(A/N) Not mine y'all already know. Recently i found a feature on my browser that can read out loud basically like text to speech but it has its problems sometimes it only reads out only half of the story it can't seem to detect the other half i tried testing it on some novels and it works just fine but for some reason it can't detect this so yeah i'm putting it here it's going to be a two part cuz Webnovel doesn't allow more than 20k
(Original author: ZeroSenpai)
Read it here: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14109770/1/The-Witch-s-Dystopian-Melody
The Witch's Dystopian Melody
Arya Stark, second daughter of the warden of the North, Eddard Stark, strolled as unladylike as possible toward the river of the Trident, bringing alongside her the butcher's boy, with the excuse of looking for Rhaegar Targaryen's rubies. Her true objective though, was to have the boy help her exercise her swordsmanship. Even if her Needle was still in her luggage, sticks would do for now.
It didn't take long for Arya to reach her destination with that objective in mind. She hated all her lessons. Who the hell wanted to be a boring lady anyway? That is, apart from Sansa and her friends. She just wanted to be like her brothers. There was nothing wrong with that in her 11-year-old mind.
Once the two of them reached the border of the river, she told the boy to start looking for the rubies. She instead would look for the straightest sticks she could. She continued to follow the river's border, seeing if the water brought some wood with it. After just a few minutes, her attention was captured by a strange sound reaching her ears. It seemed as if someone was whipping the very air, splitting it in two. She could not describe it otherwise.
Her sticks forgotten, she moved toward the source of the sound. Just over a small hill she found what she was looking for. There, one standing and two sitting, were three girls. The oldest ones seemed around her age while the younger one seemed just a few years behind them. All three of them were blond, sparking a conflict in Arya's young mind. 'Are they Lannisters?' she thought, already fed up with the blond haired and green-eyed bunch who tormented her daily life for the past month. She surely didn't want to interact more with them, but what stayed her feet from leaving was the activity that the standing blond was performing. She was undoubtedly training with a sword!
The cinder in Arya's heart became a blazing inferno as she focused her eyes on the blond swordswoman, because, really, there was no other way to describe her. Arya never recalled seeing in her whole life such swift and elegant strikes and slashes. Not even Winterfell's Master at Arms Rodrik Cassel could compare to that level of skill. 'and she is just my age!' Arya thought excitedly, all animosity towards the Lannisters forgotten in that instant.
She didn't waste time and immediately ran toward the group.
'Maybe she can teach me those awesome moves!'
She felt all giddy at the mere thought of it. When she was all but halfway toward the three girls, the swordswoman seemed to notice her. In an instant the blade was pointed toward her.
"Stop right there! Who are you?! Identify yourself!"
The blond girl brandishing a sword yelled in an accent she never heard before, reminding Arya of the Kingsguard serving under King Robert Baratheon. Now that she was closer, she immediately noticed how strange the sword was. The blade itself was a dark blue while the hilt was made of a black material she never saw before and encased in it was what seemed to be a ruby, while around it a golden ribbon was tightly secured.
'A sword of legends!'
She could not help but compare it with her own family's heirloom, Ice, a Valyrian steel great sword. Even with those thoughts, she stopped and obeyed the girl, nonetheless.
"I am Arya Stark!"
She said, her name always being enough for people to understand who she was. Now that she noticed, even the two girls sitting were now looking at her in curiosity.
"Are you from around here?"
The younger girl asked her blue eyes seemingly piercing her very soul.
'Do they not know the name Stark? Even if they are from the Westerlands, they should know it right?' the young Stark thought in bewilderment.
"I come from Winterfell, my father is the Warden of the North, and now Hand of the King. We are going to King's Landing alongside King Robert right now."
She explained to clear up any possible miscommunication. Unfortunately, that seemed to have the opposite result as the three blonds looked at her with even more confusion.
"Do you perhaps know in which direction the Re-Estize Kingdom is?"
Asked the blond swordsman who just lowered her blade now that Arya showed her pacific intentions. The youngest Stark tried to recall her lesson with Maester Luwin, but, for the life of her, she could not recall any kingdom having that strange name, none of the few Essosi kingdoms or cities even remotely resembling it.
"I… never heard of that… Is that where you are from?"
She asked, but instead of receiving an answer, the girl with short hair spoke for the first time.
"What about the Baharuth Empire?"
Okay, that sounded very Essosi in her mind.
"Is that in Essos?"
Arya tried, only gaining further confusion from the trio.
"Where in the name of the six gods are we?"
Asked the youngest of them to no one in particular, even if Arya felt obliged to answer.
"You are on the Trident in the Riverlands."
She said as these girls really started to freak her out a little.
"And are these… Riverlands part of a kingdom?"
Asked the girl again.
"They are part of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. You can't tell me you don't know of them as well!"
Answered Arya, a bit of annoyance starting to rise in her as the three of them seemed to be either clueless or having fun of her.
"I apologize, this is a rather… strange situation we have found ourselves in."
Apologized the swordswoman, as if sensing Arya's shifting mood. On the other hand, the brown-haired girl immediately remembered why she approached the three of them in the first place.
"Is that a true blade? Can I touch it? You were so fast! Can you teach me?"
Her excitement returning to her in full force, she immediately stated her heart's desire. The swordswoman glanced for a moment at the younger blond girl, who just gave a silent and wary nod.
"Yes, this is a true blade, and no, I am afraid you can't touch it for safety reasons, and… if you want, I can show you some moves."
At the girl's acceptance of her request, Arya immediately nodded eagerly, barely refraining from jumping in joy.
"We will need something to practice with though…"
The girl said. Arya's eyes immediately went to the large stick on the seated girl's back.
"Hey, can you give me that stick?"
The brown-haired girl almost demanded in excitement. The addressed girl blushed lightly.
"Wha- This isn't a stick, you ignorant fool! This is a staff! Are you making fun of me?!"
Said girl almost yelled in outrage. As they were about to argue, the other girl just went and cut off a small branch from a near tree. The clean strike mesmerized Arya and took away all her eagerness to argue with the other girl, instead focusing on what was about to come.
"My name is Lakyus by the way."
The swordswoman said as she passed the branch to Arya.
'That will take some time to pronounce correctly…' the young Stark thought.
"Now show me your stance."
The girl, turned instructor, said, prompting Arya to try and mimic one of her brothers' stances, immediately receiving a sigh from the green-eyed girl.
"That is terrible… you have openings all over the place… look just… let's start over."
For some reason, Arya didn't feel too disheartened or insulted by the girl's comment. Maybe it was because she wasn't merely criticizing for the sake of it, but actually trying to give her advices and better her.
{2 hours later}
Sweat trickled down Arya's face as she stood up once more and took the fighting stance Lakyus taught her. A single kick went for her. The hit made her lose balance and fall again.
"H-how? W-why can't I do it?"
She mumbled out in her exhaustion. She would normally have accused her instructor of being a fraud by this point, but the blond girl proved her wrong an hour before when she tried to imply it. To show her the truth behind her words, Lakyus took the same exact stance she tried teaching Arya and let said girl attack her for a good 10 minutes. Not even a single hit landed, no matter where she aimed. When confronted with that stance, Arya felt like she was hitting the walls of Winterfell.
"ARYA!"
'Oh no!' that was the first thought of the youngest Stark as she heard her sister's annoying voice.
She immediately sat up and looked as said sister advanced toward her alongside her beloved little shit of a prince.
"What do you want?!"
She asked annoyed, hoping that Sansa would just leave her be.
"What do you think you are doing?"
Her sister harshly whispered between her teeth once she reached her. She stopped herself from retorting when she saw prince Joffrey going directly for her instructor.
"What do you think you are doing?! Hitting a noble lady like that?! The sister of my lady wife to be nonetheless!"
The boy proclaimed in all his arrogance.
"We were just training."
Immediately defended Arya but judging from the cruel glint in the boy's eyes, it would be in vain.
"Do not joke around! Women can't use blades!"
Retorted arrogantly the prince, before glancing at Lakyus' blade currently on her hip.
"Since I am so generous, I am willing to forget this incident, just hand over that blade!"
The prince demanded eliciting a hard stare from Lakyus. The blond swordswoman unsheathed her blade but instead of handing it over pointed the tip at the arrogant prince's face.
"Then come and take it from my cold dead hands, you filth!"
Arya couldn't believe her ears. That hard tone reminded her so much of her father when he was pissed. Even her sister gasped in shock and the prince took a step back in what seemed to be fear as those emerald, green eyes pierced her.
"H-How dare y-you! Do y-you know who I a-am?!"
He demanded half afraid half enraged by his opponent.
"You are just a little shit who thinks he can get what he wants."
At those words, the boy's wounded pride seemed to surpass his fear as he unsheathed his own sword and charged. And in an instant, it was over. Arya widened her eyes as she saw Lakyus split in two the older boy's blade and send him on the ground with a single kick. In just an instant, the arrogant prince was reduced to a pathetic crying mess on the ground.
'So cool!' was all the young Stark could think.
The desire of learning from such a girl, no, such a warrior, reignited in her heart.
Her joy didn't last for long as a huge figure passed next to her and her sister. The individual's identity was unmistakable due to his helmet resembling a hound. Without any warning, the huge man unsheathed his sword and charged the blond girl who elegantly dodged his killing strike, sending her own swing toward the man. The strike was intercepted by the man's blade but Lakyus' went through it like the iron sword was made out of butter, making the Hound take a step back.
"WHAT THE FUCK?"
He bellowed out in shock at what happened.
Before Lakyus could launch another assault, she was stopped by the blond girl with a stick strapped around her back who laid a hand on the swordswoman shoulder.
"This honorless garbage is unworthy of an easy death. Let me give you a hand."
She said, making Lakyus take a step back.
"Take your time then Arche."
Lakyus said, as the girl known as Arche stepped forward grabbing her stick with both hands. Seeing this, the Hound seemed to regain some semblance of security in his steps.
"To charge without announcing oneself is proof enough of your worthlessness. Die you dog! [Cinder's Rain]!"
All the presents' eyes shot open in shock as a strange symbol appeared in front of the girl's stick and what seemed to be small egg-like balls of fire erupted from it, going directly toward the Hound, who, despite his shock, didn't waste time in dropping the remains of his sword and running away, even when a pair of balls of fire managed to hit the back of his armor.
"Humph! Beasts, always so afraid of fire!"
Commented the now revealed fire sorceress.
"I called for Satoru."
Calmly said the youngest girl, who stayed far behind during the whole confrontation and now was finally approaching her two fellow blonds.
"Good thinking Renner. We are going to need him, and Gazef too…"
Mumbled Lakyus as she glanced at the still downed prince who was trying to stand up.
"So, what do we have here?"
The deep and dark new voice chilled Arya's bones as she and her terrified sister turned only to see a giant of a man, completely covered by elegant dark robes, standing not even two meters from them. The only thing visible under his hood were two shining blue gems. His gaze went from the three blonds to the downed prince and then to the two of them, and in that moment, Arya felt true fear grip her heart.
{Satoru's P.O.V.}
'This is such a huge mess…'
The undead could not help but feel miserable at his situation. Being transported to an unknown location wasn't bad enough apparently. Now they were confirmed to be stranded only god knew where and they apparently had taken hostage a prince and two high ranking noble ladies.
'Luckily Renner immediately contacted me with that [Message] scroll I left in case of emergencies… but still…' the undead lamented as he felt the urgent need to face palm.
"Do not worry, this wasn't your fault."
He assured the worried princess who just finished explaining the situation to him. He lightly patted her head, something he knew always made her calm.
"My princess, I deeply apologize for leaving you here alone. Even with Lakyus as a shield, I still shouldn't have… I only thought that I recognized our location but instead I seemed to be mistaken."
Apologized the Warrior Captain, making Satoru feel bad for him since it really wasn't his fault. If someone was to be faulted for this situation, it would be Satoru himself.
"The only one at fault here is me. If I didn't use the Scroll of Ice and Fire, we wouldn't be here in the first place. I thought it was merely a Scroll meant to tell a tale and entertain the public harmlessly. Instead, we arrived here, and I also left alongside Gazef to not let anyone go alone on their own in this situation."
The undead magic caster apologized wholeheartedly. In Yggdrasil, that specific item did just that. A little spectacle he meant to offer Renner to celebrate her 9th birthday, and the end result of her plan, and still, all went to shit in just a few moments. The Scroll did not display any magical spectacle. It instead teleported them to this unknown place.
"Satoru isn't at fault here!"
Retorted the third princess in a hard tone, glaring around her as if challenging anyone to say otherwise, but everyone just nodded in confirmation of her words.
"Well, be that as it may, we find ourselves in a difficult spot nonetheless… what do we do with these three?"
Asked the 5th tier magic caster, glancing at the three foreign children now kneeling on the ground. The blond boy he had to magically silence and restrain, otherwise he would not stop trying to attack them and spit profanities at them. The auburn-haired girl just sobbed silently, while the youngest child just looked at them, not seeming to be worried in the slightest. Rather, she seemed curious about what would come next.
"We could just leave them here for her allies to find and just walk away from this mess."
Proposed Lakyus, receiving a nod from Arche, who seemed to agree on this course of action.
"But then where would we go… I have no idea of where we are, and we have no map or information aside from a few details."
Gazef made them notice the holes in their plan.
"We should make the best of what we have."
Finally spoke Renner, getting the attention of all the present.
'I-Is she quoting me?' thought Satoru in wonder and no small amount of pride in his cold non-existing heart.
That really showed how he had an influence on her growth, and from that, he also felt no small part of responsibility.
"We should wait for whoever comes here. If that boy is truly the crown prince, we can exchange him for both information, a map and resources."
She said, and before anyone could point out the obvious fault in that plan, the young princess continued.
"I know that we cannot know who will come or how many, but I trust in all of you. Your strength is something to be feared even if taken singularly. You all combined could face any kind of foe. I believe, also, judging by the performance of that knight protecting the prince, we shouldn't have to fear much… but even if the worst came to be, we still have Satoru who could get us out of here, right Satoru?"
The princess explained.
'She is relying on me, but I guess this is only normal after everything we went through these last years…' mused Satoru.
"Yes, if the foe is truly dangerous, I could always teleport us somewhere else, or make us fly away, or just make us invisible and flee, not counting I have some… distractions I could use against our opponents."
Explained Satoru making everyone more relaxed to go through with Renner's idea.
'Daring but with a high reward. I guess Punitto Moe would have done the same…' he thought, overlapping the princess with his friend for a moment.
{Eddard's P.O.V.}
Lord Eddard Stark, Warden of the North and Hand of the King was troubled. No, it would have been better to say that he was worried sick. He wasn't so worried since the news of his sister being kidnapped reached him. The reason for his state of mind was that both his daughters had been apparently kidnapped alongside the crown prince.
'Why is it always Harrenhal?' he asked himself in exasperation as he could not help but link this event to the disastrous spark of the Rebellion.
Now Sandor Clegane knelt in front of him. The king and queen, who after many a shout, were finally forced to shut up by Robert.
"What is this madness I hear about my son being kidnapped by a fire sorceress alongside Ned's daughters!?"
The king bellowed toward the kneeling Hound.
"That is what happened! A fucking sorceress took the prince and the Stark girls! And it wasn't her alone! A child knight was with her! The bitch fucking split my blade with a single strike!"
The burned Clegane said in what seemed to be a fit of fear and madness, and normally it would be considered as such, but the burns on the back of his armor spoke of a different story.
"And you expect me to believe this shit Clegane!? Are you mad?!"
The king retorted, meeting Clegane's eyes.
"Believe whatever the fuck you want! That fire cunt has your son!"
Clegane continued with his version.
"Bah! What the fuck is happening here?"
The king asked no one in desperation. Ned took that moment to speak.
"Your Grace, maybe it would be better to check ourselves. I suggest taking as many men as we can. We can never know what truly happened, and since our children's lives are at stake, I think every precaution must be taken."
The Lord of Winterfell said, eliciting a nod from the king of the Seven Kingdoms.
"Yes, that is a good idea. Let's ask for Lord Harroway's support as well!"
Ordered the king, as Ned proceeded to do as instructed. He also needed to speak to Vayon Poole, to have him organize his household guards as soon as possible.
"Now Clegane! You will show us where that sorceress is! And if we don't find them, I will have your head!"
Yelled the king.
"I am coming too!"
Asserted the queen who immediately received a glare from her husband.
"He is my son! Your heir! I will not let you make the culprit leave with a slap on their wrist! I will have their heads on spikes by the end of the day!"
Cersei Lannister almost retorted.
"We can't have a fucking wheelhouse come alongside us woman!"
The king yelled back exasperated by his wife demands.
"I can ride a horse just as well as any of you!"
She retorted again in defiance of her husband.
"Just do whatever you want!"
Robert finally gave up. Ned could only be grateful his Cat would never resemble that woman.
{Hours later}
{Lakyus' P.O.V.}
The young noble was put on guard duty. She was charged by her princess to make sure the hostages would remain there, an important task that would turn out to be quite boring in the end. The prince was still bound by Satoru's magic and he even stopped struggling by now. The auburn-haired girl was unresponsive but made no move to actually try and do anything. Arya was the most active as the one who just didn't seem to get the direness of the current situation, preferring instead to ask Lakyus questions upon questions of how she managed to defeat that stupid knight which was apparently called the Hound. It seemed like he was some kind of big deal around here, even if Lakyus could not for the life of her understand why. Such a poor level of skill would make said knight an average soldier in the Kingdom's eyes.
"A group of riders is coming our way."
Finally announced Satoru, getting everyone to stop doing their tasks as instructed by the princess.
"How many?"
Asked a wary Gazef. The magic caster took a moment to answer.
"Around 300, give or take a few dozen, armed to the teeth I may add."
Responded Satoru who didn't seem to be worried in the slightest.
"Very well then. Lakyus! Stay behind with the hostages and the princess. Protect her!"
The Warrior Captain instructed her with his hard tone which only meant one thing in Lakyus' mind.
'If worst comes to be, it may be a fight to the very end through any means necessary' she thought giving a glance to the kids her age they took as prisoners.
'I may have to threaten their lives if it comes to it' she resolved herself.
She would do anything necessary to protect Renner, as a true knight should.
"Young Arche, stay behind me but not too far from Lakyus. You may serve as a second line of defense but prioritize retreating instead of fighting if it comes to it."
Instructed the magic caster to his apprentice who nodded in understanding before taking her position. All in all, their little formation wasn't even 10 meters long.
The group of 300 warriors didn't take long to arrive, half an hour at best, and even then, they were approaching their smaller group warily. If it wasn't for the fact that Gazef and Satoru were their first line, Lakyus may have panicked as so many enemies started encircling them, not daring to come more than 20 meters from them.
Once the group of warriors stabilized their position, five people came forward. Two of them were fully armored while the other three had their faces visible. One of them clearly resembled Arya in colors.
'Her father?' she thought as she noticed the auburn-haired girl raise her head for the first time since she was captured, hope in her eyes.
The group of five came to a stop a little less than 10 meters from Gazef and Satoru.
"You stand in the presence of Robert Baratheon, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm! I am Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell, Warden of the North and Hand of the King! State your names!"
The, now confirmed, father of Arya loudly demanded.
"My name is Gazef Stronoff, Warrior Captain of Rampossa III, king of the Re-Estize Kingdom!"
Gazef presented himself, not backing down or showing any intimidation.
'Like a proud warrior should' she added in her mind.
"Greetings King Baratheon and Lord Stark, my name is Satoru a humble 5th tier magic caster."
Politely greeted Satoru, who almost seemed disinterested judging by his flat tone.
"Enough with this shit! Where is that fire sorceress who took my son?!"
Bellowed the king.
"I think you are referring to young Arche right here, but she wasn't the one to take your son hostage. That fault falls on me… and please refrain from using that vulgar speech in front of children."
'Is he trying to take responsibility for Renner? Or maybe he does not wish for them to know the princess is here…'
Lakyus tried to peer into the magic caster's mind.
"I can speak the fucking way I want! It will not be some foreign cunt telling me what to do in my land!"
The king retorted.
'What a barbarian. Where in the world are we?' Lakyus asked exasperated.
"Please calm down Robert, I am sure this situation can be resolved peacefully. May I inquire as to why you took my daughters and the crown prince?"
Asked the Hand of the King, shifting Satoru's attention from the rude king to the other man.
"Umu, you see Lord Stark, this boy attacked one of the girls I am supposed to care for, an heir of an important noble house, nonetheless. This ended up in said lady, Lakyus is her name, putting him down with as little damage as possible… Your daughters on the other hand were just unfortunate enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
The magic caster explained, eliciting a smile from Lakyus who enjoyed being praised once in a while. Even more if it was from someone she cherished in her heart.
"So, this whole thing was just my son's fault!? Is this what you are implying sorcerer?!"
Bellowed the king again.
"No, not entirely. We would have left the children alone if it wasn't for that knight attacking Lady Lakyus immediately after she incapacitated the prince."
Explained the ever-calm Satoru.
"Is this true boy?!"
Asked the king to his son, who rose his head immediately under his father's gaze.
"F-father… I…"
The boy hesitantly said.
'Apparently Satoru lifted his spell…' noticed the blond swordsman.
"Speak boy! DID YOU FUCKING GET DEFEATED BY THAT GIRL!?"
Yelled the king, seemingly angrier with his son than any other.
'Is he looking down on me?' she felt a little insulted.
"SHE ATTACKED ME FIRST FROM THE BACK!"
The boy yelled in defiance and before anyone could say anything, Arya intervened.
"LIAR! SHE BEAT YOU FAIR AND SQUARE AFTER YOU ATTACKED!"
She retorted earning an angry glare from the prince.
"SILENCE BOTH OF YOU!"
Roared the king taking a step forward, making the two children go quiet.
"Sansa! What happened?"
Demanded the girl's father. The terrified girl refused to answer instead lowering her head and averting her gaze, eliciting a sigh from the Lord.
"Now that you are all done can we proceed with negotiations?"
Asked Satoru who just seemed to have enough of this.
"What are you talking about?! Give us the children back and you can leave with your heads! This is all you are getting!"
Said the king.
"Umu, you realize that you are threatening to kill important members of the Re-Estize's court, right? Do you perhaps want to cause a war?"
Asked the magic caster.
"A kingdom of which we never heard before, but nonetheless… we are willing to hear your demands!"
Intervened the Hand of the King.
"We just ask a map and a few rations of food, that's all. Then we will be out of your hands."
Satoru explained calmly.
"Are you really willing to risk these children's lives and a war for just a map and some food?"
He continued. Then the King and Hand began to argue among each other for what to do.
'Just let us go already…' thought Lakyus in exasperation as she didn't notice the crown prince rising. It was only due to her instinct that she managed to dodge the stone as big as her fist directed at her head. She only managed to turn toward the boy before she heard a thud behind her. She glanced back once more and froze.
There, lying on the ground was Renner, crimson blood flowing through her beautiful golden locks, originating from where the rock hit her. The world froze as utter despair filled Lakyus heart as it shattered in a thousand pieces.
'Renner… no, this can't be… this is a nightmare…' confused thoughts filled her head.
"KILL THEM ALL!"
The shout of the prince made her return to reality as she could now only see the arrogant grin the little shit had plastered on his face. Then the world went red as unhinged fury rose from the bottom of her stomach. She never before thought that hating someone that much was possible but she apparently was mistaken.
Without even thinking straight anymore she roared like a savage beast as her hand went to her blade and an instant later the prince's head was sent flying meters above the ground as the young headless body fell on the cold earth.
And then all hell broke loose.
{Satoru's P.O.V.}
The undead had no idea of what actually happened. One moment he was negotiating with the king of this land, and the next Renner was lying down, heavily injured. The prince ordered his men to charge them before losing his head to Lakyus and now said men where charging.
Gazef stepped in front of him to confront the three men which came with the King and Lord as some kind of honor guard. Even Arche took out her staff and began to aim her spells at the coming avalanche of steel.
"SATORU! SAVE THE PRINCESS!"
Shouted the Warrior Captain, prompting the magic caster to follow his instructions as he immediately was by Renner's side, kneeling down on her downed body, gently taking her in his arms and turning her so he could spill the healing potion's content in her mouth. He felt strange, very strange. A certain numbness took over him as he instinctively casted a silent (Anti-Life Cocoon) around his allies and remaining hostages.
The horde around them bounced back against the green barrier and stepped back as a shout of surprise and shock filled the air. But the only thing he focused on were Gazef and Lakyus closing on him. The latter of which immediately proceeded to check for Renner.
'The healing potion should be more than enough though' Satoru assured himself.
Lakyus even started crying from relief.
'Ah, the power of friendship…' the undead thought as he could not help but be reminded of his friends.
"S-Satoru… s-she isn't b-breathing…"
Lakyus managed to cry out between hiccups.
That was strange, the potion should have ensured the healing of all her injuries. That could only mean one thing. The hit she received has been enough. Enough to make his potion useless. Enough to make sure she would never breath again. Enough to kill her. That was something he never considered. Associating Renner with death was a strange and unnatural thought in his mind. The numbness in his mind became a nudging sensation, as if something, a thought, was trying to reach him but was being restrained.
He looked down at Renner's face, her small head in his hand, her beautiful golden locks falling disheveled, her sky-blue eyes half closed, unable to see the light ever again. Her mouth curved in what seemed something between a scowl and a grin as if she was restraining her laughter. That melodic voice he would never hear again. The nudge in his mind became a pulsing headache at the thought.
"R-Renner… w-wake up… I-I'm sorry…"
The green eyed noble cried on her friend, even Gazef lowered his head.
"My princess… I apologize for I was too weak…"
The pain in his words went through Satoru's body like a thunderbolt. He was missing something, something crucial. And then it came to him. The wall in his mind, he only now realized was his Emotional Suppression, broke down as the rush of pain, anger and unwavering fury rushed to his body as something long overdue.
In that moment, nothing else mattered, his cover, his restrain, his caution was all thrown down the river of fire flowing through his soul. For the world took something important and invaluable from him again. The same despair that he felt every time one of his friends left the game forever but, this time he had a target for it, someone responsible. Someone who must pay!
"YOU SCUM! YOU WORTHLESS GARBAGE!"
The words flowed from his mouth uncontrollably much like his passive aura flowing around him. 'I WILL BRING DEATH TO YOU ALL!' his magic responded to his will and the 7th tier spell activated.
"[Undeath Army]!"
He bellowed in his dark tone for all to hear. The ground shook and then it exploded as hordes of undead erupted from all sides. Zombies, Death Warriors, Death Knights and even Elder Liches rose to his command, one goal guiding them all. Kill, kill and drench the land in red.
It didn't take much for the shout of pain, fear and despair to begin. Slaughter was the only word to describe what was happening around them. In just a few minutes the 300 warriors were almost wiped out as a single group was seeing fleeing the scene riding horses as hard as they could.
'Capture them…' was his only command as the undead gave chase. The Death Knights easily reaching the group, unhorsing the riders.
'You will serve as bargaining chips for Renner… this is how you will atone your sins' the undead magic caster thought darkly.
He never tried to resurrect someone. He should have tested this, and still, he didn't. He now felt like an idiot. What if it didn't work? What if Renner wasn't yet level 6? Did it even work like that in the New World? There was only one safe way of doing this, but was he really going to use one of his three? He only now came to realize how much he cared about her. She has been a constant since he came to this world. In a certain way, she was like a pillar urging him to stay, like his friends had been during Yggdrasil. And now she was dead, and he was responsible for it. If he only didn't use that stupid item. If only he would not be so paranoid about his power and his identity, this could have been prevented. He clenched his teeth.
'No more, I will lose nothing more!'
He committed himself to that thought. He swore it on the dead girl lying in his arms. There will be no more holding back.
"S-Satoru."
The strained voice of Gazef brought him back to reality, reminding him that he wasn't alone. Both him, Lakyus and Arche seemed terrified.
'Ah… my passive aura…'
He immediately deactivated his Aura of Despair skill but that didn't seem to do much for his companions.
"I apologize for my outburst."
Without knowing what else to say he limited himself to an apology.
"Y-You are-"
Arche began as she seemingly linked the dots.
"We have no time for that now. All your questions will be answered. Right now, we need a secure place so I may bring Renner back."
Satoru interrupted, shocking all of his three companions.
"You c-can do that?"
Asked a hopeful Lakyus, still trembling with fear.
"I think so, but I must secure an appropriate place first. Those people may have put up camp around here. We need them to tell us."
He explained as he received a nod from both Lakyus and Gazef.
"I will go along with you for now, but then you will have things to answer to Satoru!"
Conceded Gazef. Just in that moment, the group he sent after the fugitives returned, dragging some men and a woman through the minced meat and bones that remained of their warriors as many zombies continued to feast on the fallen. The Death Warriors placed the prisoners on their knees in front of Satoru, blades on their necks, ready to end them at the first signal.
"We serve and obey Great One."
Announced the Elder Lich with a bow of his head.
"The only reason you are still alive is because I have need of you as bargaining tools. You will now tell me where your camp is."
Commanded Satoru, but the only answer he received was a spit aimed at him by the king.
"FUCK YOU! YOU FUCKING MONSTER!"
The king challenged.
'I don't have time for this… Renner…'
The undead placed the dead girl in the ready hands of Gazef before moving toward one of the knights. His gloved hand was engulfed by dark miasma. (Decomposition) was a useful skill against the living as it applied a life draining status to the enemy, but as soon as Satoru touched said knight, his skin began to melt followed by his bones as a horrid scream filled the air. This continued for several seconds until nothing but a pool of melted body materials was left.
"Who's next?"
Asked the undead magic caster. It didn't take long for someone to spill the beans and give him directions.
…
The attack on the camp was swift. They took everyone there hostage thanks to his overwhelming numbers. Only a few casualties occurred, none that seemed important to begin with. He apparently also got all their resources and the remaining royal children under him now. This was good, he would need everything once she woke up.
Satoru gently placed the girl on one of the beds. He had Gazef and the others leave the room to direct the undead outside while he worked. He took a deep imaginary breath before forcing his will through the ring. As expected, the ring activated, the magic circle illuminated the tent, and so the undead stated his heart's desire and the Shooting Star answered him in kind.
{That night}
{Renner's P.O.V.}
She died, she actually died. Renner would have never thought in all her life she would have to muse on her own death in such a way, as if it was something normal everybody would ponder. But the truth was that she actually died, and she came back.
'No, Satoru brought me back' she corrected herself with a burning sensation of love and pride in her heart.
'He brought me back and unleashed hell upon all my enemies' she added with a drop of sadism at the idea of Satoru avenging her in such a way.
Who cared if he was a necromancer? She would certainly not.
She woke up hours ago as if from a nightmare, making a scared Lakyus jump in surprise before hugging her and starting to cry. It didn't take long for her to remember the events that brought to that situation, and she had Lakyus immediately fill her in on what she missed.
It has now been a couple hours from that moment, and she lied on her bed resting her sore body, while her mind was going in overdrive from the influx of information and possibilities that these last ones brought.
'Satoru, it seems there is still much to you that I do not know of… It is strange such a thing both excites me and at the same time makes me angry as a woman' she mused.
'But the question remains… what to do now?' she asked no one in the darkness of her tent.
They now had the most important people of this Seven Kingdoms in their hands, but now, what to do? A foolish idea jumped in her mind, a vision of a dream come true, but that would be impossible, wouldn't it? It would take unimaginable power to achieve such a thing… and yet… she absolutely needed to know about Satoru's true limits. She needed that to know how to proceed.
With those thoughts in her mind, she spent the whole night devising different plans for each possible situation.
…
Morning came before anyone expected it. She immediately asked for a meeting as soon as the sun was visible and so, in a few minutes, Satoru, Lakyus, Gazef, Arche and her were reunited in the largest tent, a map of the whole continent already prepared as she instructed.
'Undead may be unpleasant to the eye but they are so much more reliable and efficient than those stupid servants we have back at the castle' she mused.
"Satoru what is our situation?"
She asked her savior to make certain she got everything important from Lakyus.
"The prisoners are secured. I tried to use my strongest teleportation spell to go back to the Kingdom, but it failed. I am able to teleport everywhere else around here, meaning that this area is not covered by any spells I know of which should block teleportation… in either case we are stranded here for now, with no ability to connect with or go back to the kingdom… as you can also see, these maps are completely foreign to us… as if this was a completely different world from what we know."
The magic caster gave his report eliciting a nod from the young princess.
'This is not good. If I want to become queen, I can't leave-' her thoughts were interrupted by the idea that infiltrated her head the previous night, she inwardly smirked 'but then again… this could work just fine. No one said what queen I should be… but before that, I need to know…' she immediately glanced back at Satoru with a calculating gaze.
"Say, Satoru, will you finally tell me who you are?"
She asked innocently, a little irritated that her beloved would hide things from her, but she was sure he would have a good reason for it. Said man sighed before placing both his gloved hands on the table.
"I was wondering when this day would come. I sincerely hoped it would never come, but it was foolish of me to believe so…"
He said, his mask as blank as ever even if she could feel the slight tension in his tone.
"Long ago, there existed a kingdom in the far east, and in that kingdom lived a young boy, known as Satoru, a magic caster of small renown. He was mostly famous for his Talent. He was scorned for his ability to learn any spell used against him or around him in a certain area. The only thing he needed to train was his mana capacity so to be able to sustain the cost of the spells he stole."
He began before pausing but no one spoke. All their attention was fully focused on him right now.
"His peers, superiors and even inferiors would consider him a fraud, an unworthy caster who had it easy from the very beginning, and in those lonely days, when the boy thought of giving everything up and just leave, a white knight came and offered him his friendship. Alongside his paths he met others, people he would come to know as friends for the years to come, the boy grew into a man, a happy man… but alas, it was not to last, as all of his friends had to take their separate paths in life, leaving the man alone once again."
The magic caster continued as his tone didn't change in the slightest, though Renner could feel his pain in his words.
'To be alone in the world, scorned and hated… we are so alike, you and me, Satoru' she felt her small heart clench at the memory of her life before her fire, before her Satoru.
"Either way, the kingdom had many enemies due to their policies against non-humans, who were enslaved and treated as mere beasts, always used as entertainment at best and cattle to be slaughtered at worst… but those beings were sentient and some of them rose in rebellion, and the kingdom was set ablaze for it."
Satoru continued his story making Renner wonder if this was the reason behind Satoru's hate toward slavery, still everyone seemed too enraptured by his tale to interrupt him.
"The forces of the kingdom were too strong though, and day after day the non-humans were pushed back, so, they devised a last stand, a last desperate counter to spite their enslavers and tormentors. They sacrificed their own people, in a grand ritual, a ritual to call upon a Dark God they said…"
Satoru stopped as his head lowered, and he seemed to take a deep breath before speaking.
"They cast a spell… a terrible spell which caused the doom of the kingdom and the end of all life in it… be it man, demi-human or anything else with a beating heart… the sky was painted black, and the very earth died beneath our feet… but not everyone died. One was spared for his Talent prevented his doom through absorbing the power of the ritual, or at least, this is what I always thought for all these years… if not, why was I alone spared from the slaughter?"
Renner felt Lakyus gulp loudly next to her. Arche had teary eyes while Gazef sported a solemn expression.
"But my survival didn't come without a cost. I was consumed by the dark miasma which consumed the kingdom, and what remains of me hides forever under this mask… there are no oaths that prevent me from removing it, just my cowardice to show what I became and the fear of being left forever alone for it."
The magic caster known as Satoru moved his hand toward his mask, grasping it. Renner's heart began to pound much louder in her chest than it ever did in her whole life. The mask came off far more easily and quickly than she expected. What greeted Renner and the others was a clean white skull with dancing crimson flames in its eye sockets.
"But now, I feel like it is time to drop the mask once more and to not fear loneliness anymore."
The undead in front of them said, the voice so familiar yet so hard to associate to the being in front of her. Even in such a situation the irony wasn't lost to Renner's witty mind.
'As if a monster like me could ever love a human…' and with that thought, she was content and rewarded her savior with her biggest, truest smile.
{The following day}
{Jaime's P.O.V.}
Never, in all his life, would Jaime Lannister have ever expected to be held hostage along his sister by dead monstrosities. As a young fool he would have claimed that this would be his debut as the slayer of Others or some other foolish notion like that.
"What would father say if he saw us like this?"
He wondered to the only other occupant of the room, his beloved sister and secret lover.
'We got a different tent from Robert, thank the Gods for small mercies' he joked.
His sister on the other hand said nothing. She had been like that since she was told Joffrey died. Jaime on the other hand didn't feel much. Who knew, he may be a worse person than he already considered himself.
"Maybe it would be more interesting to see what Tyrion's reaction would be."
That actually got a twitch from his sister in response.
"Will you just shut up?"
She whispered venomously.
"Oh, so the dead men didn't cut your tongue. It would have been a shame considering what you can-"
Before he could finish that sentence his sister stood up and slapped him across the face.
"Don't you understand! You fool! We are all hostages! Me! That oaf! The children! You! The fucking Starks! We can all be killed any moment!"
She whispered harshly making Jaime sigh.
"And what will you have me do sister? Bitch and moan until I kill those things a second time from boredom?"
He asked sarcastically making his sister scowl.
"We need to contact father, he-"
Cersei was interrupted by Jaime who now sported a serious expression on his face.
"And tell me, dear sister, what the hell can father do? Call 30.000 Westerman? To which end? I hit that thing with all my strength when it came for us. My sword broke and that thing didn't even have a scratch afterwards! I saw one of those things strike down a man and then the very same man rose, one of them! The more you send the more they will grow in number!"
He retorted to his sister's chagrin.
"But still, there must be a way-"
His sister was interrupted as the tent opened, one of those rotting monstrosities glancing at them.
"Your presence has been requested."
It said with its raspy voice before others of those things entered the tent to escort them.
{Satoru's P.O.V.}
It couldn't be said that Satoru wasn't a prepared person.
'Those backstory preparation sessions really came to use sooner than I expected' he said to himself, glad that he had the idea.
Even before being stranded here, he felt like he should prepare in the event he had to show his true nature. The backstory he carefully prepared only needed to be slightly altered for it to make sense in their situation.
'To create an effective deceit or lie, reality and truth must always be mixed in it' those were the wise words of his friend Punitto Moe after all.
Gazef didn't seem to be wary of him as much as before, even if being around a horde of undead still put him on edge. Speaking of which, what the hell was up with that spell? It was supposed to summon a horde of skeletons. Instead, it brought up zombies, Death Warriors and even some Death Knights. In the New World, the creation of major undead was attributed to a great gathering of negative energy. Could it be that that place had been a battlefield not too long ago? Or the epicenter of some great tragedy? Otherwise, the spell's altered effect would make no sense in his mind.
Storing that thought on the back of his mind and returning to more pressing matters, Lakyus seemed to be deeply shaken by his story, while Arche remained silent as her usual self, but he caught her evading his gaze a couple of times, even now that he had his mask on again.
Renner, well. Was there really any need to elaborate? After he finished his tale, she gave him one of those devilish smiles of hers before rising and giving him a hug, staring directly back at the crimson lights he had for eyes.
"Satoru, can you win against an army?"
Said devil princess asked him as she was sitting on his lap, the two of them alone in the command tent. A strange question and yet, for some reason, he dreaded to give the young girl an answer, but in the end he responded nonetheless. How could he not? She was the only one who treated him the same, even after he gave her plenty of reasons to fear or distance herself from him.
"With that ritual… I could probably bring down this whole so called Seven Kingdoms…"
He said, his tone plain. The princess pressed herself on him even more. He didn't bother to put up the usual illusion, so she could clearly feel his hard bones under his soft gown. She rose her head gazing at him from below with that smile of hers.
"Will you make me queen if I ask you to?"
She whispered as she grew closer to him. That caught him off guard. Why in the world would she want to be queen? The answer came to him easily alongside his own guilt at the realization.
'She wants to feel protected' he realized.
Of course, she would! She just died and he showed his inability to do anything to prevent it! This was his failure. His fists clenched at the thought.
'I failed her… and still, she is willing to give me all her love and trust even after seeing my undead nature…' he admitted in shame.
The fresh image of a dead body returned to his mind, the half-closed dead blue eyes. The skin as pale as snow, her body limp.
'Never! Never again! I will bring this world to its knees to prevent it from happening again! There will be no more holding back!'
He felt his will set in stone.
"I will make you queen if that is what you want."
With those words, he took out her crown from his inventory, placing it gently on her head. She rewarded him with that smile of hers, and for the first time in what seemed to be a very long period, Satoru felt genuine, unrepressed, pure happiness.
{An hour later}
{Arche's P.O.V.}
Arche felt uneasy as she saw the prisoners being brought in and tied up while being forced to their knees. Undead were truly scary to look at. She realized as much in the short time she stayed in their presence, but her teacher was different. He didn't feel as scary. No, he almost felt like… something above. Something sacred she might even say. That aura he emanated spoke of a great burden.
'Is this perhaps because he was once human?' she wondered as she never heard of a human turning undead before dying or still recalling his time as a human after the turning. Her train of thought was interrupted by the loud and clear voice of the princess.
"We are going to Harrenhal. There we will contact all the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdom and they may come to negotiate your release."
She stated, her voice ice cold.
"Y-you were dead…"
Whispered the gray-haired man currently kneeling next to the gagged king who wouldn't stop shouting profanities otherwise.
"As if something as minor as death could be an obstacle. Satoru is the greatest magic caster in this whole world! To give or take life is but child's play for him."
The princess gloated while making sure to give proper attention to said magic caster sitting on her right. The mention of the undead's power seemed to shut the man up for good.
"You will all die once my father hears of this!"
The current queen spat out in disdain and fury. The only thing she managed to do with those words was to make herself the focus of Renner's glare. Arche almost shuddered at the dead cold stare the princess was sporting on her face.
"The only thing anyone coming at us with an army will find… is death."
The ominous words echoed into the young magic caster's head even if she wasn't the intended receiver. She just hoped they will go back home as soon as possible right now.
{That night}
{Shella Whent's P.O.V.}
The lady of Harrenhal, last of her name, woke in a panic as cold sweat trickled down her body. Her hand immediately went for the water she knew was next to her bed and gulped it down. She could not remember what she dreamt about that would leave her in such a state but the sensation of dread washing all out her didn't diminish even now that she was awake.
"Shella Whent?"
Asked a dark voice from the shadows of her room, causing her to let her cup fall as panic increased in her being once more. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, and she finally noticed it. A dark entity fixing her from the corner of her room. A giant of a man with shining blue stones for eyes.
'D-did the Stranger come t-to take me?' the old woman asked in her panicked state, but then she immediately realized the foolishness of such a thought.
"G-GUARDS!"
She cried out as the man took a step forward, darkness seaming to spread all around the room from his form.
"No one will come. They have already been subdued. Relinquish the castle to us now."
The entity said but before Shella could try to go for the knife she hid under her pillows, something otherworldly happened. Something rose from the ground. There was no other way to describe it but the rotting corpse of a woman, but it was translucent, and Sheila could clearly see through her. Mist seemed to come out from its empty eyes and mouth.
'A-A ghost?!' she asked no one as she remembered the various stories she heard while still a young girl. Harrenhal the Haunted they called it, but in all the years she lived there she saw nothing like it.
"Every harmed man has been restrained and imprisoned or killed Great One… the castle is yours…"
The horrible, raspy but clearly female voice spoke as the dark entity nodded in what seemed to be satisfaction.
"Very well… so, what will it be Lady Shella. Do I have to order the execution of every last one of your servants before killing you as well? Or will you submit?"
The old woman felt like she woke from a nightmare only to be plunged in an even worse one, but alas, there was nothing she could do, and so, with her heart still hammering in her chest, she accepted her defeat.
From there everything seemed a blur as she was allowed to change before being escorted to the gates of Harrenhal. While passing through the halls and corridors she saw many other ghosts and other horrid beings strolling around. Not a single guard she met was in a fighting position. Those who weren't dead were restrained or simply dragged away. Some crying her name for help but alas, she could do nothing.
When the gate opened, an army of legends came through. Dead man walking alongside armored monstrosities.
'Did the Others come to take us all…' she thought as despair grasped her heart.
Her gaze flickered once again toward the entity which brought her here and seemed in command of all the abominations taking residence in her castle. Now that he was more visible under the light of fire and moon, she could discern his appearance. Robes worthy of a king and a black mask, that could only belong to the stranger, on his face, and those blue gems, no, blue eyes of his, as dead as the monsters marching through her yard.
Then came the apparent prisoners. Most she didn't recognize while some, she actually did recognize. The king and queen were a given, and Eddard Stark too. Her heart fell even more at the realization. She knew that the kings' retinue was passing by, but to think they fell into enemies' arms so easily… were the Seven Kingdoms doomed already?
"The castle is yours, Your Majesty."
The dark entity spoke with an elegant bow. Shella immediately gulped at the thought of what entity could even be superior to the one next to her. Her eyes almost bulged out as she saw a young girl, not even 10 namedays old stroll forward with all the confidence in the world, followed by two slightly older girls and a middle-aged warrior.
"You have done well, Satoru. Let them all know that their doom has already been cast since the moment they dared to raise arms against me."
Spoke the apparent young girl as her cold, dead, inhuman eyes focused on Shella, and then the old woman understood.
'The legends were so wrong… we should not have feared the coming of a Night King, what we should have feared was the coming of a Night Queen instead' she bitterly realized.
Her only meager consolation would be that her house would not be forgotten in the annals of the Seven Kingdoms, but instead, the Seven Kingdoms themselves would disappear alongside her house.
{Eddard's P.O.V.}
Lord Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell, Warden of the North and Hand of the king was lying in his new bed. He was assigned a room in the now conquered Harrenhal. The room wasn't anything especially fancy but it was large enough to host him and his two daughters. Of that, at least, he was grateful. He doubted Sansa would have resisted all this time if she was separated from her family. The eldest Stark daughter barely said a word since the prince was killed and they were captured. Even his youngest, Arya, seemed particularly shaken by the events of the last 2 days.
'Dead rising, people coming back to life, sorcerers spitting fire and swordsman as fast as light…' he did not even know where to begin analyzing this maddening situation.
'Have the Old Gods forsaken us to send such creatures our way?' he asked no one but himself as he found his hands stroking Sansa's back again as she started crying once more.
The king and queen didn't have it so nice as they were escorted down to the dungeons. Ned had no idea why their captors chose to have them in a more favorable position than the royal family. Not that they weren't guarded. He was sure that one or two of those abominations were behind the room's door, ready to block the exit in case anyone tried escaping.
'The dead do not tire or need sleep. They do not complain nor are they corruptible…' he thought in bitterness and a spark of satisfaction at the thought of the many Lannister men currently in the dungeons. No amount of wealth would help them this time.
"Father."
He was brought back to reality by his youngest daughter's voice calling for him.
"What do we do now?"
She asked, anxiety clear in her voice, and for all he wanted to reassure his daughter, he could not bring himself to lie.
"I do not know… I am unsure of what they want to obtain by doing this."
He admitted.
"I… It's my fault… I shouldn't have approached them! But I saw Lakyus training. She was so fast and cool, like a true knight! She was nice. She taught me things… but than that stupid prince had to provoke her!"
She said, pain and regret clear in her tone, but before he could rebut her self-accusation, Sansa stood, tears still shining in her eyes.
"T-This isn't J-Joffrey's fault!"
She almost yelled at Arya as she hiccupped. His youngest scowled at her sister.
"That idiot killed that princess! If he stayed put this wouldn't have happened!"
Yelled back Arya angry at her sister's inability to see reality.
"Stop, both of you!"
Ned ordered with the most lordly voice he could muster at that time.
"Lord Stark."
The raspy voice coming from behind the door make shivers go down Ned's spine.
"Yes?"
He asked back, his mouth dry.
"Princess Renner desires to speak with you… now."
The abomination said, and Ned complied. What else could he do?
"You two stay here and don't move."
The Lord of the North instructed as he opened the door. The rotting visage half hidden under a filthy hood greeted him, making his bile twist in his stomach. The undead monster led him to the solar of the castle. There, sitting behind the desk, was the so-called princess alongside the master of those creatures.
"Welcome Lord Stark. Please take a seat."
He moved to obey the girl's order, still under that cold, scrupulous gaze. They didn't even bother restraining him. He was already disarmed after all, his ancestral sword Ice taken.
"You have been called here to receive our offer."
The girl continued. Ned remained silent.
"Soon I will ascend to the throne of these so called Seven Kingdoms. Bow to me and you will retain your titles alongside your life and freedom."
Of all the things Ned expected this wasn't one of them.
'Is she mad?' he thought in shock.
'The kingdoms will sooner rise in rebellion and declare independence before they even consider accepting a no name princess as their ruler' but maybe those were words not safe to say in his situation.
"I have sworn an oath to the king, Robert Baratheon first of his name."
The girl openly scoffed at his words.
"Oaths? Worthless words have no meaning for me. If you can't back them up with action and power, you may as well declare yourself king of the world."
She said.
'And do you have the power to back them up?' Ned wanted to ask but refrained.
"Maybe in the south it is as you say, but in the north a man who breaks his word is considered worthless, no matter his power of wealth."
Challenged the Warden of the North.
"Even if keeping your word means that your loved ones will suffer?"
Asked the self-proclaimed queen making Ned's rage escalate.
"You would dare harm my daughters?!"
He asked fury in his grey eyes, but he was met with a freezing cold gaze that extinguished his fury in an instant, replacing it with fear. Those dead blue eyes locked on him.
"No Lord Stark. If you refuse me, your precious north will suffer. They will pay for your stubbornness. Every last man, woman or child will know fear like no man ever did before."
Her words impaled him as if they were ice spikes, and then he saw the cruel and easy to realize truth. An army of dead. Blue eyes as cold as ice. A princess seeking a crown.
'The Others…' everything pointed in that direction. The legends spoke of this. Not all matched but enough did for it to be a real possibility.
"What will you do once you get your crown Night Queen?"
He asked, his gaze lowered so to not have to see those monsters anymore.
"Night Queen… I like that title. What do you think Satoru?"
The girl didn't answer and instead gave her companion a reason to speak.
"If that is what you wish, I don't see any harm in it."
The dark and deep voice came out of the black mask as if emerging from a tombstone.
"Well now, I think I will give you some time to reflect on my offer… and to answer your question… I will rule like any good queen should."
She said before dismissing him with a slight grin, which, combined with her dead eyes, unsettled Ned more than any possible thing she could say.
{Later in the evening}
{Gazef's P.O.V.}
The Warrior Captain didn't know what to think anymore. Satoru turned out to be an undead, even if against his will apparently. His princess now aimed to claim the crown of these Seven Kingdoms, and he had not the slightest clue of why she wanted to, even if Satoru seemed to go along with her. But worst of all, there was no sign of them going home any time soon.
He had sworn to his king to protect his daughter whatever may happen, and to his shame, he failed miserably. It had been Satoru instead that saved her, and of that he was grateful. That was probably the principal reason why he held no hostility toward the masked undead. That and, of course, the friendship that was created between the two of them since he came to the kingdom almost two years before.
"Are you sure about this Satoru?"
Taking him back to reality was his princess' worried tone. They were actually discussing what they would do when some of the kingdoms came to challenge them with their armies.
"Yes, I swore to myself to never use that cursed ritual spell again… but I don't really see any other way to achieve your goal."
The now unmasked undead answered solemnly.
"But we are talking about tens of thousands."
At Arche's objection, Satoru just shook his head.
"You do not understand young Arche. This is a twisted spell, created by people twisted by pain and misery for decades… the more targets there are, the bigger the damage it will cause… it is a spell that finds its strength in the numbers of the enemy."
Satoru explained making Gazef involuntarily shudder at the thought.
'A spell that gets stronger as much as the numbers it faces… no wonder it was able to wipe out an entire kingdom… and Satoru can use it' that sole thought made him tremble, thinking about what hell would be unleashed on the continent if Satoru was a malign entity.
'Humanity would be on the brink of destruction… and yet…' he looked as the undead interacted with his princess who sported a serene expression on her face.
'Princess Renner truly has a gift for attracting the strangest of fellows and befriending them… yet, having the firm hand to know when and how to act in order to not be a manipulated tool… a true queen' he admitted.
"I also prepared the messengers as you requested. They are waiting outside for orders. They are what is known as a Haunting Wraith. They are fast and invisible as long as they can find a dark place to hide in."
Satoru said to a satisfied Renner who thanked him for his hard work.
"M-Master, you sure know a lot… about necromancy."
Observed Arche, eliciting a hum from said undead.
"Oh, some things just come with experience. It didn't help that necromancy wasn't hated as much in my old country as in the Empire or Kingdom. I had the occasion of learning much about it during my earlier years due to my Talent and being what I am certainly helps with the manipulation of negative energy."
The magic caster calmly explained to a dumbfounded Arche.
"But… do you not hate us?"
Asked Lakyus shyly, a question that made Satoru seem to hesitate for a moment.
"Why… should I?"
He simply retorted with another question making Lakyus blush.
"I-I mean, d-do undead not h-hate the living?"
She explained her previous question making Satoru put a hand on his chin as if in deep thought.
"Maybe that is a trait of most mindless undead… but I am capable of thought, am I not? I see no reason to hate any of you… instead I rather enjoy your company. The only difference I feel from when I was alive is a certain amount of dilution in my general emotions and an incredible growth in the size of my mana pool."
It was a rather empty and simple explanation, yet Gazef felt surprised by it, nonetheless. Was it really that simple? An undead not hating humans because of his ability to evaluate and reason?
"Very well, I think this meeting can be adjourned for now. Good work everyone."
The princess dismissed them all, prompting Gazef to return to his post as leader of the undead garrison. It felt quite unreal for him to command undead and order them around like his troop. It seemed even stranger to see them obey without flinching and even some capable of speech answer him politely. It really made him wonder if all they needed to get along was to try and talk.
'I guess Satoru was right after all… why should we hate each other if we both are capable of thinking and reasoning?' he asked no one but his own consciousness.