Soul Lamenter

"The Soul Lamenter..."

"Aurest".

Keosius pronounced the name.

The trees in the Bewildering Valley are tall and twisted, their branches and leaves Sky-Shading, as if they are forever shrouded in a heavy shadow.

Deep within this dark forest lies an ancient castle built of black stones— Soul Weeping Castle.

The castle's owner was a lich known as Aurest.

Hundreds of years ago, this place wasn't called the Bewildering Valley, nor was there Black Forest. There was only a Mage Tower, and Aurest was once a respected mage in this land.

In the magical desert of the the North, mages held a revered status, and this was especially true for a gifted Archmage like Aurest: people built a magnificent castle for him, and the surrounding nobles offered him thousands of slaves, allowing him to live an extremely luxurious life where he regarded mortals as worthless. After nearly a century of indulging in such a debauched life, Aurest finally realized that he was about to die.

In terms of the rules of the world, a mage is just one of the mortal beings.

Even with mysterious and unpredictable powers, death is still a constant companion, but it is not inevitable.

So Aurest pursued a way to achieve immortality at any cost. He found a secret ritual in an ancient tomb, made a deal with Lord of Bones Milko, and sacrificed thousands of slaves in his castle and territory.

Ultimately, Aurest imprisoned his soul in a Phylactery through a ritual, drank a transformation potion made of poison and the blood of a sacrifice, allowing his soul to be drawn into the Phylactery, while his body was resurrected as a lich.

He died.

Or rather, they have already achieved immortality.

It exists in the world in a new form.

The once lush garden has turned into a gloomy and terrifying Black Forest, the once extremely luxurious castle has become the decaying and dark Soul Weeping Castle, and the once spirited mage has become an immortal lich.

But Aurest was not satisfied with this; the lich's soul remained trapped in the Phylactery —and he sought true immortality.

So he began to draw magic circles, creating countless skeletons and undead, preparing to sacrifice the souls of the entire Carter Duchy so that he could achieve immortality.

This is the hidden side quest from my previous life in the the North – [The Soul Lamenter in the Bewildering Valley].

The quest process is somewhat complicated. Players first need to accept the "Haunted Basement" quest from a family in Antonio City, search for the ghost, and then follow its trail to the underground world, where they discover the remains of a mysterious Sacrificial Array.

Then they went to the Northern Great Library to search for the origin of the magic circle among tens of thousands of books, learned the true name of "Soul Lamenter" Aurest, and followed the historical records to find those who knew the truth.

Next, the player searches and investigates step by step from multiple locations such as taverns, the Bureau of Affairs, and the Adventurers' Guild, eventually finding a certain old beggar who knows history and has long gone mad.

The old beggar puts the players through a series of difficult and bizarre tasks, such as "retrieving fresh Chimera dung," "removing the dirtiest tooth from the Hill Giant," and "stealing food from the mouth of Ogre."

This is actually a test of the player's skill and credibility.

The old beggar had endured too much suffering and witnessed too many people lose their lives to the taboos of the Bewildering Valley. He wanted to kill the lich, but he also did not want innocent people to sacrifice their lives.

Only after all the tasks are completed will the old beggar provide valuable clues, guiding players to the Ancient Mausoleum.

They will search for clues in the tomb, overcome numerous traps, and endure attacks from countless terrifying Undead Creatures, finally finding the lich's Phylactery in the deepest part of the tomb.

Finally, players can head to the final quest location— the Bewildering Valley —to completely thwart the lich's plot.

The "Soul Lamenter in the Bewildering Valley" questline requires players to complete hundreds of challenging stages, spend months traversing a long storyline, and find hundreds of clues and quest items.

In its previous life, this series of quests was affectionately known by players as "the Dog Planner's Malice," "the Toilet Unclogging Quest King," and "the Hidden Quest Even Dogs Won't Do."

It wasn't until the Clash of Kings 2.0 that players, led by a player with both perseverance and skill, completed this side quest – that player was none other than Singo.

Moreover, even Singo invited a full fifty professional gamers, whose team averaged level eleven.

Only then did they barely manage to kill the lich, split the generous quest rewards, and even almost obtain a staff that could be considered a divine artifact—which is enough to show how difficult and disgusting this quest was.

However, Keosius is different from the players.

He is familiar with the plot, has absolute control over the surrounding area, and possesses power sufficient to crush the lich.

It could be said that he was determined to obtain the lich and was full of confidence, but he hesitated about how to deal with it.

"Aurest is not some kind of madman who pursues magic; he is just a cowardly man who fears death and is extremely selfish. The only difference is that he has unparalleled magical talent."

"A greedy yet fearful fellow is the easiest to handle."

"Perhaps... I can use him to my advantage."

Keosius narrowed his eyes, the firelight flickering in his pale golden pupils, but then he shook his head as if remembering something, and couldn't help but chuckle and sigh.

"Speaking of which, Anzeta has really suffered a lot. It is such a remote place, yet it is full of talented people."

"Dragons, demons, monsters, shadows, giants, Vampire."

"There was even a lich."

This wasn't just Keosius's personal idea; players from his previous life often joked about it, and there was even a saying on the forum, "The North Kingdom is known for its simple and honest people, Anzeta full of talented people."

Even in version 4.0, experienced players from across the Astral Plane often unearth new items from Anzeta, the beginner area.

However, this is understandable, as the Anzeta Great Wasteland has been ruled by dragons, giants, and Elf, and once had a glorious civilization.

However, this place was completely destroyed by endless wars. Its former grandeur collapsed, and even the local Weave became extremely fragile. As a result, it became Magic Wasteland that was not favored by Mystra. However, this place is where many ancient civilization relics are buried.

The current empire has a professional archaeological team, which includes many players who work in related fields. This team is jokingly referred to as the "Magical Tomb Raiders" by players on the forums.

They dug everywhere in the Anzeta Great Wasteland, searching for lost secrets buried underground, to bring more knowledge and treasures to the Embers of the Burned Empire.

Keosius turned his head, and through the Calamity Dragon Eye and the Omniscient Eye, his vision could see the Ancient Mausoleum hundreds of miles away—the resting place of the former Cleric Myrkul, and the location of the Lich's Phylactery.

For ordinary people to search for that relic in the vast wilderness is like looking for a needle in a haystack, but Keosius is the emperor of the Embers of the Burned Empire and has supreme power within its borders.

"Aurest."

Are you ready to welcome me?

Keosius grinned, revealing a ferocious smile. The lich, who was a nightmare in the eyes of mortals, was like a duck about to be eaten by him, and he was afraid that it would escape.