Pestilence: Rise Of The Pure Undead-Chapter 1211: Carcosa

The colour of the world had faded. All was a shade of black, white, or grey. It was as though the very concept of any other colour had been ripped away from this piece of reality. From this particular place. Torn away. Thrown away.

All was faded here. Yet, the world here was beautiful. It was mesmerising. It was enchanting. It could drive to insanity. The grass was grey, but it was soft and inviting nonetheless. The crashing of the waves against the rocks produced no sound whatsoever.

All that was here was simply silent. All that was here was born in the dark. All that was here had been forgotten elsewhere. All that was here had found a hand outstretched to them at their lowest. All that was here had found love in its purest form…

…All that was here had been blessed with an existence which would never end. All that was here had the comfort of their birthplace, but the blessing of where they had never been as well. All that was here was gone from where it had once been. All that was here had been put back together into a better state…

…All that was here had experienced a slow decay. All that was here had experienced fear. All that was here had experienced agony…

…In the end, they had found peace. They had found the truth. It had been hiding in plain sight the entire time. They had found it all by stepping into the unknown.

And so, this place had come to be.

A solitary island lost amidst an endless sea of waves that could be as turbulent as a raging volcano, or be as still as a frozen expanse. Nonetheless, the island remained firmly in place, seemingly unchanged, no matter what.

The grey isle was not home to much. Grey grass. A handful of pale, sparse trees. Flowers drained of their colours–The only noteworthy trait of this island was a simple, small round table sitting atop a small hill that was the highest point of the small island.

This was all that there was.

The island. The sea, and the grey sky. Populated by pale clouds and a sun that was half light, half dark, casting a dual haze.

Loimos found himself in this bizarre place. It felt like he was in a home he had never set foot in before. All was tranquil, and he knew that the only way forward was to ascend the hill and sit at the table, so with a few steps, he progressed forward.

A soft wind picked up as he approached the table, but the skeleton paid it no heed. He sat down at the table and in the next moment, he was no longer alone–No–Loimos had never been alone.

He did not comprehend how, but someone else appeared in the other seat without him realising whether they had appeared, somehow without him noticing, or if they had been there all along, merely unseen until he sat down.

Something that Loimos could not figure out was hard to come by, and something that Loimos knew he would not be able to figure out was even rarer, but he instinctively knew that what had just happened was simply out of his reach.

Sitting across from the undead was–Logically, undeniably the most beautiful woman he had ever met. It was unclear how he was able to determine this, since her appearance was something he was unable to actually perceive properly.

The essentials of an appearance were obvious, however.

The person in front of Loimos had long–Absurdly long black hair. Hair made from the purest, deepest of darkness.

Her eyes were bottomless wells of utter darkness as well. Yet, her skin was paler than anything ever witnessed by him before, so pale that it seemed almost luminous, as though a soft glow had been its true origin.

She was garbed in what would most easily be described as a dark sundress, intricate patterns were etched upon its surface, but making them out amidst the vast darkness of the fabric was complicated.

The woman slightly tilted her head, a small smile forming on her face. There was something haunting about this pleasant smile.

"I am glad that we could meet today. I have been waiting a long time for someone like you… For my very own champion… I did not expect you to be of the Purple, but that is a welcome trait–This way, I know that you will truly be with me forever, and ever…"

Loimos slightly lowered his head.

"Pale Lady"

"It is a shame that you are the purest of my children. I would have loved to embarrass you… Such is such, I suppose"

There was a pause in the dialogue. One that Loimos eventually ended.

"I wonder for the reason I was called here, Pale Lady"

"In this world, only this gate–Deuvaiel–Allows me to meet with someone face-to-face. You appeared in the Divine Realm, in its vicinity. Therefore, I felt compelled to see you for real. Not just to sense you through Death. Not just to observe everything as a spectator…"

She outstretched her hands. They were small, frail, and slender, and yet… So strangely perfect.

"May I ask that you hold my hands?"

Loimos naturally did not refuse something the Pale Lady in person asked for and reached out to grab her hands, without him doing anything, the rot formed into gloves and armour moved out of the way, his bony hands directly touching the Pale Lady's.

He was filled with death force so impossibly pure and powerful that it could only be referred to as the very essence of Death itself. The very root upon which the concepts of death and undeath were built.

"I do not get bored easily anymore… But it is still nice to be able to hold someone's hands, you know?"

The Pale Lady giggled, a melody capable of lulling any to a profound slumber.

"Truly, all that I desired when calling you here was to see you. There is something more about you, however. My champion, Apostle of the Purple, Apostle of-"

The Pale Lady spoke, but it was as though reality itself bent to prevent Loimos from hearing what she was saying.

"-As my champion, it is expected that you would fight in my name, but if needs be… I am willing to fight for your sake, as well. My dearest champion… My promised champion…"

The Pale Lady slid her hands away from the skeleton's, the rot returning to its original place and appearance as she did so.

She rested her face in her palms.

"I do not have much more to say. Sorry, I am quite a boring girl… Just know that if you ever need help, simply come back to the gate again, and I will be able to lend a hand–Oh, by the way! Do try to be nicer to One and Maliah. These girls are so nice, and they really like you. I know that you are the Pure Undead, and all… But do try to show them some more affection, alright?"

The Pale Lady tilted her head some more.

"Actually… I am going to do a little something–I hope to see you again in the future! And don't worry, if you ever get destroyed for good, I will scoop you right up, and we will spend our time together!"

Loimos suddenly popped out of existence, sent back to the edge of the sacred island, leaving the Pale Lady alone on her isle once more–Not for long, however, as someone soon appeared in the seat Loimos had been in moments prior.

It was like night and day between the Pale Lady and this new arrival.

Their colour schemes were nearly completely inverted, but not quite. The new woman's hair was instead a vibrant green, and so were her eyes, glowing with a powerful shine.

Her dress, which was basically identical to that of the Pale Lady, was instead white, and while the Pale Lady was thin and frail, she was the opposite, bursting with incredible vitality.

Yet, her expression was far flatter than that of the Pale Lady.

"Sister. Are you not mad?" asked the Pale Lady.

"...Should I be…?"

"...Are you talking about my champion? I do not care. A new one will show up eventually, big deal… More importantly… I was expecting you to react differently to meeting Mister Bones… I guess the little sister has grown up…"

"What might you have been expecting?"

"...Can not say… If I speak, I will get into trouble with you… Anyway… You need to come… We are all gathering…"

"What are we gathering for?"

"...Nothing. You need to socialise, however… So follow me…"

___

Loimos walked back like nothing had happened, like he hadn't just met with the most legendary figure of undead myths. That was only natural. The Pure Undead could not be shaken up.

Though he soon found out what the Pale Lady had done when she said that she would do a 'little something'. He realised as soon as he saw One and Maliah.

It was definitely more than just a little something…