The Immortal's Wish
I dragged Torumo deep into one of the inner rooms for now and paused to think.
What the hell do I do with her now?
Normally, I'd have dealt with her without a second thought. Simple as that.
But I couldn't bring myself to do it.
This was a sealed dungeon that had been shut away for at least a few hundred years, probably more. No way someone found inside was ordinary.
And I had no clue why she'd been trapped in that horrific slime-like thing in the first place.
"Ugh…."
As I sorted through my thoughts alone, she groaned and came to.
Awake already?
I approached cautiously to check on Torumo's condition, gripping the hilt of my Drake Sword tightly in one hand.
"……."
She just blinked dazedly with a vacant stare.
Her mind wasn't fully back yet, it seemed. No sign she was about to lunge or attack out of nowhere.
Her harmless vibe put me slightly at ease, and I spoke up.
"Head. Okay?"
Clack.
First step to test if she was lucid: pointing at my skull with my pale finger bones.
Only then did she seem to register my presence right in front of her and look my way.
Maybe I can get some info on the dungeon from her.
I waited expectantly for her to open her mouth.
But.
"Kah ruh tsutsine ru nelduvi."
"?"
The words from her mouth were in a language I'd never heard before.
I was thrown for a loop.
What language was that? Hell, was it even human speech?
Even as I reeled in confusion, her words kept coming.
"Rukhabu rundi sodi erose."
Get me a translator!
I was even starting to miss Gular's ugly mug.
Something I hadn't considered: after all those countless ages, the language had changed a ton.
They say time travelers heading to the past have to learn the local tongue first thing. Yeah, time's flow was no joke.
"Hal diru?"
Seeing my total blank reaction, she started drawing weird symbols on the floor.
Eh? That looks familiar….
The picture taking shape felt oddly recognizable.
Ah, got it.
Once it was half-done, I nailed what it was.
The dungeon door we'd passed on the way in—the one with the three keys slotted in, covered in those hieroglyphs. It matched perfectly.
So everything she'd been "saying" was in hieroglyphs?
I nodded in satisfaction as the puzzle pieces clicked.
But we were still nowhere.
She'd probably hoped I could read it.
As if I'd know some dead civilization's script. I'm no archaeologist.
Hell, I'm a week-old baby skeleton at best.
Clack.
I shook my head firmly, and her face fell hard.
Any way to communicate with her?
This language barrier was frustrating as hell.
Right as I pondered, Torumo lit up like she'd remembered something and started waving her hands excitedly.
Then she clasped them together and muttered something.
"Le rotuanbia sehdihaton."
What was she up to?
Praying or something?
I watched quietly.
"Sihirna pectonoris hadiren!"
Suddenly, a burst of pure white light erupted from her hands.
Oh shit!
Was she casting a skill?!
I'd let my guard down too much.
Her friendly act had fooled me.
I whipped out my sword late to slice her throat—
"Can you hear me now?"
Her clear voice rang out, freezing me mid-motion.
Still clutching the sword, I just stared at her mouth.
What the…?
How was she speaking?
Torumo's lips were moving, sure.
But the voice didn't match her mouth shape.
Some kind of translation magic?
I thought she was attacking for a sec.
Feeling awkward, I sheepishly lowered the blade.
"Thank you for saving me."
Her first words once communication clicked: pure gratitude.
I scratched my head—or where it would be.
She had no idea I'd just tried to kill her.
That explained her reaction.
"Wraith! Why?"
Clack!
I demanded to know why she'd been inside that shadowy wraith thing in such a state.
Torumo calmly explained her situation.
"In the past, we chose repose."
That's not what I asked.
I was thrown as she launched into her life story, but I held my tongue.
Surely there was something useful in there.
With that hope.
"One day, people cursed with immortality by the ancient dragon Remideius thought: at this rate, our bodies would rot away until we became neither dead nor alive."
Just like the skeleton knights.
Skin and organs decaying until only bones remained.
Immortality without true eternity was closer to a curse.
You didn't die, but your flesh had a shelf life.
"So a group of us decided to seal ourselves with a new binding: one that slowed our body's time."
Got the gist.
Basically, slow your aging by decelerating time on the body.
But a question lingered.
Wouldn't that still have limits?
Slowing time didn't stop it. Eventually, it catches up.
You'd just wander in agony a bit longer.
Time doesn't let you dodge it that easily.
"But the limit came anyway. We never found a way to break the curse."
As expected, the plan flopped.
They bought time to search for a cure but came up empty.
I shook my head at her tale.
As if that'd work.
An ancient dragon? No pushover.
Its power was godlike, granting eternal life to hordes of humans.
Beyond mortal reach.
So they pivoted: if you can't lift the curse, make a new body.
"Flesh enhancement. Our king, Graius, sought to infuse immortality into his body to reach true undying perfection."
The curse bound the soul.
Tired of frail human flesh, Graius wanted an ultimate vessel.
One that wouldn't age.
Or suffer.
"The plan half-succeeded. After eons we couldn't count, we found a way."
It looked like success.
After trial and error, Graius got his new body.
Infinitely regenerating skin!
Forever young!
But even seeming triumphs had flaws.
"It wasn't the answer. We overfocused on regeneration and missed the key part."
Perfect on the outside.
Graius's body had high completion.
The issue arose elsewhere.
"One day, the king fell ill. An incurable disease killing his cells one by one."
His death-defying body couldn't stop the rot from within.
Already cursed with immortality.
As it festered, he wouldn't die.
Pus filled his body.
Muscles melted away.
Yet Graius lived.
He even healed.
Endless destruction and rebirth.
His mind broke first.
"People fled the mad king devouring all life. Some of us, including me, hid inside slime cells for a time."
That's how the shadow wraiths were born.
Were there people in the other wraiths roaming outside too?
The picture was clarifying.
After her full story, I clacked my jaw.
Clack.
Tsk tsk. Better off as a proper skeleton—no madness. Skeletons are fine, y'know? No fatigue, no hunger.
I tsked at Graius's greedy downfall.
No tongue, but still.
"Dare I ask a favor?"
As I wagged my head, Torumo made her request.
"Favor?"
Clack?
A living person asking a favor of a skeleton she'd never met? Refreshing.
Old-timers were different.
No prejudice.
These days, folks pull weapons on "monsters" on sight.
Though I'd struck first more often.
Anyway.
Her face wiped clean of all prior cheer, like it was fake.
"Kill us all."
She uttered the brutal words with a cold, sunken smile.