breath, Lumians' eyes eventually close as his life starts to flash before his eyes before he reached this moment. Why do struggle? Is it really worth it? Looking back in his life he didn't feel like he fit in with the other boys while growing up. Unlike them, he wasn't into sports or action, Lumian would rather watch romance movies with his family. Whenever his sister brought him shopping for an interest of opinion, he always felt something stir in his heart yet never knowing why he felt that way, it was a feeling akin to envy not knowing where such a feeling came from.
At work, Lumian had to try to 'fit in' with the others to appear 'normal' for a 'man' yet it only continued to make him hate himself for lying about who he truly felt inside. To him it felt soul crushing and painful yet, that was all he ever knew. Whenever he had intercourse with his girlfriend, he had to feign excitement and focus only on his girlfriend to feel like a proper 'man' yet, Lumian just couldn't find out where something just felt wrong somehow and bottled up all these thoughts and feelings to himself, hiding it from everyone to appear normal.
I don't understand, why do feel this way? why am I just thinking about this now? Lumian starts questioning himself as his body starts to lose feeling and heat becoming colder and colder, his skin becoming even paler just like a corpse. His heartbeat coming to a complete stop, yet something undeniable in his blood burns with conviction brought forth.
I will not die here, I will not! screaming out inside his thoughts, he bashes his hands against the ground trying to lift himself upwards. There’re many things I have left to do such as finding my family. Gritting his teeth in pain and struggle, Lumian feels a pulse of energy vibrate where the wound in his chest is, almost like a heartbeat but not.
Ba-Bump Ba-Bump
Dark particles freezing to the touch starts drawing into the pulsing beats from Lumians' chest at a slow crawl yet, overtime it accelerates into a large vortex of energy condensing into a molten liquid of black tar running through his bloodstream turning his exposed veins black. Lumian seats himself into a meditative position feeling the pulses whilst clearing his mind, accepting a sense of tranquillity and peace that was unknown to him before.
The wounds all around his body and skin starts to seal up and heal at an accelerated rate while purply flames start to ignite where the heart would be, starting out as a mere spark yet ever growing into a ball of dense purple light replacing his actual heart in the process. Due to this, the once extremely pale skin that appeared as if it was from a corpse became more pinkish and healthier looking.
The blackened veins started to transform back and diminish meanwhile, his hazel brown hair were taking in the effects of the deep black particles turning his hair into an abyss like black that never lets anything leave yet the further down the hair goes, it transitions into a violet purple to fuchsia at the tips of his hair.
Opening his eyes, they gleamed a deep violet where they glow with unbidden flames at the irises whereas before they used to be a piercing ocean blue beforehand. Eventually, the black particle vortex calms down whilst the burning flames behind his eyes simmered before disappearing.
Suddenly, a burning sensation appeared on his right hand as if needle pricks were constantly stabbing him. "ARRRGH!!!" Lumian muffles his cry of pain by clenching his lips together drawing a spot of blood.
Grabbing a hold of his wrist, Lumian stares daggers at the back of his hand as a blood red symbol of two angelic wings seared through the skin with a serpent-like eye in the middle of them. After a little while, the blood red colour of the wings disappeared turning black meanwhile, the eye turned violet.
Lumian, drained of energy felt a dizzy sensation pass before falling unconscious in this abyss like place while the purple flamed text appears which read as.
ALL TRIALS COMPLETED..........WELL DONE SUCCESSOR
After a long period of unknown time, slowly coming to, Lumian awoke groggily from what he just experienced to a marbled stone ceiling as he felt the coldness of the floor. Getting up and looking around he realised that he was in the same place as before he undertook the trials except there was a wooden table with a parchment note to one side and a brand new robe.
Heading to the note first, Lumian picked it up and it read as follows.
To my successor you may wonder what the theme of the trial was about. It was about death, you may evade death, struggle against death and directly face death but only those who overcome death may survive the trial and thus you will no longer fear death. Of course, if you are the successor from the prophecy, you may note that you do not know this world this, I've taken it upon myself to write these notes to give you a little understanding on the path of a necromancer.
To begin with, there are nine stages to a necromancer, but our family can only claim up to a few where the rest of this knowledge lies in the divine temple of Aeterna Mortem to the Northwest of this trial Parthenon temple. The first stage is apprentice necromancer, this comes with the abilities to see souls of those you can rise from death to do your bidding, I would call them shadows of life. You can also only raise up to ten of these shadows at a time, where they must be weak lifeforms and they can only follow basic orders.
The second stage is a beginner necromancer; they can have up to thirty shadows made from stronger lifeforms and gain the ability to share basic senses such as hearing and seeing what the shadows see. Finally, the third stage is when one becomes a full-fledged necromancer, owning up to one hundred shadows and give more complex commands to them, also, this is when you can raise the shadows of humans. Just so you know they have no real intelligence or thoughts. As for your next stop, try heading through the forest up North past my hometown Moraz, there would be the capital city of the kingdom of death called Morakaiz. As for how you know when you advance in stages of the necromancer path? I can only say that you will just know.
Sincerely Drake Albus, Head of the Albus family.
Putting the note down, Lumian then undresses from his old robe that has become tattered and worn and picked up the new robe. The robe fit snugly compared to the old one and was matted black in appearance with some purple trim around the hood of the robe. I guess it’s time to leave now. Let’s head over to that capital city. Lumian thinks to himself in relief that this part of the journey was over. Thank you Albus, I hope your descendants are safe and farewell.