Infinite Mana In The Apocalypse novel Chapter 4176

Chapter 4176: Death! I

Above the skies of Concordia, where death and life were about to dance their eternal waltz, consciousness stirred within bones that had forgotten what flesh felt like.

"Ka Ka Ka!"

Arch Lich Ra’Zan’s laughter erupted across dimensions like the sound of tombstones cracking under pressure!

Finally...finally!

He had been let loose on the battlefield with the Master once more! Freedom tasted like ash and possibility, like the moment between last breath and eternal silence.

The Master.

Ra’Zan’s flaming eye sockets turned first to Ozymandias floating nearby...that manifestation of hunger so pure it made even death jealous...then to Noah in the distance, standing with arrogance among the panicking living!

How magnificent that the Master took on many forms! This time, he held the paradox of being both Living and Dead, walking in sunlight while casting shadows that belonged to tombs.

How glorious the Master was, to feel both life and death so freely, to taste existence from both sides of The Veil!

Ra’Zan himself much preferred death. Life was so... messy. All that breathing and hoping and feeling. Death, though...death was elegant in its finality. The essence of death felt comforting, like winter’s embrace after a fever. Cold. Still. Home.

"Death," Ra’Zan mused to himself, his voice carrying the particular quality of someone having a delightful conversation at a party only they could attend, "is such a sweet release that many seek without knowing they seek it. Every risk taken, every war waged, every moment of despair...all roads leading to the same destination."

HUUM!

His skeletal jaw clicked in what might have been a grin.

"And I? I am merely a helpful guide, showing them the shortest path to where they were always going. Death isn’t the enemy...it’s the final punctuation mark on existence’s rambling sentence. Without it, life would just go on and on, a run-on sentence that loses all meaning through sheer repetition!"

...!

Of course, this entire tangent had occurred in less than a nanosecond of external time.

Ra’Zan could have lengthy debates with himself in the space between one moment and the next, exploring the nature of cessation while reality waited patiently for him to return.

But anyways- back to himself.

He was a record given identity by the gracious Master. One of many records that had been elevated from mere notation to genuine existence. He had even reached out to other Records under the Master...Hyperion that fat elephant, Commander Feng, Old Man Eudemus, OPPENHEIMER....

"Would you like to join me as The Dead?" he had asked them with genuine enthusiasm. "The benefits are eternal! No need for food, sleep, or those tedious biological functions. Plus, you get to experience existence from its most honest perspective- the end!"

WAA!

But those flimsy records were too prideful, too indecisive. They wanted to be called out on their own terms, to maintain their precious individuality.

Hmph. Let them rest in their delusions of independence. He would stand by his Master’s side, delivering death with the dedication of an artist painting their masterpiece.

And his Master right now wanted more power.

Which meant, naturally, more death. Yes, his Master wanted endless death!

Not just any death...his Master wanted him to build a Legion.

Not a mere collection of undead puppets, but a true Legion of The Dead. A force that could withstand The Dead passing through The Veil, that could stand against the chaos about to unfold.

And that... Ra’Zan could give.

His gaze swept across the battlefield being born, taking in the Tears of Existence and The Dead emerging like poets from inspiration...sudden, dramatic, and likely to cause problems.

He also noted the astonishment of The Living, their faces painted with horror as they witnessed their worst nightmares taking physical form.

"Ah," he sighed wistfully, "if only the Master allowed me to taste these Living. How their life force would dance on my non-existent palate! But no, we’re supposedly...allies."

Prompts materialized before his vision...not the standard notifications but something grander, something that made even death pause to read.

|The Early Creature, Osmont’s weavings of existence resonate due to confluence of factors|

|Unique authorities of all Living Existences contained within him paired with distinction as both Living and Dead|

|The Heart of an Early Creature is resonating with Seed of Principle of Perpetual Harvest|

|Unprecedented event manifesting: Birth of festival unseen even in the Earliest Folds|

|Through The Early Creature Osmont: HARVEST FESTIVAL OF DEATH shall bloom|

HUUM!

|Festival Parameters:|

|All Dead Existences under banner of The Early Creature: Power doubled|

|Mark of Perpetual Harvest of Death granted to allied Dead|

|Every creature (Living or Dead) turned to join ranks will have their Existence partially siphoned|

|Siphoned portions will be accumulated in Deathly Cache of Perpetual Harvest above Folds|

|At festival’s end: Accumulated weavings amplified and distributed|

|Prize pools will result in a harvest of complexity and purity for The Early Creature, Osmont, and all participants|

...!