Why reincarnate as a useless skeleton?

Almost 350,000 years ago, the Seven Great Gods of creation had come to Genaerrsis from another universe and using their power molded the already existing world, transforming it into a place capable of harboring life.

Years later, the gods began to fill the material plane with all kinds of life forms and created the first three races, each with its distinctive qualities and characteristics.

The Humans, the Alument, and the Asrakians.

But, as the gods were very powerful beings made of pure energy, they couldn't stay on the material plane.

If they did, their very presence could cause anomalies and disturbances in the universe, and simply descending directly into the earthly plane would cost them an enormous amount of the divine energy that made up their bodies.

If a god lost too much divine energy, then they could no longer exercise their power and would be forced to remain in a state of lethargy until they could recover. During that state a god was vulnerable.

Therefore, after the gods finished shaping the world, they retreated to the Celestial Realm (Etlant). A dimensional plane created by them where they could remain without losing their divine power.

However, before retiring to Etlant, the gods created nine guardians, each with a power comparable to that of a god, to protect the earthly plane from any possible danger while they were not there.

These Nine Earthly Guardians were known as the Six Ancestral Dragons and the Three Colossuses of the Cosmos.

The Nine Guardians remained on the earthly plane for over one hundred thousand years, rarely interacting with mortal beings and prepared to protect the universe from any danger.

Finally, when the Five Calamities arrived along with their armies of demons intent on conquering this new world; The Nine Earthly Guardians fulfilled the role the gods had entrusted to them and fought on the front line in the war, slaughtering the hordes of demons and instilling fear in them.

However, this didn't last forever.

One day, the Nine Guardians found themselves engaged in a great battle against two of the Five Calamities. Valok, the Demon God of the Abyss, and Ramauris, the Demon God of the Undead.

The battle between the two sides had been so colossal that it lasted a whole week and shook the heavens. But in the end, the two demon gods emerged victoriously and of the Nine Guardians only one managed to escape with his life.

But that was not all.

In the third age, the Five Calamities used their power to corrupt the living beings of Genaerrsis and create multiple monster races to add to their armies.

At that time, the Demon God of Destruction (Astrep) and the Goddess of Chaos (Namasis) used the flesh, bones, and blood of the Ancestral Dragons and the Colossuses of the Cosmos to create and give birth to a new race of monsters, including the draconid beasts.

The forces of the monsters and dragons were simply too overwhelming and in the blink of an eye, the demons took the upper hand in the war for the universe, forcing the armies of the gods to retreat.

In a desperate attempt to remedy this, Havall, the last of the Ancestral Dragons, decided to use the same strategy of the demon gods against them.

Using the corpses of various monsters and dragons, Havall, along with the help of other gods, combined their powers to create two new races of intelligent beings with special abilities to wipe out the hordes of monsters.

These races were the Rasslings, humanoid beings with animal and monster characteristics, and the Drauns, who had dragon-like abilities and powers.

Fortunately, Havall's gamble was successful, as both the Rasslings and the Drauns were incredibly effective in eradicating the monster armies.

In this way, the armies of the gods were able to balance the scales of battle again.

Later, the Five Calamities and the demons were imprisoned in Onur, the gods returned to Etlant to recuperate and Havall attained divinity and became the Dragon God of War.

****

The moment he saw Velector, Marcus couldn't help but remember the stories he had read about this world while staying at the mansion. However, he hadn't been too surprised when he saw the Draun. After all, he already knew that the leader of the Black Lions wasn't human.

Without wasting a second, Marcus raised his sword and charged straight at Velector as he prepared to cast an offensive spell.

"QUIET!"Velector shouted, and his voice caused the air in the entire room to vibrate.

Marcus had only managed to take a few steps when his body suddenly froze, becoming immobile like a statue. In the next instant, a system alert notification sounded in his head.

Ding!

....

{The user has been affected by the [Eye of Immobility]. As long as the effect of the skill is still active the user will be unable to move }.

....

The moment he read the notifications, Marcus averted his gaze to Velector and noticed something peculiar about his eyes.

In addition to having a reptilian pupil, the Draun's eyes were a different color. One was a combination of emerald green, ruby red, and sapphire blue. But his other eye was silver in color and for some reason, this one gave off powerful magical energy.

"Kukukuku... Tell me, this is the first time you see a magic eye right?" asked the Draun with a cocky smile on his face.

"You know, many believe that the [Eye of Immobility] paralyzes muscles. But in fact, what it does is send out a fluctuation of pure Rehi that immobilizes the target's limbs and causes an obstruction in their bodily flow of energy. That's what makes this innate skill so terrifying." He said as he took another sip of liquor. " By the way, I recommend you don't try to use your magic, because it won't work against me."

Rehi was a supernatural energy proper of this world, which had existed since before the arrival of the gods and demons. This energy was present everywhere, both in the inorganic matter and in living beings.

Over time, the beings of this world had developed different ways of using the Rehi of the environment and storing it in their bodies to acquire unique powers. Such was the case with magic and aura control.

But there was also a third way to use Rehi, and that was skills.

However, skills were the opposite of magic and aura control.

On the one hand, both magic and aura control were based on collecting energy, storing it in the body, and altering it to use as one wished. In short, one forced the Rehi to adapt to it.

In the case of skills, it was the Rehi that modified the individual allowing him or her to acquire unique characteristics so that he or she could use the Rehi of the environment in a pure state.

Normally, skills were divided into innate skills and acquired skills.

Innate skills were those that were one's own from birth. Similar to a genetic characteristic of each individual.

On the other hand (as the name specified), acquired skills were those that one gained through various means, such as the consumption of mutagenic potions, or training and practice as was the case with skills such as [Stealth].

Velector's [Eye of Immobility] belonged to the innate type skills.

"I must say I'm impressed... For you to take down all my men, three chimera soldiers, and one of my vice leaders on your own, you must be very skilled." He said as he took a sip of liquor. "Now, I have a couple of things I'd like to ask you."

"...What do you want to know?" replied Marcus with a telepathic message. Even though his body was immobilized, he needed to buy enough time to resolve this situation and to do that he needed to keep Velector busy. So answering his questions was a perfect opportunity.

"Telepathy? Well, whatever. I'll skip the stupid questions like who are you or how did you find my base. So why don't we get straight to the point and you tell me why you killed Aylinor and why you attacked us?"

"Wait a minute, how do you know I killed Aylinor?"

"I didn't know that, but thanks for confirming it. Now I know for sure that you work neither for the Dark Churches nor for the Continental Brotherhood. If that were the case I doubt I would have sent only you. So either you work alone or you work for someone else who wants me dead. So who is it, then? The Forest Church? The Governor? Someone who thinks I'm a nuisance?"

"Do I look like I work for the Church of the Forest to you? And if that were the case why do you think I would tell you? Besides, what's the use of knowing now? I've already wiped out your whole gang and you've pinned me down. There's no point in asking me about it. Or what? Do you want to solve the unknowns before you kill me? Hum, I think I'm having a Deja Vu."

"Hey, you don't need to be so aggressive. Is it wrong to want to have a conversation? I am a leader of a criminal gang, but I'm not a monster you know. " Velector said as he finished drinking what little liquor he had left in his glass.

"Sure, you're not a monster. You're just a son of a bitch who commits crimes and is part of a group of lunatics, who believe that their goddess will cover the world with plagues and diseases by eliminating the weak, heretics, and impure to create a new perfect world."

"You mean the Church of the Deadly Plagues? Don't get confused, I only allied myself with them out of sheer convenience. You see, I've been around long enough, so I know how things will turn out. The Dark Churches have been trying to take over the world for over 170,000 years and have never succeeded.

Sure, the Church of the Deadly Plagues would go to war, but they would have only managed to destroy a couple of kingdoms and clans before they lost. That's the way it's always been. By the time this war is over, people will be desperate and looking for more than just faith in gods who haven't done a damn thing for them since the third age.

They will seek security, comfort whether it be with alcohol, drugs, or in other pleasures, they will seek a reason to live and only I can give them that."

"Wow, how humble of you, you are quite the charitable soul. I see, you were going to use the chimera soldiers to accumulate power quickly before the war broke out and when it was all over you were going to be king of the continent. Great plan by the way."

"Yeah, that's how it was supposed to be. But you ruined everything!" He said with an irate tone.

*crash*

At that moment, Velector clenched his fist and the crystal goblet in his hand exploded into hundreds of pieces. However, he didn't have a single wound on his hand.

"So let me ask you again. Why on earth did you kill Aylinor and why did you attack me? Did you want to save the city? Did you want to do justice or do you just hold a grudge against me for something I did?" Asked Velector, after he had calmed down a bit.

"Do I need a reason to attack you or Aylinor? I don't work for anyone, things like justice and good I don't give a f*** about and I don't hold a grudge against you. I simply saw a good opportunity to attack and I took it. That's all I can say and if you don't believe me that's fine, it's not my fault you're an idiot. So if you're already satisfied, why don't we get this stupidity over with?"

"...Pfff, Hahahaha... I'm sorry it's just... that you're such a peculiar guy." Velector walked over to his desk. He took out another goblet glass and a bottle of liquor, poured some more liquid into his glass, and took another sip. Then, he cleared his throat and said "Tell you what, why don't you work for me? Join the Black Lions."

"...Sorry what? I just slaughtered all your men and ruined your plans with your chimera soldiers. And you want me to work for you? Are you out of your mind?"

"Precisely because you did all that is why I want you to work for me. The fact that you were able to eliminate all my men tells me that you are worth more than all of them together. You know, I prioritize quality over quantity."

"And why do you think I would accept?"

Velector paused and took another swig of liquor before answering.

"Because you seek power and I can help you get it. From what you've told me, I can tell that you didn't kill Aylinor to save the city and you didn't attack me out of some stupid grudge. This means you did it for your benefit, so you seek power. The question is, what is your motive?"

"Excuse me?"

"Your motive. Your reason for seeking power. You see, I have my reasons for seeking power. The reason I created the Black Lions, the reason I allied myself with the demon worshippers, the reason I do all this. So I ask you... What is your reason, your goal, your purpose... To seek power?"

Marcus thought a moment before answering. He had already bought the time he needed, so he had no reason to keep talking.

But perhaps because he had never had anyone to talk to about this, because he had been alone for so long, or because it didn't do any harm, Marcus decided to answer the question.

"Because I want to be free. More specifically, I want to stop surviving and I want to start living."

"You want to be free? Are you or were you ever a slave?" Velector asked curiously as he raised his glass to his lips.

"Not exactly. I was a slave, but not like you think. The country I was born in was beautiful, many called it the country of freedom. The people of my country were very patriotic indeed. But of course, not everything was good.

Unfortunately, I wasn't born in a nice environment. I could never afford luxuries and I never had the opportunity to be very patriotic. Because very early in my childhood I understood that patriotism wasn't a right or an obligation, it was a luxury. And you can't afford luxuries when you have to think about how you're going to eat the next day.

I wanted to be able to do what others did. Try to learn new things, meet other people, travel the world. There are many places I would have liked to visit: The UK, Ireland, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, China, or anywhere else in the world.

But I never had the chance, because my life was never mine alone, I never had the opportunity to make my own decisions. To be completely free.

When I finally got the chance to be free, I paid a very big price for it, I lost something important. At first, I didn't care, but now I realize that I would do anything to get it back. And the only way to get it back is to get stronger...That's why I killed Aylinor, that's why I killed your men and that's why....I will kill you."