Chương 211

Days turned into weeks. The pain in Mumud's chest grew sharper. He started dropping things. A teacup shattered on the coral floor. A wooden spoon slipped from his fingers. Lia never complained. She just quietly swept up the messes and held his hand tighter. He knew he didn't have much time left. He was completely at peace with it. Death was a natural, quiet end to a very loud, tiring life. One evening, Mumud was sitting by the water alone. Lia had gone to the market to buy fresh fish.

A group of merchants walked past, gossiping in hushed tones.

"Did you hear the rumors from the northern coast?" a merchant whispered, looking nervously over his shoulder.

"They say a handsome, pale man is wandering the shores. He is literally freezing entire sections of the ocean into solid ice just to walk across the water."

"A monster?" another merchant asked.

"A demon, maybe. He is looking for someone with silver hair." Mumud's blood ran completely cold. His failing heart gave a violent, painful thump. He gripped the edge of the stone bench, his knuckles turning white. He found me. Mumud didn't run. He knew it was useless. His weak body couldn't outrun the legendary magician in the world. He just closed his eyes and waited. The ambient mana in the Siren Kingdom suddenly shifted. The soft, glowing blue light of the water above turned dark. The temperature plummeted.

The water ten yards away rippled violently. A tear in space ripped open. Braham stepped out of the portal. The Legendary Great Magician still looked young, sharp, and incredibly arrogant. He wore a heavy, expensive cloak. But his red eyes were frantic. He looked exhausted, driven by a twisted, obsessive guilt that he refused to acknowledge. Braham looked at the frail, dying man sitting on the bench. Mumud didn't stand up. He coughed, pulling his bloody handkerchief from his pocket.

He wiped his mouth and looked at his former teacher. The dark and mysterious sea served as a quiet background for the two men.

"You look terrible, I suppose my decision to turn you into a Lich is correct," Braham stated flatly. His voice was cold, trying to mask the desperation underneath. Mumud just stared at his teacher as he heard the reason why Braham was searching for him. It wasn't to apologize, which Mumud was hoping for subconsciously, rather it was to further use him even after death"Even when you turned away from me..." Mumud started. He had to stop to take a shaky breath.

"... I didn't blame you when you interfered with my achievements and erased my name from the world." Braham clenched his fists at his sides. He refused to look Mumud in the eye.

"I am your teacher," Braham said stiffly.

"Your achievements belong to me." This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Mumud offered a sad, weak smile. He didn't feel angry about the stolen formulas anymore. He just felt tired.

"I'm sorry that you suffer from such a terrible obsession that you would become afraid of your own disciple," Mumud said quietly.

"I pitied you. I couldn't blame you." Braham flinched. The words hit him harder than any magic spell. He had lived for hundreds of years and had awakened human emotions without even realizing it. He actually missed the boy he had pulled from the mud, he felt guilty for ruining Mumud's life, but his immense pride wouldn't let him apologize.

"You are coming back with me," Braham demanded. Mumud slowly shook his head.

"... But now I resent you," Mumud whispered. His eyes hardened, filling with a cold, desperate hatred.

"Turning me into a lich...? Do you want me to serve you even after I am dead...? I won't be able to rest!!" Tears finally fell from Mumud's eyes. They tracked through the dust on his pale cheeks.

"Isn't life meant for death anyway?" Mumud asked. His voice broke.

"It would be better for me to disappear naturally than to be a lich."

"You do not have veto rights," Braham snapped. His voice rose, tinged with panic.

"You don't have much time left. Accept the honor of being a lich. The moment Pagma completes the Vessel of the Soul, I will reclaim my immortality and you will be by my side. You will be praised by all, even if you're dead."

"Don't...!" Mumud choked out. Braham stepped closer, his shadow falling over the bench.

"The day you die," Braham declared, his eyes flashing with dark, obsessive magic.

"I will remove your body from its grave and resurrect you as an immortal." Mumud felt a surge of pure, terrifying panic. He thought about Lia. He thought about his quiet life here being ripped away, replaced by an eternity of mindless servitude. He refused to be a puppet. Mumud forced himself to stand. His legs shook violently.

"You... You're the worst even to the end," Mumud spat. He raised a pale, trembling hand. He gathered the very last scraps of his condensed mana core. He didn't care if it destroyed his heart. He just wanted to stop the monster in front of him.

"With the handful of magic power I have left, I will kill you..." Mumud screamed. A bright blue light sparked at his fingertips. The magic flared wildly, ready to explode. But his human body finally gave out.

"Cough! Cough!" A massive rush of dark blood spilled from Mumud's lips. The blue light died instantly. His mana core shattered inside his chest. The agonizing pain ripped his consciousness away. Mumud collapsed forward. He hit the stone path with a heavy thud. The world went entirely black. Time did not exist in the dark. There was no sound. There was no pain. There was no Lia, and no ocean breeze. Then, a sudden, jarring jolt hit him. It wasn't a gentle awakening.

It felt like being violently yanked through a freezing, narrow tube. Mumud tried to gasp for air but nothing happened. He didn't have lungs or a throat. He opened his eyes but he didn't have eyelids. He just saw the world through two burning points of cold blue fire. He was standing in a massive, damp stone cavern. He tried to look down at his hands. He raised them into his field of vision. They were bare, yellowing bones. There was no skin. No warmth. Panic exploded in his mind. He tried to scream.

He tried to call out for Lia. But the cavern remained dead silent. He tried to take a step backward. Stop. A heavy, oppressive voice echoed directly inside his hollow skull. It wasn't his own thought. It was a command. It carried absolute authority. Mumud's bony legs locked in place. He couldn't move them. He tried to raise his skeletal hands to grip his own skull, to fight the voice. His arms refused to obey. Stand guard. Kill any intruders. The command forced his skeletal arm to reach down.

His bony fingers wrapped tightly around a glowing blue magic orb resting on a pedestal. Mumud fought with every ounce of his brilliant mind. He pushed against the magical compulsion. He screamed internally, thrashing against the invisible chains binding his soul to the rotting bones. It was completely useless. His body belonged to Braham now. Mumud stood perfectly still in the dark, damp cave. He held the glowing orb. Centuries stretched out in front of him. A horrifying, endless nightmare of silent servitude.

He couldn't even cry. He didn't have any tears left to shed.