The dragon's harem

Now that Gojo was a bit better, Arad found it more appropriate to ask. That magic, necromancy. Arad had nothing against it, but he knew it was far too dangerous to use, and especially on one’s own body. Did Gojo plan to use it from the start, or was he forced into a corner and had to resort to using it? Either way, Gojo had walked far too close to the edge this time, and unlike Arad, he was not as durable.

If Arad got as injured as Gojo, he would be fine. Those wounds, albeit great and fatal, his body was far larger, he had more blood, higher pain tolerance, and what mattered most, experience being close to death far beyond anyone could imagine.

“What was that magic?” Arad asked, and Gojo smiled. “A little trick Vars once showed me. It’s more of a curse than a spell. He intended for it to be used on slaves and tamed monsters to make them fight to the last drop of their blood.”

The spell worked in a simple, but terrifying way. The necrotic tendrils latch onto the brain and then spread across the whole body, replacing nerves. Then more tendrils emerge to replace the muscles, and in the end, the entire body turns into a puppet controlled by the caster’s brain through mana.

With the help of that spell, as long as Gojo can remain conscious, his body would never stop moving.

It was already scary with that, but this was just the first part. Those tendrils that control the body are much, much more powerful than the body’s original nerves and muscles, and they can even be made stronger with more mana if a skilled enough wizard controlled them.

So, under that spell’s influence, Gojo might even display physical strength and speed superior to Arad. That is how he was able to crack the Ice Brood Mother’s head open.

Gojo waved his hand, and a spark of necrotic magic flashed from his fingers. “I already mastered the spell, and I can use it to the bitter end.” He smiled. “If I were by any chance to face a fight where my death couldn’t be avoided, I would use this spell to keep fighting. My flesh would tear apart, my bones would shatter, and all of my blood would be bled, but I’ll keep moving… forever.”

That spell was useful, but deadly and risky; if the caster isn’t careful, they might end up going overboard and dying. That was what Arad thought, but his understanding of that spell was still far too shallow.

Gojo’s eyes flashed with dark magic. “I’ll never die, and I’ll just turn into a dracolich.” He looked at his arm and chuckled. “This spell’s finally form is when it links the necrotic tendrils to the soul instead of the brain.”

Gojo looked at the Ice Brood Mother. “But, becoming a dracolich is a complicated process even with this spell, the ritual alone would take nine years. It’s like trying to surpass twilight.” Gojo then rubbed his chin. “Now that I’m thinking about it, the two evolutions are similar. Only in one of them the dragon must surpass death and attain the perfect living body, and in the other they must embrace death and bask in her power.”

Death and Life were two faces of the same coin; the goal of all life is death, and the purpose of death is to cleanse life. As Arad and Gojo saw, the Mother of All Life and Death herself lived together, which only made it more apparent that they worked together.

At that moment, Gojo realized a strange fact that he didn’t like, and he had to make sure he wasn’t mistaken. So, without telling Arad, he tried to use magic to contact Yog. He didn’t do anything special, just tugged on the threads of mana and waited, and she responded as expected, speaking directly into his mind.

^You know what I want to ask, just tell me what it is before I get angry.^ He growled internally, and Yog laughed.

[Why? Aren’t you an angry baby! You’re right, the world is ruled by a bunch of hot women who are in bed together, all of them.]

^Not that! You short knowledge fiend. Is Nyra the Overgod’s duality? Is the Overgod Nyar himself?^

Yog remained silent for a while, then replied with a tired voice. [You’re wrong, but not mistaken. But you can’t expect to understand it with a mortal’s mind, even a dragon’s mind can’t wrap around it. To fully understand that, we need to travel beyond the gate of forbidden knowledge.]

She then sighed. [You’re still too weak for it, though, so push it to the back of your mind for now.]

Gojo wasn’t satisfied with her answer, but he at least now knows that something is up.

“Using this magic, you won’t feel pain, your limiters are broken, and you are cursed to keep moving. Just imagine. You’re a regular man walking down the street, and then something hits you from the back, a knife stab to the liver.” Gojo kept explaining as if nothing happened.

Gojo’s eyes flashed blue, washing away all of the necrotic magic. “The pain drops you down. You want to move, but whoever stabbed you comes in and crushes your legs with a hammer. You’re wounded, unable to move, and the pain is unbearable. What if you could ignore all of that? What if you can move your limbs even when they are broken? What if pain just disappeared? What if you didn’t need blood to stay alive, and what if the fear of pain, injury, and death all turned to be just a mirage?”

He wasn’t going to get killed by his own magic. Gojo was a wizard, and dying by a failed spell was the most embarrassing way to go.

Arad sighed. “You’ll be able to move and kill whoever harmed you, but then what? All of that damage and pain would come back to bite you.” He glared at Gojo. “You’ll end up dead.”

“I know… That’s what this spell is made for. It isn’t made for winning, it is made for spite. It is the spell for those who want to leave their mark and make those who wronged them suffer.” Gojo stood, feeling much better now that Arad healed him.

But, feeling better was an overstatement. If Gojo were anyone else, he wouldn’t be moving for another week. But just like his brother, he too was an animal, pain bothered him, he was tired, and wanted to lie down, but he would move regardless.

He turned toward the Ice Brood Mother, who was barely alive. “Time to put you out of your misery.” Waving his hand, a burning red tattoo appeared on her neck. “A binding contract of obedience. You aren’t a slave, you’re a tamed monster, a pet.”

Looking at her, he smiled. “Sorry, but that is for our safety now. When we go back to my little home, and I have the power to kill you with ease, I’ll release you.”