Dark clouds rolled in, and the lead-gray sky was pressed low, with a certain ominous aura. The city that had been abandoned for thousands of years was silent, and even the animals that once lived there instinctively sensed the danger and left one by one...... Just like it was more than a thousand years ago, this beautiful city has once again been completely turned into a dead city.

The shadow stood in mid-air, sadly watching as a white shadow spread its wings and fade into the sky.

The snowy owl, which had been with him for more than ten years, was the last animal to leave here.

The brave and wise creature was almost driven away by it...... If it had a heart, it would have been torn to pieces for it, but it had to.

Darkness descends here again, and the shadow of death follows. It could see the black mist permeating the barren garden, the gray vines like the dry bones of the dead, clinging to its crumbling walls with their sharp fingers, creeping up fiercely, growing even if it lost its life, it could hear the lamentations of distant elves, and hear the silent waves of the sea of nothingness slowly devouring everything, leaving only a dead silence......

It doesn't know why those humans want to awaken forces that they simply can't control.

The memory is thinning little by little, and this time, it will probably die with its city, and it has nothing to do. No one can see its shadow, no one can hear its voice...... The only door has been locked.

It can only watch everything in silence until everything dies.

The boy pulled down his cloak, revealing short dark blonde hair, and looked back uneasily.

The sewers were damp and cold. There was no movement quietly, and even if he was used to dark eyes, he couldn't see anything unusual...... But this place is not very normal in the first place. After a few days. He had already noticed that there wasn't even a single mouse here, but he always felt that something in the void seemed to be watching him all the time.

Huo An didn't want to go back here at all, and the memories of a year ago were still as vivid as yesterday. He remembered that he had to stab himself in the back of the heart of the naïve and stupid man who had unsuspecting him as a friend, and that was fading with anger and surprise as it faded. In his unbelievable gaze, he felt a pain and loss in his chest that he had never felt before.

Ed Singhal...... So wishful thinking, full of enthusiasm. It was so sincere that he was overwhelmed.

He never had friends.

"Darkness is your friend, fear is your weapon. ”

That's what his teacher, Jay Oylan always told him.

But he couldn't help but be drawn to Ed. The young man with the black hair always seemed to be elated and energetic – yes. It was that kind of fresh and simple life that attracted him. But it filled his heart with indescribable jealousy.

He also remembered clutching the bloodstained dagger and hiding alone in the darkness, fearful and alone, trying to escape from the men who would not hesitate to put him on the fire......

Now he knows that is not true. Of course, people do have a lot of disgust and fear for necromancers...... But all of them have their own **, as long as you can find their weaknesses, you don't need any spells to control them. Let them lay down their swords...... Or even swing a sword for you.

But that kind of manipulative game is dangerous. If you want to survive...... To survive better, he still needs strength—strong. Unquestionable power.

So he had to come back...... Because here is the one who can give him strength.

He pulled his cloak over his head again, wrapped himself tightly, and hurried along the edge of the sewer. The elves had built the city's underground almost as grand and elaborate as it was above ground, crisscrossed with sewers and secret passages, and even Jay Oylan's map failed to show all the hidden places.

Map...... The thought of that map made Joan's heart start to beat faster. In exchange, he gave the map to Gloria, the female necromancer with a strange hobby, making it easier for her to find the best place to summon the undead. But instead of keeping her promise to take him away, Gloria left him alone among the "enemies".

And he didn't tell her that Oylan had said that there were forces hidden in the city that were uncontrollable...... He'd heard how Gloria died, and what really killed her was probably not the paladin's sword at all.

...... But no one needs to know this, especially the person he's about to face...... But it is likely that it was already known.

That's what really scares him - he can't be sure what the other person knows or cares about...... That's someone he couldn't control by any means, and didn't even dare to try.

But that is also the "strong" he yearns for, and it is the reason why he gave up or even betrayed Oylan and obediently followed here.

He stopped and knocked a few times on a wall without any markings. The sounds of the different stone bricks join together into a short, beautiful melody that sounds like an ordinary dripping sound if you don't listen to it - the elves seem to be quite keen to spend their wisdom and energy in such a meaningless place.

A crack cracked silently in the wall, and he quickly flashed in, slightly relieved.

Even here...... He could still feel the ubiquitous gaze, as if it was the city itself that was watching him.

He didn't know if the people hiding here felt the same way...... Or maybe you don't care even if you feel something?

His footsteps were soft, but he had only passed through the narrow passageway, and had not yet descended the steps, when he heard the lazy and bored voice: "You have come back so quickly, little one...... Didn't you encounter anything interesting?"

"I saw a white owl flying north, and that's where I came from...... The only animal I've seen since I came back here. He replied softly, knowing that the other person would not like the answer "nothing".

"It's a snowy owl, little one. The half-lying man chuckled and sat up, "People say it's a symbol of the goddess of ice and snow...... If even it had left, it would prove that the city had been completely abandoned by all the gods. ”

The person who spoke looked like it was made of ice and snow.

Except for her red lips, which were still as gorgeous as roses, Lydia Bell's face was so white that there was not a trace of blood, it was no longer white that could be described as "beautiful", but as gray as a dead spirit.

But she's alive—though wounded, but still proud and strong, as if she can still trample the whole world under her feet.

Joan's gaze quickly swept over the small space, realizing that Lydia was the only one here.

This has never been the case before.

Another person—or elf—an elf who couldn't tell whether he was dead or alive...... The fellow, who he didn't know how to describe, had been here all the time, sitting alone like a statue, writing and drawing on a stack of papers, occasionally looking at him with haughty and indifferent eyes, and never even saying a word to him.

Hoan felt like Bazel, but somewhere else did it feel completely different...... That's probably why they're desperate to get their hands on that mirror.

When he heard ten days ago that the Sage of Nethers had destroyed the necromancer's lair and that the female leader of the mages had fled wounded, he was hesitating whether to steal the mirror and leave Oylan...... Because Oylan seemed to have no interest in the mirror, and seemed to want to live like a normal person in that remote and humble wooden hut until he died of old age—Joan didn't have the patience, but he didn't know where else to go.

He hadn't set out to go to Lydia at the time. The flamboyant mage threw him to Tum and never asked him more, probably not even at all when the volcano erupted...... It was Tum who saved him, but he rewarded the old mage with a crisp stab in the back.

He has no regrets, and there is nothing to feel guilty about. To Toom he was clearly nothing more than a handy man, he had had had enough of his arrogance and moodiness, and knew very well that he would not teach him anything—it was more hopeless to stay with him than with Oylan.

That knife made Bazel his loyal "friend", protecting him through the vast ice fields and back into the human world...... Jay Oylan was his only option at the time.

Whenever he did, whatever he did, as long as he returned to Oylan...... At least he won't hurt him.

As he stood in the small bazaar, with an innocent smile, he listened to the woman in front of him describe how the great sage had burned all the necromancers to ashes, and the deliberately low but still sweet voice behind him made him almost jump in fright.

"I'm looking for you everywhere, but you're here listening to stories. ”

Lydia, who suddenly appeared, complained, took his hand affectionately, and dragged him away from the vegetable stall, who was stiff.

She wore a long, half-new gray dress, her black hair was disheveled, her face was slightly swollen and yellow, and she looked like an ordinary young peasant woman who did not seem to be in good health...... But those charming green eyes, Huo An couldn't forget.

If he heard him right, the hunters who hunted down the necromancer were in the nearby village...... And Lydia just appeared here in such a grand manner.

At that moment, he made a decision without hesitation - he was Lydia Bell's apprentice, not Jay Oylan's. Like in his heart, he will always be Hoane Shaw, not Egbert Oylan.

He believed that Lydia would be able to make a quick comeback even if she was injured and out of position, and that he would not be so insignificant when he returned to her with that mirror at such a time, even if he lost Bazel and Ed because of it...... Someday he will have enough strength to bring them back to him.

One day he will have enough strength and no longer lose anything he wants.

(To be continued......)