Two tiny armored figures sat shoulder-to-shoulder beneath the dark dome of the massive Holy Hall, staring blankly as they poked at a small cluster of pale illuminating flames.
"Alright, I... I fully understand now. So basically, I suddenly dropped dead while gaming in the middle of the night, then got summoned to another world by this Magic Array, and ended up possessing this suit of armor." Xia Mo’an sat beside Talia, poking the pale fireball in front of him with his armored finger. The hollow armor produced a loud CLACK.
"In theory, that should be how it works," Talia said, poking the flames with her armor-clad, claw-like fingertips. "I suspect this ruin was used by the gods during the Age of Gods to mass-produce immortal Ghost Knights when they waged war against each other. The principle behind the Magic Array must be to randomly summon Undead souls and bind them to mass-produced Cursed Armor. Such Warriors have no physical form, so they cannot be harmed by physical attacks. They are immortal and indestructible. Only powerful Holy Magic can expel the attached Undead, leaving them untethered and lost in the void."
She pointed at the suits of armor scattered around the Holy Hall. "These suits of armor are prefabricated receptacles for Ghost Warriors."
"Alright—so who are you?" Xia Mo’an asked.
"Me? I... I am the Black-armored Demon Monarch! The Monarch of the Northern Mountains, the Demon Race Knight Lord of the Frosty Plain, the King of the Rondolan Dungeon! Balton Ronov!" Talia announced proudly. "...’s daughter, Talia Ronov."
"Oh! Got it!" Xia Mo’an said, struck by an epiphany. "A trust-fund kid, D&D edition!"
"But my parents have already passed away," Talia murmured.
"Oh! Got it!" Xia Mo’an realized again. "Batman, *The Lord of the Rings* edition!"
"What is a Batman?" Talia asked. "Is it some sort of vampire that can turn into a bat?"
"...Never mind, forget about that... I’m sorry, I have a habit of running my mouth. Don’t take it seriously." The living armor scratched its helmet.
"My father’s Underground City, Rondolan, was destroyed by other Demon Race Monarchs in collaboration with the Adventurer’s Alliance. All our wealth and resources were plundered. I have nothing left." Talia pawed at the illuminating fireball. "I pretended to be a human, wandering and struggling all over the world to search for ancient ruins. I hoped to use an Ethereal Crystal to activate a useful Holy Hall and unearth some holy relics or treasures. Perhaps I could have rebuilt the Rondolan Dungeon, but—"
"Oh, oh, so it’s a gacha pull! I’m familiar with that," Xia Mo’an said. "Did you pull what you wanted?"
Talia stared at the living armor. The living armor’s helmet turned, facing Talia with its hollow opening.
"Oh... uh, understood." Xia Mo’an came back to his senses. "Your gacha pull went off-banner, and you got me."
Talia sighed and fell silent.
"Can you do another pull? I’ll roll for you. My luck has always been great. Once, I got a ’winner’ bottle cap and chained it into five free drinks in a row," Xia Mo’an offered. "I’m already dead anyway. The worst-case scenario is that I sacrifice my lifespan to pull a top-tier drop for you."
"Uh... I can’t. This Ethereal Crystal is already depleted, and I don’t have any more." Talia looked down at the lifeless crystal in her hand.
"Maybe I should just... *sigh*, whatever." She tucked the crystal on her necklace back into her breastplate. Hugging her knees, she buried the lower half of her face behind her arm guards, leaving only her eyes exposed as she stared blankly.
"No way, why are you so down?" Xia Mo’an patted Talia’s shoulder. "Aren’t you trying to rebuild your old man’s Underground City?"
"There is no hope left. My father’s legacy is over. It’s never coming back." She turned her face to the other side.
"Let’s just build a new one! If you can’t be a trust-fund kid, then be a self-made billionaire!" Xia Mo’an leaned over to follow her gaze, shamelessly shoving his hollow bronze helmet into her field of view. "Don’t look like you hit rock bottom just because you pulled me. I’m a living suit of armor, you know! I’m pretty amazing too!"
He clenched his Hand Armor and raised his arm guards, trying to flex a bicep out of the metal plates. However, the metal refused to obey him, and he certainly wasn’t a sheet metal master skilled at forging muscle cuirasses.
"I know the ancient Ghost Knights were powerful. If I had hundreds or even thousands of suits of Cursed Armor possessed by the Undead, I might be able to form an immortal and indestructible Ghost Knight Order. Aside from droves of Holy Light Priests, no one would be able to stop them." Talia reached out gloomily and batted at his helmet, twisting Xia Mo’an’s headpiece one hundred and eighty degrees so the back faced forward. "But you’re just one suit of Cursed Armor. It’s not enough."
"Take it step by step, there’s no rush. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Xia Mo’an fumbled with his helmeted head, rotating the opening back to the front. "I’m no ordinary Cursed Armor. I’m a ghost from another world!"
"Hmm... you are indeed a bit different." Talia reached out and plucked Xia Mo’an’s helmet right off, holding it in her hands as she scrutinized the cyan patina on the bronze. "From what I recall, Cursed Armor lacks self-awareness. Why are you... such a chatterbox? Do you still have memories of your life in that other world?"
"Exactly!" Xia Mo’an’s headless armored body placed its hands on its hips triumphantly. "I was a university student. My dream was to become an engineer in the future... uh, well, assuming I hadn’t suddenly dropped dead from gaming. By the way, could you give my head back? Please don’t stare at my head so closely; I’ll get shy."
"I... fail to see how you can help me rebuild the Underground City." Talia snapped the helmet back onto Xia Mo’an’s armored shoulders, carefully adjusting it until it was straight. "You are merely a living suit of armor possessed by the Undead."
"I love playing simulation management, survival base-building, and resource management games. It should be pretty much the same thing, right?" Xia Mo’an reasoned. "I play *Factorio*, *Oxygen Not Included*, *Besiege*, as well as *Dwarf Fortress* and *Dungeon Keeper* all the time. I’m a veteran gamer."
"Hmm... I don’t understand. But it sounds... quite impressive. Working on an alien star, some sort of oxygen, besieging a city? Have you served as a General? Ruled over a Dwarf Fortress? And guarded an Underground City?" Talia hesitated. "Well then, alright. Perhaps... we can give it a try?"
"That’s the spirit! Don’t be so gloomy!" Xia Mo’an snapped his fingers.
"Then... Shamor?" Talia looked at the living armor.
"It’s Xia Mo’an," the living armor corrected.
"Sha... Samael?" Talia mispronounced the name awkwardly. "Your name is such a mouthful. It’s really hard to pronounce."
"Fine, fine, Samael it is—it just so happens I’ve always wanted an English name... My foreign teacher in my college oral English class struggled with my name just like that, too." The living armor rubbed its helmet’s chin. "Just call me Samael then! To mark the beginning of my new life, it’s only natural that I get a new name!"
"Alright, Samael." Talia extended her hand.
"Classmate Talia!" Samael eagerly reached out. "Let’s treat this like we’re partners for a group project! The goal: build an Underground City!"
The Black Iron Hand Armor and the antique bronze Hand Armor clasped together, producing a heavy, metallic CLANG. Future historians would come to call this moment the Pact of Bronze and Iron, the dark alliance of two Demon Monarchs. On this day, the desperate Rondolan Demon Princess called forth the Great Monarch of the Undead Knights from another world.