The Necropolis groaned with quiet life.
Kael stood at the highest platform, overlooking the sprawling fortress-city that had grown under his command. Towers of black stone, bridges carved from abyssal bone, treant-grown living walls wrapped in silvered bark — all of it was his. All of it was theirs.
And soon, he would leave it behind.
"Gather everything," Kael commanded, his voice resonating through the system-link to his summons. "Not one shard of ore, not one relic of abyssal bone stays behind. Bring it all."
The army obeyed.
Kobolds moved in disciplined squads, prying abyssal steel from walls and extracting the last veins of ore they themselves had discovered years ago.
Treants carefully uprooted fungal flora and ancient wood that might serve in future battles, their roots tearing up the streets with deep rumbling cracks.
Beastmen carried the heavier loads, hauling dismantled forges, weapon racks, and even whole sections of carved halls.
Goblins swarmed like ants, stripping barracks, dragging weapons, and chanting as they worked. Graknar, towering now as the Chieftain, barked orders that turned the chaos into brutal efficiency.
Kael lifted his hand, activating Inventory. Light shimmered. Entire structures blinked out of existence — halls, towers, storehouses — drawn into the infinite void-space.
[ Stored: Abyssal Forge Complex ][ Stored: Treant Living-Wall Segment ][ Stored: Abyssal Steel Reserves (32,880 units) ]
Each message struck him harder than the last.
This fortress had been his home, his bastion against the abyss. He had carved it from nothing, built it with his blood, and now he was… dismantling it.
"System," Kael muttered, his hand tightening on his staff. "Purchase skill: Skill Sharing."
[ Skill Acquired: Skill Sharing (A-Rank) ][ Cost: 50 Skill Points. Remaining: 163,410 ]
The energy coursed through him, threads of luminous silver connecting him to his army.
"Activate. Share: Inventory."
Light lanced outward, webbing across his army. One by one, their eyes flared with understanding.
[ Skill Shared: Inventory ]
Kobolds tested it immediately, lifting ore into their claws before vanishing it into invisible storage. Beastmen roared in triumph as they stored entire anvils with a thought. Even goblins screamed with laughter, dragging piles of discarded blades into their own inventories.
For the first time, Kael's army carried their fortress with them.
Kael looked around. The Necropolis was being stripped bare. Soon, only empty foundations and the scars of old battles would remain.
He clenched his fist.
"This place…" His voice was low, meant only for himself. "We bled here. We starved here. We survived here. And now… we leave it behind."
For a moment, he felt the pull of attachment — a bond forged through countless battles. The Necropolis had been more than stone and walls; it had been their proof that even in the abyss, life could grow.
But he was no longer the man who stumbled into the darkness with one fragile flame spirit at his side. He was a Necromancer with an army of sovereigns. His path lay ahead, not behind.
A deep crack echoed across the Necropolis.
Kael turned sharply. At the center of the dais, the cocoons of his evolving leaders and sovereigns shuddered.
The first cocoon split. Pyraflame's, glowing like a newborn sun. Then Aquara's, spilling tides of silver water. Then the others.
Crack-crack-crack.
The entire dais shook as all cocoons pulsed with unbearable light and energy.
Kael's breath caught as the entire Necropolis trembled, the energy of their ascensions pushing against the abyss itself.
Pyraflame, Flame Sovereign Drake (Mythic).His scales shimmered like molten suns, and his wings unfurled with a span that cast shadows across the entire citadel. His roar ignited the air itself, a sovereign of flame unbound.
Aquara, Tidecaller Spirit (Mythic).Her body was an endless tide wrapped into form, crowned with coral and silvered shells. Every movement sent waves cascading across the stone. With her came serenity — and annihilation.
Luminara, Seraph's Dawn (Mythic).Her six radiant wings cut through the abyss like dawn banishing night. Her presence alone banished corruption. She looked upon Kael with the calm of eternity.
Umbra, Shadow Stalker (Mythic).A shifting form of predator and void, his body was mist, hound, and shadow all at once. His eyes gleamed like abyssal stars, promising death unseen.
Terrathorn, Earth Sovereign Colossus (Mythic).Rising from the broken cocoon, his body was a walking fortress of stone and roots. Jagged crystals grew from his arms like blades, and each step made the ground quake.
Voltra, Lightning Sovereign Storm (Mythic).A humanoid form wrapped in crackling arcs of thunder. Her hair whipped like storm-fire, and every breath she drew charged the air with killing intent. Lightning bled from her fingertips, striking the ground with each gesture.
Zephyros, Wind Sovereign Gale (Mythic).His form was lean, translucent, made of rushing streams of air wrapped in swirling sigils. Wings of cutting gales spread from his back, and his voice was the howl of a storm breaking chains.
Graknar, Goblin Overlord (Mythic).No longer a goblin. A titan clad in black-iron flesh and crowned with horns of bone. His warcry alone drove goblins into frenzy, a god-king of monsters born anew.
The dais shone with the combined light of flame, tide, dawn, shadow, earth, storm, and gale. The abyss itself recoiled, the air trembling as if unwilling to host so many sovereigns in one place.
Kael raised his hand, feeling the web of power between them tighten. Each of them — his creations, his companions, his army — now looked upon him not just as summoner but as their sovereign.
The system chimed.
[ Evolution Complete: Elemental Sovereigns and Leaders Ascended. ][ Warning: Final Floor Teleportation Circle Stabilized. Destination: Abyssal Throne. ]
The teleportation circle flared into existence at the heart of the dais, a swirling gate of black and crimson light.
Kael lowered his hand slowly. His army — mythic, sovereign, unyielding — stood ready behind him.
"…This is it," he whispered. His voice was not trembling. It was steady. Cold. Final.
The Abyss had taken everything from him.Now, he would take everything from it.