Myths Reawakened

“Humans are terrifying.” Wayne rubbed his skull and said emphatically, thinking back to the threat of a cement barrel he had received himself.

“Indeed, humans are terrifying,” Julia agreed with a nod.

“Terribly terrifying!” Do whined, the soul fire in her eyes wavering as she remembered her tragic loss.

(는_는)

Stop, you two. Both of you terrified those people into wetting themselves earlier.

With a swing of his hand, the bubbling water morphed into a large tentacle and hurled the gas barrel to the shore ten meters away. With a loud crash, the barrel deformed, and large chunks of cement fell out, releasing a foul stench.

Those who frequently stuffed people into cement to sink them into rivers would know that if cement and sand weren’t used in a mix of three-to-one or four-to-one ratio, going pure cement instead, the end result would be easily cracked and distorted by the gases emitted by the body. Of course, adding sand only helped so much. It would still crack unless the corpse was treated...

Ahem, back to the matter at hand. Wayne rode his mount to shore. At his nod, Do opened the barrel roughly by manipulating fog, shattering the cement that trapped the corpse.

The body wore a beige coat and maintained a curled position. Silver handcuffs bound the wrists behind the back, and the feet were tied. It was in its late stage of decomposition. Combined with Do’s rough handling that tore away large strips of flesh, the corpse was no longer recognizable. However, the uniform under the coat, the chief inspector’s insignia on the shoulders, and the police badge that had fallen to the ground were clear enough indications of the man’s occupation.

The mist picked up the badge and presented it to Wayne. He took it and brushed away the grime, confirming that the dead was a member of the Londan Police Department.

“A cop with a story...”

His first guess was double-cross. The chief inspector had abused his authority to enable criminal organizations. Because he kept raising prices or taking bribes without honoring his end of the deal, the criminals retaliated and killed him.

“Wait, when did I become so cynical?” he muttered. Shadow Nightmare was too sinister. It eroded his mind without him realizing it. Even an optimistic young man like him failed to resist the influence.

Yes, it had to be that.

He changed his theory. Perhaps the officer was a good cop who, despite his colleagues’ warnings, investigated a powerful figure. During the process, he uncovered substantial evidence and refused the powerful figure’s donation, leading to the person ordering their subordinates to stuff him in a barrel and sink him in the river.

The River Thames could shift over a decade, and every dog has its day. The big shot would never imagine that after three days, the ant he could’ve crushed at will had risen in power!

Three months—do you know how I spent the three months?!

Veryl took such good care of me! I needn’t worry about food or drink! And I found myself a beautiful teacher!

His skull emitted black smoke as he raged. From afar, two white flames could be seen flickering wildly in the twisted black mist.

Sensing their master’s rage, the undead warhorse exhaled purple fire, and the spirit hound howled at the sky. As they say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Wayne stopped hesitating and readily signed the contract in the Book of Greed, acquiring his second vengeful spirit.

The lowly one who prays, the wronged dead with grievances, I’ve heard your pleas... Under this sacred contract, all that you have will be mine. Your past remains your own, but not your future... You’ve gained another chance at life. You will become a vengeful spirit and slaughter for your master and your god.

Wayne summoned his second vengeful spirit right in front of Julia. It was true that she wasn’t bound to him by a master-servant contract, very different from Do’s situation, and she was a horse with a former owner who could come looking for her at any time. Strictly speaking, she wasn’t his.

Still, he chose to trust her. Judging the book by the content rather than the cover, while Julia had a pure heart beneath an appearance that went against his aesthetic sensibility, she was far kinder than ninety-nine percent of all humans—at least kinder than Wayne himself.

Since Julia had offered her loyalty and service, he granted her his trust. Trust that wasn’t absolute was absolutely no trust at all, so he didn’t avoid her when contacting the vengeful spirit.

She didn’t know his thought process, but she wasn’t surprised to see the corpse reanimated. When she met Do, she had learned that Do had a powerful master capable of creating magical lives, which led her to believe that he might be able to draw Shadow Nightmare.

The corpse slowly rose, river water dripping from the hem of the coat as he stared blankly at the undead warhorse, spirit hound, and the master who had granted him a new life. At the same time, the page for vengeful spirits in the Book of Greed now included the image of Wayne’s second follower: a man in a beige coat over a police uniform and boots, eyes grey and skin moist and pale, standing in a puddle of water.

A water ghost!

Wayne looked down from above horseback, the jawbone of his skull moved up and down as a booming voice came out, “Look up at me. Meet my eyes.”

The man looked up instinctively and met the two white flames. Memories of his death flooded into his mind, making him remember his name.

Beau Philip.

As Philip recalled his past, the memories flashed through Wayne’s mind.

The first scene showed three children sitting on swings at an orphanage, sharing their dreams. The two boys, Philip and Perry, dreamed of becoming fearless police officers. They were too young to understand the responsibilities that came with it—they only knew that those police officers they saw on the streets looked impressive and cool, and that no one would dare bully them once they became just like them.

Timmy, the girl, fantasized about becoming a teacher or a nurse, preferably a nurse. Then, if Philip or Perry got hurt, she could patch them up, giving them shots if they misbehaved.

The second scene: Timmy, being a pretty kid, was adopted by a wealthy couple. Philip and Perry also left the orphanage at some point. The three went their separate ways.

The third scene: Philip became a police officer as he had dreamed about. Fearless, he earned merit after merit. In a chance encounter, he rescued Timmy, and they fell in love. Timmy had not become a teacher or a nurse. Under her adoptive parents’ guidance, she went into finance, becoming an office clerk.

The fourth scene: Philip’s partner got injured, and a new officer joined the station. It turned out that Perry had also realized his childhood dream and became a police officer. That day, the trio reunited for the first time since they left the orphanage. It was a warm reunion.

The fifth scene: Philip investigated the missing persons and followed the syndicate to a councilor. Despite Perry’s warnings, he dug deeper.

Thud!

A blow to his head, and he collapsed. Behind him stood Perry, face indifferent.

The syndicate held a farewell party for Philip. Perry stood with the leader—he served the councilor Philip was investigating, and he was left with no choice when Philip ignored his warning.

Philip roared in fury, unwilling to believe what had just happened. He demanded to know why his childhood friend had abandoned his dream. Perry sneered, mocking his naivety. In Londan, too many were chasing their dreams, but few succeeded. Dreams would ultimately yield to reality!

For nobodies like them, they could only rely on powerful patrons to break the class barriers. Blindly pursuing a distant dream would only keep them as dregs at the bottom of the barrel forever. Philip thought he had achieved his dream, but he was just a tool, only needed for his usefulness.

Justice did not exist!

“I don’t want to be a supporting character or a tool,” said Perry. “I want to climb up and make people look up to me.”

“I look down on you!”

Perry didn’t get angry. He calmly poured cement into the barrel, and in the final moment before Philip’s face was covered, he quietly expressed his love for Timmy.

He resented Philip. They both worked hard—no, he had given more, yet Philip was the one to gain everything, while he remained an observer and a supporting character.

“Ahhhh—”

Philip clutched his head and curled up on the ground. The flashbacks plunged him into an abyss of pain. He had loved his brother so much, but the reality made a fool of him. The face of the loyal friend and the cruel traitor alternated in his mind, driving him to a hysterical fury and giving birth to an intense hatred.

Hatred for betrayal!

The Thames fluctuated violently as whirlpools stirred the calm surface with violent undercurrents. Terrifying tides rose into powerful waves and crashed against the riverbanks.

Are his abilities related to water because he’s a water ghost? Wayne looked at the turbulent water with questions written on his face. Strictly speaking, Philip had drowned in cement, not the river. Did cement count as water because it was liquid before it set?

“Quiet. You’re disturbing the night.”

Wayne waved his hand and sprinkled mana at Philip like raindrops. Philip’s rotting body slowly transformed back into a man wearing a police uniform and a coat, pale and drenched.

“I granted you new life, and you will live it for me. My vengeful spirit, Beau Philip is history. From now on, you’ll be Bo.”

Wayne drew the bone sword and pointed it at Bo from horseback, waiting for him to kneel and accept his new life, but it didn’t happen. A vengeful spirit needed to avenge their grievances in life upon awakening. That was the case for both Do and Bo. They all had intense resentments they couldn’t let go of.

Bo was human, so he had more complicated thoughts and more grievances.

Looking at his powerful and evil master, Bo felt his heart freeze over. The one who granted him life was a villain and a demon lord. Once upon a time, his dream had been to brave dangers for justice, to spare nothing to help the weak even at the price of his life. However, he became an evil entity’s minion as soon as he woke. How was this different from Perry serving the councilor?

Oh, there was a big difference—the councilor wasn’t nearly as evil as a demon lord.

“My... my master, would you grant me eternal rest after I have my revenge?” Bo asked bitterly. His dream had always been to uphold justice. He didn’t want to serve evil.

Julia breathed flames, while Do stepped forward with her ears perked and her teeth bared in warning. The horse and the hound shared the same thought at this moment: Kid, I suggest you be grateful. It’s not too late to kneel and apologize!

Do didn’t like Bo. The bastard was ungrateful. She hadn’t made any demands when she woke.

“I came because I heard your call. Why would you wish for eternal rest after awakening? Haven’t you slept enough?” Wayne gestured at Do and Julia to calm down and learn from their master’s composure. It was normal for young people to lose sight of priorities and make mistakes. He could always wait until taking the vengeful spirit in as a servant to make things difficult for him.

After a moment of silence, Bo said, “I want to be a good person.”

Wayne cackled, pointing at himself, Do, and Julia. “What, do we look like bad people to you?”

Bo fell silent. They didn’t just look like bad people.

“I know what you’re afraid of, but it’s unnecessary. Let me make this clear. It doesn’t matter what you think. It’s about what I think.” He looked down at Bo. “Remember, Bo. The moment you awakened, you are mine to command. Whatever I tell you to do, you do it!”

Bo bit his lower lip. Before he could say anything, Wayne continued, “Go. Vent the fury in your heart. Get your revenge to sever your ties with your past. From now on, your future belongs to me.”

Bo didn’t move. Wayne sneered at him and said, “You’ve been dead for half a year, haven’t you? Let me guess. Is your beautiful girlfriend now lying in your partner’s arms?”

It felt like being struck by lightning. Bo came to a sudden realization. Yes, his past wasn’t only about hatred. There was also love. He resented not only the betrayal but also himself. He had failed his beloved.

He had promised to come home early that night to enjoy a candlelit dinner with Timmy. He was half a year late.

He spun around and jumped into the water, disappearing from Wayne’s sight.

“Master, should we follow him?”

“That wouldn’t be appropriate. It’s been half a year. Maybe his girlfriend is in the middle of... things.”

***

Golden Prince Street, Western District, Londan.

The fog wasn’t thick in the neighborhood of middle-class residents. It was past midnight, with few cars slowly driving through the streets and even fewer pedestrians. Like a drenched rat, Bo emerged from the sewer and looked up quietly at a window on the fifth floor. After a moment, he climbed up to the balcony.

Like Do, Bo also needed Wayne’s mana for sustenance. His refusal to serve his master meant he didn’t receive mana, and thus, he was currently in a weakened state, his skills unavailable to him.

Moreover, he had just awakened, so he didn’t yet understand what he was. He assumed that he was an undead awakened by a demon lord, but in reality, he was a water ghost. He could not stray far from the River Thames and from water, or his body would quickly dry up, leading to his stats being lowered to the point that he would be no different from the old folks in the cemetery.

Just as Do was restricted to the foggy areas in Londan, Bo was restricted to the River Thames. They both became severely weakened once they left their territories. The solution was to obey their master and receive mana as a reward.

Standing on the balcony, Bo looked through the floor-to-ceiling window into the bedroom. His girlfriend, Timmy, was curled up on the bed, face haggard with heavy shadows under her eyes. Her once beautiful long hair seemed dry and dull.

The nightstand was cluttered with framed photos featuring her and Philip.

“You’ve lost weight...” Bo murmured. He wanted to push the window open, but ultimately couldn’t muster the courage to do it. He was dead. His future was already set in stone. He couldn’t do anything for his love—not even give her a promise.

What would be the point of meeting her now? To rekindle the flame of hope only to extinguish it, making both of them suffer eternally?

“You’re a good girl. Forget me. I don’t deserve you.”

Bo closed his eyes in anguish, leaning against the wall and reaching into his pocket for a cigarette, only to find a soggy cigarette pack.

“Well, well. Your girlfriend’s quite pretty. Nice bone structure!” The voice that would not leave him alone interrupted his wallowing. Bo opened his eyes and looked toward the source. The undead horse was upside down, its four hooves walking on the wall, defying gravity.

On the horse’s back, his master looked down at him and said, “That flower is about to wither. I can help speed things up so that you two can rekindle your love in death.”

Bo dropped to his knees with a thud and declared like the most loyal servant, “My merciful master, I appreciate the name you’ve bestowed upon me, Bo. I willingly offer you my future with no regret, even if I will fall into hell and become a devil. I only ask that you spare my past.”

“...Who’s there?!”

“Who’s outside?”