Nyxtharion became history’s first necromancer.
But…
“What is that power? Disgusting.”
“A proud dragon using dead as his pawns… is revolting. Let’s not meet again.”
“Is he really ‘his’ grandson?”
“That power is evil! He must be banished!”
Nyxtharion didn’t understand why they were acting like that. Evil? That depended on the holder’s hand.
In correct hands, Necromancy could allow anyone to be strong. It could change tides of wars.
Fear. Disgust.
And finally…
“You will be banished.”
“Why, grandfather!? Why? What have I done wrong? The power can never be evil! Darkness isn’t evil, death isn’t evil, then why Necromancy!”
Nyxtharion still remembered those emotionless eyes filled with apathy looking down on him.
“Tell me, Nyxtharion. If someone resurrects your parents and makes them dance to his whim, force them to do something utterly disgusting, would you still say the same?”
“That’s just a hypothetical—”
“If you turn Necromancy into an Element, countless people would be able to use it. Then, that hypothetical situation will come true easily.”
Nyxtharion was stripped of his bloodline and exiled when he refused to give up on Necromancy.
He was left as a mere Elder Dragon.
But it didn’t matter to Nyxtharion.
He would rather pursue his own path, than give up on it because others said so.
So, he struggled.
Struggled.
And struggled.
He might be only an Elder Dragon, but every piece of his body was a treasure.
Hunters, mercenaries, galactic civilizations, cults.
Returners, regressors, people trying to achieve heroic achievements, Reincarnators.
All of them tried to hunt Nyxtharion.
As he was a dragon, hunting him would be a legendary achievement. As he was an ‘evil’ Necromancer, taking him down was a just task.
As his family no longer cared for him, no retribution would fall on anyone even if they killed Nyxtharion, and sold each part of his body.
But…
Nyxtharion refused to give up.
He fought.
He killed.
He used their corpses to strengthen his ever-increasing army.
It didn’t continue for long, however.
Nyxtharion quickly realized the power of Necromancy wasn’t refined. It brought unneeded changes in his body.
It was changing him, and not in a good way.
“I need to get my Ancient Dragon bloodline back. That’s the only way I can stop these unneeded changes in this body.”
He set out on a search.
Instead of waiting passively and being attacked, he invaded lands, kingdoms, worlds.
Of course, he never killed people or harmed them unless they attacked him first.
But not everyone saw it like that.
‘He is bullying the weak.’
‘The evil necromancer is finally revealing his true nature.’
The news spread. The rumors increased the number of hunters and mercenaries attacking him.
And ‘he’ was among them.
Cole Calloway.
He was unfathomably powerful.
His strength made Ancient Dragons look like toddlers.
But he was just as weird.
Instead of attacking Nyxtharion, he beat everyone who had come to kill Nyxtharion, then escaped with Nyxtharion.
“Why did you help me?”
“For an achievement.”
“Huh?”
“Okay, this is hard to explain,” Cole had said. “Think of reality as a game, and in games you get achievements on completing special milestones. That’s why I saved you, I wanted to see if I would get something.”
“You… antagonized the universal alliance for just that?”
“Hey, what do you mean just that? Achievements are something that every gamer would die for!”
Nyxtharion made a mental correction. Cole wasn’t weird, he was insane.
“Argh! What’s with your look? Dammit, is there no one here who knows about games?! What kind of shitty universe is this!”
Suddenly, the memories stopped.
Cole raised his head and looked at Thanatos in the eye.
Then, Cole looked around.
“I see, so this is a memory.”
A smile appeared on Cole’s face.
“I don’t know who you are or why you are watching this, but I would rather not have someone invade in my personal time, so….”
The world of memory began to crack.
“I’ll give you a choice. Answer my question and I might let you watch the memories.”
“Ask,” Thanatos said.
Although he was surprised to see Cole act individually in a memory, it matched with the strength Cole had showed.
“There is an open world game where the protagonist is fighting the armies of hell. You can choose between a male protagonist or the female protagonist, which one would you play with?”
Thanatos stared at Cole with a deadpan expression.
Why did every strong person have to be a weirdo?
Shaking his head, Thanatos answered, “Female protagonist.”
Cole stared at him for a few seconds then nodded, “Good, you passed.”
The memories resumed.
Nyxtharion and Cole had become temporary travel companions.
“What are you?” Nyxtharion had once asked. “You are too… different from anyone I’ve seen.”
“Of course, you haven’t seen me. I’m a human, and I’m from another universe.”
“…?”
“To be exact, I’m from Earth. It’s a nice world by the way, give it a visit when you have time.”
Cole then began to drink and cry about how he found Earth in this cosmos.
He planned to turn Earth’s time forward by eons, and take a gaming console from that world.
“What’s the problem with my plan? I’ll revert time! But no! Those Eternal bastards won’t let me! Rule this, rule that!”
Despite having unimaginable strength, the man was whimsical, egotistic, and… a family that Nyxtharion never had.
The more time they spent together, the more Nyxtharion was amazed.
Cole always talked about the Beyond, the Well, and other fascinating things.
“Hmm, if there is someone as strong as me?” Cole repeated Nyxtharion’s question.
“Yes.”
“I guess? To be honest, since I’m from a different universe, this cosmos’ rules don’t bind me. That’s why my strength can’t be measured properly here.
“But if I have to talk about someone who was born here, then… a Heavenbreaker. Yup, those guys can become as strong as me.
“Actually, that’s what I’ve been telling everyone. That I’m a Heavenbreaker. Can’t let them know I’m from somewhere else since it would cause a whole other mess.”
Their time ended abruptly when Cole suddenly disappeared one day.
Nyxtharion felt betrayed.
Weren’t they good friends? How could he leave without saying goodbye?
Grumbling, Nyxtharion returned to his task of turning Necromancy into an element.
But now he had another goal.
Visit the Beyond and Well. He wanted to see if they were truly as picturesque and breathtaking as Cole made them out to be.
It was then that he fell into Tartarus’ Nightmare World.