The Pillar of Enera

[Book II Chapter 92] DAWN: Liches

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Impaled to the ground by countless golden blades, the mummified corpse hissed venomously one last time then went still. Dawn half suspected they’d rise again. So that was a lich… I can’t help feel disappointed. The knights of Oranda had taken the lead in the fight, relegating the rest of them to a supporting role. There’d been no sense of danger, even with this supposedly formidable opponent. They’re making this too easy.

“We take short break.” Valrie declared, resting against the black metallic wall. They were traveling inside the recreation of Sola’s twisted structures, where saint and immortal-level undead wandered. Each corridor and chamber brought its own unpleasant surprise. This time it’d been the reanimated remains of a necromancer.

Dawn sighed, shaking her head. Since the burning city, she’d made no headway towards unlocking her sublime vagary, which was particularly vexing after that success. In her heart, she sensed that fully activating it once more would reveal all its secrets. Unfortunately, the desperate straits she craved were proving elusive.

I thought that changeling might’ve been my chance, but Rose had to rise to the occasion. She spotted her sister resting in corner and was gripped by a surge of resentment which she quickly dismissed. I can’t blame her for doing her best.

She walked over and and plopped herself next to her sibling. “I know roughly what liches are, but how exactly do they come into being?”

“While true necromancers, those who have graduated from Xarst, are as unkillable as the undead, each time they revive it wears away at their souls and causes a growing fatigue.” Rose answered without looking up. “When this become too much, they finally relinquish their hold on life.”

She paused. “Do you remember how Wise held on to my soul, preventing me from passing on?”

“I do.” That’s how Free brought you back.

“Necromancers can do that to themselves by forming a barrier which prevents them from dying even if they wish to. As a side affect, the usual fatigue is reduced. Instead, pressure builds on their soul, and, at a certain point, it fractures. The good part departs and the abyss pours in to replace it. What’s left is a lich.”

“Why would anyone do that to themselves?” Dawn asked.

“Because of the extra endurance.” Rose shrugged. “For someone like Nero, anchoring the soul is a viable measure to win a battle. That’s why it’s only forbidden within Xarst. Outside, it’s left a practitioner’s own discretion.”

I suppose it makes sense for someone who can perfectly predict the future, Dawn reflected. “How often are liches produced?”

“Rarely under normal circumstances.” Rose revealed. “Sealing off death off is an advanced technique only experienced necromancers can manage. However, during the last dark age, Sola offered rings of undying to her followers. Even a weak necromancer wearing one became a frightening opponent who needed to be defeated twice, once as a human and again as a lich.”

“Those rings could be among this dungeon’s loot.” Dawn realized.

“Most likely.” Rose agreed.

A notion struck her. “What about the item Sola gave Byron, the one Ethan now holds. It was a called a necromancer’s soul, I think. Is it the same as these rings?”

“I’m guessing it’s a more potent version which keeps the soul intact at the cost of an ever-deepening corruption.” Rose responded. “There might be one of those here too, together with who knows what else.”

As they resumed their journey through the maze of passageways, once more making solid progress, Dawn’s frustration only grew. This is a saint-level undead dungeon, can’t it be more challenging?

Eventually they reached a spacious dome. The withered plants and barren soil suggested it might have been a park. Two figures clad in black rested under a dead tree. As one they rose, their lifeless eyes pulsing blue. Dawn’s mood instantly improved.

“Two at once…” Valrie said. “We should retreat.”

As if sensing their thoughts, one of the liches reached out and a wall of bones blocked the entrance they’d used. Meanwhile the other lifted a hand, and dozens of grimsteel weapons materialized in the air. With a wave, it sent them flying.

“No choice but to fight.” Ezekiel declared, batting away several swords. Being chased through this place by those two would probably be a bad idea anyway, Dawn thought to herself. She had no desire to repeat their dash through the prison.

“Watch out.” Natali cried out. Skeletons were growing out of the grimsteel blades scattered around them. They picked up the weapons and attacked. So they weren’t just projectiles. Smashing the nearest foe, Dawn glanced at the two immortal-level undead.

One was now clad in a defensive layer of grimsteel while its companion wore armor made of bones. The grimsteel lich roared, charging forward while summoning more weapons. Dawn smiled as the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. This time…

“Damn it, we’ll handle the grimsteel one.” Valrie called out. “The eight of you take the other.”

Leaving the knights of Oranda to their enemy, Dawn raced ahead, dispatching skeletons on the way. Then the room suddenly shifted, and she felt herself falling upwards. It can manipulate gravity! If it could wield such advanced necromancy, then it was stronger than the one they’d faced earlier. Landing on the ceiling, she saw the bone lich finishing a gray magic circle.

The structure trembled as thick pillars of bones emerged from every surface, towering over them like enormous white tentacles. One swung down at the group behind her, and Zentrias intercepted it. The pillar exploded where he struck, and the blast sent bone fragments everywhere.

We can’t let it cast any more spells. Forming ice wings, she flew towards the lich. However, it summoned two giant bone cleavers and leaped pass her. Time slowed as she watched it dropped on the still-stunned Zentrias, chopping off both his arms. It then swung again, separating his body in three.

“Nooooooo!” Carol screeched, scrambling towards her fallen comrade, ignoring the lich and its raised cleavers.

Don’t you dare! Dawn swooped down, smashing the undead back with her short swords. Despite being struck with her full power, it landed on its feet a short distance away. She swore she saw a smug grin within its bone helm.

This is what I was hoping for, she realized. I wished for an opponent that could overwhelm us and now Zentrias is dead. Worse, she sensed the foreign power she’d been searching for. Despising herself, she seized it and sent out a flurry of ice lances. Surprised, the liched parried and backed away.

I’ll make you pay, she vowed to herself. However, before she could follow up, an enormous black arm knocked the lich away. A tall lanky giant with a round smiling face appeared out of the air. “Kill him Smiley!” Carol shouted.