4 -{Chapter IV: Revival}-

Immortality is both a blessing and a curse; you get to live forever, but anyone, and everyone else has a time limit. – Demoros, The Unkillable Demon of Darkness.

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My eyelids still feel heavy as I slowly crack them open, and find that I was floating in a void like darkness. Emptiness surrounded me as I tried to look around the darkness. Then a faint glow caught my eye, and so I looked to my hands. I had glowing white claws covering each finger, and extending off the fingertip by a centimetre or so.

I examine them over and over, as there was nothing else in this abyss.

I recoil my head upwards as a shout in the distance cuts me out of my trance. I look around the emptiness trying to find the source of the noise, yet nothing decides to reveal itself to me. I try to walk forward towards the darkness, however, even when my leg moves forwards I don't seem to move anywhere. I sigh in defeat as the silence finally forces me to stop my investigation.

"Where am I anyway?" I speak to the empty void, however, I knew that it wouldn't respond.

"Al–ex..." A sinister whisper creeps out from the darkness.

"Who's there!?" I shout into the darkness as I search for them.

"ALEX!" The sinister voice shouts in a deep, violent, tone in response to me.

I jolt awake in an unfamiliar bedroom while sweat begins to roll down my forehead. I huff out air, "What the hell was that?"

I look around the room I was in as I caught my breath. I don't remember any of this... where the hell am I?

– Demoros, where am I? – I question him before looking down at my unusual clothing, – And when the hell did I change clothes? –

– Ugh... give me a second I got a massive headache... – Demoros responds in a grumpy voice.

– How exactly do you get headaches if you're in my head? – I question in a slightly aggressive tone.

– Oh darn, you got me there... – He states, – However, I don't actually know where we are. –

– How do you not know? – I groan, – I thought you said you watch over everything that happens to me?! –

– Well, I wasn't lying when I said that... but there are times when I can't keep track. Hence in this situation we were both inside your limbo, so I can't keep track of it's time and place nor the actually time and place of reality. –

– Right, right, I get it... – I state before sitting up, – Sorry. –

– Better be, – He snickers.

Dizziness tries to force me back down, however, I resist the urge and look around the room. Light floods in through the window hanging over where I lay; making everything visible in a dingy warmth. There wasn't much in this room except for the bed I now sit in, a slightly large wardrobe, the door across from me, and a chair that was placed in front of the bed.

Now, why would a chair be here? My thought it's cut short as shuffling erupts from behind the door. Now, who could that be?

"Can we see him?" An oddly familiar voice speech sounds distant as if they were still making their way down a hallway.

I raise an eyebrow, where have I heard this voice before, because it isn't Ralph nor is it Greg... I rise from the bed, and try to take a step away from it, however, my legs tremble and almost cause me to fall over. Man, I am the worst at sneaking.

"I don't see any harm in it," An authoritative sounding voice responds, "He is your brother, after all, it would only make sense for you to mourn."

"Mourn...?" I whisper to myself. Do they me for me? But I'm not dead... wait... right, I forgot.

– You, my good sir, are an idiot, – Demoros antagonizes me.

– Yeah, yeah... – I roll my eyes at his insult.

"We can bury him here if you want, but it's your call?" A Masculine, or a man's, voice states in a questioning manner.

"No, no, it's fine, I already have plans to take him back to Karthridge to be buried there..." The familiar voice responds almost immediately.

Wait... is that Ella? I smile runs across my face, the droops into a frown. But that would also mean they think I'm dead... Welp, aren't I in a predicament.

– Yep, can't quite save you from this one, – Demoros sluggishly states.

– Like you would if you even could, – I cross my arms.

– Ha, what... is it so bad that I like watching you suffer? – Demoros sarcastically asks, which only makes me roll my eyes.

"It's what I think both him and our mother would've wanted..." The presumed Ella speaks with sincerity.

"If that is what you want, I will help in any manner I can..." The authoritative voice responds, "It's the least I could do to repay for all that he did."

What the hell did I do? And how exactly did I die exactly?

– Shouldn't those be questions you should be asking me? – Demoros asks in a sly manner.

– Well... it wasn't like you couldn't hear them, – I smirk.

– And it's not like I'd want to give you the answers anyway, – He grips in a fake pouting manner.

– Right, right, I forgot how invaluable you truly were, my bad, – I shrug.

– Don't have to be mean about it, – He grumbles, which makes me chuckle slightly.

"Here it is..." The authoritative voice calls out before I hear a key enter the lock of the door in front of me.

Panic randomly surges through me, what am I going to say? What do I do? What do I do?

And without much thought in the situation, I slightly dive behind the wardrobe. Then I cast a silhouette over myself blending with the darkness of this tight space. What the hell am I doing?

I hold my breath as the door slowly creeps open, then three people enter. However, I can't tell what they look like because the light from the hallway behind them makes me slightly blind. So all I can see is their silhouettes.

The three dark figures loom at the door for a few moments before the slightly bigger one rushes over to the bed, where I had been laying. Then I see who it is as he crosses from the light of the hall to the light from the window. Ralph... He survived...? Well, why wouldn't he?

"Where the hell is his body!?" Ralph yells over to the other two, who then ran over to his side.

One was Ella... So she did find me... And the other was a woman I had never seen before. The woman was obviously one from the several Elven species. Her pointed ear jolted out through her silver locks, which reached down to her waistline. Her face was slightly narrow, and her deep grey eyes still managed to have a small contrast with her pale, almost snow-like, skin. And although she appeared to be some kind of Elf, her height was lacking that of a normal sized Elf.

"Who the hell would take a body in broad daylight!?" Ralph's voice brought me back to reality.

– Are you just going to stand there like a bump on a log? – Demoros groans, – they obviously aren't your enemies, unless you think they're going to backstab you and everyone's already out to get you? –

– You don't gotta be such a dick about it, – I frown.

– Then. Get. Out. From. Behind. The. Wardrobe. And. Actually. Do. Something! – Demoros yells in my head.

– Alright, alright, I'm going, I'm going, – I respond before scooting my way out from behind the wardrobe.

– Good, now all I have to do is sit back and relax, – Demoros sends a cold shiver down my spine.

– You know when you say that bad things always tend to happen? – I nod to myself.

– Is that so? – Demoros questions.

Yet before I can respond, I'm already standing out from the dingy grey wall at the side of the wardrobe. Then I finally look back towards the three other people standing in the room with me. And of course, they just have to already be staring me down...

"Ha... ha... oh no..." I whine slightly.

"Y-you're... alive?" Ella questions in a dumbfounded manner.

"Uhh... about that..." My voice is slightly more rough than what I'm used to, however, I try to explain regardless, "So... I guess I should've said something about this sooner..."

Ella was the first to snap out from their trans, and walked towards me, until she was directly in front of me. A slight smile began to pull at the edges of my lips as Ella stared me down. She's just probably in shock?

I begin to open my mouth to speak before she brings up her hand, balls it into a first, and drives it into my face.

The strength behind it left my jaw numb, and she was flexing her fingers in a pained kind of way. Her knuckles began to redden as grabbed my jaw and moved it around a bit.

"Ooowww..." I groaned, before clacking my teeth together, "Okay... I deserved that."

Then she almost crushed my ribcage with a single hug. I stumble slightly backwards as I wasn't prepared for it whatsoever.

"Don't ever leave me... Don't ever leave us again," She whined.

"I won't I promise," I pat her upper back.

"Wait... so you weren't spittin B.S. when you said you could come back from the dead?" Ralph said with a smile on his face.

"What? You knew he could come back? And you neglected to tell any of us?" The woman grumbled in confusion.

"Classic Ralph for ya," I grinned, "Where's Greg?"

"He should be in the training fields with the other soldiers..." Ralph stated.

"Other soldiers?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Why yes, for you are in Fort Dunwald," The other woman explained.

"Fort Dunwald?" I still questioned.

"Yeah, it's part of the rebellion's territory now," Ralph states before anyone else.

"What... we're in rebel territory? Wait... just where are we exactly?" I ponder my thought out loud.

"You were moved to a safer location after the fight at the Helgard "Death" Jail... or so my men like to call it," The woman answers before the others.

"And if it weren't for you..." Ralph smirks, "I honestly can say, I owe ya one."

"Wait... I still do know what I did?" I state unknowingly.

"Really?" Ella lifts her head from my torso, "Do you not remember?"

"I have no idea what you guys are talking about?"

"Hmmm... well, what do you remember?" Ella takes a step away from me.

"Huh... that's a hard one..." I mumble out, I don't know if I should let them know everything; Demoros, Limbo... That abyss... I shake that thought from my mind before responding once more, "I remember being at the prison, and as we were about to fight off that wave of soldiers... everything went... blank."

"What do you mean, 'blank'?" Ralph asks.

"I just can't remember after that, it just sounded cooler than saying, 'after that I can't remember anything else'," I explain in a sarcastic manner.

"Ah... I get it," Ralph nods.

"So, what did happen?" I question them in response.

"Ah... that's a long one," Ralph grabs his chin, "Well..."

"Wait!" The woman stops him before he even starts.

"What?" Ralph turns towards her.

"The Commander is going to need to see him, we shouldn't keep wasting his time..." The woman responds, "We were already supposed to see him twenty minutes ago."

"Wait, but what do we do about him?" Ralph turns towards me, then looks me up and down, "Dude you're scrawny as hell..."

"Well, being "dead" for two months would probably do that to you?" Ella sarcastically nugs the woman.

"Really?" The woman narrows her eyes at Ella.

"Wait... you must be joking... right?" My eyes widen at the mention of how long I had been unconscious for. Then I whisper to myself, "Was I really in there for that long...?"

"What's wrong?" Ella asks with worry coating her words.

"There's no way it's been two months... you have to be joking... right?" I furrow my eyebrows with a flood of worry coming over me, "I couldn't have skipped two months just like that."

"You were unconscious for so long me and Greg started to think you coming back from the dead was just some kind of lie..." Ralph states, "However, seeing as you're standing in front of us, I should've trusted you since I met ya."

"So, are we just going to ignore the fact that we need to get to the Commander?" The woman states, "We can catch up, and discuss things afterwards!"

"Alright, we get it!" Ralph grumbles.

"So... why exactly does he want to see me of all people?" I question.

"Later!" She growls.

"Alright, alright, I get it, I'm coming," I state before following the three of them out from the room.

I kept my head down as we passed through several, several... corridors. Then we finally stopped in front of one of the many identical wooden doors.

The woman, who I neglected to get the name from, opens the door with a quick single swipe. And inside sat a single desk with a few chairs placed in front of it. One man sat in a leathery chair behind the desk, and rose his head angrily from his paperwork.

"What is the meaning of this intrusion?" The man narrowed his eyes at the four of us as we entered the room.

"Well, sir, you see I..." The woman began to explain, however, was silenced by the Commander.

"I can tell already, you don't need to spell it out..." His voice was rugged, and deep, "So... you finally decided to wake up? Thought you were dead, would've buried you along with the others if it weren't for the tales."

He smirked before giving out a low rumbly laughter. He then piled the papers that were strewn across his desk, and slid them into one of the compartments that were out of my sight.

"And now that you're awake, I have a proposal for you if you're up for it?" He smiles before leaning, cross-armed, in his seat.

"What is it?" I almost immediately ask.

"Now that's what I'd like to hear!" He smiles, "We're low on soldiers as is here... And reinforcements will take too long to muster up her, so I wanted to ask you personally... Will you join us?"

My mind goes blank for a second before piecing the information just gathered back together to make sense of the situation.

"We've all seen you fight, and for your sister's dedication alone... The resistance needs someone like you... " The woman states.

"Pipe down Valair! Let him make up his own mind, if he doesn't want to join he doesn't..."

"I'll join. Don't worry about it, after the last year and half of living hell, I'm ready to get back at this empire," I grin.

"Right on, I like your spirit kid," He rises before we shake hands, "The names Reginald, but the men call me Commander. Your training regimen starts at o'seven hundred hours."