Salvation of the Scum Fifth Prince

The area had always been heavy, filled with a weighing air of misery, but it became to the extent that even Soren felt the weight of it. It was a place no person could survive — that much he could understand more than any other.

 

The regular person couldn't survive, and a person like Soren who had adapted to such a feeling could only barely keep moving forward. 

 

As his mind blurred, swirling between reality and delusion, a voice echoed in his head. One so bland and forgettable, with an identity that was the complete opposite. 

 

[You are very close to death.]

 

The voice was both loud and quiet, carrying that familiar gruffness which Soren found irritating.

 

"Thank you for stating the obvious." muttered Soren through his haze. If the God of Death was really such a great being, why was it that all they did was echo in Soren's head until he got a splitting headache from their voice?

 

[I can only communicate with you at this time. At a level so surrounded by death, yet not able to die.]

 

Soren thought, this information was really unnecessary, and he didn't need to know it at all. However, any of the thoughts that flowed through his head were loud and clear to the God. 

 

[I thought you enjoyed learning new things.]

 

"Only interesting things."

 

[......]

 

Only Soren would be able to argue with a God in such a situation, or even at all. One would assume that he'd face some heavenly punishment, but the God seemed almost indulgent in Soren's harsh and careless words, not saying anything to stop him. It bothered Soren, a tingling feeling at the back of his mind that kept him alert.

 

[You may die soon.]

 

"Doesn't matter."

 

He'd come back to life anyway — it was for that reason he'd act so carelessly. Well, that wasn't quite right. Soren would risk his life over and over again, even if it truly killed him. The only reason for that, was because Soren had every intention to die, once, long ago. It wasn't that he didn't now, but that he'd given up on the possibility after many futile attempts.

 

[Be positive.]

 

The encouragement was so bland and emotionless that it almost sounded like something Soren would say. To the point the prince frowned even if he was suffocating in the mist.

 

"Quiet."

 

[No.]

 

Then the voice added, [Currently, it's my presence that is keeping you alive.]

 

"Unnecessary."

 

As he said that, Soren had a disturbing realization. That if the God of Death could appear like this at random, he could possibly appear in the future.

 

[I already said, I can only do so when you're near death.]

 

"Quiet, I'm thinking."

 

[I'm telling you the answers.]

 

"Don't care."

 

The God of Death seemed to be ready to speak, before a wave of dark mana washed over Soren in tidal waves. Violent and suffocating, filling him completely in it's darkness. Soren coughed violently, gritting his teeth. The pain was raw and vivid, but also dull and deep. 

 

It was difficult to see through the rapid torrents of mana, the trees long turned into ash as they wilted away into nothingness. 

 

[Keep your eyes open.]

 

Soren almost closed his eyes at the words, but squinted with annoyance. 

 

Then, he saw it. In the center, sprawled on the ground in an ugly manner, the last necromancer was... sleeping?

 

It was a young girl, or so Soren assumed from his blurry vision. Ebony hair that was straight as a pine, slightly past her shoulder and a sleeping face with furrowed brows, as if caught in a long nightmare. She should've been around Damien's age, but it wouldn't make sense. 

 

Her skin was dep brown, with dark veins running up and her body like scars.

 

[Keep going.]

 

"Shut up."

 

[.....] Really, all this God was trying to do was help. He felt that his actions weren't appreciated enough.

 

Soren, oblivious to the God's feelings, walked close and closer before the girl's eyes snapped open.

 

Bloody red pupils and bleeding black eyes. 

 

There seemed to be confusion on her face as she stared unblinkingly before she frowned, grabbing Soren's collar roughly. 

 

"What..." said the girl through her dizziness. "the hell are you?"

 

The mist snapped against the ground, shrouding her in thorny strands:

 

She furrowed her brows more, crimson eyes seeming to try and search his soul for answers. However, her voice was weak and arm trembling before she flung her head to the side, coughing violently before heaving on the floor, crossing her legs in.

 

"Holy crap." said the girl in a rather surprised manner. "Where am I?"

 

Then, she turned to Soren and said, "I'm going to pass out. Please take care of it, stranger. Thanks."

 

Suddenly, the black mist shrunk back, concentrating around her as everything grew quiet. It was as if the raging air of misery had found its solace in her waking.

 

"....." Soren looked at the girl who had collapsed as promised, narrowing his eyes. It had to be a scam, right? This teenager who didn't even know where they are couldn't possibly know the location of the Barren Kingdom. Not to mention, her way of speaking hardly sounded like an ancient necromancer who'd lived many years, or an elegant person of deep knowledge.

 

She was, simply put, suspicious.

 

Soren even considered turning around now and declaring that he'd found no such necromancer, but it was undoubtable that she was the center of this storm. 

 

[Take her.]

 

"Why?"

 

[She might be useful.]

 

For once, Soren seemed to be on the wavelength with this God. No, in reality, he was always similar to this God in their way of acting and speaking. It bothered him, but the God had already explained that they took the manner of behaving from who they were talking to.

 

However, Soren squinted at the girl unsurely. "Looks heavy."

 

[She looks as if she's been starved.]

 

Then, the God stabbed at Soren's weakness. [You're just lazy.]

 

"You're the God of Death. Tell me, is she the last necromancer?" There was nothing wrong in confirming something when there was a means of doing it. 

 

[No.]

 

"Then?"

 

The God was quiet for a moment before confirming, [But she is the one you're looking for.]

 

"You make no sense." said Soren with a shake of his head.

 

[Everything is... complicated. There are things I can't say.]

 

"Useless."

 

Then, a gentle voice floated behind his ears. "Soren, who is it that you're talking to?"

 

With her wavy locks in messy tumbles and a pale complexion, it was clear that she had rushed over the moment she had managed to calm the pain from the mist. Despite Vendra's messy appearance, she still carried an odd elegance in her walk and appearance.

 

Soren saw no need to hide it and pointed up carelessly. "God."

 

"Pardon?" Her ocean eyes were wide in bewilderment, as if trying to decipher his words. Perhaps this stony-faced prince also had a strange way of telling jokes, assumed Vendra. She was wrong. Soren would've corrected her too if he'd known, for he didn't carry a single bone in his body that knew the definition of humor.

 

[This mist is clearing. My connection is weakened.]

 

"Good."

 

[Bye.]

 

With that, the voice disappeared completely, and any presence of the Death God vanished. Soren blinked, rubbed his temples as if to shake out any remainders of the bland tone that had invaded his mind only seconds earlier and turned to Vendra.

 

"The God of Death was speaking."

 

"It... the God of Death?" repeated the woman in surprise before she pursed her lips in deep thought. "I suppose, it would make sense considering who you are."

 

"Yeah." Soren changed the subject. "Please pick her up."

 

"Who are you referring t—"

 

Vendra trailed off as her gaze followed his vision, landing on the collapsed girl who seemed to be sleeping rather peacefully, despite her frail and gaunt appearance. 

 

"Perhaps, is this the necromancer?"

 

"Yeah."

 

Vendra didn't discriminate against appearance, but instead from the aura the person gave off. It was obvious to anybody with eyes that this slumbering teenager was no normal person. "Oh my, yes, I'll pick her up."

 

Quite effortlessly, Vendra scooped the sleeping girl into her arms, managed to gracefully stand up despite the added weight, and turned to Soren with a smile.

 

"Shall we go, Soren?"

 

The prince nodded and followed behind Vendra as they headed down the mountain. It was less straining on the mind on the way back, with the majority of the weighing darkness lighter than before.

 

However, when Soren reached the end of the mountain, he stopped and turned around.

 

Even if the dark mana had started to fade, the stench of death would forever remain, embedded into the soil and imprinted on this land. The struggles that occurred and the exact swirling feelings that exploded, Soren couldn't understand.

 

What he could understand, however, was that the children who had died deserved the upmost respect. Because what he couldn't understand was also something he admired more than anything.

 

His eyelashes fluttered closed momentarily as his head bobbed in a slight, yet clear bow, before he opened his eyes slowly again.

 

"Soren?" said Vendra, several steps ahead.

 

Soren turned around and continued to follow Vendra without looking back. 

 

She stared at him quizzically, but in the end, chose not to overstep her boundaries. Between every person, there was a line that couldn't be crossed, and she found, with the prince especially, the walls were towering and unbreakable, drawing a definite line.

 

However, she did not have a bad opinion on him. In fact, the Selkie found this hard to understand character rather interesting, if anything.

 

Waiting at bottom with a slightly impatient and bored look was Brioc, who eagerly jumped up when they returned. He would've forcefully dragged himself along at the risk of injury, if the risk wasn't so large that he could die from it.

 

"Welcome back~" greeted the magician joyfully, before his violet eyes fell upon the girl in Vendra's arms. "Wow, you were capable of orchestrating a kidnapping? I'm impressed."

 

"This is not a kidnapping, Brioc." said Vendra softly.

 

Soren nodded. "I got permission."

 

Brioc laughed. "You can get permission for that sort of thing? Exciting." Then he squinted, seeming to sense the mana radiating off the girl even as she was unconscious. He stepped back and narrowed his eyes.

 

"Ah. This is the necromancer we were looking for, wasn't it? That's rather anti-climatic."

 

Soren disagreed in his mind. If there was an ancient necromancer who demanded a fight with him, it could, at the very least, turn out to be an interesting battle. Unpredictable, but manageable.

 

An unknown teenager who was the last necromancer they were looking for, yet not at the same time was more confusing, and much more troublesome.

 

Thankfully, Soren had an idea what the Death God meant, easily discovered if one digested the words. It could be taken quite literally. This girl was the key to finding the Barren Kingdom, the necromancer who they were looking for, but the necromancers as a whole may not not have died out.

 

Or so, Soren hypothesized. If the necromancers were still alive, they'd likely be found in the Barren Kingdom.

 

In the end, he couldn't be certain. Without confirmation, any truth could exist and dozens of hundreds of theories could be created. For that reason, he kept his thoughts to himself, intending to wait for that much needed confirmation.

 

"So." said Brioc loudly, his voice interrupting any possible thoughts. "Do we wake her up?"

 

"I am against that." said Vendra , lowering her eyes. "I believe it would be best to allow her to rest for longer."

 

"Understandable, but then what do we do? Wait?"

 

"That seems to be the case—"

 

"I'm awake." the girl yawned, her drowsy yet youthful voice drawing the conversation to a close. Vendra quickly released her, carefully placing her on the ground where the teenager directly sat down, cross-legged. The whites of her eye were no longer stained with ink, giving her a more humane appearance, even with her piercing red eyes. "I think an introduction would be good?"

 

Though her words were casual and relaxed, there was tension in her stance as her eyes flickered back and forth between each person, weary of any movements.

 

Soren was the first to speak, lazily sitting on the floor in front of her, snowy wisps of hair hanging in front of his face from the overwhelming pressure when he was limping the mountain.

 

"Ren."

 

She looked a little startled, but nodded. "It's, uh, nice to meet you."

 

Vendra had snapped out of her surprise from earlier and smiled kindly, which only seemed to startle the teenager even more. "I am Vendra Selis, Princess of the Seal Tribe."

 

"Haha, our prince didn't introduce himself properly, so I'll do it for him~" laughed Brioc lightly as he grinned. "That blank faced person before you is Sorem Rosenbaum, fifth prince of this kingdom."

 

The teenager blinked a few times and nodded again. "Royalty. Okay. That's lovely, don't tell me, you're a prince too?"

 

Brioc's smile widened. "You're pretty good at guessing."

 

Then, he added with a dramatic flare. "Prince Brioc, of the Haze kingdom."

 

Soren also added, "He's not a prince. He ran away."

 

Brioc blinked at Soren. "You see, Renren, there are things that don't need to be said. This is one of them."

 

Soren stared back impassively, and Brioc went to sulk at the side. 

 

The teenager was silent for a long time, to the point it almost grew awkward. However, none of the three interrupted her thoughts or said anything else. Finally, she sighed deeply and ruffled her hair before she said,

 

"My name is Alvara. I don't have a last name."

 

Brioc seemed to take her introduction genuinely before suggesting, "What do you prefer, Rara or... no, that seems to be the only option."

 

"I prefer no option, then." Alvara cared little for Brioc's over exaggerated offended appearance and turned to Soren. "You were the one who found me. Where was I, and why was I there?"

 

Before Soren could reply with, "Don't know.", Vendra stepped up with her soothing smile.

 

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Alvara. You were found on the top of the Darkness Mountain, in the center of the death mana cloud."

 

"....." Alvara looked at her as if she was crazy, furrowing her thin brows. "Death mana cloud?"

 

Vendra seemed to notice something as she stopped momentarily, asking with caution, "Alvara, are you aware of who you are?"

 

"Yes, I'm Alvar—"

 

"You are the last necromancer."

 

"What?" said the girl loudly, shuffling a step back. "I've never dealt with dark magic."

 

Brioc looked at her face and laughed again, crossing his arms. "Hmm~ With those marks and red eyes, you're trying to pass off as a regular person?"

 

She scowled. "Says the person with purple—" Alvara swung her head up suddenly, confusion crossing her face. "What did you say?"

 

"Marks and red eyes?"

 

Soren observed them from the side, in a quiet, stealthy yet scrutinizing way. It was similar to how Damien watched over people, unknown to Soren who unconsciously copied this behavior. To be accurate, it was the overwhelming interest Damien had in others that reflected onto Soren, ever so slightly.

 

Alvara's face turned blank, staring silently as she tried to swallow the situation. Clearly, she wasn't aware of what was going on, or her current appearance.

 

It made one wonder, how long had she really been sleeping for? Or, had she never seen herself before?

 

Finally, the girl spoke, her words careful and drawn out. "Okay... tell me. You guys found me, do I know you?"

 

Brioc laughed lightly. "A necromancer with amnesia?"

 

She frowned at his words. "What?"

 

"Well, Miss, we found you because we were looking for you. The key to finding the lost Barren Kingdom, the last living necromancer. Now doesn't that sound cool?"

 

"No, that's where you're wrong."

 

She shook her head absentmindedly. "Gaps in my memory or not, there's one thing I'm absolutely sure of."

 

"I'm not, and never was, a necromancer."