AN: The Story was edited as of 2/13/19, since it was pretty bad in my eyes. Go ahead and reread it, if you want.

*Sometime in the Distant Past in Faerun; An Old Crypt...*

...

Orthalamas coughed and cursed himself as he was pinned underneath an old pillar, surrounded by the remains of countless undead. If only he was more careful! Then he wouldn't be here, stuck and left to rot away and become some brainless zombie... If only he had just got past his own blind idealism sooner and left his old team behind to find a new one, one that wasn't as cynical and malicious as the one he was with, he wouldn't be stuck here...

"D-damn it... I... shouldn't have hoped... they'd help me..." he muttered, the illusion that his former team was somehow caring and and secretly be friends with him wearing off now. "If only... I just stayed by myself, as a lone wolf or something... Then at least, I wouldn't have anyone to blame for my problems except for me... Or, if I just got a normal, if weak team of adventurers... Then they'd at least back me up in this situation."

He slowly felt himself bleeding out... He'd inevitably die, but who knew how long that would take? Minutes? Hours? Days?

"Agh... Why Laele? Svessk? Dhall? Why couldn't you all just have the mercy of killing me instead of ditching me under this pillar? Why didn't any of you bother trying to find me?..." he mused, though he ultimately knew it was because they all despised him. If only he just left them like they wanted, if only he was just a bit smarter and less stupid...

Hours passed, and his movements became more and more sluggish, until he could barely twitch.

"So... this is how it all... ends..." Orthalamas muttered, cursing himself still for his stupidity, just barely noting that someone was looming above him.

It was a rather muscular man, his head balding from the age, though his dark beard was thick and heavy. He was notably soaked in Negative Energy, though he didn't really seem to be affected by it, and his arcanic robes and staff made Orthalamas realize that this man was the Necromancer responsible for all the undead in this tomb.

The Crippled Paladin coughed, weakly raising his head to look at the man. "Who... Are you?..."

The Man tilted his head in curiosity, but shrugged, and gave a small chuckle, "Me? I am nothing but a worm. But, if you really must know my name, then you can refer to me as Kyous, Master Necromancer. Tell me, are you in need of help, paladin? It appears your party has abandoned you here. I will gladly offer assistance, in exchange for your services and help."

"I'll... never... help... a Necromancer... Necromancy is nothing but... Pure Evil..." Orthalamas hissed, a spiteful look searing in his eyes.

"Oho! Why is that? Necromancy isn't all that bad. It is merely just a tool, something to be used just like the rest of Magic. It can both help and harm people, it is up to the caster on how it is used. A rock can kill a person, but it isn't outlawed. Should Necromancy, and to a lesser extent, Magic, be outlawed as well? Besides, just because I said I am a Master Necromancer, doesn't necessarily mean I am just a Necromancer. What do you know? For all you know, I could be lying, maybe there's another magician here? Or perhaps I am a master of all magic arts?" Kyous said, greatly confusing Orthalamas.

"So... You aren't... Evil?..." Orthalamas dumbly asked, bemused by Kyous' words.

"In the long run, one will realize morality is but a tasteless vapor used to justify certain acts and deeds. Evil and Good are so easily switched, changed, and subjective to thought, as are Order and Chaos. But, if you truly must classify me under that outdated and broken system, I suppose I'd be somewhere under neutral." Kyous' patience didn't seem dented or wearing away in the slightest. If anything, it seemed that his interest in Orthalamas was growing by the second, and thus subtly made the pillar pinning Orthalamas down even heavier, subjecting the paladin to more pain until he either gave up and accepted, or died.

Orthalamas tried to protest and continue his argument further despite feeling his ribs and spine crack and snap under the strange and sudden pressure the pillar had on him, but eventually the pain grew too much, and he wheezed out, "Fine... Help me... and I'll help you..."

Kyous smiled, and telekinetically raised the pillar, tossing it aside. "There. Was that so hard to say? Now, come along!... Ah, wait, you can't really do that, now can you? Well, that's a pity. I suppose I'll have to just drag you to wherever I left the makeshift infirmary!"

Orthalamas groaned in both pain and regret of another of his poor decisions as he was dragged along the rocky and rough hallways of Kyous' crypt...

...

"Eat this," Kyous said, giving the bedridden Orthalamas a bowl and a bottle of water...

Orthalamas looked in it, to find it was a simple soup, filled with strange red liquids and several pieces of meat...

"Eh? Wait, this is raw meat! I can't eat this!" Orthalamas shouted, "I'll get even sicker from any parasites and diseases that might be in it!"

"Oh? Why not?" Kyous stroked his beard, confused, "I eat this all the time and you don't see me getting sick. If anything, I'm more healthy and muscular than you are my dear boy!"

"Bu-But..." Orthalamas went silent.

"Is that silence implying this one is correct?" Kyous asked, smiling smugly.

"... But you used some sort of magic, didn't you?" Orthalamas countered, now positive that Kyous must've done such a thing to constantly eat this raw flesh... "Yeah, you must've used some sort of magic to make it pure and tasty!"

"Ohohoho... Not even close, good chap," Kyous snickered, leaving the soup on a stand made of bones, "Well, I leave you to recover your broken body. 'Til then, good sport!"

"Wa-Wait, hold on a moment... Agh, damn it all..." Orthalamas cursed himself, wishing he could do more... But, at least he had a choice here. He could at least maintain his willpower and not poison himself eating that trap the Necromancer set out for him...

Days passed, and all Orthalamas truly had was occasional refills of his water and even more mind-boggling conversations with the Necromancer. What even was Kyous at this point... The Paladin held a strong belief that Kyous had a few screws loose in his head, if not a gaping hole where sanity should be.

But, inevitably, hunger began to set in, and with magic and the loss of most of his supplies from when the party left him, Orthalamas felt a strong agony rumbling in his stomach.

Agh... It hurts... It hurts so much... But... It's raw flesh... I can't trust a Necromancer not to poison a Paladin like me...

How long he suffered in that unnecessary pain, he didn't know.

All he knew was that, in the end, he finally took the bowl, and began feasting.

His tongue hated and completely wanted to reject the flesh, but his stomach certainly didn't care. Even though he wanted to vomit, it still finally eased that pain he had long suffered through...

Kyous soon walked in, noting the empty bowl. "I knew you would falter eventually. Was that so hard?"

"Ye... yes..."

Kyous paused, before shrugging, "Ah well. That's a pity. Well, up you go!"

Against his protests, Orthalamas was jerked up out of his makeshift cot, and stumbled around the cold floors of the crypt, shivering and shaking.

"My, my. You look like you've just got off of leg day!" Kyous randomly commented, chuckling as he dragged Orthalamas along, "Come now, my guest! I think it's high time you got to see a tour of my wonderful crypt!"

Orthalamas groaned, feeling too weak to really keep going on...

Kyous showed off all sorts of strange machinations and traps in his crypt. Some were just generic spikes and swinging axe-blades, some were crystalline soul gems enslaved to power intense and epic-level trap spells. Some were expertly woven illusions that made lava look and feel like quicksand or slime instead of actual lava.

Others were just cruel. Such as split-second portals into the Negative-Energy Plane or the Abyss, or a room with several literal Spheres of Annihilation floating around.

Not to mention Kyous' spawn and creations were just as horrifying. Nightshades, Elder Vampires, lesser liches, Angels of Decay, Blood Aminotes, Death Knights, Direguards, and the list just went on and on.

Orthalamas silently swore to eradicate all of these beings in the future when he recovered.

Eventually, Orthalamas was led to a rather small and quaint room. The room was gray much like the rest of the crypt, with a rugged bed and a crackling fireplace.

"This is your room," Kyous said, "Try to keep that in mind. Feel free to explore the crypt as you see fit. Have fun!"

And, with that, Kyous left, leaving a very confused Orthalamas alone.

Wh... What? Why? Why leave me here? Sounds like a horrible idea... Orthalamas thought, sitting down on the bed and thinking deeply on what the hell his past few weeks have been.

Betrayed by my companions... Saved by a lunatic... Practically force fed some meat I probably don't want to know the true identity of... Hm? What's that?

Orthalamas walked over to the door, noting a rather heavy book was left lying around. It's a grimoire... Why is it here? Did Kyous drop it?

The Paladin lifted the book up, slowly dragging himself back towards his bed while opening the dusty thing up.

Immediately he was met with countless magic theories and ideas, most of which were influenced majorly by connections and relations Necromancy held to other magics such as Biomancy and even Lilitid psonics.

Mind Flayer Psonics do not affect the undead, which are powered purely by Negative Energy. Since Necromancy is most commonly powered by Negative Energy, a common energy in the Multiverse, this leads me to believe that indeed, Necromancy must in fact be forbidden and unknown to the cultures of Mind Flayers...

The natures of undead vary from world to world. In one world, all undead are intelligent, sapient lifeforms that are "born" when a being dies. In sharp contrast, in our homeworld here in Faerun, the Undead are almost never the same (with the exception of Zombies), and it is understood that entities such as Skeletons do not have the same level of intelligence as a Lich... Therefore, it is logical to conclude that Negative Energy works differently in different worlds. However, the methods and approach to Necromancy taken in foreign worlds must also be taken into consideration...

I'm almost 3/4ths done with the Flesh Colossus. It's currently kept in my Genesis pocket-world, along with other projects of mine. Who'd've thought that a titanic being made from countless dead corpses would take several decades to craft? And I still have yet to properly forge a good "Master" Soul for it too...

The Atropal I brought in the other day is growing well. The adventurers that keep trying to kill me always wind up becoming its food. It's already grown into a rank 5 Demigod. Impressive, considering the Atropal Acererak was nurturing took a Death Curse epidemic to get anywhere. Maybe this Atropal was born from a stronger god or primordial? It is entirely possible that unfinished immortals might have differing potentials, and Acererak was simply unlucky... Or perhaps his Atropal was simply not as willing to accept a Demilich trained by Vecna, while mine thinks I'm just a useful and ignorant pawn? Only time will tell.

Most of this went far, far over Orthalamas' head. He understood that Kyous was apparently extremely skilled and powerful though...

The Paladin shrugged. This was all just blasphemy. Blasphemy and vile garbage... He'll take down Kyous. He swore it!

... Despite all that, it was still pretty boring, so he kept on reading through the Grimoire, letting his imagination think of all the sick twisted things Kyous surely had to have done, and how he'll smite and deliver Kyous his just punishment...

Time passed on, and soon his disgust grew into a curiosity. Even going as far as to ask Kyous what some of these undead were. For smiting and combat knowledge purposes, of course.

He didn't notice the local Negative Energy having an effect on his mind, either.

Days turned to Weeks. Weeks turned to Months. Gradually, Orthalamas almost began to question the immorality so many people had towards Necromancy. Why was it so despised? Why was it so... degraded, frowned upon, despised?

He didn't know. But he certainly thought that maybe, just maybe, he was being a bit unfair to these Necromancers. Maybe the dark arts only had a bad reputation because so many evil people practiced it. And Kyous certainly didn't appear to be that evil. Only defensive towards people who try to invade and kill him.

As he continued to think, his body eventually recovered, until he was able to fully walk, stretch, and wield a sword with no effort.

But, he didn't immediately want to attack Kyous. Not until he got to see the Crypt with his own eyes... which should be safe. He had already seen most of the Crypt for himself... And Kyous even showed him the exit if he wanted to leave earlier on.

Orthalamas quietly wandered the Crypt, looking at the various undead beings...

Some were just mindlessly roaming around, or sitting down, or looking at him blankly.

Others, like a few lesser Liches and Skeletal Mages, told him to fuck off while they were studying before they ignored Kyous' ruling and made everyone in the crypt attack him.

And then finally, there was just a hapless vampire-child, idly wandering around as other vampires and beasts of the night and death lurked around, and ignored her, sometimes even guiding her to other locations...

Is... Is it really right to be so blindly hateful towards all undead? Those liches and skeletons... They just want to be left alone. That child... She just wants to play with someone... Is Necromancy truly that awful, if it can create beings like this? If it can maintain the mind and body for someone who wants to live on, to give them a chance to finish or achieve a regret or goal they couldn't do in life?...

Orthalamas didn't know what to make of this, and left to his room, making sure not to get hacked to pieces by swinging axe blades and definitely not touching the Spheres of Annihilation as he made his way back to his room.

...

In time, Kyous returned to Orthalamas' room, carrying the usual plate of bread and "soup."

However, this time around, Orthalamas had something beyond the usual question or blind accusations.

"Can you teach me Magic?" Orthalamas bluntly asked.

"Heh. Yeah, of course, totall..." Kyous trailed off, before rubbing into his ears a few times and staring at Orthalamas. "Uh. Come again?"

"I said, can you teach me Magic? Especially Necromancy."

"... What, where, when, and why?"

"I want to learn magic. Here, from you. Right now. Why? I want to see beyond what I was taught by my fellow paladins and see for myself if Necromancy truly is as evil as they say it is. To me, it just looks like the natural opposite to healing and other Life Magic, like Biomancy. Why then, should I judge it so much, if it's the natural counter to it? Why should I kill a thinking child who was simply created from death rather than life? Is there something wrong with not being brought into this world the same way as the rest of us? I do not know, but I want to know, for my own sanity and morality as a Hero..."

Kyous stroked his beard, thinking deeply. "... Very well then. I shall allow you to become my apprentice on one condition: You must renounce your oath as a Paladin. Do so, and I shall gladly immerse you in my knowledge."

Orthalamas paused, unsure of whether he should do such a thing or not...

But, in the end, he wanted to follow what he thought was right. And if being a Paladin meant he had to kill beings just because they were "unnatural," then he refused to be one anymore.

"... I break my vow. I no longer wish to be a Paladin," Orthalamas simply said, distinctly feeling former connections and powers he once held fade away into nothingness.

"There, was that so hard? Now come along!" Kyous said, grabbing the former Paladin by the arm and pulling him towards where Kyous wanted to go...

Wait, he just accepted that easily? Orthalamas thought, confused as Kyous dragged him along... Well, I suppose this is my "start of darkness..." as some Paladins would put it. Well, I think this is hardly so. I think I'll do even better and help more people if I learn magic and more about the world!

...

From there, Kyous put Orthalamas through a living hell, training him, making him always vigilant against any possible threats, as well as helping him with his intuition and foresight about who people were like.

He taught him all about the wonders of magic, as well as technology, sword fighting, and above all else: Genre-savviness and Common Sense.

Months in the Crypt turned to Years, and almost, in a sense, Orthalamas and Kyous had grown to trust and rely on each other like brothers, studying and researching the secrets and limits of magic, pushing their knowledge ever further... And, in time, Orthalamas had grown to learn the secrets of Lichdom, Worm that Walks...dom? Vampirism, Lycanthropy, and many others...

It almost seemed perfect. Orthalamas had even gotten to know that Vampire Child a bit better, as well as finally see the Flesh Colossus and learn what the hell an Atropal was, as well as meet some of Kyous' other associates, such as a enigmatic Black Slaad that called itself "Karnax."

But, all good things must pass, and inevitably, a group of adventurers wandered in...

...

Orthalamas never really did know what anger felt like. Annoyance? Yes. Grief? Of course. Agony? Too many times to count.

But he had to admit, fury was something completely foreign to him.

Knowing that he couldn't do anything to prevent or stop the dead corpses of his former comrades and Kyous didn't help.

"Svessk!... Dhall! Laele! Why!?" Orthalamas shouted, tears streaming down his eyes.

"Why?" The Beholder said, turning one of its eyestalks towards him, "Because the Old Man stood in our way, and he wasn't protected by any law so... Why not?"

"Indeed. Such a worthless hag..." Laele mused, kicking Kyous' corpse.

"We did him a favor by ending his miserable life... And now we'll end yours!" Svessk announced, gesturing for the other two to help him put down their former ally.

"You!... You!..."

What happened next, Vaskul had long since forgotten, and everytime he "remembered" it, it never did look or play out the same way.

...

Orthalamas looked at his body in horror. To have relied on becoming a Lich just to survive and deny death from taking him... It would've made him sick, had his stomach still lived.

"I guess there's no helping it now, huh? No going back... I'm a full blown Necromancer now. I guess I'll continue where Kyous left off... He would've wanted his research completed," Orthalamas mused, continuing on with his new stage in "life."

In time, he had eventually participated in a grand war. A war to end the tyranny and evils of the Abyss and Hell. A war against Demogorgon and Asmodeus.

To have seen such depravity and evil almost shattered his entire ideas and viewpoints on the blessings of sentience and intelligence.

But, he remained resolute, and helped end the God of Sin and the Demon Prince, and watched on with satisfaction as the two sides of Hell and the Abyss clashed and fought each other, remaining trapped to their parts of Faerun.

Eons passed, and eventually, Orthalamas gained a new idea. He'd become a God! If he became almighty, then he could create a new world, a perfect world! One free from evil and suffering, one free from the pains of despair and selfish monsters...

But how to do that?... He didn't know. Not yet, anyways.

He soon uncovered a rather nice suit of armor and a few weapons within his Crypt. It seemed to be the same one he once used when he was a Paladin, except reforged and rebuilt to be even better than some of the Epic-Leveled Warriors he had met.

"This could do nicely for a Helmed Horror to guard my crypt..." Orthalamas mused, "But who to use as the controlling soul?"

He soon found his mark. The souls of his former allies... Laele, Svessk, and Dhall...

He had long since mastered Necromancy and many variations of it, along with different types of magic, and used it to his advantage, freely mixing and fusing the three's souls together into a new state of existence. A newborn, "vanilla" soul in a sense.

With this new soul he so creatively dubbed "Helmer," he animated his Helmed Horror, and had it guarding and (fail at) cleaning the Crypt.

In time, he had swore that he saw images of his Old Master wandering around, and wondered if he truly was dead yet...

Well, he didn't know... But it was better to not dwell on the past.

In time, he found a new world named Zenithia, along with its "Hell," Nadiria.

There, he found his answer and pathway to Godhood.

A Great Demon Emperor, Estark, dwelled in the depths of the Earth in Zenithia, awaiting the day it could return. But what really mattered was what others tried. Demons named Psaro the Manslayer and Aamon had attempted to uncover Estark, and found... something, with him. The "Secret of Evolution," as they called it. An alchemical recipe so potent that it made the users surpass even the greatest of Gods... And with something called the Armlet of Transmutation, the Secret could even be made better!

As such, Orthalamas began to explore and learn in that world, taking on the name "Vaskul" during his travels and encounters with the various Archfiends and Demon Lords in that world...

And, finally, he had found where Estark was rumored to rest in, only to find that apparently the Lord of the Underworld had been moved. As such, Orthalamas kept looking for him, across many timelines and universes, slowly forgetting who he was...

Until finally, he only remembered himself not as Orthalamas— That man was dead for all he knew. He remembered and always introduced himself as "Vaskul."

*Remina; Hellgondo*

...

"Chrome" paced around the ruins, looking around for angelic feathers. Vaskul knew Chrome's body would be able to handle and withstand Holy Energy for a while, and he also knew that Ilias wasn't that careful about things... Surely, he'd be able to find some form of Holy Energy here... Oh, sure, the strange beasts tried to attack and kill him, but he disposed of them just fine.

Where are they... Where are they... Vaskul mused to himself, searching for any feathers...

You know they've likely faded away, right? It's been years since Remina's destruction, Chrome idly commented in his mind.

They might have, but there still has to be some sort of remnant! It's the only hope I have of reclaiming my body... Vaskul responded, lifting and tossing around rubble and fallen walls for at least a single feather or trace of holy energy.

What's the point of this anyways? What can you even use this for? Chrome questioned, a faint ghostly image of her floating nearby as Vaskul kept digging.

I could use holy energy to weaken Zoma... Then I can use some exorcism magic I remember to banish him from my body after I fight and weaken him some more, Vaskul answered, annoyed with Chrome's constant questions.

Eugh, is that it? Sheesh... Possessing me and doing all of this... Couldn't you have trusted me to do this much?

No. Not at all.

Jackass.

Vaskul ignored Chrome's insult and simply shoved her into the back of his mind against her will, and instead focused on thoroughly sifting through all of Remina, unaware that a certain man was nearby as well...

"Oh? I am seeing a rather tiny and diminutive imp near me... But to have two souls instead of one, and the highest of which resembling my student..."

"Huh?" "Chrome" turned around, looking at the man, "A Worm that Walks... Here? What business do you have with me?"

"Ahohoho, how harsh! I have done nothing to you yet. Little ol' me merely inquires as to who the soul within your body truly belongs to... I am suspecting it to be belonging to my old friend..."

"Old Friend... Vaskul, right?" "Chrome" said.

"Exacto. Vaskul, old student of mine, why are you in such a disappointing state?"

"Chrome..." Vaskul, spoke, with some tone of self-hatred, "I was careless. I had thought I was doing Mortamor and Nimzo a favor, but it turned out to be a trap set out by Zoma to trick me out of my own body. I'd be much more welcoming and desiring to talk to you in normal situations, but this isn't exactly the time or the form to catch up with you in."

"Heh... Welly now, isn't dat jus' one gosh darn sonuvabitch, eh? Such a pity..." Kyous remarked, taking on a patronizing and mocking tone to his voice.

"Oh, shut up you," Vaskul snapped, "I'm getting to reclaiming my body. I just need to find some trace of holy energy..."

"Oh, that?" Kyous mused, "I've got plenty of Angel Feathers here, if you need them."

"What... How do you have so many!?" Vaskul said in shock, "You were never the type of man to keep Angel Feathers... You always fed them to your Atropal after all."

"Ah yes, good ol' Arpy, a wonderful little fellow for being, you know, the spiteful, malformed, incomplete dead god fetus. He's currently slumbering right now, so I don't need to take care of him as much as I used to. Same with the Flesh Colossi. They're all in stasis in my own little pocket world. As for how I got all these feathers? Ah, ol' Kyuous got 'is ways... Besides, I had to prove to little Tammy that Remina was attacked by Light Elementals somehow. She'd think this poor old man mad if I just randomly made such a major accusation!"

Kyous' rantings went right through Vaskul's ear and out the other as the disgraced Necromancer went up and took a large handful of Angel Feathers, noting their fluffy and inability to get tainted by filth or mud.

How distasteful... Vaskul mused, But if it helps harm Zoma, then it will do!...

Focusing the remaining energy left in the feathers, Vaskul warped and congealed the feathers together, forming a small sphere of gleaming light...

"Ah... What a pretty little gem!" Kyous remarked, "Almost as pretty as my insects!"

"Shut up old man," Vaskul simply said, pocketing the orb into his bag, "It'll probably crack and lose all of its power when I first use it against Zoma anyways. Best not to form too much attachment to it. Even then, you have a bunch of feathers... Use them if you really want to."

"Ooooh... A wonderful idea... I think I'll keep that in mind for after I flex on Tammy with these fluffy feathers!" Kyous chittered, gleeful at the idea.

"Yes... I presume you somehow got a job in the Monster Lord's Castle?" Vaskul questioned.

"Indeed this Worm has, old friend! The little vixen was so curious as to how your magic worked, that she practically jumped on the chance to learn a tad bit about Faerunic magic from me!" Kyous answered, "But alas... You fell out of those arts, didn't you Vaskul? You've gone so deep into Nadiria and Zenithia's magic and mythology that you practice their form of magic more often than not..."

Vaskul looked almost uncomfortable at that truth, "... It is no lie. I've fallen out the old classic magic system you once taught me. Mostly out of convenience though. A quick Kafrizzle is much easier to spit out than a long-winded Meteor Shower. My apologies, old friend, but I needed quicker, faster magic spells to keep up against the likes of Orgodemir and Rhapthorne, and now especially against Zoma."

"Mmph. I suppose you are right..." Kyous admitted, "Times change... And this old man hasn't gotten an update yet. How you supposed you'll banish Zoma from your body anyways? I suspect a simple spell won't work..."

"Oh, I know Orcus owes me a few favors... And don't be too hard on yourself Kyous. You're probably much better at Faerunic Magic than I am at this point if I'm not using a Grimoire," Vaskul assured, causing the masked man to brighten a bit. "But... We can catch up later on at length. For now, I have a body to reclaim..."

"But of course," Kyous said, "Best of luck to you!"

"Farewell!" Vaskul turned, and Teleported away...

...

"Eh?... Why does it feel like someone is heading into Zoma's lair?" Baramos Sigmus remarked as he and Black Alice worked on an incomplete altar...

"Perhaps someone is going in to crash his tea party?" Black Alice suggested, curious as to why someone would do such a thing.

"They must be either really brave and strong or just stupid... Whatever, we can keep working here..." Baramos said, carrying on with his and Black Alice's idea to summon Nokturnus to deal with Zoma...

...

"Chrome" delved deep into the caverns, not letting the pressure or sheer cold discourage or unnerve them.

So, Vaskul, I assume that was the Master Necromancer you mention to have learned from? Seems like a nice guy to me, even if he does have a few screws loose and terrible sense of grammar, Chrome remarked.

He was... He's always been polite and cordial. However, he was much more eager to just summon a Balor or Archdevil on me back in those days. In turn, I began to summon the Crypt's liches and vampires on him. You could say his pranks have left a rather bad taste in my mouth...

I see... Seems like you have a bad habit of deluding yourself. First you lie about wanting to obliterate my conscious and throw away my useless corpse after you reclaimed your own, then you think of yourself as always hating others despite your paladin days and even right fucking now implying otherwise, and now I discover your master wasn't as much of a dick as you say he is. Your supposed "memories" and what actually happened are so different in the slightest of ways... I guess being as old and famous in the supposed "hotspots" of the multiverse as you makes you want to forget how much of a weakling or disappointment you were at first, huh?

... Oh, shut up imp. Or else I won't revive your sister.

Oh, so you do care about me!

Luminous One damn it... Shut up already before I make this body into a Lich...

Joke's on you, I want to become a Lich!

It's not as fun as you think it is, Vaskul merely commented.

For you maybe. I know aaaaaaaall about "Eromancy" as you put it. I'll have a smoking hot body with actual breasts and hips, and of course, an extremely tight and addicting—...

For all that you brag about having an undead body that you'll modify to be unbelievably attractive and glamorous, I do not detect any hints of you wanting to be any taller, Vaskul snarked as he quickly interrupted Chrome's fantasy.

... Hey! Shut up! I am not short!

The fact that you need a footstool or Frederika to reach the third shelf in the top cabinets say otherwise. And right now, in your body, I feel like I'm perpetually forced to stare at a person's crotch or having to look to the skies to make eye-contact with them. Face it my student, you are short.

Screw you! I'm tall! I know I am!

To Luka maybe. To some other succubus like Alma, you are a stuffed animal waiting to be hugged. A really annoying, dirty, and necrotic stuffed animal, but still a stuffed animal. Speaking of which, have I ever mentioned how fucking tight it is to be in this body of yours? Your skin clings onto your muscles like a damn tick, and your chest is even tighter than some of the men I've had to possess.

Gah... After all of this, I am going to become a Lich as soon as possible, then I'll track down and revive Shirome, then I'm kicking your newly revived ass!

I do not recall a single point in time when you've successfully outdone me without me purposefully throwing the contest or just being too lazy to show you who's the master and who's the apprentice... Also, why don't you ever clean your hair or clothing? It's heavy as all hell, and the way your hair sticks together is insufferable... The fact that you actually wear panties and a bra is even more annoying—...

Fine, fine! Sheesh, what are you? Frederika!? Don't you start whining about my eating and cleaning habits now!

Believe me, if I hadn't complained at all, we wouldn't have a Haunted Mansion to live in. I'm only complaining about your body and habits now because I have the misfortune to be stuck possessing your body. Good god, you smell awful too! Even by undead standards! At least the maggots and decay help cover up the smell by eating up all the rotting flesh and organs, you're alive and just reek of all the filth being around the undead gives you! Make sure to remind me to teach you some illusion magic soon!

Ugh... Just make me into a Lich first. Then we'll both be much happier and can finally go deep into the darkest depths of Necromancy, where by then I won't have to worry about Negative Energy backfiring on me...

At this point, you're probably magically adept enough to become a decent lich... So sure. We'll find you a phylactery and go on from there when we have the time... For now...

Yeah. Master Archfiend, and all that. I'll just shut up and let you take him on yourself... Chrome quietly faded back into the depths of Vaskul's consciousness, letting him focus on the task at hand.

...

In time, he soon finally confronted Zoma.

Vaskul. I did not expect you to come here yourself, Zoma boomed over at the Necromancer telepathically.

"I didn't expect you to body-jack me either... But it still happened. Now I'm looking to reclaim what's mine..." Vaskul said, crossing their arms.

Foolish Necromancer! What drives you so far to struggle so for the sake of existence? Destruction to all is my greatest joy! There is no greater beauty than the dying and destroyed... Come! You shall breathe your last within my arms!

Within only a few seconds, Zoma was already upon Vaskul, slamming them into the floor with a fierce palm strike.

Vaskul groaned in pain, not quite used to organic pain felt through living nerves, but forced himself up anyways, casting a Magic Missile at Zoma, only for it to be immediately reflected back, forcing the necromancer to jump out of the way and avoid the small explosion it created.

Zoma left behind a trail of afterimages as it ran at Vaskul, making it impossible for the wizard to get a grazing scratch on it before Zoma quickly breathed out a large blizzard, attempting to freeze the Necromancer into an ice cube!

Thinking quickly and casting Insulate, Vaskul managed to protect himself from the full force of the sudden breath, only to notice it was broken midway by an Icy Pulse, courtesy of Zoma.

Being tossed away into a cave wall by the last blizzard, Vaskul sighed and breathed heavily, not quite used to Chrome's limited stamina.

A fool, to the end. Send Estark my regards... Zoma began laughing, rearing his head back as he cackled deeply.

The mocking laughter echoed around the caverns, ringing in Vaskul's ears...

Damn it... I need to unveil my trump card now!... Vaskul thought as he reached into the bag, bringing out the orb, the sphere of light shining and glowing brilliantly against the darkness...

Zoma screamed, quickly rushing upon Vaskul and slapping the orb out of his reach, I shall not have a repeat of Erdrick!... Impressive that you did know how to remove my barrier however... Nevertheless, it was futile. Suffer now, within my arms...

Zoma crouched down, and lifted Vaskul up, slowly choking him...

No! Chrome's voice rang out as her spirit suddenly rushed out, ramming itself into Zoma's body. Zoma roared out, stumbling back as Chrome blinded him with two sharp pokes to his eyes. Now Vaskul! Get the orb! the tiny imp shouted, trying to occupy and distract Zoma.

Vaskul nodded, quickly crawling off to snatch up the Orb, and raised it high into the air, a bright light flooding the gloom... The Master Archfiend's body and colors warped and twisted, slowly cracking and warping as it distorted and casted out afterimages of itself all over the place, static hissing and screeching as the Fiend finally revealed its true, vibrant red colors...

Muhahaha... So it actually does work after all... Zoma mused, almost complimenting the necromancer with how he managed to pull off removing the barrier, But as I said, it is futile. Now struggle and suffer in my grasp...

The Master Archfiend was far slower and less potent now, though it was still dangerous even then, going in for another palm strike. This time however, Vaskul managed to see it coming, and avoided it, countering with a Kafrizzle aimed right at the Archfiend's head.

The Demon hissed in pain as the fires charred and burnt its head and helm, but refused to admit defeat, throwing its hands back and casting Kacrackle on Vaskul!

Vaskul beared through the agonizing cold and skin-shredding shards of ice, jumping in to use Chrome's Hacksaw to rip and shred into Zoma's body, mutilating the Demon King's torso, and going even further as to cast HealAll to hurt the Archfiend even more, with Vaskul knowing that healing magic and herbs were poisonous and antithetical to the Master Archfiend's existence.

Chrome helped as well, swooping in and using her ghostly state to her advantage to spiritually harm and cripple the Demon King, making it much easier for Vaskul to exorcise him when the time came.

Zoma hissed and groaned, unwilling to give in despite knowing fully well that he was in fact losing this fight. Clasping the bottom of his hands together, and stretching his fingers outwards, he began shouting a chant, trying to use the souls of his past victims to take the entire cave system down to crush and kill everyone.

However, Chrome charged into the heart of the Master Archfiend, and went fully through. While it didn't physically tear a hole through the Archfiend, it did rupture and leave a gaping hole in the might and influence of the Demon King's spirit, allowing Vaskul to finally begin his exorcism...

"Great Orcus! Demon Prince of infinite strength! Grant me this unholy blessing to make this contract heard: "Begone Master Archfiend, by authority with greater might than your own, I break your perch on this stolen body and cast you out! I depose you out from all our endings to the last!" Vaskul chanted, the demonic attempts at contracting Orcus' strength appearing to be heard.

I don't like you Vaskul, but fuck this guy. Besides, you did help me become Demon Prince by killing Demogorgon. I shall repay what I owe you... That was all the Demon Prince spoke over the link, before Zoma's body creaked and cracked, the Master Archfiend screaming and thrashing in pain as a dark mist was forcibly forced out of his body...

More than a little giddily at his assured victory, Vaskul added an unnecessary part to the chant, and shouted with all of his passion and hatred to the Demon King: "YOU ARE BANISHED!"

The Dark Mist fled into the cracks and crevices of the cave systems, leaving behind the body of Vaskul...

...

Baramos Sigmus and Black Alice blinked. Zoma... Was gone? The entire world seemed to brighten up, and the sun shined ever brighter...

"That fighter... triumphed?..." Sigmus said incredulously.

"It seems he did crash Zoma's party..." Black Alice said, impressed, "It seems that now, in hindsight, this whole Nokturnus thing was unnecessary... Ah well~!"

"Heh... What joy..." Sigmus mused, noting a dark fog escaping from the mouth of the cave... Using a simple soul trap spell, Sigmus brought the soul closer, finding that it was... "Zoma!?"

Yes...? the Fog took on the distinct form of Zoma that was completely black in form save for some strange glowing eyes and mouth.

"Hmph... Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you here and now..." Sigmus threatened.

Well... Uh... I mean...

"Tick tock~! Time's running out~!" Black Alice teased, "We might have to say 'goodbye' to you at this rate, and we've only just met!"

Er... I can train you, make you a true Archfiend through and through, introduce you to the rest of the Great Demon Kings... How about that?

Lord Baramos Sigmus paused. "That's a good reason."

Ah shi—, wait, really?

"Yes. As long as you don't try any funny business, then I'm fine with that. I've always wanted to meet Orgodemir and the others... And I admit, the idea of having my own Cloak of Darkness for when I rise and take the Secret of Evolution sounds appealing too..."

"Well, you heard the bipedal hippo~!" Black Alice happily said, "You're now his little mentor! Now come on! The Monster Queens and Demon Generals are probably scheming as we speak..."

Whoopee... Zoma said flatly as Sigmus and Black Alice began to drag his spirit away with them...

"... Wait, didn't I tell you a while ago to never call me that?" Sigmus said.

"What? Bipedal Hippo?" Black Alice said, "So what? Vaskul called you that when you first met me and the others."

"Just because the badass Necromancer calls me that doesn't mean a loser like you can."

"Oh? And what are you going to do about it? Oh, I'm soooo scared! Right Beary?" Black Alice said, puppeting Beary to look "scared" as well.

"I swear I'm going to choke you..."

"Do it! I know you, you aren't going to do anything to a dainty young lady like me!" Black Alice teased, running off ahead.

"Grrr... Get back here you!" Baramos Sigmus shouted, running after Black Alice as Zoma's Spirit only sighed.

I should've just taken the loss and passed on to Nadiria...

...

Chrome flexed her fingers. It hurt, but it was natural considering Vaskul's level of magic wasn't meant for living, weak beings like her.

"Ah... So nice to have my own body back!" Chrome said, relishing her revival, "And of course... It must be nice for you to have your own body back as well, Master Vaskul..."

"Indeed," a familiar raspy voice said, "And my body's been infused with the direct strength and power of Zoma as well, meaning I'm far, far stronger than ever..."

Chrome giggled, "All hail your revival... Master Vaskul, has returned!"

Author's Notes:

Well, it's finally back. The Shadow of Undeath... It's been revived, with our favorite protag back stronger than ever!

Anyways, I do have two (technically three, but two are by the same guy) recent(ish) reviews I'll answer...

Notsae: Ah, good to hear you loved the story! I did feel that it was kind of... "meh" when I introduced Zoma, and it was starting to just get out of hand with the others, so I reworked it to remove Mortamor and Nimzo, leaving them only in as voices Zoma used to deceive Vaskul. (I even went as far as to actually edit most of the story for that matter so the grammar and spelling wasn't shit.) Who knows? Perhaps Vaskul will achieve his dream peacefully, or maybe not. Only time shall tell...

wlobot: Heh. Vaskul never was the type of guy to be chill about how he disposed of people, he just went for the easy option rather than actually be "noble" about it. Unless he actually has to be nice to a stranger for whatever reason. Glad to see the teleportation joke was funny, as well as knowing that Ilias' buildup was good!

On a side note, I am opening up a Discord, where I hope to get other authors, writers, and maybe even some sidestory creators to join on in along with fans. Just go on and PM me or DM "The Inexplicable Presence #9522" on Discord for an invite. Or maybe the invite will be on my profile, if it ever gets updated.

Well, without further ado, I bid you all a good day! Don't forget to review and/or PM me to tell me what you all think!

2/18/19 EDIT: Managed to figure out a way to piece together an invite that got past Fanfic's censorship. Just put them in order with the top being the start/left-most. (slash) = /

https:

(two slashes)

discord

.

gg

(one slash)

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