Everyone stared at Nyka who happened to inhabit the body of a deranged killer. Kalla had raised her from the dead to torture the cruel woman again, only to discover that the mind of the newborn vampire was a blank slate.
Despite her weirdness, the Wight couldn’t stand giving Nyka life just to let her die of hunger or daylight so she had taken Nyka in as her own.
“I’m so envious of you.” Kalla inhaled deeply and sighed. “I’m still at the blue level because I forgot Accumulation was a thing until a few days ago when Scarlett, that tyrant of my landlord-”
Scarlett placed a thick pile of papers over a strong flame, forcing Kalla to focus.
“I mean, those are all excellent questions. If you were to be turned into an undead while still alive, your deep purple core wouldn’t lose its strength. It would simply be passed upon your blood core during the transformation.
“Once you die, however, your core dissipates. Using your body as a vessel creates a new being with its own blood core that starts from the undead equivalent of deep red.
“Keep in mind that powerful cores are rare and even if the new soul had a violet core as well, it would take them a very long time to recover their strength since feeding allows an undead to obtain solely the mana flowing through the prey, not their core.” The Wight said.
“What if they were to Awaken? Would they be able to recover instantly with Invigoration?” Friya asked.
“No. They wouldn’t. Judging from your questions, it seems that I failed to explain properly one of the most basic concepts of undeath. Unlike living beings who need to refine their bodies to exert strength, the dead don’t train their vessels.
“An Abomination’s strength doesn’t come from their muscles so much from Chaos energy so densely packed that it can interact with physical matter. Yet it also requires a great degree of control and willpower to not destroy everything they touch.
“Undead, instead, use life force, the red part of their blood cores, to insulate the darkness that animates them. Their strength doesn’t come either from muscles or mana, but from their life force.
“When an undead is born, they have twice the amount of a regular creature. The life force from their body plus that from their sire. By feeding, they not only assimilate the victim’s mana but also part of their life force.
“It’s the only way they have to keep their body and blood core balanced, otherwise they would explode like anyone who fails at evolving or Awakening their core. It’s the reason why the blood of a powerful Awakened like Lith is so precious for my daughter.
“The loss of the spark of life force it contains deals Lith no damage yet it grants Nyka the possibility to assimilate all the mana infused in his blood. Were she to get her hands on Manohar’s blood, Nyka would be able to absorb only a fraction of the mana it holds because his body is that of a human.
“Manohar’s blood is richer in mana than Lith’s but the weak life force limits the energy absorption rate so that everything that goes beyond a certain threshold is lost to keep the balance between body and core.
“At the same time, however, their ability to amass life force makes undead physically stronger than humans and even of beasts. They can convert the life force into speed, strength, and even mass at will.
“That’s how a Vampire’s Chiropteran Form or a Draugr’s ability to get bigger works.” Kalla said.
“So undead are a balanced mix of mana and life force whereas Abominations are living energy. What about Liches, then?” Phloria asked.
“Liches aren’t really undead because they never die in the first place. By splitting their life force and mana core in half and by sealing them into a phylactery, they are forever suspended between life and death.
“It’s the reason why many consider Liches as an aberration and why they don’t share any of the weaknesses typical of Baba Yaga’s children, not even the hunger. They have a set of rules of their own, some of them really annoying.
“For example, turning into a Lich is much easier for a fake mage than for an Awakened since their mana flow is static whereas an Awakened’s phylactery needs to be able to preserve the mana flow indefinitely and even allow it to grow with Accumulation.
“If a non-Awakened Lich manages to Awaken, they need another complex spell to transfer their essence into a suitable phylactery or they die. Some non-Awakened tried to go straight for a phylactery suitable for Awakened, but it never ended well.
“The few that survived had their essence unfocused due to the vessel being unable to keep their core and life force compressed, leading to terrible consequences.
“Best case scenario, they became much weaker than what they were in life and will stay that way until they find a way to Awaken. Worst case scenario, they fell into a vegetative state from which there’s no return.
“Last, but not least, they don’t share the greatest gift that undeath bestows on the other species. According to my sources, Baba Yaga achieved her original goal of giving her children a second chance at life.
“Once an undead’s blood core turns completely red, they become hybrids just like Nalrond. They can switch from their undead form to that of a living being with a regular body and a deep red core at will.
“On top of that, by sacrificing all the mana and life force an undead accumulates to reach a full blood red core, they can return fully alive and start from scratch. If they are Awakened, they can work their way up to the violet core again.
“Liches can never do that. Once the path it’s taken, they have no way back” Kalla said.
“That sounds like a bunch of nonsense. How can you be so sure?” Scarlett asked with a scoff.
“I know because I saw it with my own eyes. Back when I traveled Mogar in search of the secrets of Lichhood, I met one creature capable of turning into a living being. The most intriguing thing about Awakened like him, is that as long as they keep their blood core, once they assume their living form Accumulation has no effect.
“His human core remained deep red and it was unable to improve.” Kalla said.
Everyone was flabbergasted at those words. Even Scarlett, who had slain princesses and rescued kidnapped monsters more than once, found them hard to believe. Yet Kalla had no sense of humor and no reason to lie so they took them at face value.
During the lunch break, for which Faluel had prepared a small buffet, Lith took her and Kalla aside to share with them the missing piece of the events in Kolga away from the Scorpicore’s ears.
‘That overgrown cat didn’t hesitate to spill my secrets the moment she found it convenient. Sure, thanks to that Faluel took me in, but it still pisses me off.’ Lith thought.
He needed to share the contents of his conversation with Mogar with Faluel because she was his main liaison with the Council and with Kalla because she had proven once again to be the greatest expert about the undead that Lith knew.
