The hero's blood was still warm as Valerian Blackthorne dragged the lifeless body to his improvised operating table. Alex Chen—the legendary hero from Earth who was supposed to save the world—was now lying with his chest riddled with holes from the Dragon Lord Pyrothane's surprise attack.
"Perfect," Valerian whispered as he wiped the sweat from his brow. Stealing a hero's body from the battlefield while the royal knights were still distracted by a dying dragon was no easy feat, but the rewards were well worth the risk.
The secret laboratory in Ravencroft Castle was filled with the light of a blue crystal that pulsed like a heart. Tubes of colorful liquids lined the shelves, and the scent of metals and chemicals filled the air. In the corner, two undead creatures from his necromancy experiments moved robotically, preparing surgical instruments and ritual ingredients.
"Subject: Alex Chen, Hero from Earth, estimated age 20," Valerian spoke into the crystal recorder as he began examining the hero's body. "Cause of death: penetrating trauma to the heart. Time of death: less than two hours. Condition of body: ideal for resurrection experiments."
Valerian's trained hands moved quickly, examining every detail of the astonishing anatomy. Alex's physiology was indeed different from that of an Astorian human—the muscle structure was denser, the mana circulation more efficient, and most interestingly, there was a trace of a foreign energy he had never encountered before.
"Interesting," he murmured as he took a blood sample. "A truly foreign mana signature. This isn't Astorian magic… this is something more fundamental."
Valerian began to recall the events three years ago that had changed his life forever.
Three years ago...
"Dr. Blackthorne!" Grand Magister Aldric's voice boomed through the Royal Academy's courtroom. "You have crossed an unforgivable line!"
Valerian stood in the center of a pentagram circle drawn in blood, surrounded by five student corpses still twitching from the remnants of necromantic energy. His emerald green eyes stared without remorse at the five members of the Academy Council who stared at him in horror and anger.
"Crossed the line?" Valerian laughed loudly. "I have managed to maintain consciousness in a dead body for three whole days! This is the greatest breakthrough in necromancy since the Dark Ages!"
"You killed five students!" Dean Thorne shouted, his dwarf beard trembling with anger.
"They died for science," Valerian replied coldly. "And now they are alive again, isn't that what matters most?"
One of the student corpses suddenly rose, its blank eyes staring at the Academy Council. "P-please... kill... me..." a hoarse voice escaped its throat.
Professor Elara Moonwhisper stepped back with a pale face. "That's not life, Valerian! That's torture!"
"Torment is the price of evolution," Valerian replied, raising his wand. "But you guys are too weak to understand it."
"Enough!" Grand Magister Aldric raised his gem-encrusted scepter. "Valerian Blackthorne, in the name of the Academy and humanity, we banish you forever! All your research will be destroyed!"
A blinding white light radiated from the Grand Magister's wand, destroying all of Valerian's lab equipment and burning his research notes. But Valerian just smiled.
"You can burn the paper," he said, tapping his head, "but you can't burn what's here. One day, you'll beg me for help."
Present...
"And that day has come," Valerian smiled as he turned his attention back to Alex Chen lying before him. "The hero who failed... will become my greatest masterpiece."
He began arranging crystal formations around the operating table—a combination of necromancy, biological transmutation, and forbidden rituals that he had developed over three years of exile. This was no ordinary corpse-resurrection. This was a true resurrection with consciousness intact.
"The subject has an extraordinary mana capacity," he continued into the crystal recorder. "Even in death, his body still retains residual energy equivalent to that of an archmage. If he can be revived..."
Valerian paused. His eyes gleamed with dangerous excitement.
"If successful, I will not only have the most powerful experimental subject, but also a weapon that can change the balance of power in this kingdom."
He began carving necromancy runes into Alex's body with a ritual knife, each stroke glowing a dark red light. The blood that flowed did not fall to the floor, but instead floated and formed complex geometric patterns in the air.
"The Lazarus Ritual is Perfect," he whispered. "Deity-level necromancy that only existed in theory... until now."
The undead assistants stirred, igniting crystal generators that transformed the room into an orchestra of light and magical energy. Thunder rumbled outside the castle, as if the universe itself felt the enormity of the ritual taking place.
Valerian raised both hands, and the power he had accumulated over the years began to flow. Necromantic energy mixed with biological transmutation, creating something that had never existed before.
"RISE!" he shouted in a voice that resonated with supernatural power. "RISE AND SERVE YOUR MASTER!"
A blinding red light filled the room. A strong wind swirled even though they were inside a closed room. All the glass tubes vibrated, and some shattered from the overwhelming magical pressure.
Then... silence.
Alex Chen coughed, fresh blood spilling from his mouth. His holed chest began to close at an unnatural speed. His muscles twitched, then tightened. And finally...
Alex's eyes opened.
But they were not the normal blue eyes that heroes from Earth had. The eyes that stared at Valerian were now glowing red, with vertical, reptilian pupils. And most terrifyingly, there was intelligence there—but not a fully human intelligence.
"Welcome back to the world of the living, Alex Chen," Valerian grinned. "Or should I call you... my creation?"
Alex sat up slowly, his movements too fluid, too perfect. He stared at his own hands with strange curiosity, then at Valerian.
"Who... are you?" the voice was the same, but with a harmonic undertone that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
"I am the one who saved you from death," Valerian answered, barely containing his excitement.
"I am Dr. Valerian Blackthorne, and you... you are the greatest experiment in the history of necromancy."
Alex nodded slowly, as if accepting the information easily. Too easily.
"I... am hungry," he said then.
"Hungry for what?"
Alex stared at the corpse in the corner of the room. Its glowing red eyes focused with an intensity that made Valerian uncomfortable for the first time in years.
"Flesh," Alex replied with a smile that revealed teeth that were now slightly sharper than before. "Living flesh."
Valerian felt a mix of thrill and terror in his chest. His experiment had worked—too well. Alex Chen had risen from the dead, but something fundamental had changed in the process.
"Perfect," Valerian whispered with a smile, though his hands were shaking slightly. "Absolutely perfect."
Lightning flashed outside the castle, and in the brief flash of light, Alex's shadow on the wall seemed far larger and more terrifying than his real body.
The Mad Alchemist had created a monster. And the monster was smiling at him.