Chapter 96: The Cloak of Deception 2!

The Cloak of Deception 2!

Tessa knelt down and picked up the final cloak. As her fingers brushed against its surface, it was as if she was holding pure, raw power. The sensation rippled through her like a storm, and the air around her seemed to crackle with energy. Her eyes sparked, glowing faintly as she connected with the ancient relic.

The group stood in silence, watching her intently, even as exhaustion weighed heavily on their hearts. They had made it through six trials, but the toll on their numbers was apparent. Only 28 of them remained, excluding Ikehara.

Ikehara, limping at the back, clenched his fists, seething inwardly. The trials had gone beyond his expectations, and now he was watching the cloak—the very thing he desired most—slip from his grasp.

Tessa's voice was barely a whisper as she addressed the group, "This cloak… it's more powerful than I imagined. It can restore anything… even life itself. I can feel it, like an untold knowledge, dancing at the tip of my toungue"

A spark of hope lit up the weary faces around her. Without hesitation, Tessa began to place the cloak on each of the injured members, one by one. As the cloak touched them, their wounds vanished, their bodies renewed with flawless skin as if they had never been hurt at all. Old scars, too, disappeared in the wake of the cloak's magic.

Gasps of disbelief filled the air. Adrian, standing beside Nymff, exchanged a glance with her before stepping closer to Tessa.

"Tessa... Can we try… to restore those we've lost?" Adrian suggested, his voice careful, not wanting to raise false hope but unable to ignore the possibility.

Tessa thought about it. 'This makes sense, if this cloak can truly restore things, shouldn't we try to see if it can restore the lives of those that are gone recently knowing that they died within the past 5 hours?'

She hesitated, but the cloak hummed in her hands as if responding to the thought. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and spoke words to the cloak, "Oh cloak of restoration, I ask that you restore the souls of our departed colleagues and friends and family that were killed during the trials, please restore them...."

Her words came out with a bit of anxiety. Her words of restoration, of life were spoken to the cloak that seemed so alive and powerful. For a moment, it seemed that nothing happened.

Then, like an unfolding miracle, the air shimmered around them. One by one, the members who had perished in the trials began to reappear. At first, faint, ghostly figures, and then, with each passing second, more solid, more alive.

Someone appeared behind Adrian, then another one beside Nymff, one in front of Tessa and another beside Nyala, and, not long after, all the remaining 15 appeared.

Confusion was etched on their faces as they stumbled forward, their last memories of death fresh in their minds.

"I was dead…" one of them murmured, eyes wide in disbelief. "How am I still alive?"

"You're back," someone else responded, rushing forward to embrace their returned comrades. The group buzzed with excitement and joy as everyone processed what had just occurred. They laughed, cried, and hugged, overwhelmed by the unbelievable turn of events.

Tessa watched, a mixture of relief and pride washing over her. Yet, deep within her, a pang of something else stirred—a longing, a desire for the kind of closeness she saw between Adrian and Nymff.

At that moment, Nymff wrapped her arms around Adrian's neck, pulling him into a tight hug. "You did good Adrian, thank you for watching over me and over the Rhemonic people." Her voice trembled with emotion.

Adrian smiled down at her, wiping away a stray tear. "I wouldn't leave you, Nymff. Not in this lifetime, and beside, we are all a big family now, aren't we?"

"Sure we are... About that kiss, can we continue.." Nymff asked shyly.

"I've been itching to have your lips.."Adrian muttered.

"What of Tessa... If she sees us...?" Nymff was a bit apprehensive, but Adrian just closed the distance between them.

The two shared a brief, tender kiss, and Tessa, standing a few feet away, averted her eyes. Her heart clenched. She wanted that connection, that intimacy with Adrian, but she couldn't voice it, not now, not when so much was at stake.

As the group celebrated, Ikehara stood off to the side, his expression darkening with each passing second. His mind raced, grappling with the enormity of what had just happened. Everything he had schemed for—the cloak, the trials—had slipped through his fingers. And now, Tessa, of all people, held the key to everything.

In his weakened state, all he could do was watch. The cloak, one of the important 5 ingredients and also, his last hope to restore Rhemon and all his plans, was now in the hands of the one person who could never be allowed to keep it. His fists trembled as anger and frustration gnawed at him.

"How… how is this happening?" he muttered under his breath. His eyes darted from Tessa to Adrian, then to the revived members of the group. This was not how things were supposed to go. His failure felt like a dagger to the heart, and with every cheer from the others, it twisted deeper.

He had no strength to fight for the cloak, no allies left to help him. All he could do was limp away, shaking his head in bitter disappointment.

Tessa noticed his retreating figure but did nothing to stop him. There were bigger things ahead, and though she knew Ikehara still harbored his schemes, she was focused on what lay ahead for the group.

As they gathered their strength, the members of the group stood in awe of the cloak's powers, but an unspoken tension still loomed in the air. This temple, this journey—it wasn't over yet.

And Tessa, now with the cloak of restoration draped over her shoulders, knew that the real danger was only just beginning.