While William was still distracted, pondering all the possibilities, Rak’sa Mahlim, still kneeling with his head bowed to the ground, spoke in a completely submissive tone.
"Master... if you permit me, it is tradition for the master to bestow a name upon his subordinate... please grant me a name."
William observed him in silence for a few seconds. That creature, a mix of humanoid and jackal, with its imposing armor and firm bearing resembling a general commanding millions of troops, reminded him of something buried deep in his memory. In his old world... a mythological figure, an Egyptian god, guardian of the dead. That was the best description of what he wanted in his general, the guardian of the dead in a nightmare world.
"I will call you Anubis," he finally said. "For one day you shall be the god who guards the passage to eternity."
Anubis slowly raised his head, and an emotion difficult to describe reflected in his face: pride, loyalty... and something close to religious fanaticism. There was no doubt that he would now die for William, even without the tattoo’s control.
"It is a glorious name... I am honored. I swear to honor that name with my life," Anubis solemnly declared.
Without another word, Anubis slowly rose. He took the sword without drawing it from its sheath and, with solemnity, knelt again, but now with only one knee on the ground. If before he had surrendered to William, now it was more a symbolic act of handing over his weapon to his master. With both hands extended, he presented his sword to William; the blade still emitted a faint, ghostly purple glow.
William took it. He expected considerable weight, but as his fingers brushed the hilt, the sword felt light... absurdly light. As if he were carrying a mere branch.
"What...? How is this possible?"
Intrigued, he wielded the weapon. It flowed with his body as an extension of his will, without friction, without effort. He stepped forward and, almost without thinking, began to execute the Eight Plum Strikes. His most refined style, with a combination of elegance and power.
The thrusts, cuts, and movements flowed with such naturalness that it left him dumbfounded. Even without injecting gray energy, each cut left a trail that tore through the air; its power was even stronger than when he used gray energy to finish off the armored bear.
"It’s... perfect," he murmured. Then he stopped his combat dance, sheathed the sword with precision, and returned it to Anubis, who received it with a silent bow.
"Your techniques are admirable, Supreme. But if you permit me, my family has guarded a secret technique for generations. It has never been taught to anyone outside our lineage, but... it would be an honor for you to be the first to learn it."
He pulled a scroll from his belt and offered it to William. William cautiously unrolled it and read the letters etched in black ink:
The Sixteen Void Strikes.
The title alone commanded respect.
"I accept your offering," he said without hesitation, but maintaining a mystical touch to prevent Anubis from suspecting anything; a ruler who was too submissive would not be respected.
Anubis smiled with satisfaction while William tucked the scroll into his clothes.
"Supreme, may I see your current sword?"
William handed over his weapon without hesitation. Anubis examined it with barely concealed disdain.
"This... is not worthy of you. It’s forged with a meager 5% mithril, 85% gold, and the rest... common steel. Human materials... weak. Fragile. Unstable."
Then he drew his own weapon and proudly displayed it.
"My sword is forged with 99% Dark Steel, extracted from the depths of the nightmare world. It is my family’s second masterpiece, but there is one sword that has been passed down through generations, yet no one has ever been able to use it: it has 100% Dark Steel. Although it doesn’t look much different, that was the only sword ever created with 100%. My ancestor died in its creation and took the secret to the grave. My sword is the result of millions of years of research just to try and copy the ancestor’s sword. If you permit me, I can give it to you... along with another gift."
"I’ll gladly take it," William said, without hesitation.
Anubis nodded, and his expression changed. With a sudden movement, showing no remorse, he turned and decapitated the lizard knight who was still kneeling a few feet away from them. The blow was so fast that William didn’t even see how Anubis attacked. The head fell with a dull thud to the ground. A thread of black smoke rose from the severed neck, entering directly into William’s body.
"For us, there is no greater honor than to strengthen the Supreme," he said, kneeling again. "With our lives... and our deaths, I hope that in his death he atones for his sins of offending the supreme."
William watched the scene, stunned by the naturalness with which Anubis executed his fanaticism. But his thirst for power surpassed any moral qualms.
He extended his hand and absorbed the lizard’s body. The smoke enveloped him and began to seep in like a snake crawling under his skin. His body trembled violently.
"Ugh...!"
The pain was unbearable; his skin cracked, his vision distorted, and for an instant, he saw... something. He saw himself, but in full black armor, horns on his head, riding a black dragon, while beneath him, millions of warriors shouted his name, ready for battle.
Ten eternal minutes of torture passed, and then... everything calmed. His body healed at an incredible speed, the flow of gray energy inside him was more stable, and his heart seemed to contain many times more gray energy than before.
He opened his eyes and saw the glowing fragments of the lizard’s soul disappear. After that, he checked his forearm, and there was the figure of a lizard with a spear.
"Supreme," Anubis said in a soft voice, as if waking him from a trance. "If you permit me, I will offer my family’s castle as a place of rest. We have not yet been able to rebuild the Nightmare Tower, so the castle is the best residence in this area."
William nodded, but then turned to the three humans who were still unconscious on the ground.
"Take those three too."
Anubis seemed surprised by the request but didn’t hesitate. He extended a hand, and the three humans rose into the air, floating gently as if held by invisible hands.
With his other hand, Anubis traced a circle in the air, and a portal opened. On the other side, a majestic hall illuminated by hundreds of glowing stones could be seen. With a bow, Anubis stepped aside from the portal, indicating for William to enter first. William looked at him and crossed without hesitation.