2 The First Episode: The Living (1/2)

End, follow me.

Lord gave a short order and left the lab-like room. I followed silently.

My body moves. My hands, my feet, they move as I want them to. I wondered how long it had been since I had walked properly.

It was a strange feeling to have a body without pain. There was something unreal about it. ...... It was as if I was dreaming.

As you leave the room, Lord suddenly stops and looks back at me. His golden eyes look at me as if he can see through me.

”Hmmm ......, it seems you can understand me. If you can't communicate with verbal commands, you can't talk.

”......

You can't understand ...... verbal commands?

I don't know what you're talking about. But I remember that right after I regained consciousness, my body moved in favor of Lord's words rather than my thoughts.

That was-- that was bad. There was no room for disobedience. It's a deadly sensation that I instantly understand, even if I don't understand the situation.

I've heard that necromancers can control the living at will. I'm as good as a puppet to Lord.

Lord nods to me in silence, as if satisfied for some reason, and starts walking again. I follow him.

Outside the room was a corridor not so different from the one I used to live in. There are no lights, and it feels strangely oppressive.

To be honest, I don't know what's going on.

Why did I have to be resurrected, where am I, and what am I supposed to do? I don't know why, I don't know how, and I don't know what the future holds. You didn't save me from my pain, did you?

But there's one thing I do know.

The thing to do now is not to question the lord or to run. We need to figure out what's going on.

Luckily, I'm good at thinking. When I was alive, moaning in pain in bed and fighting death, all I was allowed to do was think.

Now I'm not much different from that situation, but I feel better than I did back then, just because I don't have pain.

After a few minutes of following the road, I descended the stone stairs and arrived at the basement. Opening a large metal door, Lord entered.

It was a large room that did not look like a basement.

He almost shouted, but swallowed just in time. There, lined up in a row, were countless corpses. They were lying on several evenly spaced stone platforms. Unlike me, there was no sign of movement.

I've never seen a dead body before. Perhaps I should have been afraid, but for some reason I was surprised but not terrified.

”Stay in this room until I give the order.

The Lord let out a white breath from his mouth, looked at me coldly, and gave me a short order.

§§

The sound of Lord's footsteps receded into the distance. It took a while for them to disappear completely, and then I started to move.

The first thing I did was to check my body movements. I stretch my arms wide and let my legs dangle.

There was no trace of the pain that had tormented me for years. Swinging my arms, moving my head, stretching my back, jumping up and down is incredibly comfortable. It was like a dream.

I wanted to laugh, but I kept it to myself and smirked. We're underground. I don't think Lord will come back if I make some noise, but I don't know anything. I'd better be careful.

The room Lord left me in looked like a morgue. No, not a mortuary but a necromancer's storehouse.

There were about five genuine human corpses on the table. They range in age from mid-teens to thirties, and are mostly male. They are neatly clothed and undamaged in appearance, but their faces are lifeless.

When I first entered the room, I was surprised, but after a while, I could not say anything. I was half a corpse when I was alive, and I actually (probably) died once.

Maybe some of them will become my colleagues. I can't help but think such a trivial thought.

The mortuary was a simple structure. There was only one door, and apart from the table on which the corpses were placed, the only furniture was a large shelf near the wall. The surrounding walls seemed to be made of stone, and when I tapped them lightly, a hard feeling returned.

I decide to inspect the shelves, thinking that my room is apparently more comfortable than yours.

I need some information right now.

I carefully open the drawer. It's not locked.

Apparently, Lord Horos does not expect the dead in this room to move freely.

”............

The first drawer, opened with great enthusiasm, was empty. The second and third drawers were also empty. The fourth contained some unidentifiable fang-like objects, but they were useless in explaining the current situation.

The fifth was also empty, and the sixth contained about a dozen bottles of liquid. The seventh drawer was also empty. Disappointed, he opened the last drawer and his eyes widened in surprise at what he found inside.

There's some good stuff here: ......

I shouted. The hushed voice echoes through the quiet room of the dead.

Come to think of it, it's been a while since I've shouted. And it doesn't hurt to speak out.

No pain is wonderful. Feeling like humming, I took out the object that was inside.

Inside was a square mirror. Wiping the cloudy surface with my clothes, I looked inside.

What I saw was myself, just as I remembered.

Thin features, skinny cheeks, sunken eyes, and only the haircut has been adjusted from the shaggy one I remember.

It was probably done after my death to make me look better, thank goodness.

I looked at the mirror for a moment, deeply moved, and then carefully put it back in the drawer.

I knew it was me. Too bad I couldn't find anything else good, but that was enough for now.

I check the morgue around and finally head for the only door in the room.

Lord hadn't locked the door when he left the room. I'm sure of it because I listened carefully.

He quietly makes his way to the door, trying not to make a sound.

We don't know the structure of the house. We don't know the situation. But there's too much information in this room.

I don't know-- I don't know anything. I want to know about this place and necromancy. I want to know what I've become.

Unlike in life, I have a body that moves freely.

A necromancer is an evil being. I'm not sure I trust them. Then we should do what we can.

I grasped the brass knob and turned it slowly, careful not to make a sound.

Despite my nervousness, the knob turned easily. The door seemed to be unlocked after all.