The cold New York morning carried with it the hum of rising chaos—too faint for most to hear, but not for Elijah. Even with the sun peeking lazily through a web of clouds above Brooklyn's abandoned industrial strip, the shadows near him felt alive, eager. Waiting.
He exhaled, fog curling from his lips as he stepped into the forgotten factory grounds. Rusted conveyor belts, shattered skylights, graffiti-scrawled walls—perfect for what he was about to do.
"Alright… let's see what I'm working with," Elijah muttered, pulling up his status window with a single thought. The now-familiar transparent blue screen blinked into view before him.
[Status Window – Elijah Voss]Rank: FTitle: NoneClass: Necromancer (Unique Variant)Summon Slots: 0/2Assigned Summons: • Karu – Triad General [Command Slots: 0/10] • Vaelith – Triad General [Command Slots: 0/5] • ??? – Triad General [Command Slots: 0/2]
He blinked. "Wait… They have slots of their own?" He skimmed again, muttering the numbers. "Ten for Karu, five for Vaelith, two for the mystery guest…"
Elijah's brow furrowed, and for a moment he was silent. Then he grinned. "Of course they do. Generals need armies, right?"
The weight of what that meant began to settle in. His summons weren't just monsters—they were commanders. Leaders. Architects of the undead forces he would someday marshal. And yet… he only had two slots of his own.
He flicked his fingers, dismissing the menu with a mental swipe.
"Well," he said, stepping onto a cracked platform in the center of the floor. "Time to build an empire the old-fashioned way—one corpse at a time."
He raised his left hand.
The back of it gleamed softly, the newly manifested symbol pulsing like a heartbeat. It looked like a broken circle split into three crescent arcs—each arc representing a piece of the Triad. When Karu or Vaelith manifested, their respective arcs disappeared. It was subtle, but he'd already imagined how clever enemies might use it to their advantage… if they ever got close enough to try.
He pointed his palm downward, channeling his will.
"Awaken."
The word rolled from his mouth like thunder through a crypt.
The ground beneath him cracked. A low hum throbbed in the air, a vibration that sent rats scurrying from their hiding holes. One by one, three undead rose from the dust, their forms swirling together from bone, tattered cloth, and the echoes of forgotten souls.
They were… plain. One resembled a skeletal knight with rusted armor. Another had the vague features of a plague doctor, carrying a brittle satchel. The last was hunched, its back riddled with bone spines and twitching claws.
Elijah tilted his head. "Alright. Ugly, uglier, and 'what the hell is that?' You'll do."
He inspected them carefully—noting their default forms were as expected. These weren't part of the Triad. They were his, and therefore customizable… in time.
"Let's test the system," he said. "Karu."
In a flash of crimson smoke, Karu materialized beside him. Tall, lean, and sharp-eyed, the Triad warrior stood with arms crossed, blades at his back, always silently assessing.
"Pick one," Elijah said, gesturing toward the summons.
Karu's eyes narrowed. "The knight. Its structure is sound. The armor is flawed but correctable."
"Good. He's yours."
Elijah extended a hand, then directed the undead toward Karu. As if obeying an unspoken law, the skeletal knight turned and walked to the commander. A faint red tether connected them the moment it passed behind Karu's shadow.
The change was immediate.
The skeleton shuddered, metal groaning as the rust fell from its armor. Dark runes etched themselves along the plates. A crest formed on its shoulder—Karu's mark. The empty eye sockets glowed with twin crimson sparks.
[Karu – Command Slots: 1/10] • Undead Knight - Class: Vanguard | Rank: F | Traits: Shield Wall, Loyal Guard
Elijah's grin widened. "You really do reshape them."
Karu nodded once. "Only the capable ones. This one has potential."
With a thought, Elijah summoned Vaelith.
Where Karu brought heat and force, Vaelith arrived like a silent snowfall. Her wings of ash folded gently behind her robed frame, arcane energy humming around her like a living ward.
"Elijah," she said smoothly, her voice melodic yet edged like obsidian.
"You're up," he said, nodding toward the other two. "Take your pick."
She studied them, then pointed toward the plague doctor. "That one is already attuned to death's breath. I can mold it."
The undead turned, drifting toward her. As it entered her domain, a wave of spectral energy engulfed it. The satchel hardened into a reinforced grimoire. Its mask shimmered, reshaped into a half-skull visage. Ghostly tendrils wrapped around its form, and violet flames began to burn inside its chest cavity.
[Vaelith – Command Slots: 1/5] • Undead Arcanist – Class: Cursed Alchemist | Rank: F | Traits: Plague Aura, Hexweaver
"Alright then," Elijah whispered, arms folded. "The last one's mine."
He looked at the spined hunchback—still twitching, still restless.
Elijah stepped closer and pressed a hand to its forehead. "Name's Elijah Voss. You're mine now."
The creature straightened. Bone shards retracted and locked into tighter formation. A jet-black hood coalesced over its head, and talon-like fingers extended. Its eyes glowed a faint emerald green, not crimson, not violet. Something in between.
[Elijah – Personal Summons: 1/2] • Undead Stalker – Class: Rogue Revenant | Rank: F | Traits: Shadowmeld, Bone Dagger
Elijah exhaled and dismissed the summon back into the void, letting his hand return to normal. "Looks like we're in business."
He looked at his Triad—Karu now with a knight at his side, Vaelith standing beside her new arcane creation. The third Triad segment on his hand remained dim.
Not yet.
But soon.
Elijah stepped off the platform and began to walk toward the exit, the crunch of gravel under his boots loud in the empty space. The undead returned to their realm, waiting to be called again.
He paused at the rusted doorway, turning back one last time.
"We're going to need more," he said to the air.
Karu appeared beside him. "More soldiers?"
"More everything," Elijah replied. "I've got two slots now. And I'm guessing that number grows as I rank up."
Vaelith's voice echoed in his mind as she hovered gently behind him. "Power obeys power. Growth invites evolution. Your next rank may not be far off."
"Then I'd better keep moving," Elijah muttered. "Because this world isn't going to wait for me."
Outside, the wind carried whispers of turmoil—rising guilds, emerging powers, crumbling governments. Rumors of an S-Rank Entity moving through Chicago. A girl in Russia rumored to command shadows without form. A boy in Lagos whose scream shattered an entire apartment block.
And always… stories of a man dressed in black whose undead walked like soldiers behind him.
Elijah wasn't that man. Not yet.
But he would be.
Eventually.
And when he was… even death would kneel.