Poke-
Still half asleep, Magnus turned to the other side. "5 more minutes..."
Poke poke-
Feeling something poke his nose once more, he opened his eyes, "What is it, mom?" and turned around, still half asleep.
Only to come face to face with a skeleton.
"Hi." the skeleton greeted him.
"AAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
Looking at Magnus who rolled into the corner of a room, the skeleton shook her head and snapped her fingers.
A cozy bean bag appeared out of thin air, and she threw herself in it. "Yknow why you're here?"
"I... No, where the hell even is this?" he asked as he scanned the pure white room. No doors or windows were present, and other than the white wooden floor he would've never guessed this was a room.
"You died. Again." she said flatly as she snapped her fingers and summoned a drink for herself.
Yet each word she said sent waves crashing into Magnus mind. Taking a deep breath, he asked an important question.
"... Can I get one as well?"
"No to both bag and drink, sit on the floor." she waved dissmisively at him, lightly chuckled, before continuing "Anyways, do you want the good news or the bad news?"
"I guess good news. And what do you mean I died again?"
"You succumbed to your injuries, simple as that. But more importantly, you won't be thrown into hell just yet." she sipped, explaining "You have had one soul in the system. Remember the white grade soul you got when you possessed that boy's body? That's your soul from a different universe."
"My... Soul? Won't I-" he suddenly couldn't speak.
"I wasn't done. Since you died, the soul will be used to revive your body and restore it to peak condition. Even your cut off arm will be regrown, and that's the good news. You return to life, simple as that."
"Then what's the bad news?"
"The system wasn't previously... 'anchored' to your soul. It could give but not demand, to be specific." she looked at him, the blue flame in her eyes taking a deeper hue, "Now that you died, the terms changed. It can demand one thing off you, any one thing, and failure to comply means immediate damnation."
"I... Is there anything I can do to break free?" Magnus asked, slightly hopeful.
"Nope. And a bonus to the bad news, your first life's memory is going to be erased."
"Huh? WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!"
"Exactly as I said it. This is part of the price you're paying."
"... Then won't I stop being Magnus if that happens."
"I don't dabble in philosophy, it bores the crap out of me, but I'd say you're you regardless of memories and whatnot." Seeing her nodding repeatedly, he couldn't find the strength to argue with her.
"However, word of advice." she moved her finger, and Magnus body became increasingly transparent, "Don't die, or it'll sink its fangs deeper into you. With that said, I hope we don't meet a third time."
She waved, slipping back into casual mode, "Bai Bai!"
Waving goodbye to her confusedly, his consciousness faded.
---
A jolt of pain shot him awake, and Magnus jumped to his feet.
Covered in sweat, with heavy breaths, he looked around as he started remembering what happened before he blacked out.
'Ah... I died ag--' his thought was interrupted, as if hitting an invisible wall. Panic set in, as he tried to remember anything from his first life.
His family? He didn't remember. Home? Country? He didn't remember. How he died? Yet another blank.
The only things he had were the memories of the last one and a half memories. Even those were somewhat vague, as if obscured by a thin fog that he needed to focus on to clear slowly.
[Ah, time for a new beginning, don't you agree?]
Seeing the pitch black system window, different than it's usual color, he remembered the previous conversation with the reaper.
"Why?" he wanted to pour a million words, and tens of thousands of curses, yet that was the only thing he could say.
[If a tool has imperfections, you clean it. If a weapon is dull, you sharpen it. Simple, isn't it? And since you are now my bitch~]
[The Path of Conquest]
[Every dark lord needs am evil lair, get one.]
0/1
[Every dark lord needs an army, get one.]
0/1000
[Time limit: 30 days. Failure to comply will have funny consequences ~]
Gazing at the flood of status window pop ups, the white on black text sent shivers down his spine.
'How do I get an army?! AND WHAT QUALIFIES AS A LAIR???'
Looking as the seconds ticked down, he took a deep breath to calm down. 'No use panicking right now! First, survive the Kraken, then focus on fulfilling it's request.'
Looking around, he was about to begin his exploration, when he heard a groan behind him. Turning to look behind him, Charlotte was looking weakly towards him.
A pain shot through his chest, a buried memory momentarily overlapping on her weak form, before it was instantly blocked off.
Making his way to her, he gently pat her head, avoiding any place where she might have injuries. "Sleep, I'll be back soon."
An unknown emotion surged within her remaining eye, as she peacefully went to sleep. As her breath steadied, a heavy feeling gripped his heart.
Magnus glanced at the large tower that had a massive cut on its side, memorising it's location, before he turned around.
'I need to find something to heal her. And since this damn thing didn't vomit recently, there might be something useful to get out of this oversized squid.'
Thinking that far, he stretched his legs, before taking off the armor he wore with the exception of his boots and gloves.
'Knuckles are protected, and greaves protect from debris.'
Turning to look at his regrow left arm, a faint smile crept up his face. "Finally, I got my arm back. With this... I think I could take on Leo?"
Taking the first step, he began the exploration of the Krakens stomach.