Chapter 70: Lysandra, the Undead

  The other side of the portal revealed a chamber unlike anything Goren and I had seen on the first five levels of the tomb, making it clear that while the rest of the Axul barely survived in their new "home", Lysandra had lived lavishly.

  The chamber was grand, but more importantly, it had no doors, suggesting the only way inside was through the portal.

  A massive stone platform stood in the center, draped in tattered and rotting silk that resembled bedsheets and pillows. To the right side of this bed was a small bath carved from rock. It was empty, long abandoned, its bottom covered in centuries-old mold and dust.

  Behind it, on the far-right end of the chamber stood a large wooden bookcase – now broken and crumbling. Oddly, there were no books on it or on the table positioned just in front of it.

  Finally, to the left of the stone bed, stood a mysterious, large apparatus made entirely of metal. It resembled a harp, but it wasn’t one – those weren’t strings, but something more like conduits. I had no idea what it was.

  Something was missing, though – or should I say ‘someone’?

  Lysandra.

  “Where is she?” I asked, scanning our surroundings with Distance Gauge.

  Nothing came up.

  The claws that had attacked us moments ago were her ability, which meant she had to be on this side of the portal – in this chamber.

  Gaelith shook his head. “I can’t sense her, but stay alert. She might be an Undead, but she’s still an Axul.”

  Goren, seemingly lost in thought, couldn’t tear his gaze away from the strange metallic apparatus.

  “What the hell is this?” He muttered as he stepped closer.

  “Just don’t touch it.” Gaelith warned – but it was too late.

  Goren reached for one of the conduits, and suddenly, it rang like a bell.

  “So, it was a musical instrument?” I asked, dumbfounded.

  But then, it spoke.

  Gaelith’s voice echoed all around us.

  “Your leaders betrayed you. Just like my king betrayed me.” A short pause. “But don’t worry - they won’t escape. You’re all my prisoners now.”

  Gaelith tensed immediately. “I never said that!”

  I exchanged a nervous glance with him, while Goren chuckled.

  “I can’t believe it…”

  “What?” Gaelith and I asked in unison.

  But Goren only laughed harder. He raised a hand, as if gesturing for us to wait. “Let me check another one real quick.”

  He touched a different conduit. Again, Gaelith’s voice echoed throughout the chamber.

  “You dare enter this tomb seeking the treasures that pitiful king sent to buy my forgiveness? Shameful. My forgiveness is forever beyond purchase, for my soul is bound to hatred, and my wrath will never fade.”

  Goren burst into laughter, while Gaelith and I remained confused.

  I shot him an angry glare, which was finally enough to calm him down and explain.

  “Even after our conversation earlier, there was still something I couldn’t understand, but I kept quiet.” Goren began. “Spellsword wouldn’t remember – since it hasn’t happened in this run yet – but in all the previous loops, Gaelith’s voice always rang out, threatening to kill us adventurers for entering his domain.”

  Goren shook his head. “After seeing human Gaelith with you when you saved me from Kelltins, I was really confused. Because I already knew it wasn’t his Other Self who rained threats on us. No matter how strong Gaelith’s Darkness is, it doesn’t seem capable of any form of speech other than screech, growl, and inflicting Fear. It didn’t make sense to me that the other possible option - who I didn't even know was an option - was on your side.”

  He pointed at the metallic apparatus, then touched a third conduit.

  “I am Gaelith of Tepan, once the Crown’s Champion, First Knight of the Kingdom, and the Blade of Honor. My name was known across the land for valor and strength, for victories on the battlefield that brought glory to Tepan.”

  “Ice Queen was behind it all along.” Goren summarized, grinning as he turned to Gaelith. “You’re right. She’s definitely not a regular Undead.”

  I turned to Gaelith, Goren’s words connecting in my mind thanks to Déjà vu. “You never heard any of this? Your own voice?”

  Gaelith shook his head thoughtfully. “I assume she has the ability to direct it to specific chambers and corridors. Whenever I encountered adventurers over the past thousand years, it was always after they had already been sealed inside and running for their lives.”

  “Why would she even do that?” I asked, raising the second question on my mind. “If her goal is to feed Gaelith’s Other Self with adventurers, why go through all this charade?”

  Goren rubbed his chin, then turned to Gaelith. “I think our knight knows the answer.”

  Gaelith sighed. “I can only guess.” He admitted. “My other self – it doesn’t just feed on adventurers’ essence to grow stronger. It also feeds on their fear. I assume keeping the legend of me seeking revenge on anyone who enters the tomb only enhanced their feeling of terror. The more they feared me, the more sustenance my Other Self received when he devoured them.”

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  His words sent a chill down my spine, making me question what Lysandra truly was today.

  The Undead we had encountered in previous chambers were nothing more than brainless corpses, attacking blindly without thought or strategy. But an Undead Lysandra – she was different according to what I knew so far. She could resurrect herself no matter how many times Gaelith had killed her. She could wield ice magic freely. And she was intelligent enough to operate this device to terrorize adventurers for a thousand years.

  That was highly unnatural – but then again, everything involving the Axul was.

  Our conversation was cut short by a blast of magic streaking toward us.

  Gaelith was the quickest to react, raising his sword to block the surge of magic, redirecting it back at its source – a Priestess of Axul, level 98.

  The blast of magic passed right through her as she vanished.

  Another appeared behind us. I immediately used Enhanced Blade Rush, slicing right through her with Silverfang – only to deal no damage and to see her disperse like mist.

  “It’s those bitches again...” Goren groaned, spinning to face Gaelith. “Spellsword and I already fought them before. It’s impossible to hit them.”

  Déjà vu rang in my mind, confirming Goren’s words despite my inability to recall them.

  “Is it Axul magic?” I asked.

  “I’m sure of it.” Gaelith said, driving the Sword of Radiance into the ground.

  The sword glowed brightly, and then Gaelith spoke. “There are no Priestess of Axul anymore. The ones you see here are her summons.”

  He paused, releasing the sword, leaving it embedded inside the stone floor. “It is done. No Axul magic can be cast inside this chamber.”

  We braced for something to happen – but nothing came.

  Until a ragged, dead voice cut through the silence.

  “Noctyra…”

  Lysandra appeared.

  She materialized out of thin air, standing near the table at the far end of the room – tall, her robes tattered and decaying, just like her skin. Her dark, long, messy hair covered her face, but the System confirmed it was her.

  Goren and I tensed, ready for a fight.

  Gaelith, however, remained calm.

  “Don’t worry. She’s harmless.” He said. “Without her magic, she’s just a walking corpse.”

  “Are you sure?” Goren asked, raising an eyebrow. “She broke us into icicles last time, and I’d really rather not go through that again.”

  Gaelith nodded. “I’m sure." He stepped forward. “I’ll end this.”

  “Wait!” I called out, stopping him in his tracks.

  He turned, surprised.

  “I need to be the one to kill her.” I tried to explain. “If she’s going to drop the key, then it might only happen if I land the final blow.”

  Gaelith sighed, then nodded, stepping aside. “Do it.”

  I approached Lysandra, Silverfang in hand.

  She just stood there – once deadly, now defenseless.

  But I remembered.

  I remembered everything she had done and her responsibility for the situation we were in today.

  I even remembered the way she treated her own people, the torment she inflicted.

  I felt no pity.

  Before any second thoughts could creep into my mind, I swung the glaive.

  The blade met her body, cutting deeply. Lysandra collapsed, lifeless.

  But something was wrong.

  No System message appeared.

  “That can’t be…” I muttered in disbelief, stepping closer.

  Goren walked toward me. “What’s wrong?”

  I stabbed her again – just to be sure.

  But still – no message.

  Surely, she was dead.

  And this couldn’t be an illusion.

  So how?

  Gaelith approached. “She didn’t have the key?”

  “Worse.” I said, my heart racing with worry as Gaelith’s words from before echoed in my mind. “She’s definitely not alive…but I don’t think I killed her.”

  ***

  “I don’t understand…” I muttered, staring at the High Priestess’ lifeless body.

  “Let me try.” Goren said, summoning a sword.

  He drove the blade into her, but she didn’t react – confirming she was truly dead.

  “Well?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “Nothing.” Then, after a pause, he turned thoughtful. “But maybe if I try my daggers –“

  “Stop it.” Gaelith said suddenly, making Goren stop.

  “There is no one in this world who despises Lysandra Axul more than I do.” Gaelith continued, his tone measured. “But this…” he gestured toward the sword embedded in her corpse. “There’s no honor in that. She’s clearly dead.”

  Goren sighed, sending his sword back into his inventory.

  “Honor, shmonor…” He muttered quietly.

  Gaelith ignored him and turned to me. “Plan B?”

  I rubbed the back of my head, thoughts racing. “I don’t know…Even if she didn’t have the key, the System should have still displayed a message for slaying her. I don’t understand why it didn’t…”

  I locked eyes with Gaelith. “You said you’ve killed her many times before. How did it usually happen?”

  Gaelith didn’t even have to think about it.

  “The first time I killed her – on the day of the ritual, when she was still alive – I fought her head-on.” He explained. “Back then, I didn’t yet know that I could cancel Axul magic.” He shook his head. “On later occasions – after she became Undead – I learned that I could. So, I would strip away her magic, then kill her with my sword. It was easier that way. I had no time to waste, not with my Other Self hunting me and the wandering adventurers.”

  “And yet she always came back…” Goren muttered as he wandered toward the stone bath.

  “Yes.” Gaelith replied, his voice firm.

  Then, a sudden thought struck me.

  “Had you ever fought her as an Undead?”

  Gaelith shook his head immediately. “Never. Why would I?”

  “What if that’s the reason?” I asked, a gut feeling telling me I was right. “It is clear that her magic keeps resurrecting her despite your magic suppression, ensuring she keeps serving Erebus – even in death. Now, with you canceling her magic, she can’t resurrect, yet she's still not dead. But since you likely never stuck around for long after killing her, your magic suppression ability would eventually fade from the area she was in – allowing her corpse to revive. Maybe we need to kill her when she does have her magic - maybe it would change something. Maybe her post-death magic works in a way that outsmarts your magic suppression.""

  Gaelith’s eyes narrowed in thought. “I wouldn't rule it out...It's definitely something she could do.” He rubbed his chin.

  “How long after killing her would she usually respawn?” Goren asked, returning to our side, looking intrigued.

  Gaelith shrugged. “I can’t say for sure. I never actively looked for her – nor did she for me. It could be hours, maybe days, maybe even longer.”

  “We don’t have that kind of time.” Goren exhaled, folding his arms. “We only have this day.”

  “There’s another way.” I said.

  I didn’t like the idea – but it was the only option.

  “You need to kill me.”

  “What?!” Gaelith and Goren asked in unison, their expressions baffled.

  Seeing how we could defeat Erebus on this run, I was willing to go all-out. So, I told them about Checkpoint.

  “I can’t believe you have something like that!” Goren exclaimed, turning frustrated. “I don’t remember any of your extra runs, which means they never happened for me!"

  Gaelith seemed hesitant. “You want to fight Lysandra allowing her access to her magic...You realize this hypothesis might be wrong and you’d die? She's very strong - even as an Undead.”

  I swallowed hard, nodding. “It’s worth a try.”

  “Well, I’m done killing you.” Goren raised his hand into the air, escaping responsibility. “I’ve done it too many times already. It’s Gaelith’s turn.”

  Gaelith watched him silently, analyzing his words with a questioning expression. Then, he turned to me. “He killed you too many times?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. Long Story. Can you do it? Can you kill me?”

  Gaelith let out a long sigh. “Very well. I’ll do it.”

  I stepped forward, surprisingly, feeling no fear. “I’ll respawn before we entered the portal. Then we’ll prepare to fight her.”

  Gaelith and Goren nodded.

  Then, Gaelith drove the Sword of Radiance into my chest.

  Pain flashed through me for the briefest moment – before everything went black.

  [Health: 0% - You Have Died]

  [You’ll now reawaken at Checkpoint #1]