The Undead Realm, the Blood Red Wasteland.
A crimson moon hung high in the sky, and a thick blood mist permeated the air.
When Ning Busan woke up, he was leaning against a tombstone.
He tried to stand up, his bones making a crisp clattering sound.
Looking down at his body, he saw not flesh and blood, but skeletal white bones.
Ning Busan's jaw clicked open and shut as he muttered to himself, “I've become... an undead?”
Lucifer, who had been guarding him all this time, finally let out a sigh of relief. “You're awake...”
Ning Busan walked over to a puddle not far away. The water's surface reflected a skeletal frame. Every inch of bone looked as though it had been carved from ice and snow, gleaming with a cold, glazed sheen.
Within his eye sockets, a faint green soulfire burned silently.
Ning Busan raised a hand to press against his chest, feeling the presence of a soul core.
The Undead King's soul core should have been with Leo.
Ning Busan walked over to Lucifer and asked, “Where is Leo?”
At the mention of Leo's name, Lucifer's expression instantly became indescribable, his eyes filled with undisguised disgust and loathing.
Ning Busan: ?
Just what had happened during the time he was unconscious?
“He left,” Lucifer replied.
“Left?” Ning Busan asked, puzzled. “Did he not leave any message?”
“No.” Lucifer's tone was laced with malice. “A soul core is the heart of an undead. Since he gave it to you, his death is close at hand.”
The image of Leo's smug, punchable face flashed through Ning Busan's mind, and he said with absolute certainty, “He won't die.”
How could he die so easily?
Even without a soul core, didn't he still have a human heart?
Lucifer sneered. “It doesn't matter even if he doesn't die. I'll let it slide this time, but the next time I see him, I will definitely kill him.”
Ning Busan asked curiously, “Why are you so hostile toward Leo? Did you know him before?”
“He was the one who taught me how to use the power of chaos. He must have had an ulterior motive,” Lucifer said. “That was ten thousand years ago, right after you disappeared and I had just become the Lord of Hell.”
“At that time, Leo wasn't an undead yet; he was a human. He came to Hell to find me and took the initiative to share the cultivation method for the power of chaos with me.”
“But I rejected him. With my own abilities, I was perfectly capable of securing my position as the Lord of Hell. Why would I cultivate a technique given to me by a human of unknown origin?”
“But on the day the God of Darkness descended upon Hell, she not only stripped me of all my abilities but also tore off my wings, intentionally humiliating me.”
“So during my time in the deep sea, I began to cultivate the power of chaos.”
Ning Busan listened in silence.
“But I never expected that I would actually be controlled, to the point of almost killing you.” Lucifer's tone was filled with remorse.
“I should stay away from you, so I won't be manipulated again and do something that hurts you.”
“No! I need you!” Ning Busan stopped him, the soulfire in his eye sockets flickering. “I know very little about the power of chaos, so I want you to stay by my side.”
Ning Busan's intuition told him that the entity from the Ruins Beyond the Boundary was definitely his enemy, so he had to find a way to counter the power of chaos.
And Lucifer was a highly suitable sparring partner.
Lucifer nodded. “As long as you have any need, you can call upon me at any time.”
Truth be told, Ning Busan was a bit baffled by Lucifer's mindset.
“When we were in the Divine Realm, why did you help me instead of the God of Light?” Ning Busan felt a lingering unease if he didn't ask clearly. “Do you really not want Phoenix to return?”
Lucifer said, “Phoenix is my brother, but so are you. Whichever of you goes up against the God of Light, I will choose to help you.”
Ning Busan understood.
This was the legendary doting brother complex!
Lucifer hadn't thought that deeply at all, nor had he believed the God of Light's nonsense. He had simply made an unconditional choice between his father and his brothers, choosing his brothers.
Lucifer seemed to recall something, his brow filling with nostalgia and loneliness. “Phoenix... he was the kindest, most righteous, and bravest angel in Heaven.”
“When the God of Light took away Phoenix's memories and personally drove him to become Satan, our split was already set in stone.”
“Perhaps he had his own considerations, perhaps he had his own plans, but Phoenix is already gone.”
“What makes him think Phoenix would even want to return?”
“What makes him think everything can go back to the way it was?”
“He is far too arrogant...”
The look in Lucifer's eyes when he mentioned the God of Light was like a dying bonfire—there was still a trace of warmth left, but it would never burn bright again.
Ning Busan silently complained in his heart: But you're pretty arrogant too!
The God of Light was indeed arrogant; he believed that no matter what happened, Lucifiel would understand him and stand by his side unconditionally.
Thus, he never explained; he only kept silent.
But Lucifer was equally arrogant.
The God of Light kept silent, so Lucifer responded with an even more decisive silence—if you won't explain, I won't ask.
Yet the rift between them never disappeared. He began to question the God of Light's decisions, coldly watching him like a judge, even pointing his sword at the Divine Seat.
Even knowing that bowing his head could restore his former glory, he refused to be the first to sue for peace, preferring to fall into the abyss and march toward an adversarial end.
The two of them were simply too stubbornly complicated.
If only one of them had a mouth and was willing to speak openly, things would never have reached this point.
Lucifer said, “Let's not bring up the past. You don't remember any of it anyway.”
Just then, a brilliant white crack suddenly split the sky, and a blinding light poured down.
Meanwhile, the crimson moon dissolved into a pale purple mist amid the morning light.
This was the day-and-night cycle of the Undead Realm.
The tombstones standing all over the Blood Red Wasteland began to tremble. One by one, skeletal white hands burst from the soil, their finger bones still caked with crimson mud.
Every undead had their own tombstone. They slept beneath it at night and came out to bask in the sun once dawn broke.
Such was the life of an undead.
Ning Busan turned his head to look at the half-broken tombstone beside him.
The tombstone was slightly crooked, driven deep into the blood-red soil. It looked quite new, likely just erected, and carved upon it in a flamboyant script were three large characters: Louis.
It was glaringly obvious whose handiwork this was.
Lucifer asked, “I heard that the undead love basking in the sun?”
Ning Busan tilted his head back and let out a soft sigh. “Well, I certainly love it right now.”
The streams of light penetrated every inch of his bones, evaporating the icy chill into wisps of black smoke.
He felt relaxed right down to his very bones.
Ning Busan murmured, “I have to do something right now...”
Lucifer asked, “What is it?”
Ning Busan created a large, soft bed and lay down on it.
“Ah, so good~”
Rate on N.U.
