"A kingdom that can be seen can be destroyed. Mine will begin in the dark."
Midnight.
The Grand Academy slept beneath a quilt of silent stars, unaware that within its very bones, something ancient was being reborn.
Kael moved like shadow beneath the moonlight, his cloak fluttering with a whisper. The Blackpine Forest—just beyond the Academy's eastern gates—had long been abandoned. Superstition kept students away. Old rumors spoke of cursed bones and vanishing deer.
He knew better.
[Location Match: Cursed Earth Detected. Suitable for Tomb Gate construction.][Materials Required: Bone (x5), Soul Ash (x1), Curse-infused Soil (x1)][You currently possess: Bone (2), Soul Ash (1), Curse Soil (1)]
"Two more bones. Let's go hunting."
🌲 The Forest Hunt
Kael whistled once—low and cold.
From behind a tree stumbled a grotesque, reanimated figure. The corpse of Lord Halden, now dressed in the black robes of servitude, its jaw sewn shut with sinew.
It was mindless. But obedient.
"Fetch me two bodies. They don't need to be noble."
The corpse sprinted off, faster than any man had a right to move.
Kael waited.
Ten minutes later, the husk dragged two dead wolves across the soil. Their necks had been snapped clean.
Kael knelt beside them.
"May your death serve a higher purpose than your life."
He drew his dagger and extracted their femurs, adding them to the pile. The soul ash—gathered from the cremated corpse of Halden—glimmered in a glass vial. The cursed soil? Already soaked into the earth.
[Materials Acquired. Initiating Construction.]
Kael knelt in a shallow clearing and carved a sigil of broken crowns into the dirt. The ground trembled.
A ring of black stones rose from the forest floor—chained together by crimson runes. At their center, a stone platform emerged, etched with bones and obsidian veins.
The Tomb Gate was born.
[Tomb Gate (Tier 0) Constructed]— Allows summoning of 1 Undead Acolyte every 3 days.— Can be expanded into dungeon, fortress, or undercity. Requires future blueprints.
Kael stepped onto the platform.
A new rune flared beneath his feet. His blood lit the stones like wildfire.
[Summoning Graveborn Acolyte…][100 VP automatically deducted.]
The shadows coiled.
From the platform's heart rose a skeletal figure wrapped in mage robes, its eye sockets glowing with eerie blue flame. It held a staff of bone and twisted gold.
It dropped to one knee.
"I am yours, Forsaken Monarch," it rasped. "My soul was bound in death. My loyalty is eternal."
"Name?"
"None."
Kael nodded.
"Then I name you Varnak."
🧠 Later That Night — Tomb Planning
Kael and Varnak sat within the glowing sigil, the runes humming quietly.
"You will learn the internal layout of the Academy. Their mana network. Surveillance wards. Guard rotations."
"Yes, master."
Kael placed a hand on the tomb wall. It pulsed under his fingers.
"Soon, we'll bring others. Not just corpses. Students. Nobles. Professors. Those who can be turned. Broken. Bound."
"And what of those who cannot be turned?" Varnak asked.
Kael smiled.
"Then they'll make excellent stonework for the walls."
🏛️ Back at the Academy — Morning
Elira Viremont stood outside the potions wing, watching the crowd.
The entire school was still talking about Raven Ashfall.
Some called him a rogue noble. Others whispered he was a foreign prince. A few believed he was an assassin disguised as a student. No one could confirm a thing.
And that terrified them.
She turned as Kael approached, back in his raven mask and simple robes.
"You've stirred the nest, you know. Lorian's still being fed liquid food after what you did."
"He should be grateful to still have a jaw."
Elira smiled.
"There's going to be an announcement today. Some royal guard from the Empire is arriving to… monitor 'student discipline' moving forward."
"Let them come," Kael replied. "I'll wear my best smile."
"Your smiles are terrifying."
"Good."
🕯️ That Evening — Tomb Gate Interior
Kael stood over the sigil, alone.
[System Alert: Villain Reputation Increased]Some students now Fear you. Some Respect you. Others Wish to Eliminate You.
[Villain Points Earned: +100][Shop Update Incoming — New Tier I Items Available Soon.]
But none of it mattered yet.
The tomb had begun. His roots were planted.
A secret empire, under the very feet of the heroes-to-be.
Soon, they would bow.
And if they didn't?
They'd burn.