Chương 35: Ashlord

"Let him go," Liesel pointed the tip of her broken blade at it. It glanced at her. Its eyes were not red, but grey, almost a sculpted imitation of human eyes. It's afflicted with the Ashening curse.

"Which power does a weakling such as yourself possess to challenge this ruler, to stand on our land and point a blade at us, and to command the Lord of Ashes?" His fingers dug deeper into Sarkot's throat. Sarkot coughed, blood leaking from his mouth and nose. He tried to resist, but soon, his hand dropped, motionless. He seemed to have passed out from lack of oxygen. As much as Liesel wanted to lunge forward and cut off the accursed demon's hand, she didn't stand a chance against him. None of them did.

Not even when they were fresh and brimming with energy, let alone after two drawn-out battles. Kurvam, of course, was the first to dare attack him, either because he was confident he could win or because he utterly failed to assess its strength. The self-proclaimed Lord of Ash clenched his free hand into a fist and waved it in Kurvam's direction as the leader dashed towards it. From the unclenched fist, a shockwave of ash dust exploded in the air. Verka was too slow to have protected the expedition leader.

Kurvam was knocked back, his body dragging across the sand. Verka's ward stopped his slide. Kurvam lay there, unmoving. He had not passed out, but he would not stand. Now that he understood instinctively that Verka could not protect him against this new enemy. Markil and Charbil slowly drew away from the cursed demon. Liesel was the only one close to the Ascendant demon except for Sarkot.

"Let him go," Liesel said again. She glanced at the mages, and they were not casting any spells as far as she could see. Perhaps that was the wiser decision, and she should also be withdrawing. But a part of her wanted to save Sarkot still. The demon was capable of reasoning. So it must want something to stand here and hold a conversation.

"What do you want?" Liesel asked.

"We ask that question of you," the demon said.

"Why do you intrude upon our hell? Kill our creations. Ravage our garden. Why?"

"It's a Necropolis. It exists as a place to harvest demon cores."

"And whose right is it to determine what my home is called? Whose right is it to define what its purpose shall be?"

"The Emperor. The Empire, for it killed Sirmal, and claimed this territory as its own," Liesel paused. She couldn't evaluate whether it was bothered by her answer. Its expression was forever frozen, remaining impassive. Between the calcified and fossilized skin and the barnacles and shells growing on it, it didn't seem to possess much range of expression.

"You are wrong!" It clenched Sarkot's throat and flung the powerless body at her. He rolled on the sand and stopped before her feet. The cursed behemoth walked towards her.

"None claims this territory, for I, its rightful ruler, am the only one who decides its role here. And yours too. The Empire and the Emperor have not claimed us, never claimed this territory. We have waited millennia, and we shall, for another, and none shall dare lay claim to our land." Liesel stepped over Sarkot's body, just in case the demon decided to take a random shot and kill him. She met its eyes. It wanted something more than just mindless slaughter. It loomed over her, and all she saw was her mother.

In its pain more than in its form.

"I have no qualms with you personally," Liesel said, pointing at the tomb.

"We are here to create a passage to the tomb. Grant us one, allow us to fix the leakage, so that this realm, that you claim to be yours, remains stable, and we shall not harm an insect in your realm. Or eventually, everything in this Necropolis will be slaughtered by the hands of Ascendant Demons, and the tomb claimed by another." The Ashened being glared at her for a long moment before shaking its head.

"Let them. We shall stand victorious regardless." It stepped away, raising another storm that shrouded the tomb. It used a large stick to walk, and its voice was wheezy from the effort of just walking.

"We are the ruler of this oasis. We fear none. You are not honored by blood or with might to demand as an equal," it turned and addressed the rest of the expedition.

"We have lived in lonesome, building creatures that roam this realm. These very hands touch each being you encounter. Never have we been intruded upon. We have waited for challengers for a long time, and we appreciate your approach. Death is a mercy, and we shall not grant. You may, for that too is intriguing. We impose no will of our own, for that is proof of a weak ruler." It turned back and pointed at its castle of crystallized ash beneath the tomb.

"We shall grant you a fair chance," it dragged its finger, stopping at the crown of Sirmal.

"A key awaits atop that skull. Acquire it. You may come and claim this life," he said particularly to Liesel, before shifting his eye to Kurvam, "Or you may open the door behind you and escape."

"Who are you?" Liesel asked.

"Lord of Ashes, Sirdhan," it uttered. It clenched its hand, and Sarkot's lifeless body calcified. His soul was decaying, being consumed by the corruption of Ashes. At least he had met his fate without the torment that usually accompanied such a fate. For that, Liesel instinctively determined Sirdhan was not a vile beast whose goal was to inflict the misery of his realm on them, even if he had admitted to such.

She was wrong, of course, and even she understood it was because she wanted him to be better than the worst he could be. After all, he was afflicted with ashening, and his pain should make him a gentler creature, right? It could've left them with the choice to kill Sarkot or drag his impotent body through the Necropolis, waiting for him to die. It hadn't. Perhaps that was the extent of the ashened ruler's kindness.

"Argh..." Sarkot groaned. Liesel felt a chill run down her spine. Though the Ash Lord's face was frozen, incapable of expressing anything, she felt its cruel grin, as if asking whether he had fooled her for a moment. The storm inched closer to Liesel. She was forced to move. She couldn't leave Sarkot either, perhaps that would be a mercy. She dragged his body as she moved. Yehia's created a ward to protect her from the sharp sand in the air. The storm wall stopped once it consumed Sirdhan.

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"We await the choices you will make," his voice echoed. The storm stopped once again. Ash fell to the ground. The lord of ash was gone. Liesel heaved for breath. Her shoulders were aching from the fight, though she was the least injured person. She looked down at Sarkot. She didn't feel any Materiality in his body.

"Sarkot," Liesel said. She waited for him to make a noise. She shook his body. It was hard as stone and smooth as marble. There was no response from him.

"His materiality is gone," Farki Jan said. He was dead. She looked back at the rest of the team. Though injured, they were alive. And the door behind them. She had been awed by its grandness; now it was horrifying.

"What do we do now?" Garvin asked. He sounded as exhausted as they were. For once, his voice had no frustration directed at her. But there was a hollowness in it. His eyes refused to leave Sarkot's face. The carcass of Sirmal seemed to have a purpose now.

"There's only one thing to do," Jaisel said, his eyes remained steadily on the skull.

"And we have no energy to spare on words." The wasteland seemed unimaginably bigger than a Necropolis could be. It could be an illusion, and Liesel hoped it would be the case. But if it was an actual place, then they were gravely mistaken about the nature of this realm. It seemed less and less like a Necropolis, and more like the Dungeon of the Custodian in its grandness, if not the dangers it hosted as well.

"We cannot foolishly trust his words," Farki Jan uttered. He sat on a dune, drinking his water. There wouldn't be enough to last them more than a day. Slowly, Kurvam and Verka made their way to the group.

"We are going to destroy that wall," Kurvam said. His face was bloody, as if the blast had carried shards of glass with it.

"Let's start moving."

"Sarkot's dead," Fiya said.

"Are we going to pretend he didn't exist?"

"He was stupid to leave his position in the back," Kurvam said reflexively, almost in an offended tone that his demand was ignored.

"We have to escape before that bastard comes back. Get your asses up, and start moving!"

"It was your fault!" Yehia stomped her foot forward and pointed her spear at him.

"Your infantile ego that always needs to be stroked, and your stupid mind that can't, for once, come up with a good idea, killed Sarkot. There's no one else to blame, so don't you dare put it on him. He was part of the team! Doing his job, even when injured, because unlike your narcissism that doesn't allow you to think beyond yourself, even in this moment! Sarkot did. He saved Garvin's life! So shut the fuck up and let adults think!"

"You..." Kurvam's aura flared. His fingers clutched the sword as he took a step towards her.

"Before you try anything stupid, Vera, remember that we are stranded. And most likely dead. No longer does the umbrella of your father shelter you," Liesel said.

"If you are going to be a burden, I will unfortunately have to make the hard decision."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kurvam turned to her reflexively.

"What did my father say?"

"Are you so blinded by your arrogance that you do not even see the reason why we tolerate you, even though you are a burden in almost every circumstance?" Yehia scoffed, lowering her spear. She was prepared to create a ward to protect herself should Kurvam decide to attack.

"Sarkot was injured because of your recklessness!" Yehia said. She seemed to be the only one genuinely angry at their loss.

"And then you led us here, exhausted and unprepared. If I didn't know how dumb you were, I'd have thought you were in league with that accursed bastard." Kurvam's face grew redder than the blood covering it. He raised his sword and swung at Yehia. Liesel pushed materiality into her upper and stabbed at his throat. It was Verka who guarded Yehia from Kurvam's strike. Liesel's blade shipped the word, and if she had put a little more power behind it, she might have managed to pierce through it.

It wouldn't have killed Kurvam regardless. Liesel shifted her eyes at Verka, "Be wise of your next act."

"Please, sir. We cannot fight here." Verka said to Kurvam. Kurvam applied more pressure to break the ward, but couldn't. Liesel twisted her sword, and it snapped the barrier finally. She didn't take another strike to kill Kurvam. She wouldn't succeed with Verka there. Not alone, at least. Her hand pulsed with pain as she lowered her sword.

"Bah!" He screamed, smashing his sword into the sand. Then he picked it up and started making his way to the door.

"If anyone dares to follow me after I break the door, I am going to rip you all limb from limb." Verka hurried behind Kurvam.

"You don't have to," Liesel said.

"You know he cannot break that door, and you know he is going to die alone in the wasteland now. You are valuable alive with us."

"I am only doing my duty," Verka replied. He hurried to keep up with his leader.

"Verka's so dumb," Garvin uttered.

"I might consider Kurvam the leader, but there's no way we are living if he tags along." Liesel shook her head.

"What do we do about Sarkot? Are we just going to leave him here?" Fiya asked. Liesel didn't know. She considered for a moment and then walked over to his body.

"He'd be claimed by the Necropolis, and from what we have seen the Necropolis do to its dead, he will probably be reborn as a cursed demon... one among many warriors." She didn't need to say it out loud. They all seemed to have guessed as much.

"So," Liesel lowered herself to her knees, and settled her hand over Sarkot's head, "I think he'd have appreciated a different departure, but this is the only one we can give him." She wove the Unravelling Seal onto her palm. It shot Materiality through Sarkot's body, which meant he was still alive. Unable to utter a word, but in unimaginable misery.

"He's still alive," Liesel uttered with a little horror. If materiality ceased to function, and his body was completely ashened... Is mother still alive too? She can't be. Her heart was shaking. Her skin grew cold, covered in cold sweat as that realization settled inside her chest. No... please, oh, divine Yirriel, it can't be right. It must be because he just turned, right? Then the strands of light doubled. Fiya's eyes widened.

"Then we might still be able..."

"Stop!" Garvin was the first to rush towards her. Liesel met his eyes. Garvin froze in his place. His lips twitched. Fiya ran past him to stop Liesel. She had seen the skill, so unlike the others, she should know the skill was not malicious.

"He will only suffer," Liesel said. Sarkot's body unravelled into threads of energy.

"It is better that he rest." [Ascendant Soul Acquired! Analyzing and Extracting the Acquired Soul... Estimated Time: 32 Hours] Liesel hadn't seen a wait that long, not even against the Door Guardian. She got back to her feet, burying her inner turmoil in a corner. There was no way to check her mother's grave. Not even when she returned to the Saffron Helm. It was on the opposite side of the world, and no quick way to get there. If she is alive, can I save her? Does the Custodian have a way to save her?

"It is better than the alternative," Liesel said again, probably for herself.

"He would have suffered the curse in endless agony, and would have died regardless. Or be trapped in the Necropolis eternally.

""Even so, you can't do..." Garvin frowned. He was shaken for some reason.

"What did you do to him?"

"She broke his soul and consumed him," Farki Jan said.

"I don't know what that would do for her, but Sarkot died painlessly."

"He is pure materiality now," Liesel said.

"He is dead, and it was the most merciful way I could've ended his life. If you believe in an afterlife, he is there."

"Why didn't you tell us you could do something like that?" Garvin asked.

"You only see it because I do not expect us to survive much longer," Liesel said.

"So there's no point wasting my energy hiding a little secret. As for what we should do," Liesel looked north, at the edge of the wasteland.

"We are going to seek the Primordial Vein. We have no source of food or water, and the only alternative is to steal life from its origin. Either that, or we cross the wasteland, claim the key, which wouldn't be easy, and then return to the door with the little sustenance we have.

""We do not make it," Healer Barron said. He had been quietly working on Markil.

"The Vein will have the strongest demons in the world."

"Neither do we survive a journey to the Helm," Liesel replied.

"It is a gamble regardless, so let us wager on one where we may survive." The air shook. They all looked at Kurvam's raw strength shake the air, and leave a slight mark on the stone door. He was already on his knees, exhausted.

"What about him?" Jaisel asked.

"I will not waste my energy spending words on him. His strength is undeniable, but we need to work cohesively. He will prove to be a burden."

"Verka is a good guy." With Verka, there was a case to be made that Kurvam was overall a neutral entity.

"Verka!" Liesel shouted.

"We proceed northward. Follow the wall if you change your mind."

"Kurvam's never going to accept," Yehia uttered.

"He cares deeply about his life."