Pestilence: Rise Of The Pure Undead-Chapter 1243: Dreams Of Reality
The Peaceful Realm had first been invaded several months ago by now. Yet, the undeads had yet to launch any attacks. They were merely endlessly scouting around and leaving rather disturbing 'gifts' in the form of totems and other assemblages made from the corpses of wildlife, sticks, and just about anything else they could get their hands on.
It meant something, but the livings were uncertain whether it was intended as a threat, or if it was part of something else–Such as a ritual. If the latter were true, then finding out the exact purpose of it would be a top priority, but as it stood, it was impossible for them to determine what this was truly all about.
However, after several months of tense nothingness, floating masses of putrescent flesh adorned with dull, bloodshot eyes manifested out of thin air all around the life barrier, skeletal arms hung below them, constantly dripping vile blood as a singular maw opened up–Splitting the largest of their eyes in two in the process.
This resulted in most nightmarish beings surrounding the safe places of the livings.
"Greetings, livings of the Peaceful Realm. You are hearing the united voice of the Undead Empire. You are hearing the words of the Undead Empire's elite, early-strike force. You are hearing the call of the Vanguard"
"The words we have for you are simple: Surrender immediately. There is no sense in prolonging your agonising existence. Why hold onto your imperfect lives? You could be who you are right now. You could be the very same person–Only better. Stronger. Eternal… There is no grief for those who accept the embrace of the Pale Lady"
"Strip yourself of your flawed shell. Accept undeath. There is no sense in resisting being saved. Welcome the Pale Lady's providence"
"The choice to refuse being blessed is yours to take, if you insist, but helping the blind find the right path forward is our mission"
The horrific creatures of rot shrank and disappeared without a trace, leaving nothing behind but the echoes of their words…
As expected, the livings heard, but did not listen. They did not accept the hand offered to them, instead slapping it away without care as they prepared to fight… Fight until the bitter to the bitter end… Fight for the right to continue living… Fight for the right to continue living an inferior, wretched existence.
To the undeads, the people of the Peaceful Realm were akin to animals standing in the rain, drenched and exposed to the elements–Yet, despite the possibility of taking refuge in a place where everything they could ever want was to be found, they scoffed and stayed in place, content to live as their own filth accumulated at their feet…
Livings appeared so smug and haughty, sitting upon the throne built by their failings, flaws, and weaknesses. They somehow seemed to enjoy it. They thought it meant something special to live waist-deep in a septic pit. It was frustrating to see, but also so pathetic that it wrapped around to become purely pitiful.
The undead, it made no doubt.
Livings were simply incapable of thoughts deep enough to realise that their existence was riddled with flaws. They deluded themselves into believing that their flaws made them 'truly alive'... That it made them 'truly human' or something else… They used philosophy to find meaning and depth in piles of waste all around them.
Ironically, they were prone to look inward, but with the way they sewed their own eyes shut, they were unable to see the awful inadequacy that was the very essence of their existence.
Amongst the Undead Empire, there was one thought that explained the reason why livings were so greatly inferior to undeads. This possible explanation was very simple: Undeads were scions of the Pale Lady, while livings? They were nothing to the Bright Lady. They meant nothing and had no value to her. They were just an offshoot of her existence.
They were nought but budding trees doomed to wither away in the shadow of the patron of their form of existence… It was either that, or the Bright Lady had intentionally made them pathetic in an attempt to, sometimes–Rarely, push one to greatness.
This second explanation was less popular at the moment, but it was the one Loimos believed was the truth. The Bright Lady had created life by incorporating a subconscious great affection for the concept of living, and then–She had introduced the concept of lifespan, and of 'an end to life'.
She had created the most primal of fears for the simple reason to push livings to constantly adapt and seek ways to prolong their existence. Some would acquire great power and become unaging beings, for example. This was how the concept of natural evolution had come to be… The very life force within them would stimulate and push various species to improve over time.
Those who failed to do so would simply die off and disappear.
This idea… Definitely worked. It had proven itself fruitful. Humans, for example, hadn't just improved themselves as individuals. This drive to never die had shaped itself into different visions.
There were those who literally wished to live forever, afraid that beyond death there would simply be nothing for them, nothing but a cessation of existence altogether.
However, there were also those who sought to live through memories, become figures that would be spoken of for centuries, if not aeons to come… While others would seek to instead leave something behind, not something that would directly link to them, but merely something so grandiose, mysterious, or awe-inspiring that they would live on in this manner, through what they had built before passing on.
Unfortunately for the livings of this particular world, the Pale Lady had been born as well eventually.
She was the manifestation of the 'end of life' her older sister had created, and thus, although all of the ladies could be considered sisters to one another due to them all coming from The Dreaming God, the Pale Lady and Bright Lady were especially close and intertwined. Life and death were bound together no matter what.
The biggest difference between these two ladies was that the Pale Lady had created her 'children' with the intention of helping them if necessary. If undeath spread far enough inside of a world, if the concept of death expanded in influence–Then she would allow herself to bring a bit of help.
Every now and then, undeads would arise carrying her blessing, the flow of death force would mysteriously improve, or an undead would suddenly find themselves comprehending something…
This was something the Bright Lady did not partake in. She had made life into a complex system capable of adapting and dealing with problems on its own, and she had no intention of actively helping them.
Why would she? Life dominated almost every world without any active assistance from her. There was no need for them to receive any aid. If they fell, then they fell. Such were things… No lady felt threatened if their form of existence ceased to exist somewhere. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂
The Cosmos was infinite, and The Dreaming God was constantly creating new worlds. Some were left to develop on their own, some were predestined toward a certain path, and some were singular–The Dreaming God created and destroyed, but he never erased. When a concept was invented, it would remain forever and be integrated.
As such, the ladies, created directly by him alongside The System, were guaranteed to never vanish. They were like extensions of The Dreaming God, in a sense. Not literally part of him, but akin to agents of his.
However, as expected of his personality, his own agents were free to do whatever they wanted. Even when he awoke, never would he give a command. If he wanted to say something, he would say it. It was up to whoever he spoke to decide whether they wanted to listen to him or not.
…Such is existence. Life may be imperfect, but it was by design. This imperfection was built-in so as to push certain toward perfection.
Regardless. Whatever happened, it was up to the livings to fend for themselves against the overwhelming undead threat. It was no secret that in this particular world, undeath had grown beyond measure–It may not be the first time that undeath has achieved great feats akin to this one across the Cosmos, but it was the first within which a Pure Undead had arisen.
If the livings were to somehow keep a place for themselves in this world, they would need to make full use of the gift they had been given at conception. The Pure Living had failed. The Golden One had failed. The Heir of Gold had failed. Countless champions had failed.
The situation certainly was grim, but the fight was not yet over. As long as even one living still remained, then the fight could go on, and the scales could tip. No matter how improbable. No matter how statistically insignificant it may be–There was always a chance.
It was simply that this went both ways.
