Dark Lord: Rise to Power

Arin was deeply puzzled. His mind was in turmoil as he struggled to comprehend his current situation.

Since coming to this world, he had killed ten people. His relative strength had increased, but he was still insignificant in this vast, unfamiliar world. He had been granted powerful abilities, yet he did not fully understand them. He had found a gigantic library, bound to contain great knowledge. He had delved into that sea of knowledge and learned a lot. But it was not enough. Rather, he had encountered new questions that left him even more puzzled.

Now, his strong entourage—four Revenants, one Specter, one Skeletal Crossbowman, and three Draugurs—was joined by two strange elven children, who were unconscious. Any outside observer might think that a Necromancer was carrying two innocent kids to perform some heinous dark rituals.

But no matter how much Arin hated humans or humanity, he would never even think of hurting kids. He too had been a poor kid once, and only fellow children had helped him on those harsh, unforgiving streets.

Arin felt nostalgic for his past world but quickly collected his thoughts and started thinking about what to do with the children. They were unconscious. Arin did not have any healing spells to help them. Nor could he leave them in any human settlement, lest they be chased again as they had been before. Arin needed water to sprinkle on them, as it was the only way he could think of to bring them back to their senses.

He asked the Specter to find any nearby water source. They decided to wait for the Specter to return. Within a minute, it returned, and Arin decided to follow it. However, the more Arin followed, the more surprised he became. They were heading back to the castle. Arin could not imagine a water source there, but upon reflection, he realized that it was normal for a vast castle to have at least one water source nearby.

He followed the Specter to discover a tranquil lake behind the castle. He asked the Revenants to lay the children down by the lake. The two Revenants who had been carrying the children gently laid them on a part of the ground where the grass was thick enough to form a comfortable bed. After that, they stood by the children's heads like eternal guards on vigil. In the moonlight, this scene looked very strange to Arin. But it was not time for him to appreciate the strangeness.

He cupped his hands and filled them with water from the lake. He sprinkled the water on the children's faces. He had hoped for it but did not actually imagine it would work. But it did. The children started blinking.

Arin felt it was better for them to stay outside rather than in the dilapidated castle, which might be dusty and messy for them. So, he decided to let them rest in the open air. The children had regained consciousness and slowly woke up.

Suddenly, Arin had a scary realization. The children had fainted because they were scared. What would happen when they woke up and saw the Revenants? They might collapse in intense fear. Arin quickly ordered his undead minions to disperse and guard the castle and surrounding area. He sat by the lake alone, keeping his back to the children.

The children slowly sat up. They looked around and then at each other. They hugged each other tightly and spoke to Arin, who was sitting with his back to them.

"Wh... who... who are you?" one of the children stammered.

Arin, without turning his head, replied, "Your friend! You are safe here!"

"Those... people," one child spoke.

"They are dead," Arin replied.

"Dead... really?" asked the child.

"Yes!" Arin assured.

The children looked at each other. Then, they slowly helped each other stand. They walked towards Arin.

"Mister... who are you?" one child asked.

"A friend. You can trust me," Arin replied.

"Why aren't you looking at us?" the child asked.

"You will get scared," Arin said with concern.

"But you saved us!" the child said.

"Yes, but I look very scary," replied Arin.

"No, we won't," one child firmly said.

Arin decided to reveal his face. He turned towards them.

The younger one got scared and hid his face in the older child's shoulder. The older child gritted her teeth to hide her fear and looked directly at Arin's eyes.

"You... you are..." the older child asked, fumbling.

"Are you going to eat us?" the younger child interrupted.

"No, he is not," spoke the older child to assure the other, then asked Arin, "You are not, right?"

"Of course not," laughed Arin. "If I wished to eat you, I would have done it already!"

Arin was trying to assure the kids. But the younger child, probably not understanding his words, started crying. "Sister," the little one cried at the top of his voice, "this monster is going to eat us!"

Arin was dumbfounded. The older child first tried to calm him by patting his head. "Don't cry, don't cry." But when he did not stop, she smacked his head hard. "QUIET, you idiot! No one is going to eat us!"

Arin was surprised and amused by the young elf's temper. Surprisingly, the little one stopped crying, rubbed his face a few times, and then crossed his arms, puffed his face, and sat beside Arin.

The older one sighed and sat on the other side of Arin.

Arin liked having these two children beside him. He ruffled their hair affectionately. "Okay, let's introduce ourselves. I am Arin. What about you?"

"Hi, I am Lumiyan," the little one said gleefully, then turned his head away, crossing his arms and puffing his face.

The older child sighed again at her little brother's naivety and replied, "Hello, I am Auriya, elder sister of this little idiot brother of mine."

Lumiyan looked at Auriya, stuck out his tongue, and turned his head again.

Arin burst into laughter at their childish tantrums. It was a sharp contrast and a welcome change from all the intense, gruesome experiences he had since arriving in this world.

The children watched Arin laugh out loud, surprised to see this grim-looking monster laughing like a normal person. After a while, they started smiling and then, like a contagious disease, they joined him in laughter.

Under the starry sky, in the shadow of a haunted castle, an undead and two elven children laughed their hearts out. This scene was too strange. No one could imagine that one day their laughter would echo throughout the entire world, shaking the pillars of this world!