Chapter 1: Destruction

In the Undead World, where it's all about survival of the fittest, Gelis is pretty much the bottom of the barrel. He's a lowly Skeleton, and to make things worse, he's only got half a body.

Skeletons are like the ants of the Undead World, the absolute lowest on the food chain. Any undead creature can easily rip a Skeleton apart and steal its tiny bit of Soul Fire to get stronger.

But even though they're weak, Skeletons are everywhere in the Undead World. Bones are scattered all over the place, and just a little bit of free-floating Soul Fire can bring a Skeleton to life.

That's how Gelis came to be, but he had some bad luck. When he was "born," there weren't enough bones around to make a full body, so he ended up as a broken Skeleton with just half a body.

Gelis has been hanging around for who knows how long—could be hundreds, maybe thousands of years. He can't remember. All he knows is that since he showed up, the top dog in this territory—the Skeleton Lord—has changed nineteen times.

Every type of undead has its own turf, and each territory has a boss. For Skeletons, that's the Skeleton Lord, the toughest Skeleton around. But even the strongest Skeletons don't last forever. When big shots like Dark Knights, Lich Kings, and Ghost Fiends roll into town, the Skeleton Lord is usually the first to go.

No matter how tough a Skeleton is, it can't stand up to a Dark Knight, let alone a Lich King or a Ghost Fiend. So, the Skeleton Lord's fate is pretty much sealed.

Gelis, being a flimsy half-body Skeleton, shouldn't have lasted long. The Undead World is full of enemies: Zombies, Liches, Dark Swordsmen, Ghosts, and even other Skeletons. Any one of them could take him out.

When stronger beings come hunting in this territory, the weak Skeletons are the first to go. Even without outside threats, Skeletons often turn on each other to steal Soul Fire and get stronger. A broken half-body Skeleton like Gelis is an easy target.

But somehow, Gelis has survived for who knows how many years. The lords have changed nineteen times, and countless Skeletons have come and gone, but Gelis is still the same half-body Skeleton.

Mindless Skeletons just wander around the territory like zombies, never getting tired or feeling pain, until something or someone finally takes them out. Even a half-body Skeleton will drag itself along with its arms, crawling endlessly.

But Gelis? He's a different breed. He sticks to his little cave like glue. Even when he ventures out, he never goes more than a few hundred feet from his hideout. When other Skeletons or stronger beings show up, he retreats into his cave, playing dead by snuffing out his Soul Fire. Only when the coast is clear does he light up again. That's how he's managed to survive through the reigns of nineteen different lords.

When things are quiet, Gelis crawls to the cave entrance, lies on his back, and stares blankly at the eternally dark sky, his Soul Fire flickering in his empty eye sockets.

Most Skeletons are born from free-floating Soul Fire, but that fire can go out. When it weakens, Skeletons feel hunger. They instinctively attack nearby Skeletons to absorb their Soul Fire and satisfy their hunger. This power boost can be addictive. Some Skeletons get hooked and start attacking others even when they're not hungry, just to get stronger. The lucky ones might eventually become the new Skeleton Lord.

But Gelis is a weirdo. He's never attacked another Skeleton, yet he never feels hungry. He just chills in his cave, playing dead when someone comes by and daydreaming when he's alone. The lonely days drag on and on.

One day, a strange vibe snapped Gelis out of his daydream. He glanced outside the cave, then calmly turned around and crawled deeper inside. His cave is super narrow, and the deeper part is so tight that only a half-body Skeleton like him can squeeze in. Full-body Skeletons can't get in because they crawl on their knees. Here, Gelis is safe.

Just as Gelis settled down and dimmed his Soul Fire, he heard the sound of hoofbeats outside the cave. It was a Hell Flame Horse, all majestic and stuff, with a pitch-black body, strong limbs, and an imposing presence. Its eyes and hooves burned with fierce hellfire.

This Hell Flame Horse is one of the big dogs in the Undead World. It's got a beefy, powerful body that even the Zombie King, known for its brute strength, can't compete with. Plus, it can unleash hellfire lava, turning a few hundred feet into a molten mess.

A fully grown Flame Horse eventually becomes a Nightmare, a beast that can go toe-to-toe with a dragon.

The Flame Horse outside Gelis's cave isn't fully grown yet, but it's still way out of the league of any Skeleton in the territory. For a top-tier creature like this, Skeletons are just too flimsy.

But right now, this terrifying beast is just a ride. On its back sits a tall woman with snow-white skin, long purple hair, and piercing purple eyes—definitely from the Demon Race.

The Demon Race hails from the Demon Realm and comes in all shapes and sizes. Those who look human-like are usually the top dogs. The Undead World doesn't have any defenses, so creatures from any plane can pop in if they've got the right skills. Of course, hopping between planes takes serious power and a deep understanding of different realms; otherwise, you could get lost in the time-space vortex.

The fact that this Demon Race chick is here alone means she's seriously strong.

She arrives at the entrance of Gelis's cave, leans down, and spots Gelis lying inside. With his Soul Fire snuffed out, he looks just like any other broken skeleton you'd find lying around.

The Demon Race woman frowns and mutters, "Why is it just a skeleton? I could've sworn I sensed a soul fluctuation here!"

A plain old skeleton doesn't interest her. Plus, the cave is small and deep, so she doesn't bother checking further. She glances around, then rides off. As soon as she leaves, a faint flicker of fire lights up in Gelis's eyes.

After who knows how long, Gelis woke up and crawled out of his cave. Something felt off. He couldn't sense any of his fellow Skeletons in the territory anymore. Even the strong presence of the Skeleton Lord, which was like a beacon, had vanished. It was clear: all the Skeletons had been wiped out. This wasn't just a hunt; it was a full-on massacre. The Demon Race woman popped into his mind.

But Gelis wasn't bummed out. As long as there's a tiny bit of free-floating fire, new Skeletons will pop up. It wouldn't be long before the territory was crawling with his kind again. Plus, with everyone gone, there wouldn't be any predatory creatures coming around to hunt. Without those threats, Gelis could actually chill for a bit. So, instead of feeling sad, he felt a weird sense of relief.

He turned back into his cave and used his gray-white finger bones to carve a mark on the wall. There were already nineteen marks, each one representing a Skeleton Lord that had come and gone.

Days passed, the eternally dark sky brightening and darkening dozens of times, marking the passage of time. More and more Skeletons started to appear in the territory, and Gelis went back to his routine of avoiding them. Even though these new Skeletons were weak, Gelis stayed cautious.

One day, as Gelis lay at the cave entrance, staring blankly at the sky, a strong fluctuation formed beside him, and a pitch-black portal opened up.

Gelis knew this thing; it had shown up in the territory many times. Each time, it would suck up one to ten Skeletons and spit them back out, battered and bruised. Some came back, others didn't.

Gelis had watched this thing a lot and noticed it always went for the strongest Skeletons in the territory, except for the lord. Normally, it ignored Gelis, the broken Skeleton. But now, with only newly born Skeletons around, Gelis was the strongest. After all, he'd survived through twenty generations of Skeleton Lords, making him tougher than the newbies.

So, the pitch-black portal locked onto Gelis. He didn't react, just stared blankly as the black hole sucked him in.

He found himself in a spacious place, a semicircular hall with four long tables around the edges. The tables were loaded with test tubes, flasks, and other experimental tools. In the center of the hall, a magic circle several feet in diameter glowed with a dim light.