Ark Undead

Now, he can clearly recall those somewhat hazy memories from the past.

He could recall the names of his old friends, their faces, and every battle they had fought together.

He could also recall what he had seen and heard in Victoria, how he met Vina and Hannah, and how he came into contact with Melantha and became her teacher.

But there is still one thing that remains a little confusing.

Before Victoria, he still couldn't remember anything.

His memory jumps directly from watching the First Flame disappear in the First Fire and closing his eyes to waking up near Victoria and meeting Hannah.

But he was certain that he had woken up at least once during this time.

Otherwise, how would Kal'tsit know her own name?

And why did Solar tell me before he left that the Undead had already left their mark on Terra?

The Undead kept these things to himself and sorted out his memories. Then, he stood up; there was something he needed to confirm.

"Where are you going? There are still some tests left to complete. Don't you want to continue?"

Kroos put down the Emergency Sanity Potion she was playing with and quickly asked.

"No, I'll be back in a bit."

The immortal shook his head and pushed open the door to go out.

A moment later, the undead pushed open the door again, poked his head back in, and spoke to Kroos through the window.

"Um...where's the toilet?"

156. You smell so good!

An immortal is still an immortal, even if they gain humanity. But humanity can never turn an immortal into a truly ordinary person.

At most, it might make him seem like a normal person. But he will always be a cursed, immortal being.

Therefore, after the immortals turned two or three corners, they arrived at the toilet, certainly not to relieve their physical urges.

Instead, he wanted to find a secluded place with a mirror to see what he looked like now.

The immortal locked the toilet from the inside and went to the mirror.

First, he took off his gauntlets.

My palms, like sponges that had been parched, have soaked up plenty of moisture; the once withered skin is now incredibly elastic. While they may not be described as radiant, they have regained the healthy, rosy complexion of a healthy person.

Immediately afterwards, the Undead reached out and took off his helmet.

The Undead fell silent for a moment when his head was exposed to the cool air.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his own face like this. Ever since he'd regained the Dark Ring from the pilgrims, he'd always appeared as a skeleton on his journeys.

Although it's different from the ribs in the Catacombs of Carthus, it's practically a skeleton, just with an extra layer of skin.

Now, being able to touch his own strong hair and see his own deep blue eyes again, even the dead can only feel a sense of emotion.

Since they are immortal, no one really cares about their appearance anymore.

But being able to see one's own image is actually a kind of commemoration, a memory, and even a wake-up call.

Remind yourself to always remember your goals. Otherwise, you will lose your familiar self and become someone you don't even recognize.

Perhaps this is the reward: not being an immortal who has no goal of living, but being able to maintain a human form and continue to live.

But an immortal who has no obsessions or goals will quietly die in some corner after losing everything.

Even if we try to compensate with humanity, it won't make much difference; it's just a drop in the ocean.

If that's the case, then what has enabled the immortal to survive until now?

Obsession? Hatred? Or some other wish?

The immortal himself doesn't know this, but he knows he still has an unexplored past.

If he cannot know what he looks like, he will never understand the meaning of his awakening.

After staring at himself in the mirror for a few minutes, the Undead lowered his eyes, looking at the helmet he was holding in his arms.

After hesitating for a few seconds, I put the helmet on my head anyway.

As mentioned before, replenishing humanity is merely a drop in the ocean for immortals.

But the nameless heroes who inherited the First Flame are different from ordinary immortals.

For the War Knight, his humanity was not consumed by the Dark Ring.

The Undead had already discovered the problem when they left Kazimierz.

Logically speaking, the dark ring on the body of someone who has been burned by the First Flame should close.

Although in the distant past this was just a legend, the Undead themselves made the legend a reality.

He did not have the Dark Ring on him when he first awoke in Lothric.

Although the Dark Ring was reinstated afterward, the Undead didn't experience any noticeable symptoms this time; a strange thing seemed to slip away from their chest.

It was Solal who gave him the idea.

It was not the ring of darkness that robbed him of his spirit, of his humanity.

It is the primordial flame itself.

Perhaps this is a subconscious expansion of the initial flame, or a protective instinct.

Since it's fire, it must need something to burn.

The undead chosen by the First Flame were precisely the biggest piece of kindling.

His power, the soul he carries, and the humanity he has gathered along the way are all the perfect energy needed for the First Flame to ignite.

The price of bearing the First Flame is the burning of one's humanity and soul.

However, compared to before, the Undead not only do not feel pain from the Primordial Flame now, but can also freely use the power it brings.

It's like a transaction, a transaction that Chu Huo took the initiative to offer.

Although the Undead's power is currently weakened, with the Primordial Flame within them, it's only a matter of time before they recover.

However, as long as the Primordial Flame remains within the Undead, he must bear the price of the Primordial Flame and supply humanity.

This is actually why the Undead chose to join Rhodes Island.

Without a lasting source of humanity, the Undead will fall into slumber along with the First Flame, just as he demonstrated in Victoria.

When the first fire is lit, there may be another immortal being who will remember nothing of the past.

But at least Rhodes Island gave the Undead a chance, a chance to restart without having to drag the First Flame along with them.

In this state, the undead would undoubtedly have the opportunity to find the past buried underground, instead of having to wait for the system to restart and then starting over like a clueless fool, knowing nothing.

However, the replenishment of humanity is not permanent.

For Chu Huo, this amount of humanity, according to the Undying's rough estimate, would only be enough for him to maintain normalcy for a few days, or even less than ten days. After that, he would still have to consume a large amount of humanity stored in his body.

But the advantage is that a single act of overflowing humanity is enough to make the immortal remember many things, and their mind will be much more active in the next few days.

Of course, it seems there may be other uses as well.

At least during this time, the Undead will have ample time to see what Rhodes Island looks like, and he can also glean more information from the conversations of other operators.

The time before he reverts to a zombie form is precious and must not be wasted.

Donning his helmet and gauntlets, the Undead pretended nothing had happened and returned to the lab.

Pushing open the door, I saw Kroos gesturing at her wrist.

"what are you doing?"

"Oh, I also want to become younger and prettier... Wait, no, you're back?"

Kroos blurted out something on her own, then realized she was an undead.

"Now that you're back, let's get started with the data recording. Once we're done, I can go eat."

Kroos pretended not to say anything and put the Emergency Sanity Potion that was on the table back into the cabinet.

The Undead's mind was working perfectly now, so he naturally understood what Kroos meant.

He remained silent for two seconds before slowly speaking.

"Actually, this state will only last a few days at most. I will have to go back to my original appearance afterward. It's an illness. Besides, you've always been quite beautiful."

Kroos was stunned; she never expected an undead to say such things.

The young blood demon blinked and spoke.

"If you can talk, then talk more, I love listening. And your voice is quite magnetic! I thought you had phlegm stuck in your throat before."

After saying that, Kroos put down her sleeves and sat back down in front of the equipment.

Let's begin!

...

Later that evening, Melanie, having just finished her training, went to the cake shop as usual to buy a small cake to take home and eat.

Melantha felt uneasy these past few days without sparring partners who could kill each other.

When he sparred with the Undead before, he was able to use all his power at will.

Now, swinging a knife at thin air just doesn't feel the same anymore.

She could sense that sparring was truly the fastest way to improve, and nothing could compare to that.

While worrying about the undead whose whereabouts were unknown, he walked towards the cafeteria.

She also needed to check who was on duty in the cafeteria today, and whether Kroos was in the cafeteria.

These past few days, with no one dead or missing, Melantha has been taking advantage of her free time to invite Kroos out for a meal or something.

Although Melantha hoped to hear more about the undead from Kroos, after spending time with him, she found herself unconsciously growing fond of this adorable, blond, silly dog.

No one can resist Kroos's stubbornness, not even the immortals.

Kroos also felt a sense of closeness towards Melantha, because Melantha possessed the scent of an undead. Although the scent was faint, it always made Kroos feel at ease.