Despite the flickering campfire and the soft bioluminescence of scattered mushrooms, the temple hall remained draped in shadow. That didn’t bother its inhabitants in the slightest. Osiris had long since modified his eyes to mimic a cat’s—he could see as clearly in darkness as in daylight. As for his brother... ever since his death, the necromancer hadn’t needed light to see.
“Happy birthday,” said Seth, revealing a tray.
Out of habit, the teenager ignored his brother’s artificial smile and accepted the gift with genuine joy. For as long as he could rember, Seth had always prepared his birthday al: honeyed bread with dried fruit and a bowl of lentil soup. Keeping up the tradition—even now—was a small but aningful gesture. Despite everything, his brother was still sweet to him.
But as Osiris uncovered the al, he froze. The bread was stale and rancid. The fruit had turned black and sour. A few fat worms floated lazily across the soup’s surface like they owned the place. Osiris looked up at Seth, wide-eyed.
The man still wore the sa unsettling smile, completely unaware that sothing was off. It wasn’t a prank. Seth genuinely didn’t see the problem.
The teen repressed a sigh. Another sign his brother’s sensitivity had been left in the dirt sowhere along the path to becoming what he was now. Cursing the damned Necromoon under his breath, Osiris forced a smile.
“Thanks a lot, big bro!” he exclaid, breaking the bread and forcing himself to chew. The taste was vile, but the intention ward his heart. It proved that, sowhere, deep down, Seth was still in there.
And if his brother needed an anchor to keep from drifting into madness, then Osiris would be that anchor.
“I have to hibernate.”
Osiris swallowed the wriggling worm in his mouth without blinking. Earlier, he had made the mistake of chewing one. It had burst like an overripe berry, flooding his mouth with a taste so foul not even Micro could help him ignore it. He had nearly thrown up on the spot.
When he finally emptied his bowl, Osiris set it down, wiped his mouth, and clasped his hands to pray.
“I give thanks to the sun for the at, and the moon for the vegetables,” he recited, before glancing over at his brother. “Hibernation?”
“The next few days are gonna be dangerous, and I don’t want any heat coming this way.”
Osiris hesitated. Usually, his brother kept him away from any real conflict. Anyti the boy asked questions, Seth shut him down—said it was “grown-up business” he had no place poking around in. But this ti... the necromancer’s passivity set off alarm bells. So Osiris dared another question.
“Is it because of the upcoming tournant?”
“None of your business. I’ll handle it.”
“But I want to help! If it’s the tribes—”
Seth growled, and his eyes pulsed with a crimson glow. “Those Tier 4 idiots couldn’t scratch if they tried.”
“Then Dishnu?”
“Don’t speak that abomination’s na in my presence!” Seth snapped. Then his voice softened. “It’s sothing else. Yesterday, a dozen necro Envoys were wiped out between here and the Empire. Plot the battle sites on a map, and you get a straight line—one that runs right through us.”
“An Imperial hunter?” Osiris asked, throat tightening. “Here for the necro celestial tree?”
One of Seth’s longer-term plans involved summoning a Tier 5 seed from the Necroverse. If they could plant it at the right location, it would grow into a necro tree of the sa tier—an entity powerful enough to shield them from the Champions and the tribes. Of course, it was unlikely their enemies would just let that happen.
“No idea,” Seth said grimly. “But I won’t let anyone lay a finger on you.” He ruffled Osiris’ hair, and for a second, the protective older brother ca back. “What I do know is that every Necro Envoy who looked into it died. Even the Tier 4s.”
“You think this thing’ll just leave us alone if you hibernate?”
Seth shrugged, and Osiris bit his lip. After the murder of the previous Necro Envoy, Seth had taken her place. One perk of the role was being able to observe anything touched by the crimson light of the Necromoon within a range of several thousand kiloters.
The fact that Seth had no clue who the attacker was ant they were strong. A Tier 4 Nobility. Maybe even a Tier 5.
Thirty minutes later, Seth lay down in a heavy sarcophagus.
“The threat should pass through this area within a day. You stay here and do your howork. When I wake up, I’ll quiz you on the effects of circadian rhythm on ridian flow.”
“Of course,” Osiris lied. Not because he didn’t plan to do it, but because he had already studied that topic last month. After his latest experints, he probably knew more than Seth did about it.
“How long will you be asleep?”
“That depends.” Seth grimaced, a sneer twisting his lips. “If the hunter’s here for the tribal tournant, I won’t co up until they’re gone. You gonna be okay on your own?”
Osiris nodded.
“Five fruits and veggies a day. Don’t overcook your at. And sleep with the sun—well, go to bed early,” Seth corrected himself.
“Promise,” Osiris said, cutting him off with a quick hug. He had just turned fourteen, and his brother still treated him like a kid!
Seth gave him an awkward pat on the back before pushing him away. Monts later, the sarcophagus sealed shut and sank into the earth. A glowing runic lock appeared above it—ready to teleport Seth’s soul to the Necroworld at the first sign of trouble. It was risky as that place gnawed away at ego like acid on flesh, but it was still better than true death.
The teenager returned to his workshop, crafting flesh golems to pass the ti. Ever since he figured out how to recreate System attributes by loading micro-runes into the cells of his creations, the biomancer had started designing new vessels for his brother. Splicing and rewriting the geno of various species had beco sothing of a ga for the prodigy. Since Seth could only incarnate into one body at a ti, the rest of the golems served as Osiris’ bodyguards.
Maybe because his brother commanded hordes of undead, Osiris had decided to build an army of flesh golems of his own. So far, the plan worked. He had passed two consecutive quadruple Tribulations with barely a scratch.
Osiris finished molding a calf and stepped back to admire his handiwork. Standing before him was a five-ter-tall statue of sculpted flesh. The giant had six arms, a second set of eyes behind its head, and four bony tentacles tipped with jagged spikes were substituting his hair. Its appearance was pure nightmare fuel—and the inside was even worse.
After harvesting marrow from the necro drake that Sphinx and Seth had summoned, Osiris had cultured the cells and modified them for better performance. The result was a monster able to mimic draconic scales and a false breath.
“I’ll call you... the Destroyer,” he announced proudly. “With you, my next Tribulations don’t stand a chance.” As he examined his masterpiece, he frowned. “You’re way too red. Gonna have to pimp you out a bit.”
Grabbing his tools, Osiris began tattooing the beast with swirling, multicolored patterns. When every pore of the Destroyer was inked, the teen sat down with a grumble.
Four hours without anyone to talk to was already pushing it. His mind drifted to the tournant. Would Jasmine be going? If so, maybe he would get the chance to talk to her...
Shaking his head, Osiris went back to work. Jasmine was older, and in all likelihood, she saw him as a kid. Besides, his brother had explicitly forbidden him from leaving the temple.
“I promised I’d stay here.”
Two hours later, the young prodigy was marching straight into the cursed forest to find his crush.
Seated on the shoulder of the Destroyer, Osiris traveled through the blighted land, whistling to himself. His brother’s crimson dallion was hanging around his neck, displaying his identity as a Necro Envoy’s protégé and shielding him from most of the Necromoon’s soul-rotting light. With his mount striding above the treetops, the boy had a clear view of the landscape below. Not that there was much to admire.
Most of the vegetation had blackened, shriveled by the cursed moon’s malignant influence. No birdsong brightened the afternoon—only the faint groan of undead echoed through the trees. To a biomancer like Osiris, whose passion was life itself, the sight was devastating.
Here and there, patches of green clung to the land—tiny oases of resistance. So were natural—life on Elysium was nothing if not stubborn—but most bore the signature of the Guardian.
Osiris had seen him twice, always from a distance. Both tis, the drya had crushed his brother like a dried-out nutshell. That alone demanded caution, but the worse had yet to co. With [Life Vision], Osiris had witnessed a haunting truth.
If his own life force was a candle, Dishnu’s was a sun. Even the combined vitality of every duatian couldn’t match the endless well of vitality the drya carried within him. How? Osiris had no clue, but every theory was scarier than the last.
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In theory, as a soul attack could bypass that endless vitality, Seth was supposed to be Dishnu’s natural predator. In practice, the Guardian’s mastery of aether made him near impossible to corner.
A roar shattered the stillness.Tearing his gaze from the horizon, Osiris focused on a necro Tier 2 approaching fast. The beast looked like a massive, half-rotted bear that had died angry and never stopped being pissed.
Its gaze locked onto Osiris. A second roar—a challenge. With a sigh, the boy pointed at the crimson dallion around his neck to defuse the encounter. As a token from Seth, it was ant to signal allegiance to the Necromoon’s forces.
The bear paused for a second, then lunged anyway. Clearly, its hatred for life outweighed the command engraved into the Necro Envoy token.
“Great. My brother’s been asleep for less than a day, and already his troops are rebelling,” Osiris muttered, deadpan.
Despite the ten-ton monstrosity flying at him, the boy didn’t budge. As soon as the creature entered his Domain, he activated [Nerve Hijack]. The Necromoon’s curse halted decomposition, preserving the corpse's muscles for battle, and Osiris took full advantage.
With a twist far too elegant for sothing half-rotted, the beast flipped midair and landed fifty ters behind. Then, Osiris’ absolute command triggered. Without hesitation, the undead shoved a paw into its own chest, gripped the necro core nestled inside, and crushed it. Its link to the Necromoon severed, the body collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
Event: Necromoon.
Banishnt of a corrupted (Tier 2 - Viscount) - Sun point 10 000
“I really do have style,” Osiris grinned, brushing imaginary dust from his shoulder as he resud his march toward the glowing do in the distance.
Less than a kiloter from his destination, Osiris frowned. Oasis’ do wasn’t supposed to shimr like that. In fact, it seed to have a camouflage ritual—but now, the surface was rippling under constant assault from a necro horde.
Everywhere Osiris looked, undead were converging on the sanctuary. With Seth in hibernation, the temporary truce with Priam was dead and buried. The horde didn’t recognize restraint anymore.
Cursing his luck, Osiris ordered his golem to proceed. Thanks to his brother’s token, the Tier 0s and 1s left him alone, but the Tier 2s ca at him like flies to fresh at. Not that it mattered. None lasted more than a few seconds against the Destroyer and its life-force-infused strikes.
At one point, his golem picked up a boar carcass and used it to bludgeon a corrupted lynx. Savage!
Then a blinding explosion lit up the sky, followed by a rumble that made the blighted forest quake. The teen smiled. Wherever the Juggernaut walked, its Shadow followed.
“Wait for , Jasmine!”
Event:Necromoon
Fourth wave:
A horde masses near Log-a-rhythm.
Defend your territory.
Reward:
1 000 Sun points
“Why now?” Alain growled. “They left us alone for almost two months.”
“Probably ans Seth’s out of commission,” Priam replied, dismissing the notification with a ntal flex.
“Or maybe he broke the truce,” Jasmine offered.
“The day he breaks it, you’ll see a swarm of Tier 3s and 4s at our gates, not Tier 0 trash.”
Perched on the ramparts of Oasis, the Juggernaut watched as wave after wave of undead threw themselves against the barrier. So far, in vain. Even with hundreds of Tier 2s attacking in unison, only a few ripples distorted the do’s surface. According to both his add-on and Log-a-rhythm, the shield could take this level of punishnt for nearly three straight days. Which was about what one would expect from a ritual capable of tanking a full-on assault from an Elysian Duke.
Blueprint - Protective Barrier VIII (500 000 points) - A protective barrier capable of covering 100 000 square ters and stopping attacks from a strong Tier 0 Elysian Duke. ACQUIRED
After purchasing the blueprint, Rose and Priam had spent more than three weeks weaving runes into the tree’s root network to support the ritual’s foundation. The upside? If anyone sabotaged the glyph, Log-a-rhythm could regenerate the formation by regrowing its roots.
The downside? The tree now had to power the do. Every blow shaved a little more off its reserves. A month ago, that would have been dangerous.
Not anymore.
Since Dishnu’s Tribulations, Log-a-rhythm had changed.
Log-a-rhythm:
Features:
Abundance - Life IV NEW (POT)
Abundance - Aether III
Protection V NEW (POT)
Tribulation Resistance IV NEW (Dishnu’s Tribulation)
Secret Passage I
Land Owner II
Protective Barrier VIII NEW (Sun Shop)
Camouflage II
Guardian of the Forest VIII NEW (Dishnu’s Tribulation)
Mighty roots I
Necro Purification VIII NEW (Sun Shop)
Natural Growth IV
Necro Resistance V NEW (POT)
Rot Resistance II
Underground II
Valaryth Adaptation I NEW (Alien’s Concept fragnt)
Fire Resistance NEW (Adaptation)
Fungal Resistance NEW (Adaptation)
asurents:
Height of the tree crown: 35 ters ( 9)
Depth reached by the roots: 20 ters
Interior Area: 96 m² (80 m² 20%) (Ceiling Height: 3 ters) ( 24)
Status:
Current POT: 5060
Passive gain: 150 ( 400) ( 40) POT/day. ( 50, 50, 0)
( 400 POT/day: bonus - Guardian of the Forest VII)
( 40 POT/day: bonus - Natural Growth IV)
Available Thes:
Primo (1 000 000)
Tal Quercus I (10 000)
Nature (1 000)
Cocoa (500)
Sequoia (1 000)
Tea (500)
Abundance - Life V (10 000)
Abundance - Aether IV (5 000)
Protection V (10 000)
Tribulation Resistance V (10 000)
Secret Passage II (500) (-500)
Camouflage III (2 000) (-500)
Attraction I (500)
Underground III (2 300) (-200)
Comfort I (500)
Volu III (2 500)
Water Control I (500)
Land Owner III (2 000) (-500)
Protective Barrier IX (250 000)
Guardian of the Forest IX (249 500) (-300)(-200)
Mighty Roots II (1 000)
Root network - Plant Intelligence II (300) (-500)(-200)
Root network - Plant Control II ((300) (-500)(-200)
Necro Purification IX (250 000)
Natural Growth V (10 000)
Necro Resistance VI (25 000)
Rot Resistance III (2 500)
Valaryth Adaptation II (1 000)
Fire Resistance II (900) (-100)
Fungal ResistanceII (900) (-100)
Age: 111 days since creation
Next arc already complete on Patreon if you want to find out what happens next!
/ANovelConcept
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