Chapter 720: Wonder-Art: False Undead
The wind came too abruptly. Unable to dodge in time, Shade watched helplessly as black snowflakes struck him in the face. He wanted to raise his hand to cover his eyes, but it was already too late.
In that moment, it felt as if time were slowing down; he could even clearly see the crystalline structure of the black snowflake about to enter his eye.
Time continued to flow normally. Struck by the black snow, Shade fell straight back onto the ground, leaving a massive human-shaped imprint upon the pitch-black snowy surface.
Everything seemed to drift away from him. The snowing sky was so vast, so empty. In this moment, he thought of many things and many people, but as for himself, he...
【Lying in the snow will lead to a cold.】
A whispering voice reminded him gently.
Thus, Shade, who had been blown down by the gale, pushed himself off the ground and stood up. His gloved hand brushed the black snow off his clothes, and he bent his waist to walk against the wind toward the distant firelight
"That really gave me a scare just now."
The wind continued to howl, and snowflakes fluttered past him, as if accompanying him in this moment. Those black snowflakes were filthy yet possessed a strange sense of brilliance, but Shade could feel very deeply just how terrifying this snow—which seemed to drift from the most authentic death—truly was.
"Fortunately, for someone like me who has truly died once, this death is far too fake."
Strange black spiritual light gathered from the surroundings. Because he had once touched death, the currently undead Shade vaguely understood something amidst the sky full of black snow
"False Undead... so it exists because true death exists."
【Black snow symbolizes the end of all things; the messenger that leads souls toward final extinction is currently walking with you. Stranger, they view you as one of their own, for the power of death has long flowed within your body. Undead is a false facade; you, who returned from the dead, once witnessed final extinction with your own eyes.】
【Spell-craft: False Undead is guided by the Spirit Rune.】
【Stranger, the spell-craft has sublimated. You have obtained Wonder-Art: False Undead.】
The spell-craft 【False Undead】, obtained from the Old God 【The Innocent Creator】, successfully achieved sublimation after Shade came into contact with the instant-death black snow.
The Third-Ring Spirit Rune 【True Death】 was thus linked to 【False Undead】. Compared to the many special effects brought by the successful sublimation of the spell-craft 【Blood Echo】, 【False Undead】—while maintaining its original effect and requiring stronger subsequent trauma to break the undead state—only added two small functions.
First, 【False Undead】 remained an active-cast Wonder-Art, but for the caster, Shade, it became a passive, permanent effect. When he suffered a fatal blow, he would automatically enter the 【False Undead】 state. Of course, if he suffered another fatal injury afterward, he would still die.
Secondly, from this point forward, Shade was immune to any instant-death effects.
This did not mean Shade could not die, but rather that effects such as the current black snow, the high-ring Wonder-Art 【Death Finger】, or the ritual 【Song of Death】 had no effect on him.
High-ring Warlocks could similarly rely on their own power to resist instant-death effects, but they would still suffer physical trauma. Similarly, while Shade was immune to instant-death effects, it did not mean he would not suffer accompanying damage.
Falling into the snow just now, aside from the shock and the gale, the instantaneous sensation of sharp pain had also made it impossible for him to maintain his balance. But that pain lasted only a short time; once the snowflakes stopped touching his skin, he returned to normal.
"Many strange relics have instant-death effects; now I don't have to worry about suddenly dropping dead. I just didn't expect my second sublimated ability to be 【False Undead】. I was hoping for 【Time Perception】."
Thinking this, he struggled forward against the snow. Simultaneously, his right hand pierced into the air beside him, and the silver moonlight greatsword was slowly drawn. The black snow in the wind attempted to touch the blade, but it melted under the radiance of the silver moon.
Before Shade, the walking skeletons and frozen corpses had slowly turned toward him.
Glancing up at the direction of the flickering campfire in the distance, Shade raised the index finger of his left hand
"Silver Moon!"
An instantaneous burst of radiance even melted the layer of snow beneath his feet, but this also seemed to serve as a signal. The revived undead surged from all sides like a tide.
The greatsword in his right hand swung down, severing the withered bones extending from beneath the snow, while his left hand left streaks of light in the air. However, the flying silver moon arcs were a mere drop in the bucket against the tide of undead.
These undead had been granted the power of the black snow; they were far beyond what normal undead could compare to.
At first, Shade could still run through the snow, using the greatsword in his right hand to attack enemies who had closed in, while his left hand continuously unleashed silver moon slashes to strike those attempting to block his path. Soon, he could only walk quickly; the greatsword in his right hand could touch enemies almost as soon as it was swung, while the silver moonlight greatsword summoned by the 【Blade of Disordered Space-Time】 continuously thrust out from various angles. Finally, surrounded by the tide of undead, he could only stand his ground. Active offense turned entirely into passive defense. In less than half a minute, the surrounding skeletal remains made it seem as if Shade were standing on a small hill.
Fortunately, the evil spirits feared the silver moonlight and did not close in; otherwise, the situation would have been more complicated.
"Roar—"
The hoarse roars of the undead merged into one. Beneath the fluttering black snowflakes, dense crowds of corpses lunged at Shade, eventually submerging him completely.
But as the Life-Ring representing a Third-Ring Warlock appeared above the tide of corpses, a golden light, in a posture of melting everything, opened a gap through the crevices of the corpse hill.
"Felianna's Witch-Light!"
Using the spell-craft 【Frog's Leap】 to jump high—thankful that flying undead had not yet appeared—Shade used another Wonder-Art
"Ragley's Jump!"
Stepping through the air, he forcibly shifted himself to a gap outside the corpse hill. Upon landing, he ran quickly forward while maintaining the effect of 【Felianna's Witch-Light】. The golden light emanating from his body caused the reaching palms and swinging weapons to melt within the radiance.
Even so, it wasn't enough. The undead revived by the black snow surged incessantly. Shade had only run a few dozen steps before he was trapped again by the surrounding undead. However, he had stalled for enough time. At the distant campfire, with the appearance of the Thirteenth-Level Golden Stair, a massive orange-yellow moon actually appeared beneath the snowing daylight sky.
The movements of the undead horde immediately became sluggish, and even the black snow drifting in the sky grew sparse.
A giant orange-yellow moonlight greatsword, as if wielded by a giant, swept across the ground. Then, a small moon was tossed above Shade. As that moon shattered, the orange-yellow moonlight painted almost the entire land in lunar hues.
A casual strike from a Thirteenth-Ring Warlock temporarily cleared the undead around Shade. Miss Brynn Olanord flew in from the distance, grasped Shade's outstretched hand in mid-air, and pulled him up into the sky
"Shade, dispel the undead!"
Her voice was very anxious. Even she could not operate for too long in the Silent Valley during the period of black snow.
"Moonlight!"
Pointing his fingertip forward, a holy silver light temporarily drove away the dense spiritual entities in the air. Miss Olanord held Shade and, almost turning into a beam of light, flew back to the entrance of the library.
"Oh!"
Just as the two tumbled into the massive foyer where the campfire burned, the Thirteenth-Level Golden Stair that had temporarily suppressed the black snow completely collapsed. Violent black snowflakes fell from the sky in an even denser fashion. The undead, having lost their target, roared, their overlapping sounds sounding exceptionally terrifying.
The snowflakes were becoming their armor; the chill of death granted them more powerful weapons. But regardless of who they were, none noticed that the living were hiding inside the building. The warding ritual of Becky Samuel, a witch of the Zaras Academy, not only protected them from evil incursions but also ensured the undead could not notice the location of the living.
"Miss Olanord, thank you truly."
Shade, who had fallen in front of the campfire, stood up and pulled the blonde witch beside him up as well.
Surveying the surroundings, the place seemed to have become even more dilapidated. The clothes worn by Miss Becky Samuel, who wore round-rimmed glasses, and Miss Olanord also seemed to have become more worn.
The blazing campfire still flickered in the center of the empty hall, with a solid yellow moon floating above the flames. That clear yellow moonlight allowed Shade to feel his physical strength and spirit recovering rapidly.
The witches' luggage was placed around the fire. Upon the pile of old books that resembled a throne, shadows trembled continuously on the surface of the closed shrine.
Miss Samuel of the Zaras Academy stared blankly at the campfire, only standing up upon hearing the voice. In her pure white eyes, the pupils gradually returned to normal; she had been using the campfire for divination.
Further away, the remains of a dilapidated stone bookshelf leaning against the wall were now covered in dust. The murals, already mottled and unclear, had almost no visible traces left.
Darkness lingered in the distance—that was the corridor leading deeper into the library. And the only additional thing within the firelight was an ice coffin.
The ice coffin was a standard rectangular prism, its surface exceptionally smooth as if it had been polished. The sliding lid was curved, and around the ice coffin, the emblem of the Zaras Academy of Letters that Shade had seen in the Sixth Epoch was engraved.
The ice coffin was transparent. By the light of the fire, Shade could see a girl with crimson hair sleeping with her eyes closed inside.
His eyes widened instantly
"Miss Fiona Drago, she..."
Miss Olanord avoided his gaze, and Miss Becky Samuel lowered her head to look at the flames.
Shade walked over quickly, feeling that the chill on the ice coffin made his heart tremble even more than the snowing valley. He pressed his hand against the sliding lid of the coffin and slowly pushed it open.
The girl slept in the ice coffin, her two hands clasped together on her chest, her thick red tail wrapped around her waist.
Her eyes were tightly shut; within the ice coffin, her eyelashes looked so enchanting. Shade could hardly believe the scene before him. He reached out and touched the back of the hand of the young witch of red dragon lineage, but 【False Undead】 had no effect.
This Wonder-Art only had no effect in two situations: when the target was not seriously injured, or when they were already dead.
"She..."
Although he had known the young witch for only a short time, Shade still could not accept that she had died here like this.
"I'm not joking with you."
Laughter came from behind him as Miss Olanord and Miss Samuel both walked over
"She is just asleep."
(End of Chapter)