Pestilence: Rise Of The Pure Undead

"It would seem that Julo has fallen" calmly stating this whilst rising up from his seat, Janus dusted his shoulder and grabbed hold of his sceptre, readjusting the mitre upon his head before walking to the center of the room, surrounded from all sides by statues of Dame-Sommer, it was like the pope was constantly under the judgement of the goddess.

"That to be expect, Sir Janus, that Alkayne is a blessed one" garbed in a snow white cloak, the second paladin that served as bodyguard to the pope was standing on the opposite side the room "It is only natural that those not directly touched by Dame-Sommer's grace could not stand up to him"

Janus did not immediately respond and simply looked to the side, his gaze lingering focused for several seconds, a sigh escaped his lips.

"Jir, what we have built is likely to come crumbling down in- I would say a few hours… The villages have already all fallen into his hands and his efforts to exterminate the accursed from the mountains were nothing short of efficient, I can only go down and hope that my faith is strong enough" at these words, the paladin lowered his head.

"In that case, I shall guard this door with my life-" the doors to the pope's quarters were pushed open with urgency, a nun appearing into view.

"Sir, they're here!"

"That was fast"

"Sir, should we have launched an attack on the undeads stationed at the frozen lake?"

"With what forces? It is obvious that they are a true military, we are but men and women of faith, the initiative is not ours for the taking… What are they doing?" he asked the nun.

"They have stopped a distance before the entrance, there are hundreds of them!"

"I see, lead the way to the balcony in that case" not showing a shred of panic or worry, it was in a silence only rythmed by the nun's hurried and paladin's heavy footsteps that they made their way to a rather large balcony that stood right above the gates that allowed one to set foot inside the Grand Monastery.

A low hum filled the deep chasm surrounding this place, the blizzard was picking up speed again, it seemed like a snowstorm was upon them.

"Mister Alkayne, it is my pleasure to see you doing so well, I take it that you have not come to talk?" as pleasant as usual, Janus still bore that soft smile on his face, as though unconcerned by everything.

"I am always willing to talk, Pope Janus, but I must apologise, I wasn't truly honest the first time we met, so allow me to present myself again…" the zombie rose his halberd to the sky, a banner bearing two suns, one as dark as a moonless night, the other was bright beyond reason, surrounded by multiple moons, constellations and a star, the banner fluttered in the wind.

"I am Alkayne, Minor Lord in service to His Majesty, King Nitok, Prince Of Death- And Her Majesty, Queen Liameilos, Princess Of Death"

"My mission in venturing into your realm is to eliminate all life and convert all to undeath, if you accept to surrender now, it is eternity as a superior being that I am offering, no more pain, no more fatigue, no more life, everything will change for the better" Alkayne spoke what he viewed as a most alluring proposal.

"And if I refuse?"

"It would probably be best to threaten, but death is most welcoming, you shall enjoy undeath regardless of acceptance or denial"

"What a kind deity it is, that you follow…"

"Indeed, your own worship of Dame-Sommer shall not be interrupted either, joining the empire is a deal with no drawbacks"

"I will admit that you know how to sell your goods, Mister Alkayne, in fact, I am very pleased at this prospect for my people, but I personally, shall decline for now, I still have something to do, but I do not speak for all, they shall make their own choice" with a gracious bow, Janus turned and left the balcony.

Followed by his paladin, meanwhile, Alkayne's soldiers looked at their lord.

"It would seem that we might not encounter as much pushback as expected, I did not expect a living to be so open to the idea of undeath…" the minor lord felt that Janus was a bit too uncaring in fact, as though already expecting to die anyways.

"Let us march in, only cut down those who are willing to fight" standing in the front, Alkayne and his soldiers made their way through the monastery without encountering a single person willing to bar their passage, the nuns, priests and paladins, who were probably all accursed, instead prayed in silence, the only obstacle stood right before the doors to Janus's quarters, his second personal guard stood in the way.

Every single portion of him concealed by that white cloak and hood, the impression he gave off was impressive, Alkayne could tell that trying to compare this guy to the one he had defeated the night before would be like likening an apple to an orange.

"Sir Janus awaits you below"

"Will you not stand in my way?"

"I am not arrogant enough to think that I can stop you"

"Then, I suppose I'll have to trust my troops on this one, do not worry about them, they are eternal"

Walking past the paladin, Alkayne disappeared into the pope's quarters, finding that a circular staircase, winding into the ground had appeared right down the middle of the room, walking down for a little while, he found himself into a large chamber, somewhat reminiscent of the royal crypt in the old days, when it was nearly completely empty save for the throne room.

Countless accursed her all lined-up, prostrating before a statue of Dame-Sommer that looked like any other, except for the fact that it oozed warmth.

Alkayne had not been able to notice its presence until now, for despite possessing warmth, it had no life force.

'It's not a statue at all…' if one was fully technical about it, the object was a statue, but also not, rather, it was an object of idolatry.

"Dame-Sommer is not a god in the way that I had imagined" neither was it a worshipped being like he had thought, the divine beasts General Loimos had recruited and the false idol he had encountered in the underground with a false night sky were more akin to the sort of beings Alkayne had been expecting in the case that Dame-Sommer was not a true deity.

However, Dame-Sommer wasn't even a being at all, it had been a statue and the worship had not granted it a semblance of life or any amount of divine energy, indeed, it seemed that its status as an inanimate object had instead created a being than more closely embodied what its worshippers imagined Dame-Sommer was all about, so her energy was warmth.

"Dame-Sommer is a curious goddess, indeed, no one but me is aware of her true form" Janus was standing just before the statue, or rather, he was standing next to a large block of ice that was somehow not melting despite the proximity to Dame-Sommer.

"Even trapped in ice, Jiela remains the most gorgeous woman I have ever laid my eyes upon"

The pope turned to Alkayne, unsheathing a slender blade that had been by his side this entire time.

"You are probably going to tell me that your empire can bring her back as an undead, even if I tell you of her condition- And I thank you for that, however, I can not blindly trust you with Jiela"

"En garde, Alkayne"

"I do not see the point of fighting, I'll allow you to try whatever you want to do" the zombie knew that undeath would prevail anyways.

"Because the completion of this ritual will reduce all accursed to energy to fuel Jiela's rebirth, you know what this means, don't you? If one is turned to energy and consumed, would there be anything left for undeath to manifest?"

"You are much too gallant for the good of your own plans, Janus"

"I suppose that I am"