“Do as you please, but don’t devour the earth. Even if it died a long time ago, it can be salvaged once the presence of death has been consumed,” David said, though he knew Vitae wasn’t listening. Vitae Nihilum was not exactly sentient, even if it had felt like that in the Naughtrealm. Occasionally, at least.

Releasing traces of Vitae everywhere, David left it to itself. It wouldn’t dare to disobey him. Not if it didn’t want to be sealed away forever.

He scanned the surroundings a little and grunted at the lack of information Bloodthrone Dominion revealed. There was no life around him, except for a few Rifts that had also been affected by the presence of death. The existence of Rifts was nothing new. If anything, it was a well-known fact that more Rifts formed in the land of the dead than in Orhain’s surroundings.

In fact, it became well known after months of espionage.

David couldn’t quite tell if the Rifts brought the land of the dead to Kamia or if it was the other way around, but the land of the dead was expanding in all directions, including newly formed Rifts and also the Earthen Union.

The land of the dead was certain to conquer the rest of Kamia in the next two years, which was all the more reason to infiltrate the land of the dead. Rescuing the survivors was one thing. It was necessary, crucial, even, but it was one of many reasons. Locating the origin of the land of the dead, if something like that existed, and cleansing Kamia of the plague of the walking dead, was another.

After traveling through the land of the dead for a while, he was far enough from the Classers to get started. David cast [Unyielding Vitality] alongside [Vital Weaving] to stir his lifeforce and stimulate the Source. The Source, lodged deep within him, quivered as some of the intricate lines etched on it burst to life. The lines, beautiful runic letters, glowed vibrantly and connected to the power of his lifeforce.

Words of Power flowed from his lips, empowering his abilities and the intent to reveal his vitality, pure and condensed, to the outside world.

David’s vitality burst forth. It dispelled death’s presence and shot toward the sky, creating a brilliant beacon of raw life. The power of life was enormous, yet his vitality was not as potent as the Fallen’s had been. While that was obvious, it didn’t change his plan. He did not have to unleash the vitality of a Minor God to stimulate the undead. A weak Ascendant’s lifeforce, empowered and compressed, was more than enough to do that.

Using [True Sight] and information from the avian Echos, he confirmed that the nearby undead had taken note of him. The undead within a radius of a dozen kilometers were heading toward him, and he was certain stronger undead from further away would arrive sooner rather than later as well.

It didn’t take long before the first undead arrived in the withered park of the small city David had picked as the battlefield. Then again, the city ruins wouldn’t exist for much longer. Several massive structures, ruins of their former glory, had already been devoured, and the rest would follow shortly.

Some Infected were slow and bulky, while others were fast with a leaner physique. They approached him with their endless stamina and insatiable hunger, yet the excitement and fright he’d felt when he first encountered these creatures was no more.

David looked blankly at them and shook his head.

“To think guys like you nearly killed me before,” he muttered, manifesting the Obsidian Blade in its elongated form.

Clutching the blade tightly, he released a gray crescent that carved easily through the Infected’s skulls, tearing through their rotting brains all the same.

David expelled Vitae from his body en masse. He released it into the surroundings and let it consume the corpses before willing it to still. More Infected closed in, seemingly not minding the grotesque spectacle before them. They had seen dozens of their brethren die, only for the unmoving bodies to vanish into thin air, yet they moved onward. That was truly... the best!

David offered the undead one of his rare smiles and continued, releasing more crescent blades of Rend. It didn’t take more than that to kill the Iron- and Bronze-ranked Infected and other undead. Even the strongest Silver-ranked undead failed to resist Rend’s power. Still, he was forced to release crescent blades in all directions, even underground and into the air, as airborne undead and unexpected creatures like undead moles and Ghoul Gnomes emerged. Then again, he should have expected such creatures to appear at some point. That didn’t make them less of a nuisance, though.

Killing the undead in the hundreds was satisfying, yet even as thousands upon thousands of undead, Infected and walking dead alike, headed toward him from all directions, David was still the happiest when he discovered his first Gold-ranked Undead.

“It was about damn time,” he growled, changing his strategy at once.

David cast [Crimson Bulwark] and layered multiple [Bloodbound Bastion] shields over his armor of blood and energy before closing his eyes. He ignored the rancid stench of rotten flesh and the undead’s groans ringing in his ears as they arrived before him, clawing and gnawing on his armor, and focused on something else.

He tried to recall the scent, touch, sound, and taste of the Weave with all his remaining senses. The trickles of power, the constant stream of raw energy that entered his being to become part of him. David focused as the first Words of Power escaped his lips. He couldn’t be certain that it would work—but it should. It had to, if he ever hoped to integrate Vitae properly into his Laws and Intents.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

David did not want to keep the powers of the End and the Origin separate forever. Maybe it wasn’t possible to connect the beginning to the end, but the end was merely the first step to a new beginning. Wasn’t that what the Cycle of Life and Death was all about?

The Cycle was at fault for his way of thinking. It made him wonder if Vitae could be empowered and shaped with the Weave’s influence.

It was the system that had acknowledged the existence of Vitae, and while it was not part of the cosmos, Vitae Nihilum worked in the Origin’s favor. As long as the Weave sensed that... it should be fine.

Right?

The Corrupted Divine Heart palpitated. It drummed valiantly against his chest, seemingly trying to break out of its shell as Words of Power flowed out of him.

Something was changing. Vitae poured out of the heart and his body alongside the Words of Power. His heart clenched, and it started to ache, but David prevailed. He didn’t stop even as the pain spread through the rest of his body.

His eyes snapped open, yet instead of finding dozens of Infected piled against [Crimson Bulwark], David discovered that his surroundings were clear of undead. The Corrupted Divine Heart raced more intensely than before, swallowing the sounds around him.

Fortunately, he didn’t need to hear the words. David could see the runic letters pouring from his mouth. They flowed out of him, revolving around his body and merging with the Vitae seeping from every pore.

He smirked as the beautiful scenery around him expanded. Yet, no matter how mesmerizing it was, there was one eyesore— or a dozen. A dozen, possibly more, threatening red and black system messages popped up before him, blocking the mesmerizing view.

[Error! Error!]

“Get rid of that shit!” David growled, discarding the system messages before they could ruin his focus.

He uttered a few more Words of Power until the structure was complete and a full, connecting ring of runic letters revolved around him.

David released the remaining Vitae at once and watched in glee as chaos descended.

The spell structure of Words of Power, containing every bit of the Vitae he had accumulated over the months, descended onto the ground and seeped into it. An undead was just about to emerge, but it disappeared the instant the spell structure poured into the ground.

Only then did the true might of Vitae woven into the Words of Power unleash.

The power unfolded.

It spread rapidly throughout the park until every nook and cranny was drained of the presence of death. In its place, Vitae claimed the park, occupying every inch and asserting itself as the ruler, the sovereign of the quaint park that must have once been a beautiful place to rest. The dead soil tore open beneath the weakest undead, and Vitae burst out. Pillars of seemingly all-consuming darkness sprouted from the ground and swallowed the undead, devouring them whole.

Pillars of Vitae killed the undead at the Iron and Bronze rank instantaneously, but even Infected at the Silver rank failed to travel across the park. It was almost as if the park had become David’s—or perhaps Vitae’s—domain.

Did that really matter? David didn’t care all too much, since he had supreme control of Vitae. He was the only being of the Origin capable of wielding Vitae Nihilum, and he would do everything it took to nourish it and to grow alongside Vitae.

The Corrupted Divine Heart may not have been a creation of his imagination, nor had he truly earned the Divine Seed, as it was not he who created it, but David would wield it all to ascend to godhood and become a being stronger than the Fallen, or even Zachariah, had ever been.

Only beings above the Silver rank did not succumb to the Domain of Vitae, yet even the abominations formed from the corpses of hundreds of Infected couldn’t resist the Pillars of Vitae. They infested the walking dead and feasted on death, leaving the undead not even the inkling of a chance at survival.

David’s grin widened, revealing a row of teeth, and he surged forward, casting [Phantom Rush] and [Herald’s Blessing]. Vitae coursed through his veins and shrouded his skin and armaments as he appeared before a towering undead.

It was clearly an Elite, possibly even a Region Boss. Regardless, it resisted Vitae enough to stimulate him, to urge him to push onward and attack as well.

The towering undead’s massive fists smashed down upon him, but David didn’t even consider evading. He conjured several layers of a highly durable shield to block the incoming attack, only for it to shatter as the undead’s fists struck.

Yes! It was about damn time! he roared in his heart, giving in to the delight and excitement. He conjured [Crimson Bulwark], amplified it with [Herald’s Blessing], and fortified the blood armor with half a dozen layers of [Bloodbound Bastion]. Sure, that was expensive, but the price was something David paid in delight as the undead’s fists continued to crash down upon him.

He could have evaded the attack, maybe even cast [Phantom Rush] again, or blocked the attack with a simple, overclocked cast of [Bloodbound Bastion], but where was the fun in that?

When the fists crashed down on his head like warhammers, David felt pain for the first time in a long time. It wasn’t life-threatening, or even bothersome. If anything, it was no more than a tickle as the impacting force spread across [Crimson Bulwark] and the myriad of crimson shields covering the armor. But even then… it was something.

David embraced the tickle and returned the favor. Pristine-white currents slithered across the Obsidian Blade as a thick, grayish-silver hue enveloped it. A moment later, the towering undead’s fists lobbed through the air in a beautiful arc. Pungent blood spurted out, surprising David a little, but he didn’t stop after severing the towering giant’s fists. He leaped into the air, Words of Power rolling from his lips as he slashed the beast of an undead.

Lightning Rend arced through the air, tearing through the undead and dicing the creature.

As the pieces of the undead hit the ground, Vitae poured out from beneath the earth. It surged forth and devoured the chunks of the Gold-ranked Mini Boss with the same delight David felt when the Divine Seed quivered.

The Corrupted Divine Heart was beating wildly as Vitae surged. However, Vitae Nihilum was not the only force that trickled into David as it amassed more power. The door to the Weave opened ever so slightly, unraveling its grandeur to the Divine Seed.

A trickle of power, stronger than he was used to, poured into him. But even as the Divine Seed grew stronger, David couldn’t feel new bonds forming. Even the existing bonds didn’t change.

Everything was the same, except for Vitae. Vitae flowed into him, alongside the Might of the Weave.