Fanwork##1588 Words
I'm probably completely wrong about what is going on here (too many variables and possibilities to take into account), but it's fun to make guesses.
Omake: "Tightening Noose"
'Be a good child or the big bad lich will come and get you', parents would tell their scared offspring in hushed whispers. The undead monstrosities were the monsters under the bed, the boogeymen in the closet, the hidden danger in the dark that everyone had learned to live with in Southern Vane but never really forgot. For all that the Empire had conquered Vane, its Titans didn't deem it worth their while to clean up Diagram's remnants and left it up to the local cultivators how to deal with the leftovers. Most of the time, these dealings involved long periods of uneventful waiting punctuated by brief spikes of bloody, unremitting warfare, mostly in the form of precision strikes at the most vulnerable targets.
Sometimes though, there were extenuating circumstances that forced individuals from both sides to put their grievances aside and... cooperate, however little they enjoyed such arrangements.
"-and while the Yong heir had promised to pay off the loan to the bank at some point, it doesn't really help the city's current situation, Patriarch," the Elder grimaced after finishing his report.
The other Bleak Raven Elders exchanged weary glances as they realized that Deplian's precarious state had just gotten even less stable. Resources in the area were becoming increasingly scarce and the competition between the local sects had gotten even more ruthless and cutthroat as a result. They'd thought that things could hardly get any worse at this point, but it seemed life was full of surprises.
"Very well, I understand," Sect Master Javin sighed and tried not to let his own fatigue show. "I will attempt to speed up the negotiations with Duathlixnaur. If things go well, we might yet turn their unfortunate bankruptcy to our advantage."
Nobody looked convinced by that, their trust in the lich's promises barely existent even after all the help he'd given them already, but a thin thread of hope was better than none at all, so the Elders said their farewells and filed out of the cave to continue their tasks.
Only when he was sure he was alone did Javin allow himself a despairing laugh. The disparity couldn't have been more obvious if the Yong heir had slapped him in the face with it. Where Deplian's sects had to fight and scramble over mere crumbs, the Nameless heir was afforded all the resources he wanted without lifting a finger for it. Had he still been a young man, the sheer unfairness of it all would have infuriated him, but long experience had taught Javin that such resentment was meaningless and wouldn't get him anywhere.
It was better to focus on things that he could do something about, like getting a better bargain out of the lich. He'd already reaped certain rewards, but Javin knew it was just a taste of what Duathlixnaur had to offer. With the lich's help, it wasn't impossible to claw their way to the top of the city and maybe even beyond, though such dreams were still far off.
The question why the lich had actually approached them with that proposal was something he had no proper answer to yet - the undead monstrosities weren't known for being particularly accommodating or friendly - and it burned Javin that he didn't know why Duathlixnaur asked for their help rather than turn to the other liches for assistance, but he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.
As long as the lich didn't betray him-
"My vault's anchor will soon be ready for transportation," a dry, ancient and all-too-familiar voice resounded in his ears. "Have you decided whether you are going to fulfill your end of the agreement, or should I start looking for alternative arrangements?"
Javin suppressed the instinctive urge to lash out when Duathlixnaur suddenly appeared next to him, used to the sadistic thing's attempts to unbalance him. In a straight fight he'd win ten times out of ten, especially after having broken through to Reality Forming, but the undead's mastery of Space was such that unless Javin maintained his utmost focus, it was all too easy for the invisible and intangible lich to hide from his senses.
Turning to face Duathlixnaur, Javin tried to look for any chinks in its armor, any signs of impatience or weakness, but it was as still and patient as ever, its lifeless body almost devoid of the usual clues he typically used to assess people. There were probably habits and mannerisms even undeath hadn't scoured from the lich's mind, but the few short months they'd known each other in a personal capacity was not enough time to recognize those with any certainty.
"Please refrain from insulting my honor," he answered coolly, "we've prepared as much as we could and are going to move the anchor as soon as we have your permission. Though as you've likely heard," Javing grumbled, only receiving a mocking chuckle in response, "there have been some minor complications in the city."
Duathlixnaur watched him silently, considering the implications.
"As long as those complications don't come to our doorstep, it's none of our business, partner," the lich replied at last, spitting out the last word like a curse. "And should it come to that, I have a few surprises ready. If that is all?"
Its lack of proper facial muscles did little to detract from the bloodthirsty leer.
Javin briefly considered trying to ask about the Yong heir's Ring Artifact he'd heard about in his underlings' reports, as the lich undoubtedly had much more experience with identifying such things, but passed the idea up as soon as it occurred to him. He had too little to go on aside from the Ring being seemingly striking enough to make it into those reports, but there were too many ancient relics in the world to bother chasing after every mention.
"Yes, that is all," he bit out at empty air, Duathlixnaur having disappeared without even waiting for an answer to that question.
It was unwise to antagonize the Cultivators after going through all the effort to ally with this sect and making plans to elevate them above their peers, Duathlixnaur knew, but centuries of blood and hate were not so easily ignored. Had his position been anything less than desperate, he would have never decided to do such a ridiculous thing, but needs must.
The library's air was dry and clear, the moon sigils shedding just enough light for his dead eyes as the lich flipped through page after page, searching for answers that just wouldn't come. It was an endless chase with no end in sight and a multitude of deceptive results. There were tantalizing hints in the ancient books, and perhaps the right solution hid somewhere between the lines of the mythical stories, but it was impossible to filter it out from all the nonsense.
At last Duathlixnaur put the book away in frustration, leaning back in the chair and staring into the distance with unseeing eyes.
Death. Mortality. Cessation of existence. It had been a nebulous and far-off concept for such a long time that it was difficult to once more contemplate the possibility. But the reports had been too numerous to safely ignore what was staring him right in the face.
The last remnants of Diagram were dying. And it wasn't the slow yet inevitable decline they'd been forced to endure during the last millenniums, no. Unexplained disasters, unlikely accidents, continuous setbacks... his peers, both allies and enemies, had started to disappear one after another over the last months, monstrosities that had survived the Cultivator purges meeting their demise with terrifying regularity.
This couldn't be written off as a coincidence anymore, and while Duathlixnaur would have loved to blame it on the Cultivators, he knew that however powerful they were, - and it had been power enough to shatter and scatter the Diagram back in the days, - subtle they were not. If they'd wanted to finish the job, all this would have been unnecessary, the involvement of one of their Titans would have been enough.
No, much as it pained him to admit it, this pattern had all the hallmarks of Diagram's insidious poison. Perhaps one of his brethren had finally gone mad and decided to exterminate them all, or maybe there were other forces at work, but Duathlixnaur couldn't trust a single one of them anymore, too great was the danger that he'd only doom himself by extending a hand.
Fortunately, he'd recognized it early enough that he had started his own preparations in advance. It hadn't been too difficult to find a sect desperate enough to accept his help among his cultivating neighbors, and helping their Patriarch break through to the next stage had served as sufficient proof of his intentions, so he was set to move the anchor into the new abode soon.
Duathlixnaur would still be able to flee should they decide to renege on their promise, he wasn't yet so far gone as to trust them completely with his safety, but he trusted them enough not to cooperate with other liches, which would have to be enough.
His honed intuition was still telling him that something was wrong though, and in the rare moments when the allowed his mind to relax, visions of terrible blue light haunted his thoughts, which was why the lich had been spending his days scouring the library for clues.
With a rueful shake of his head, Duathlixnaur stood up and moved away to finish the last preparations.
Perhaps the paranoia was getting to him.
