Deus Necros

[You have slain the Envious Death.]

The words appeared in Ludwig’s vision without ceremony, stark and unembellished, hanging there with a cold finality that felt heavier than any roar of triumph could have. For a brief moment, the world around him seemed to hesitate, as if reality itself was checking the statement, confirming that it was true before allowing time to continue moving forward. The battlefield, still scarred and steaming from the violence that had taken place, felt unnaturally still, the kind of stillness that followed an execution rather than a battle.

[Necros has claimed the soul of the Envious Death]

Ludwig felt it then, a subtle, almost imperceptible pull deep within him, not a physical sensation but something closer to a shift in pressure, like a door being closed somewhere far away.

Whatever presence had lingered after Envy’s fall, whatever malignant tension had saturated the air, vanished completely. It wasn’t dispersed or destroyed. It was removed. Taken. The absence it left behind was more unsettling than the presence had been.

[You are the only apostle to have successfully slain two Usurpers.]

The line lingered longer than the others, as if the system itself wanted him to sit with it. Ludwig didn’t smile. He didn’t feel pride either. The words felt isolating more than congratulatory, like a line being drawn around him that no one else could cross. Only apostle. A distinction that came with no promise of survival.

[You have been invited to yet another meeting with Necros… Please accept as soon as possible. For he does not wait.]

A familiar pressure crept in at the base of his skull as he read it. Not pain, not fear, anticipation laced with inevitability. Necros never waited. That much Ludwig had already learned the hard way.

[You have obtained a Shard of Darkness.]

Something cold brushed against his awareness, as if a fragment of night itself had been pressed inside his lantern and was left there to settle. Replacing the one he used to get here in the river branch. He didn’t reach for it. He didn’t need to. Whatever it was, it had already decided where it belonged.

[Eternal Quest II Update!]

The system rolled on, indifferent to his thoughts.

{You sense the presence of something that is tampering with the natural order in the distance. Please go forward and destroy it to cleanse the Yellow River. And remove your fetters.

Reward: Removal of the level limit on you for the next 100 levels.}

Ludwig’s thoughts briefly returned to stagnant waters choked with souls, to the way the current had resisted flowing as if even death itself had grown tired of moving forward.

Seems like whatever Envy was doing was stopping these souls, and he needed to solve that.

***

[You have obtained the trait [Evil Eye]]

[Evil Eye] Byproduct of the Eyes of Envy. You can cause misfortune to those whose ’focused’ gaze falls upon; the degree of misfortune increases based on proficiency.

***

Ludwig blinked slowly, the sensation behind his eyes subtly different now, heavier somehow. It felt like something was coiled there, dormant but aware, waiting for intent. The idea that his gaze alone could twist fate would have unsettled him once. Now, it felt disturbingly appropriate.

[The Lustful Death has acknowledged the threat you pose to her kingdom and well-being. Do be warned not to overextend your stay in the kingdom of the sand… for now.]

The phrasing carried menace beneath its politeness. ’For now’ was no mercy. It was a postponement.

{Side Quest update.}

[You have fulfilled the request of the witch of the Mare. By slaying the Envious Death, she has now regained her former form. With her body linked back to the heavenly order, you have obtained a powerful ally.]

That one gave him pause. Out of everything scrolling past his vision, that line carried something resembling relief. A small balance restored, at least partially, in a world that seemed intent on tipping further into ruin.

***

[The Powers of the Holy Order church wanes.]

{The Holy Order can no longer spy, interfere, or receive any divine revelations regarding your whereabouts, being, past, present, or future.}

***

Ludwig hadn’t realized how oppressive the sensation of being watched had been until it eased. The constant, distant pressure faded, leaving behind a strange sense of exposure that paradoxically felt like freedom.

[The Holy Order is now paying more attention to you.]

A humorless breath escaped him. “Of course.”

[You have been designated as a ’Threat’ by the current holy Pope of the Holy Order. Pope Clementine. Act in caution.]

’I guess that guy still has it for me… Well, let’s act with caution… for now, Ludwig smiled as he read on.

[The council of betrayers is in great turmoil… Necros feels pleased.]

Ludwig’s lips twitched despite himself. If nothing else, that was mildly satisfying.

***

[You have obtained a title.]

[Harbinger of Death] – Upon facing an apostle of Necros. All immortality passives that they own will be heavily suppressed.

***

The title settled over him without weight or warmth. It simply was. Another truth added to the growing list of things he could no longer undo. And the many things he can now do. Without their annoying immortalities… they would be less of a pain to handle now.

***

Would you like to meet Necros?

Yes? / Yes?

10 seconds remaining.

***

Ludwig stared at the prompt, unimpressed. There was no illusion of choice here, no attempt to dress it up. The system wasn’t even pretending.

He smiled faintly, a tired curve of the lips.

“Sure,” he muttered under his breath.

“What was that?” Redd asked, glancing toward him, brow furrowing slightly.

Ludwig turned, already forming the words to dismiss it, to claim it was nothing, just him talking to himself

And then reality was torn away from him.

There was no sensation of falling or flying. No wind, no resistance. One moment he existed in the mortal realm, and the next, his entire being was removed, scooped up by an invisible hand that did not bother to be gentle. He was flung upward, not through the sky, not through space, but beyond both. Past the curvature of the world, past stars that shrank into distant sparks, past galaxies that folded into insignificance, past even the vast emptiness that surrounded all things visible and invisible.

And then, abruptly, he stood.

Right atop the dais he once stood on before Right where he was first called to meet the Inevitable. Once again faced with mortality’s worst nightmare.

The Inevitable. The Eternal Silence. And the one that walks behind… Death incarnate.

Necros.