Pestilence: Rise Of The Pure Undead

It was beautiful, it was heartwarming even, but also so terrifying- Bearing witness to the joy, to the peace, to the renewal… Friends and allies were healing, the people believed themselves safe, convinced that the fear, the agony was behind them. They were wrong. "Darkless mongrel… Joy and peace only belong to those without life, how many times will we have to teach you this lesson?" dragged out of his thoughts, a deep, grinding voice emerged from the darkness, the silhouette of a horned humanoid appearing upon the edge of the vision. "Well, you again, Carnifex… You are coming every day lately…" straightening up, Griar, still trapped in the guise of a headless headhunter, focused his gaze on the horned undead. Carnifex's arms were tightly held behind his back, flares- Beginning of infernal flames snapping in and out of existence within his animalistic sockets, betraying the stalwart's corpse bubbling displeasure. All around the both of them, members of the mind peeler and torturer caste backed away, all had been relentlessly trying to break him down, tear his mind to pieces and force him into a state where he would be incapable of resisting, but their efforts had yet to bear fruits even after so long, how much time it had been since his capture, Griar had no idea. He only knew that after a while of this, Carnifex had begun showing up, his subordinates close behind, barely visible as they stood away, barely on the edge of what Griar could sense, each dressed exactly like their leader, silent and unmoving until it was time to leave. "Say whatever you please, negator, you were given a shot at undeath magnificence, a chance at experiencing death's superiority, and what did you do with it? Squandered it all, do you yearn for life still? Appalling- Vile!" "And on top of this, you really believed that you would go unnoticed? Did you really- Truly imagine that Lord Loimos would allow a negator to slip through the cracks of an experiment he himself conducted? You are a fool" "Griar, you have faced him in combat, it should have become clear in this very instant that life stood no chance before his might, why so obstinate? Does your body, mind and very soul not freeze in terror at the mere mention of his name?" "Are you going to keep babbling for long? I have appointments to get my mind probed and body sliced up, you know?" the one who lived in death responded, Carnifex slowly shaking his head. But Griar did not stop there. "And besides… Why are you so certain that he wouldn't make a mistake? If he is as perfect as you believe- Then why was he nearly beaten into a pulp by Thanatok? And why do you call him lord anyways? I thought that title was reserved for others" chuckling, the man was tired and defeated, but he had yet to surrender nonetheless. The mind peelers and torturers could inflict unthinkable agony upon him despite his current undeath, but nothing they had to offer breached his will, even as they tormented him with torture methods born from the sickest of thoughts, even as they forced him to witness visions of horrors, he would not cave in, for Griar knew that those who had escaped led a new life. One away from suffering, one away from the empire's vile death. And so… He would hold on for as long as he could, even for all of eternity if necessary. "Trying to provoke me, are you?" "Lord Loimos had been planning on using you from the very beginning, within you, there is a seed of sorts, the anchor placed there before your death, which would have transported you to safety like the rest… But as a corpse, or as a loyal undead, it would have remained inactive, you needed to awaken your living mind, become a negator for it to reactivate- You just had to accept superiority and join us to protect your fellows" "You livings however… You would sacrifice all just for a second more of your pitiful existence, you would give it all just for an instant more of getting stepped upon by life…" "I am thoroughly disgusted by this behaviour, but fret not, for compassion is one of death's aspects- I have much pity for you, Griar" Carnifex grasped the sheath of his blade with one hand, the handle of it with the other. "Your compassion can kiss my ass" "Alas, a hand of kindness is rarely sufficient, that is why Lord Loimos created the Erado and put me at its head, behold!" taking the blade out, a sharp sound carving through the air. Blade pointed downward, Carnifex showed the weapon in detail to Griar. Its blade was dark, hints of a shiny, wild pattern upon its width, similar to damascus in appearance, but actually of another origin. The weapon itself was not a standard sword either, featuring a handguard, wide blade with only one edge, resembling a more refined machete, often times referred to as a cutlass. "Being granted such weapons is a sign of high trust from Lord Loimos, and I, Carnifex, a mere undead birthed from the soil was the first to be granted permission to wield one alongside a responsibility of the highest calibre, do you know what it is, Griar?" the horned undead followed the sharp edge with his index finger. "I don't know, all you seem good for his rambling and kissing ass" "Yet another show of disrespect, I certainly hope you do not hope to convince anyone but yourself by behaving like an animal…" "...The Erado's mission is to track down negators like yourself, rehabilitate them if possible, or eliminate them in the worst of cases… This blade holds the power to destroy you, and instead of being reformed by The Graveyard, you will be trapped within Lord Loimos's Lithitree until you have learned your lesson" "Let me give an advice, you do not wish, nor have the will to endure such a trial, so give us way of access and repent by allowing the remnants of Tamaris to experience a blissful existence as beings of the dark" pointing the blade at Griar's chest, Carnifex awaited an answer. If it was still possible, the negator would have been grinning from ear to ear. "Screw off, death does not exist without life" "Blasphemy!" A cut formed across Griar's chest, incomprehensible pain coursing through his nerveless body, still not enough to bend him. "Sir Carnifex…" a mind peeler spoke words of death tongue, tendrils swirling as they peeked from the shade of their hood. "No need to worry, I will not purge him until he gives us what we want" he reassured, although itching to slice the foul thing before him to pieces, the success of this mission was more important than his own wishes. The horned undead would have liked for his little bluff to work out, but as was often the case it seemed, livings thought themselves free from the consequences of their actions, certainly, it was easy to be fearless when fear had yet to grab hold of you, it was simple to be defiant when ignorant of the punishment. Carnifex was preparing to speak again, but no words arose from him, instead quickly sheathing his blade and moving to the side, putting one knee to the ground as the doors to this dark chamber were opened. The fear was here.