Darkness surrounded me, but it didn't prevent me from seeing Death herself in it. She quietly waited for her new apostle to appear. Approaching within half a meter, I stopped and heard in my ears, "Kneel before me." Knowing what she wanted, I didn't hurry to kneel.

"Do you want my gift?" Death asked, looking at me strangely.

"No. I need power. But pride..." I wanted to finish, but Death interrupted me.

"It's holding you back? You have principles, asking questions of Death herself. And that fear of me is gone. You are very interesting and... foolish. You should be flexible and know the best ways... You're lucky. Maybe because of your foolishness or pride, or perhaps... because of a sense of danger?... Silent?.. Surprised? It doesn't matter. Congratulations, my first apostle of this era."

"First?" I asked in surprise, feeling doubtful. How could I be the first?

"Yes, the first. You see, these demons cannot understand what is allowed and what is not. We saw that our followers were weak and easily caught by some weaklings. I decided to help: I directed research on demons from behind the scenes. And here's the result: the current necromancers are strong and dangerous individuals. But these demons are too greedy. And they destroyed everything directly related to me. The destroyed demons will be replaced and they became like intermediaries. But these cunning ones replaced the ritual of transformation into a creature, where you sell your soul. Sorry for the weakness. Even now, the thought makes me angry."

"Well, let me give you my gift," he said, and with those words, he disappeared and reappeared three meters above the mortal's head.

The darkness that enveloped them began to retreat, revealing the floor, covered in runes. No, the floor was all...

"A circle. These runes, according to your words, are a magic circle. And it completes the ritual instead of me. I have nothing left to do. If you survive in this cursed world, we will meet again," he said before disappearing, leaving behind a rotting heart.

The heart began to glow with a purple flame. When it was fully aglow, it unexpectedly began to beat.

With each thump, it only grew stronger. But before he could look at the runes and the heart, after one loud beat, it stopped and in the next moment began to rot, turning into liquid pus.

It started dripping above his head. Trying to escape, he realized he couldn't even move a finger. At first, there was one drop, then two, until he fell like a waterfall, completely immersed in this pus.

After this, absorption into the skin began, penetrating the body directly into the bloodstream. He felt worms crawling through his veins. And all of them, as one, headed towards the heart.

Reaching it, the worms began to tear it apart and devour his heart. The pain was unbearable, and his face, black with a gray tint, contorted in pain. He wanted to scream, but the pain was excruciating and he couldn't say a word. Thinking he would die from these worms, a hoarse voice brought him back to reality and sobered him up from the thought of death.

"The true gift of death is not in becoming a necromancer, but in freeing oneself from the shackles of life and its limitations. It doesn't mean you completely renounce life, but in you will live both life and death."

After Death finished speaking, the heart was already destroyed, and the worms began to merge. One ate the other until only one remained. It began to change and connect with veins and arteries, becoming the three most putrid hearts.

When everything was over, the heart became quiet, it didn't beat. It turned into puree. At the same time, the man in black couldn't even move a finger, falling on the icy floor, which began to fade. And darkness began to cover him again.

"Heart. It is the key... Congratulations, my apostle. You have become exactly what you have always dreamed of. And now wake up and kill. Collect soul particles or even the entire soul and become stronger."

***

Opening his eyes, he realized he was in a cave filled with rat corpses. But something was strange, some of them began moving their paws. He wouldn't have noticed if not for one of these rats, sitting twelve paces from his body, making strange noises.

The book, hovering in the air, headed straight for his eyes. Showing the page that read "Congratulations", after which the text changed.

Slowly, the words "Resurrection of the Dead" appeared at the top of the page, with the small letters below reading "Super-duper simplified version for newbies".

Reading what was written, his eyes twitched. But the following lines calmed him down, and then caused panic. "You are in great danger, so I simplified this spell as much as I could. You have 3 minutes to learn it. Then use it on those moving corpses".

After he finished reading, the letters began to change, and others moved. A circle with several runes and a small description appeared on the page.

"A spell that animates a corpse and provides basic commands, such as attack or stand. To successfully complete the spell, you need to memorize the words and create a circle inside the body using mana. Additionally, you need to fill the corpse and the circle with necromancer's energy, which is obtained from necro-energy and mana. And for beginners, it is enough to fill the heart of the corpse with necro-energy and at least a drop of mana. So, beginners, get to work!"

"Son of a bitch," he cursed when he finished reading. In truth, he had no right to be angry because everything was true. Everything was done for him.

"Calm down," he repeated to himself inside. After that, he began reading the spell, which was no more than a few lines. But the circle had runes that were responsible for mana circulation. Another one connected mana with organs or bones. The third one - for commands. The fourth one - for behavior, what is characterized by the word undead. And a few more. There were eight in total. Not much and not little. If you fully analyze the rune, it's not just a word, but a full text. Like a programming code.

"It's difficult."

Analyzing and repeating, he discovered that some of the runes repeated themselves. But not often. It was interesting. If there was time, I would study them faster.

Did I say I'm lazy? If not, I'll say it. Yes, I'm a lazy guy. I will always do what I don't like, quickly and without mistakes. Over time, I realized that when a serious situation arises, I can memorize it immediately.

But when I play and need to complete a quest for crafting items, I can immediately forget what items I need to create.

But now my brain is working at its limit. I don't know what's going on here, but the words "Death," books, and the movements of these dead rats are alarming. Are they really dead?

After completing the study of the circle, he took one rat in his hands and began to infuse it with energy. It's a good thing that when he first killed a rat on the book's instructions and then collected the energy that came out of the corpse.

So I practiced and succeeded a little in manipulating this energy. It's like a third hand. I had two all my life, and suddenly - a third. At first, it's uncomfortable and difficult, but the more you practice, the faster you adapt. Like switching from a keyboard to a joystick in a shooter game. And now I'm practicing how to collect and control the energy inside the body.

Putting the corpse on the ground, he placed his right hand on his head. At the same time, the book entered his hand, becoming a tattoo. It began to glow with a faint blue light.

He traded skulls and infused energy in the form of a thread into the circle. This thread moved from right to left, drawing complex runes.

"First... Second... Fourth... Seventh... And finally, the last one... Now all that's left is to connect them, and the circle will be complete," he exclaimed wildly. But his joy was premature.

After connecting the runes, the circle was complete, and now it needed to be filled with energy. He had a battery - which shocked me, but only now did the book inform me of it. However, there was no rune in this circle that corresponded to energy and its filling, which I also learned from the book.

Filling the circle to the brim, he looked at the rat's paws, which began to move. I also looked at him - he just sat and watched.

"He's not doing anything... I thought he'd try to kill me like in the books at the beginning... But he's no longer an enemy of the undead. Alright, let's try it: 'Take a step'," he said, using a commanding tone. The rat took a step, then stopped.

"Step back a meter," he commanded, but the rat remained in place.

"So, it only follows simple commands. Well, that's understandable," he said, leaving the rat in place. Then he picked up the corpse of another rat with a hole in its stomach and began drawing a circle. And so he did with all the rats.

Taking one of the rats in his hands, which began to move vigorously, I touched its head with my index finger and began pouring in energy. The first part, where the runes were responsible for mana and control over it, I passed without problems. But when I wanted to create runes that would be responsible for control and command over the undead, something was blocking me. As if something inside me was struggling.

I poured in more energy and began creating the remaining runes with all seriousness. After completing the creation of the runes, all that was left was to connect them, thus making the circle. At that moment, I felt resistance. Something or someone was preventing me from completing the circle.

"What is this? Who is preventing me from completing this circle? I'm almost finished, I can't give up now," I thought.