The Necropolis

The doors closed, and the electric bus silently glided onto the tracks. Lin Binbin finally reacted, his face burning with embarrassment. He spat at the departing bus, "Pah! What are you pretending for! A necromancer is useless in the early stages! What good is high star power! Let's see how long you can be arrogant!"

On the bus, Li Xingyao sat by the window, watching the city lights flash by outside, bathed in the golden light of the setting sun, his fingers unconsciously stroking the armrest of the seat.

His spirit, however, sank once more into that hazy, gray space. The faint blue flame still burned quietly, emitting a weak yet undeniably real chill. He could feel a strange connection between himself and this space, and between himself and the flame.

The Banner of Ten Thousand Souls... what can you possibly bring me?

He closed his eyes, his fingertips still seemingly carrying the coolness of the crystal pillar, and... a faint, almost imperceptible tremor from the depths of his soul.

The clamor of the awakening ceremony was left behind. As Li Xingyao stepped into his home, a cold silence enveloped him. It was a typical "public housing" apartment, a standard two-bedroom, one-living room unit, simply furnished to meet daily living needs. The synthetic material walls had an inorganic, cold white hue. The smart home system lit up with a soft guiding light the moment he entered, emitting a flat, electronic voice: "Welcome home, Li Xingyao. Indoor temperature 24 degrees Celsius, humidity 45%, excellent comfort level."

"Turn off voice prompts." Li Xingyao's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible fatigue. The hall instantly fell silent, with only the lights of Tianjing City outside the windows seeping through the glass curtain wall and casting surreal, slowly flowing colors onto the floor. In the distance, the streaks of light from the traffic flow resembled a silent galaxy, outlining the pulse of the city.

"Today was really exhausting."

Li Xingyao slowly exhaled, his heart pounding with tension all day. For the past 17 years of this life, excluding the years before he was five when he couldn't recall his past life's memories, the remaining decade or so had been spent preparing for this day. Arriving in a world where "extraordinary powers" existed, and combining his memories and knowledge from his previous life, he knew that a peaceful life was a dead end.

In the family group chat, the older sister Li Xingyue's avatar flashed: "Xiao Yao, how's the awakening??" followed by an encouraging virtual hug emoji. The older brother Li Xingyang's message followed immediately: "Yeah, what profession did you awaken? How much Star Energy did you get? Did you embarrass our family? I'll celebrate with you when I get back!" His words were filled with familiar cheerfulness.

"I'll share my situation with them after I've confirmed it myself. I'm not even sure if my situation is 'normal'." After a brief moment of thought, Li Xingyao realized that the current situation differed significantly from what he already knew, so he decided to play it safe for now.

Li Xingyao tapped his finger a few times on his smartwatch, replying briefly: "Everything went smoothly. I awakened 'Necromancer,' my Star Energy is 100. I just got home, I'm a bit tired, and my mind is a bit muddled right now. I'll explain in detail when you get back."

He turned off the light screen projected by his watch. Although he wanted to talk to them more, he didn't fully understand his own situation, so he decided to wait until he had more access before telling them. First, he needed to test the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls and the Space of the Dead.

"Let's eat first." The emptiness in his stomach pulled him back to reality. He walked to the nutritional meal dispensing machine in the corner of the kitchen. He pressed his finger on the sensor area and selected his usual flavor.

The machine hummed softly, its internal mechanisms churning. A moment later, a soft "ding" sounded, and a standard serving of a juvenile nutritional meal and a glass of electrolyte water appeared at the dispensing port. The taste was bland, but it provided the body with the necessary energy and trace elements. He swallowed mechanically, finding it tasteless, but his mind had already drifted to that hazy space deep within his brain.

"When I'm able to afford it in the future, I'll definitely get the best food processor!" Li Xingyao thought, somewhat defensively.

In the shower, water of just the right temperature cascaded down, billowing steam. Li Xingyao stood before the mirror, wiping away the condensed water droplets. The mirror reflected a young but slightly thin face, his black hair clinging wetly to his forehead, water droplets sliding down his jawline. His features still retained a hint of youthful naiveté, but his deep black eyes held a scrutiny and seriousness beyond his years. He clenched his fist, feeling the power flowing within him—not the feeling of muscles tightening, but a deeper, more profound strength. His initial 100 points of star energy, like blood coursing through his veins, surged silently, bringing an unprecedented sense of power, accompanied by a touch of unfamiliarity.

"I don't know if it's because of my good genes in this life or because of the star energy, but I feel like I could debut as a celebrity if I went back in this life."

After drying himself and changing into clean clothes, Li Xingyao went straight to his small bedroom. The door closed silently behind him, isolating him from the outside world. Sitting on the bed, he took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes. The mental fatigue from awakening was still there, but even more so, a strong desire for exploration surged within him.

Li Xingyao sat cross-legged on the cold floor, his back against the edge of the bed. The commotion of the awakening ceremony, the exclamations of his classmates, the gaze of Director Zhao… he forcibly suppressed all the disturbances of the day. He took a deep breath, slowly closed his eyes, and sank all his mind into the depths of his brain.

Consciousness seemed to sink into the dark seabed, surrounded by familiar fragments of memories belonging to the eighteen-year-old boy "Li Xingyao": the silence of the public school, the blandness of the school meals, his sister's gentle admonitions, his brother's hearty laughter, the dry theories in class, the desire for power... These memories were like floating jellyfish, emitting a faint light.

However, just as he tried to focus his mind and touch that ancient little banner he had glimpsed in his awakening—

boom!

It was as if a bomb had exploded deep within his soul! Countless fragments of memories that did not belong to "Li Xingyao" surged forth like a raging torrent, forcefully breaching the dam of his consciousness!

The screech of brakes! The blinding glare of high beams! The terrifying symphony of twisting steel! The weightless sensation of being violently thrown into the air! And... the icy, bone-chilling touch of the cheap little banner on my chest, and a terrifying suction that seemed to devour my soul!

Then came a scene from another world: the monotony of typing on a keyboard in a cubicle, the lonely walk under the neon lights of the city, the dissatisfaction with ordinary life and the longing for the future... These images were chaotic, fragmented, and filled with strong emotions, like a shattered mirror, each piece reflecting different light and shadow, frantically cutting into his perception.

"Who am I? Li Xingyao? Or... that unfortunate office worker who got hit by a car and died?" The overwhelming sense of disorientation almost tore his consciousness apart. Two completely different life trajectories collided and merged violently in his mind, bringing indescribable pain and confusion.

Just as his consciousness was on the verge of collapse, a dark light, so deep and mysterious, suddenly shone at the core of his chaotic mental world!

The light was not warm, but carried a chilling, deathly stillness that devoured everything. It rapidly expanded and stretched, eventually transforming into a towering banner that seemed to support the entire shattered soul!

A banner whose antiquity and eeriness defy description!

The banner pole, like a spine supporting heaven and earth, was forged from the spine of some unknown god or demon, bound by countless thick chains of law flowing with dark red runes! The banner surface was as black as an eternal abyss that devoured everything, its edges no longer adorned with delicate tassels, but with countless stars burning with pale soul fire! Each "star" represented a powerful being utterly annihilated and imprisoned there! On the banner surface, there were no longer blurry dark patterns, but countless clearly visible, agonizing, howling faces of demons struggling and roaring!

Some of them possessed a thousand eyes, peering into all realms; some had ten thousand arms sprouting from their ribs, stirring up galaxies; some wore shattered crowns, radiating a decaying majesty… Every face was twisted and deformed, filled with extreme pain and resentment, yet they could only writhe and shriek in vain on the banner! Each sway of the banner caused the laws of the entire spiritual world to tremble, unleashing a soul storm that annihilated all things!

A vast, boundless, and terrifying pressure, surpassing even the death laws of the multiverse, crashed down like billions of ancient icebergs! Insignificant! Li Xingyao felt so insignificant, less than a speck of dust! It was as if any wandering demonic gaze from the banner could sweep over him, or if that terrifying pressure could reveal even a trace of its true power, could reduce him to nothingness, erasing even the trace of his existence!

This is... a banner for ten thousand souls?! That "craft" I bought on a whim while traveling?!

Just as this extreme fear and shock was about to crush his consciousness and completely assimilate him into an insignificant wailing ghost in this mental battlefield, a survival instinct originating from his soul suddenly erupted!

He frantically "looked" at the core of the banner! Not at the banner itself, but at the "spirit" that should exist, rule over everything, and radiate endless evil and a sovereign will!

empty!

There was only a deathly silence there! No longer was that terrifying will that froze the soul! No longer was the cold gaze that controlled billions of dead! It was as if... that supreme ruler, along with its "banner spirits" that exuded overwhelming ferocity, had been completely wiped out by some unimaginable power!

At the same time, an unimaginably vast yet incredibly pure, icy energy—soul power—flowing slowly like liquid, clearly appeared in his perception. Like a docile ocean, it lay dormant within the banner, radiating pure energy fluctuations, with no will attached to it.

Cold fragments of thought surged into the core of his consciousness like a torrent:

[The Banner of Ten Thousand Souls... Core Binding...]

[The artifact spirit vanishes... the banner spirit dissipates...]

[Risk of backlash...resolved...]

[Soul power reserves... nearly depleted...]

[The demonic artifact recognizes its master... Activated...]

The fear receded like the tide, replaced by a euphoric sense of relief and an indescribable enlightenment!