Chapter 1324 - The Secrets of Undeath (Part 2) (1/2)

Everyone stared at Nyka who happened to inhabit the body of a deranged killer. Kalla had raised her from the dead to torture the cruel woman again, only to discover that the mind of the newborn vampire was a blank slate.

Despite her weirdness, the Wight couldn't stand giving Nyka life just to let her die of hunger or daylight so she had taken Nyka in as her own.

”I'm so envious of you.” Kalla inhaled deeply and sighed. ”I'm still at the blue level because I forgot Acc.u.mulation was a thing until a few days ago when Scarlett, that tyrant of my landlord-”

Scarlett placed a thick pile of papers over a strong flame, forcing Kalla to focus.

”I mean, those are all excellent questions. If you were to be turned into an undead while still alive, your deep purple core wouldn't lose its strength. It would simply be passed upon your blood core during the transformation.

”Once you die, however, your core dissipates. Using your body as a vessel creates a new being with its own blood core that starts from the undead equivalent of deep red.

”Keep in mind that powerful cores are rare and even if the new soul had a violet core as well, it would take them a very long time to recover their strength since feeding allows an undead to obtain solely the mana flowing through the prey, not their core.” The Wight said.

”What if they were to Awaken? Would they be able to recover instantly with Invigoration?” Friya asked.

”No. They wouldn't. Judging from your questions, it seems that I failed to explain properly one of the most basic concepts of undeath. Unlike living beings who need to refine their bodies to exert strength, the dead don't train their vessels.

”An Abomination's strength doesn't come from their muscles so much from Chaos energy so densely packed that it can interact with physical matter. Yet it also requires a great degree of control and willpower to not destroy everything they touch.

”Undead, instead, use life force, the red part of their blood cores, to insulate the darkness that animates them. Their strength doesn't come either from muscles or mana, but from their life force.

”When an undead is born, they have twice the amount of a regular creature. The life force from their body plus that from their sire. By feeding, they not only assimilate the victim's mana but also part of their life force.

”It's the only way they have to keep their body and blood core balanced, otherwise they would explode like anyone who fails at evolving or Awakening their core. It's the reason why the blood of a powerful Awakened like Lith is so precious for my daughter.

”The loss of the spark of life force it contains deals Lith no damage yet it grants Nyka the possibility to assimilate all the mana infused in his blood. Were she to get her hands on Manohar's blood, Nyka would be able to absorb only a fraction of the mana it holds because his body is that of a human.

”Manohar's blood is richer in mana than Lith's but the weak life force limits the energy absorption rate so that everything that goes beyond a certain threshold is lost to keep the balance between body and core.

”At the same time, however, their ability to amass life force makes undead physically stronger than humans and even of beasts. They can convert the life force into speed, strength, and even mass at will.

”That's how a Vampire's Chiropteran Form or a Draugr's ability to get bigger works.” Kalla said.

”So undead are a balanced mix of mana and life force whereas Abominations are living energy. What about Liches, then?” Phloria asked.