Reborn as the First Boss, Book 7 Prologue

Prologue – Restless Dead

“PUSH THEM BACK! DO NOT FALTER!”

Eluned the Grim, High Priestess and Archbishop of the Church of Eztar, called out to her fellow priests and paladins of the God of Death. Amongst their sacred duties was maintaining the wards and defenses of the graveyards, cemeteries, and other burial places in the Theocracy of Eclana. However, none was so important as the Necropolis of Benediction, where the most devoted servants of the Righteous Pantheon were laid to rest. And now, that most sacred of resting places had been defiled.

Global Announcement:

Zerat, God of Undeath, has been freed! Let all those who seek the power of the undead pay homage to him! Let the followers of the God of Death, who forsook himself, quake in fear!

Global Announcement:

Eztar, God of Death, has descended! Let all who follow him offer up their prayers for his safety while he walks in a mortal shell!

Eluned looked at the two announcements from the Voice of the World, which had come within hours of each other. While most would not have understood the gravity of the first announcement, she had, for it was a secret taught only to the inner circle of the priesthood of Eztar. Once, Eztar had been Tarez, God of Death and Undeath. However, Tarez cast off the foul mantle of Undeath, and became Eztar. But divine essence cannot be destroyed, so it was sealed away, somewhere in the realms, hidden from view.

The location of the seal had been lost to time, purged from all records as an extra layer of defense, but a single passage remained in the oldest tomes within the Church’s archives, speaking of how the seal was made so that only three individuals, each exceptionally rare, working together could access the seal. A diviner from another world, a demon with both a blessing and curse from a god, and one who has both a chaos orb and a heroic soul. The last was the easiest to come by, of course, since any Hero who had slain a Boss gained a Chaos Orb, but the other two were vanishingly rare. The chances of all three finding each other and then stumbling across the seal were impossibly small.

Still, she was no fool. When the first announcement came through, she had ordered a mobilization of the Church’s forces, directing them to the Necropolis, to enhance the defenses. And well was it that she had, for no sooner had she and the reinforcements arrived did a wave of weakness flow through all the servants of Eztar.

It was not a physical weakness, but a spiritual one. As though something else was drawing on the same source of power. After a moment, it had stabilized, but she had still felt weaker, despite there being no change in her abilities and no sign of a debuff when she checked her status.

That was when the first troubles started. In the depths of the Necropolis, wards, built with Eztar’s holy power, shattered, and the honored dead began to rise as the undead. At first, they were able to contain the restless dead, but then the second message came, and their power dwindled, so that only the strongest still had any divine might to call upon. They were forced back, even as more of the holy dead rose as undead abominations.

Eluned had not been idle, of course. Even as she personally led the defense, she had sent a runner to the Inquisitorial Fortress, to request their aid, with all the men that could be spared, but she knew that it would take time for the runner to cross the city, and more time for the Inquisition to rally forces and bring them to the Necropolis. So, they had fought a series of delaying actions, pulling back slowly, while barricades and defenses were prepared behind them.

She did not know how long it had been since then, hours, perhaps? It did not matter, though. They were still being pushed back. Now, they were just barely holding the entrance hall of the Necropolis, keeping the undead from sweeping out into the city.

“Archbishop! What is the situation?”

Eluned looked over her shoulder, and for the first time in her life she was truly glad to see Grand Inquisitor Dederic and his inquisitorial forces in the halls of the Necropolis. Under other circumstances, their presence would have been a flagrant disregard for the sanctity of this holy place, but now? They were a few hundred armed and armored warriors who could aid in the defense. “The wards in the catacombs have shattered, and the holy dead rise against us! We must hold here, or they will sweep out into the city!”

Dederic was no fool, thankfully. That was all he needed to start issuing orders to his retinue. “Reinforce the priests of Eztar! Drive back the undead! Send word to all inquisitors, have them check every cemetery, graveyard, and necropolis in the Theocracy!”

As the Inquisitorial forces responded, taking pressure off the beleaguered defenders, Eluned turned to the Grand Inquisitor. “Thank you for responding so quickly to our call. You have seen the announcements from the Voice of the World?”

“Aye,” Dederic nodded grimly. “And it seems fortunate that I started assembling the Inquisitorial Guard as soon as the first announcement came through, or all I would have been able to send only a squad or two until the others returned from rest or duties around the city. What can you tell me about the messages, especially the second one?”

“The full story will take too much time. For now, know that this Zerat is one half of the god Lord Eztar was before casting aside the domain of Undeath. Since they share a divinity, Zerat’s power can shatter Lord Eztar’s wards, which gave rise to the undead, here. But he would also have equal claim to Lord Eztar’s divine realm, and equal power there. It is likely that Lord Eztar fled his divine realm rather than risk a fight to destruction, and the only course open to him was through coming to the mortal plane.”

Dederic breathed in sharply. “If you were not the Archbishop of Eztar’s church, and the Voice of the World had not given those announcements, I would have said that sounded like heresy. Especially since I have not heard of this Zerat before. I will expect the full account once the Necropolis is reclaimed. What of Lord Eztar? Where in the mortal realms did he descend? We must find him, and guard him against those who would wish him harm.”

Eluned nodded, and said, “When the Necropolis is put to rest once more, I will appear in front of the full council to give the full story, so that the entire Council of Nine might know the truth. As for where Lord Eztar descended, I have not had time to perform the proper divinations, as I’ve been leading the defense. I can tell you that it was not anywhere within a day’s ride of Benediction, or I would have felt his descent, in the moment when he was a full god in the mortal realm, before hiding his true nature in mortal flesh.”

“Right. Where would you suggest we start our search? Where will Lord Eztar go, now that he is here?”

“My heart wishes to say that he would come here, to Benediction, where his church is strongest, but this assault of Zerat’s might would almost certainly turn him aside. It may be that is precisely why the Necropolis was attacked, to deny Lord Eztar safe harbor with his most loyal followers.” Eluned took a breath, and then said, “Still, no matter where he went, Lord Eztar is almost certain to try and find one of His churches, and make contact there.”

“Very well. Now, let us to battle. We must cleanse these halls of the undead, so that they can be reconsecrated. My apologies, Archbishop, if my people are less than considerate of the state of the ones they are putting down.”

“No, Grand Inquisitor,” she shook her head. “There is nothing to apologize for. We will do what we can to return the dead to their place of slumber when this is done, but the saints and holy warriors of old would hold us in contempt if we let concern for their honored remains stay our hand from crushing the abominations that they have become.”

“Well said, Archbishop,” Dederic said as he drew his sword, and turned to the battle line.