He panicked. His thoughts were in a mess. He didn’t know what to do and stood there, freezed by the utter shock he felt in his entire being. And as he was about to scream, he saw a bear. He saw . It was holding something in his mouth. Cayn focused, trying to make a shape out of it. Nyac. It was Nyac.

  Half of his legs were lying on the ground, so he thought it was too late and the bear had eaten his brother already. But no, there was still a chance.

  Taking his brother’s half-legs in tow and the talisman in hand, Cayn chased the bear. His own legs were about to give out but he had to retrieve his brother, and fast. He could still be resurrected. Cayn had seen one of his classmates be resurrected before. It was doable, definitely.

  Adrenaline rushing through him, Cayn could keep up with the bear. Bear who stopped, exhausted. It put Nyac down and faced Cayn.

  Cayn held tight on the talisman and thought hardly about his uncle’s signature, chains made out of [Protection]. He needed to reproduce it in order to vanquish the bear.

  “[Protection].” A chain spawned next to Cayn’s head. He aimed at the bear’s neck, wrapping it around. With no hesitation, he killed it. A voice resounded in Cayn’s mind for the first time in his life.

  [Protection] skill mastered.

  He ignored it and focused on Nyac. He put the half-legs down on the body and tried to lift the whole thing up. Impossible. He had to drag everything by the arms. And so he did. Slowly but surely, he dragged everything. He didn’t know how long they had left, but he had to keep going.

  Monsters would come, probably smelling blood. Cayn would drive them away with mind-controlled chains, it came naturally to him. And the more he used the skill, the easier it became to control.

  Things went smoothly all the way to the Blue Line. However, Cayn’s body and mind were reaching their limit. He went to the hiding spot with Nyac, hoping no monsters had followed them. And before slumbering, he put on a barrier to protect them. He held tight onto Nyac, hugging him deeply. From the bottom of his heart, he hoped for the best.

  ***

  Cayn woke up in a bed, was it a nightmare? He checked himself, his body was in a mess, responsive but in a shock. It was very real. He looked out the nearest window, it was dawn. He made it. The time limit to resurrect someone is twenty-four hours. So, yes, he made it! Someone found them and it was alright.

  He got out of bed and looked for Nyac, he had to scold him to never do something like that again. He bumped into someone.

  “Cayn.”

  “Uncle?” Why was he here, wasn’t he at the Third Land? Wasn’t it far away?

  “Where is Nyac?”

  “I’m sorry,” his uncle crouched and hugged him. “I’m sorry.”

  He stared at the void in disbelief. It was too late.

  A few days later, they told him everything. Their parents didn’t notice them being out at night, it was only in the morning that they started to search for them. It took a lot of effort, and the whole city was looking for them, as they didn’t know where they went. That night, it rained, so the traces of blood were washed away. It was during midday that someone found them, with the help of a tracking skill. The biggest problem came now: the barrier Cayn had put up before fainting.

  It was exceptionally sturdy, and they couldn’t wake him up as it was soundproof, even the small hole Cayn had unconsciously put to not suffocate wasn't enough. A powerful attack could break it but it’d hurt the kids too, Nyac in particular whose body was far too gone already. It took more than half a day before they could break it safely. Or maybe Cayn had weakened it due to mental strain, they still don’t know.

  Stolen story; please report.

  A [Necromancer] was ready for repairs. And they did it remarkably fast. Their uncle had come back as soon as he heard the news. He was ready to resurrect Nyac.

  “[Resurrect].” Nothing. “[Resurrect].” Again. And again. And repeatedly until he ran out of mana.

  Nyac, beloved brother, had been pronounced dead. Cayn lost more than a twin brother, he lost a very important part of himself; his other half. It’s like someone took his soul and ripped it apart.

  He stared at the void again once the explanations were over. It was his fault. Because of the barrier. It had rained that night so the monsters couldn’t track them. He didn’t need to put the barrier up and cause them so much trouble. It was his fault.

  Everyone repeated that it wasn’t his fault. But it was.

  ***

  Dietrich finished Bel’s reconstitution. He had used his ghouls as spare parts to complete Bel, which was an interesting process to witness for Cayn.

  Uncle spoke, “Are we ready?”

  “Yeah, go ahead,” Dietrich said.

  “[Resurrect].” No sign of skill activation whatsoever, just the silence and the anticipation.

  What felt like an eternity passed and Bel’s eyelids slightly twitched. She abruptly woke up, holding her abdomen. “Woah!”

  she said. “That’s the third time it happened to me, crazy.”

  “Are you feeling fine?” Uncle asked.

  Bel got up and made a triple backflip, receptioning herself, then striked a pose. “I’m fine but I only have one more life before I’m gone done for good.”

  “Oh, I forgot to tell a joke,” Dietrich said. “It went like: she used to be your third… and now she is your fourth! And I was supposed to point at her body parts or something.”

  Astor looked at him. Bel did the same. Cayn followed. And ultimately, Uncle laughed.

  “I was ready to say ‘though public’ in a stern voice but someone actually laughed at my joke?” Dietrich looked genuinely surprised. “I didn’t know you were chill like that.”

  “You’re funny,” Uncle said.

  What was going on? Were they trying to depressurize the mood? If yes, that was working, Cayn felt better as the stress was washing away.

  Bel stretched out, “I hate coming back to life, my body always feels stiffy-ish afterwards.”

  “Be glad you are well and alive,” Cayn told her.

  “Yeah, yeah. Anyways, what happened to the World Boss?”

  “What?” Cayn said.

  “The mimic was one. I thought it was evident, it could copy skills without System Access.”

  Now that she said it, Cayn realized that it made sense, he did see a blue screen too but couldn’t read it. Must’ve been the World Boss quest progress.

  “It vanished,” Cayn informed.

  “So I really did beat it myself huh. Cool.” She smirked. She definitely wanted to brag about it but decided to act cool instead.

  Astor asked, “Dungeon core?”

  Bel and Cayn exchanged regards. Neither of them took it.

  “Oh wait— The mimic gulped it and I exploded the whole thing, so I guess it’s gone.”

  Astor hid his face with his hood more than usual. He must be disappointed. That was less money for his goal after all.

  Uncle joined in the conversation, “Is this the second World Boss you vanquish?”

  Did his uncle follow Cayn’s adventure somehow? Surely…

  “Yeah, we are on a strike,” Bel answered.

  “Well, I might need your help soon then. But let’s talk about that another day, you must all be exhausted. Let me be your host,” Uncle welcomed them with open arms. “[Necromancer], will you join and entertain us?”

  “I’m afraid I can’t. I need to get some stuff from a shop and with all the things happening in the Second Land, we might have to stay awake overnight. I mean— only you, not the kids.”

  “Is that so.”

  “I will be back soon, take care.” And just like that, Dietrich went away to fulfill his duties.

  Uncle spoke, “I will show you a vacant room where you can rest.”

  They walked in the church, it looked the same as ever. Corridors going forever. Dirty ceilings, too hard to clean and honestly not worth cleaning. The floor was impeccable though.

  Astor’s walking seemed weak, understandable, as he went through a lot, physically speaking. Bel, on the contrary, was bustling with energy. It's as if she didn’t die a few hours ago. She should manage herself.

  Uncle opened the door, “It’s a bit dusty but it should do the job. Four beds for three persons, do as you please.”

  “I’m taking two beds to make one big one. I deserve it, I’m the most injured!” Bel said.

  Well, that was a lie. But Astor probably wouldn’t mind as he usually sleeped in fetal position, so it’s fine by Cayn.

  Uncle went back to his post, expecting an emergency. Cayn wanted to help too. If it wasn’t for his mind about to break into pieces, he’d help him in a heartbeat. But he had to manage himself; he was also living for Nyac after all.

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