"He has taken his first steps. Will you be disappointed if he fails?" asked Death in the emptiness of space. But there was no answer, only silence.

"It doesn't matter... If so, let him owe me for my gift of corpses. As always, such a carefree person," he muttered the last words as quietly as he could. But a loud thunderclap sounded where Death had just been.

"I see you've woken up... Then I'll go about my business," she said, disappearing like black smoke, leaving only her slippers behind.

"Fool," a melodic voice was heard. There was no anger, rage, or anything else in it, only sadness, a sadness that had not left him for centuries.

This person looked at the soul that had fallen into that ruined paradise. What a sad fate it had.

***

Alpha growled with an order for them to enter inside. Like a swarm of rats pouring out of a hole, all this filth spewed out like a geyser. The main Bird looked on in surprise as a hundred rats emerged from that hole. And how much space was in there?

When all the rats had emerged, a hand was visible from the hole - a human hand, black with a slight grayish hue. A man whom they had not seen in years emerged from the hole. And now everyone's wild hunger had awakened. Only human-like creatures could provide enough spiritual food.

And now one of them stood before them. Yes, he looked pitiful. But looking closer, they realized they had found their dinner. Alpha, like everyone else, craved it, but he held back and simply watched. This man was dressed only in a cloak, which was in a pathetic condition. In one hand, he held a saw, and in the other - a glowing ball?

Seeing the ball begin to enlarge and become brighter, Alpha ordered the pack to stay away from the man. But some of them were already completely conquered by hunger. And, not obeying the order, they pounced on the man.

The other part even wanted to attack faster. They obediently ran away from the man. The leader was not an idiot, if he ordered something, then there was something there. And, indeed, after a few seconds, a powerful explosion engulfed those who wanted to attack. The poor wolves began to emit strong moans.

Some of them were full of wounds, others lost parts of their bodies. And some turned to ashes altogether. And all the gray mist headed towards the culprit.

"Now that's a surprise. My guess was correct. If you can control the direction of energy, you can also direct an explosion. But the problem is that only I can remain unharmed. And everyone else, be it an enemy or a friend, will be affected. Food for thought for the future."

Looking at the four-legged and ugly birds, your mother, what's with them. Don't be surprised and don't forget what's hidden beneath the skins of these wolves.

Alpha growls and orders to surround the enemy. After that, he lets out a strong howl at the birds. The main bird responds, and all the birds begin to fly in a circle. With each passing second, they accelerate, creating a strong wind that soon turns into a hurricane, and then a tornado.

"Well, damn, how do I attack them..." he thinks, looking at the wolves who have surrounded him and his army. He estimates them - well, almost more than a thousand wolves, and he himself has killed only a few dozen or hundred. It's not advantageous for him.

"Well, I won't give up without a fight!" he shouts at the rat. "Attack the living!"

The rats rush at the wolves like a hungry swarm of locusts. Some of them jump on trees, trying to attack the birds. But, unfortunately, either the strong wind interferes, or few birds are flying near the trees.

The first rats to reach the wolves attack with rotten teeth, trying to bite them. The first rat that jumped on a wolf was pierced by the tail with a needle at the end. And another rat was hit with a paw and flew away.

A dog's cry could be heard nearby. Looking at the source, the wolf saw that more than ten rats had attacked his comrade. He threw the rat struggling on his tail at several rats surrounding the poor guy.

Rats, even if they are weak, are as tenacious as cockroaches. And now they are an even bigger headache. At the same time, gray feather fluff began to fall from the sky, like needles falling on rats.

Alpha snapped the neck of a bold rat as soon as he saw the birds attack. "A mass attack right away?" he looked surprised at the gray circle. Flying birds have been created.

"AUE. These birds are causing more trouble than I expected. But first, let's play with them." He watched as over twenty wolves surrounded him. The only black man wanted to use his slingshot again. But he quickly changed his mind and didn't want the wolves to take countermeasures.

Holding the saw tightly, he lunged at the nearest wolf and struck it right in the head. Black, spoiled blood gushed from its head. He was ready to take the saw out of its head when another wolf jumped on him from behind. And the first one that was wounded attacked his tail, trying to hit his chest.

At the same time, the main bird watched the chaos on the battlefield. He saw the rat, no, the undead, attack and kill the wolves. But the pack still led. Half an hour of battle and victory is ours. But it's still too early to draw conclusions.

With his thoughts, he attacked where the most rats had gathered. And they gathered around the Alpha. Still, he was a tasty morsel for everyone. Even for me, but the main dish now is not him.

Alpha sent the rat back into flight again. Looking at this restless army, he even wanted to laugh if he could. They are as resilient as cockroaches but pose no danger. And it only depresses him that they are lifeless, soulless... No, sorry, one of them has a drop of energy. But it's like a glass of water in the desert.

And only a man who resembles an ocean can temporarily quench the thirst of those with a clear mind. Watching as the wolves attack the man, bouncing him around like a ball. He may be weak, but he poses no threat. He is simply food. And why did he get angry when he killed my brothers? I should have already made peace with the victims. No, I will not be like that bastard.

His eyes followed the man and occasionally attacked bold rats. He was surprised when several rats stopped and turned towards the man. These rats attacked the wolf that was holding the man. Tearing into his skin, they entered him, and he fell. He didn't fall like the others, but was torn apart by rats. Other uninjured rats began to gather around their master and attack his enemies.

If at first, all the rats were scattered throughout the battlefield, doing whatever they pleased, now less than half of them began to attack in groups. Not like before, when two or five rats attacked eight or ten wolves, but now ten rats per one wolf. Moreover, they no longer walk in such a huge bunch, which greatly hinders the birds, who watch as their attacks have become less frequent.

The Black Man stood up and looked at his hands, then wiped the edge of his lips with his index finger. His eyes began to look at the bodies of the wolves and his rats. He touched the nearest wolf, which turned out to still be alive, and began to draw a circle to enslave it.

After waiting a short time, he turned this wolf into undead with a soul. But the strangest thing was that this soul was different from all the others. It seemed to have lost its mind, and there was almost no energy in it.

And I'm not talking about necro-energy, but about the one I first encountered. How do I know that it's energy? I just guessed, that's all. But I am very happy that I was able to feel the connection between me and my servants.

*** A few minutes earlier.

Flying back and forth, I tried to free myself from all of this. I was attacked and thrown, not even given seconds to rest. And how I fought rats in the past. Oh, they are still rats, and they are not as huge as these wolves.

"What is my mistake? Maybe that I rushed at that wolf. Or maybe I am too cautious. But now, what's more important: how to get rid of the beating."

Reflecting on all possible options, he was glad that he did not feel pain, or, more interestingly, his skin had become stronger. Did I just renew my wooden skin?

Suddenly something weak came inside. Like an invisible thread, it connected him to something. And that something directed energy like of a soul and a necrotic energy.

"This feeling. The connection between master and servant. I got it. Why didn't I think of this earlier? I'm so stupid."

It turns out, when I create undead, I create a connection, a contract, an agreement, call it what you want. And this connection helps the master control the servant. And here's the catch: I can control an army without a voice. Only with my thoughts, what does that mean? "Yes, I'm a dumbass, I can't deny it. But the book is to blame for everything."

And as a response, he received a strong mental blow from the book. "Wait, what does this mean? Is she reading my thoughts? I didn't sign up for this crap."

Looking at the source of the thread, I saw that fatso. The same one who ordered the mutation. It now has one wolf, while holding another wolf by the body. This rat is almost twice as huge, or even three times. And all the energy absorbed in it comes to me.

With the power of my thoughts, I tried to feel that thread and command it. The rat stopped for a split second, then attacked the wolf that held...

"Damn it," he couldn't concentrate on the rat and flew away again, and everything turned black. His mind was already burning with hatred. Concentrating his will, he felt that same thread of fat, along with a thousand others nearby.

Using them, he contacted the nearest rats and ordered them to attack those dogs. The closest rat stopped and turned its head to the master, after which they all pounced on the wolves.

I focused on each thread and ordered each rat what to do. It may seem like I'm spending too much time on this, but in reality, it takes only a few seconds. Because I don't shout out loud, but through the agreement, and as it turned out, I don't need to talk about it out loud. I just need to think about it, and that's it.

So I think for each rat to do its job. And they do it, as luck would have it. The rats that came to help didn't run in packs, but scattered and not far away. The first of them to reach the wolf jumped and started attacking the eyes. Another made a hole in the stomach, and so on.

And so with all the nearest wolves. I felt myself falling to the ground, opening my eyes...