Born To Raise Undead

Chapter 10: The Grave Tyrant

"One wave is survival. Two is will. Three is transformation."

The battlefield was quiet.

Too quiet.

Bone fragments crunched beneath Aarav's boots as he staggered through the ruined field. His breaths came ragged and shallow. Blood trickled from a cut on his cheek, mixing with the ash that floated in the air like snowfall from some ancient, forgotten war.

Around him, shattered skulls and broken blades painted the earth in a macabre tapestry of destruction. Ghrol, his skeletal warrior, knelt beside a mangled ribcage. His bones glowed faintly, scorched and cracked, his breath a rasping hiss that didn't belong to the living.

Aarav dropped to one knee and pressed a trembling hand to his chest. His heart thundered. The adrenaline that had carried him through two waves was fading. Pain, hot and sharp, replaced it.

"We made it… somehow."

He turned his gaze toward Ghrol.

The skeleton's right shoulder hung loose. Cracks webbed across his limbs. Smoke curled from burns where the Necrotic Hounds had sunk their poisoned fangs.

But Ghrol still stood.

"System…" Aarav croaked. "Status…"

[Status Interface]

Host HP: 39%

Ghrol Integrity: 51%

XP: 60 / 90

Next Level: 30 XP

Auto-Heal Cooldown: 12 minutes

Aarav exhaled shakily.

"One more wave… just one more…"

But his body was barely holding together. His fingers bled from shattered grip. His legs shook beneath him. His dagger — a gift from his mother — was chipped and stained with blackened marrow.

"Can I heal?" he asked quietly.

System: Emergency healing available. Restore 20% HP.

Ghrol may consume remaining enemy bones for organic regeneration.

Proceed?

"Yes," Aarav whispered. "Do it. Both of us… need to stand."

A warm pulse surged through his chest. His wounds closed partially, bruises fading beneath his shirt. The pain dulled, but the weight remained.

He turned to Ghrol.

"Eat."

The skeletal warrior didn't question. Ghrol knelt and began consuming the bones of fallen undead, his body glowing faintly with each bite.

[Bone Consumed: +1% Integrity]

[Integrity: 68%... 72%... 76%...]

By the time Ghrol finished, he looked more stable — cracks sealed, joints aligned. His soulfire eyes burned brighter.

Aarav leaned back against a crumbling pillar. The sky above had darkened. No longer red — but black.

Thick. Suffocating. Absolute.

He stared into the void above.

"It's coming."

He didn't feel it in his body. He felt it in his soul.

Then—

[FINAL WAVE APPROACHING]

[Warning: Elite Entity Detected – GRAVE TYRANT]

[Evolution Trial Triggered: Deathlord Compatibility Assessment Initiated]

Trial Conditions:

– Survive the Final Boss

– Maintain Ghrol's Integrity above 25%

– Remain above 20% HP

– No external assistance permitted

Aarav froze.

"…This wasn't a test of power," he muttered. "It was a test of worth."

His hands — once trembling — now steadied.

Not from fear.

From something deeper.

Resolve.

He stood tall.

"Ghrol," he said, eyes narrowing. "Final wave. No retreat."

FINAL WAVE INCOMING

10… 9… 3… 2… 1… 0

A deafening ROAR shattered the silence.

The earth rumbled beneath Aarav's feet. From beyond the fog — a figure emerged. At first, just a shadow. But as it drew closer, the very world seemed to twist.

He wasn't like the others.

He wasn't just undead.

This was something ancient. Something wrong. The kind of monster that lived in the oldest of curses.

[Final Boss Detected: GRAVE TYRANT]

The figure stepped forward — and Aarav's breath caught.

A towering skeletal warlord.

Four massive arms, each wielding a different cursed weapon.

A jagged crown of fused bone and soulfire.

Runes floated around its chest like drifting stars, pulsing in rhythm with a dead heart.

"This trial was never meant to be fair."

"System," Aarav hissed. "Abilities?"

GRAVE TYRANT – ELITE ENTITY

– Soul Rend Slash: Pierces armor, lowers undead defense

– Bonequake: Cracks terrain, interrupts movement

– Shadow Echo: Creates spectral decoys to confuse targeting

Ghrol looked at him.

Not with fear.

With a question: Are you ready?

Aarav nodded slowly.

"Then let's finish this."

The two charged.

Aarav's dagger in hand. Ghrol at his side.

But before they could even land a blow —

BOOM!

Ghrol was swatted aside like an insect, his body hurled through the air by a single strike. He crashed into a column, bones splintering.

Aarav leapt in — only for the earth beneath him to shatter.

Bonequake.

The ground split open, tossing him like a ragdoll. He hit the dirt hard, vision blurring.

"We're not strong enough… not like this…"

Blood in his mouth. The sky spinning.

But then—

A flicker.

Ghrol stood. Shaking. But he stood.

His eyes — flickering red — now burned brighter.

"Soul Anchor!" Aarav shouted.

A surge of red light exploded from Ghrol's body. Fire, raw and hellish, enveloped him.

He charged.

And this time — he struck.

BOOM!

The Grave Tyrant staggered.

Two steps back.

Aarav saw his chance.

He circled — fast, desperate — searching for an opening. But none came. The Tyrant regained control almost immediately.

It blocked Ghrol's next punch with one arm.

Grabbed his second arm with another.

Then slammed him down with the third.

CRACK.

Bones split.

"GHROL!"

"He's not just my summon."

"He's my will. My pain. My rage."

The Tyrant advanced toward Aarav, all four blades raised.

"If I fall… he dies. If he dies, I lose everything."

Aarav dashed around the boss and drove his dagger into the Tyrant's back.

CLANG!

The blade bounced off. Not a scratch.

Aarav's heart dropped.

"We can't win…"

But then—

A memory.

His mother — Veluna — crouched beside a younger him.

Her voice, soft and firm:

"Don't run from the pain, Aarav. Use it."

His eyes snapped open.

[Critical Rune Located: Rear Crown Segment]

"…So you do have a weakness," Aarav whispered.

"Ghrol! Hold him for five seconds!"

The skeleton lurched up and charged, roaring like a beast made of war.

The Tyrant struck — once, twice — but Ghrol endured.

Aarav gathered his energy.

[NECRO PULSE: CHARGING]

But it wasn't the usual black.

This time — the beam pulsed with dark purple and crimson.

As if his pain had bled into the magic itself.

"I won't kneel to you," Aarav whispered.

"You're not my king."

He released the blast.

NECRO PULSE — FOCUSED STRIKE!

The beam struck the back of the Tyrant's skull — the weak point — with thunderous force.

The air shattered.

The Tyrant screamed, a sound that bent the world itself.

A ripple of silence followed.

Then—

BOOM.

The Grave Tyrant collapsed.

Dead.

[Final Boss Defeated]

[Grave Trial Complete]

[Performance Rank: A+]

[XP +60 — Level Up: Level 4 Achieved]

[Class Evolution Unlocked: Deathlord Path – Stage 1 Initiated]

Aarav collapsed to his knees. Ghrol limped toward him and shielded his master from falling debris.

They survived.

Darkness took Aarav.

When he awoke, he was in the void.

Black. Endless.

Before him stood a figure cloaked in shadow — no face, no eyes. Only presence.

The Deathlord.

"You bleed like the living," the voice said. "But you rise like one of mine."

"Do you understand what you've chosen?"

Aarav looked into the void. Into himself.

"I don't care," he said. "If this power lets me protect her… then damn the cost."

The Deathlord paused.

Then chuckled.

[Path Acknowledged: Deathlord – Stage 1 Initiated]

Grants:

– Greater Undead Limit

– Aura of Command

– Passive: Soulforge Reinforcement

– Skill Pending: "Command the Grave"

"You walk a road that ends in ash," the Deathlord warned.

"But for now… walk it."

Aarav's eyes opened.

For away...

In a quiet cottage…

Veluna gasped and dropped her bowl.

The water hit the floor — unnoticed.

Her hand gripped her chest.

Her eyes burned faint violet.

"I felt you, Aarav…" she whispered.

"…and something else. Something terrible."

A wind passed through the cottage, silent and cold.

A final heartbeat echoed in the air.