CHAPTER THREE***MORTAL REALM***RESURRECTION

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"Someone other Elvania General like your half brother, Zenyou will eventually take over your stead of leading the Elvania warriors in the ongoing war and more Elvania souls will be forgotten after they are slain in the battlefield...."

Arguis explained further and drew close to me.

"So....Elian, hurry up and decide, now that you haven't disappear into fire ash like your fellow Elvanians"

"What do you want from me?"

I questioned still watching the pitiful sight of Elvanians disappearing into the fog, in anguish. 

"It's quite simple but costly"

He replied folding his hands and kept quiet. I could sense he wanted me to show if I really had been convinced of his words and to show him I was ready to listen to what the Dominos had install for me, I sat down on my stomach not too sure how to stand on the ground since a whole part of right my leg was already withering away into the mist but I sniffed relentlessly and stood on my feet anyway.

"I see that you are determine"

"Answer me...Why go this length to talk about Elvania's betrayal? Unless...."

"Yes...It is as you have thought. We have plans for the whole realm and for you, Elian Hoxino"

"Does it have anything to do with Zenyou's betrayal?"

I asked unsure of what Arguis was scheming.

"Most likely but much more than a petty Elvanian stabbing his own brother in the back"

"I don't get what you mean"

Arguis sighed and shook his head. 

"I'll tell you the details but let's start with you getting your revenge"

"Go on....but you have to be quick, as you can see, I don't have much time left"

I replied showing Arguis my hazy right hand which was starting to fade off. 

Unaware of his intentions, Arguis stretched forth his two index fingers aiming at me.

"What­—"

"Don't worry, I won't harm you. You are one of the vessels Lord Hadon needs for our vengeance against the realms. I won't dare kill you otherwise my overlord will punish me severely" 

Then Arguis, with frightening speed, shot me with a flaming red arrow that issued out of his two fingers. It struck the left side of my chest and bore a red hole into the position where my heart once dwelt beating inside my chest. 

"Aaargh! What the­—"

I felt terrifying anguishing torments of hot coal burning into my entire soul. I thought I was going to fizzle out like burnt ash charred by fire but there was some eerie feeling that accompanied the burnt feeling raging over my entire soul. 

Ironically, the flames was energizing and I felt an inner relief which was strange compared to the fire that purge throughout the remaining part of my soul that was yet to fade off into the fog.  Arguis had granted me a temporal source of sustainment that somewhat restored the shape of my soul and in a weird way, delayed the fazing I had felt since the time I realize that I was losing vital energy to the fog. 

The flame was life-giving and resourceful enough to fuel my strength yet the vitality didn't restore back the powers that I had lost to the fog nor did it restore the sinews that formed the fleshy muscles of my Elvanian body which was similar to that of humans but of different skin pigment.

"What did you do to me?....I feel warm..."

I stuttered touching every part of my soul and saw sparkling red fiery light purging within my entire soul in form of vein threads.

"A red Kryalite but it powers are limited"

"A red Kryalite? I know Dominos have the inability to cultivate let alone possess the powers that can heal"

"Just like your kind, you look down on us and yet you know nothing about what we are truly capable of. The red Kryalite only extended your life thereby preventing your soul from vanishing at that point but soon, it will fade off and you'll become vulnerable"

Arguis said and came closer.

"So, we can use the time that I have bought for you to finish our conversation before you'll be sent out of our realm"

"Wait a minute....You mean I'll be set free"

"As Lord Hadon wishes, yes, you'll be sent out of the under realm but if only you agree to comply with Lord Hadon's message"

"And that will be?"

"Listen carefully and don't be in a haste to hear what I'm about to say because there will be dire consequences if you fail to complete this crucial task and Lord Hadon hate those who fail him"

Arguis said, and with his two hands behind him, he walked around me in circles even though he was facing my direction. His voice sounded husky and deeper than it once were when he first spoke to me but I kept a cool head and waited to hear what he 

"Lord Hadon is granting you a chance to carry out your retribution on those responsible for your death but in return..."

"In return...what is the cost?"

I rejoined not afraid of what he might to do to me. I glanced at the colossal Dominos watching us above. Then I turned and looked at Arguis straight in the eye but he appeared not to be fazed and quite unaffected by my mean glare.

"Lord Hadon's mercy is granted upon you in exchange for obtaining the seven sacred stones that was used by heaven to shape Ataxia and the Isylic loom...."

Arguis said and issued another apparition. What appear in front of me was 

"I see. You deformed creatures are planning to destroy everything"

"Exactly and you are going to help us"

"You can't be serious. The precious stones have been taken to heaven long before I was even born"

"What you were taught by the Elvanian sages weren't true but intently done to make you hate us. The chronicles of Atira Muram, being the goddess of Ataxia falsely accused of stealing the sacred stones by Yan Donyan was twisted those menacing Elvanian sages because they were afraid and jealous of our kind being fully immortals "

"How so?"

"There so much you don't know about your very own people and their secrets but you'll see for yourself that we aren't the only one who wants to dominate the realms"

"I still don't understand what you mean. The records about the whereabouts of the stones may have not been kept in the archives of Sheron Mountain where I was trained but the other apprentices including myself believed that the stones were returned back to the emperor in Heaven.....at least that was what we were told...."

"It's up to you to believe it or not if I am telling you the truth....but It is your mission to retrieve the stones from the human realm"

"The human realm? What does the stones have to do it with the corruptible world of humans?"

I questioned curiously and wondered why Arguis was adamant.

"Weeks before the battle at the plains of Diani, we heard a believable rumor that the sects colluded among themselves to hid the stones in the human realm instead of giving it back to Heaven"

"You mean—"

"Yes. It is as you have thought. The stones were never sent to heaven when Yan Douyan was captured centuries ago but were hidden separately by the same seven sects that have come together to fight against us..."

"No, it can't be true. Even if it is true like you have said, how can I find them in the human world? The sects will most likely keep it in a place beyond any the reach of every cultivator let alone petty humans"

"Don't worry about that. Once you are resurrected but as a human, I'll make sure to give you something to guide your way to the seek out the stones"

Arguis replied and the apparition disappeared into a still silence as he waved his hand. He came closer and issued another apparition which suddenly revealed a man lying dead in a wasteland where there were several bodies lying dead in a deserted road possibly attacked by roadside bandits.

"As you can see here, this mortal's soul is about leaving his body to Hades where he will be judged and it will be a perfect vessel for you to possesses as a resurrected spirit"

He said and saw me frowned at the vision.

"Nothing I..."

"We don't have much time to talk right now. Much will be given to you in great detail once you are out there in the outside world of the humans"

Arguis said and came closer to me to the point we stood face to face.

"There might be side effect of instilling your soul in that human vessel like forgetting about your identity but don't worry about it. Once you regain consciousness, I will come visit you at the right time but first, I will instill in your soul enough Kraylite for you to pass through to the land of living"

"But—"

Before the words even left my mouth, Arguis place his clawed palm on the chest region of my soul where my heart was supposed to be. I felt an even warmer Kraylite spreading into my spiritual veins from his hand but my eyes dimmed before I could even notice that he had flown with me into a huge hollow portal of red mist which appeared moments after I was trembling from the rampaging energy surging violently within me. The hollow portal swallowed us both and I was lost in deep sleep which left me in a thick darkness. The darkness was the first thing the portal took us to and there Arguis did something I couldn't decipher to the departing soul of the human I was to exchange his dead body with. At first I could see traces of my memories vanishing before my very sight and I knew I was being parched up with a solid body that felt strange to my senses. Everything spun around in what seemed like a daydream but there was this incessant violence of voices echoing in my inner ears which went on for several minutes. I thought it would last for eternity but it stopped all of a sudden into an empty still silence when I felt the hotness of rough sands aching my back.

Twenty seconds went on and the tranquil silence of hot desert wind brewed around me. I knew at that moment, my senses had returned but they were dull and hard to reach. Not to mention that I felt cold in a piece of dry sunbaked clothing that had been blotched by the desert wind instead of the hotness of the rough sand.

I tried to open my eyelids but the daydreaming of the resurrection was by far alluring to me to the point that the new odd senses I felt preventing me seeing vividly. Though what I could barely see because of dizziness I felt, was an open blue sky with odd flying creatures no less than eight winged creatures squawking and swooping down from the bare blue sky.

Moments later, two voices of different texture, one lighter and pitchy, the other, masculine and tenor, resounded in my ears. They talked for length and I wanted to comprehend what they were talking about but I find it hard  to interpret their language and my crisp eyelids were too fatigued and dizzy with sleep because of the loop Arguis had toss me into. As a result, I fell into a deeper slumber.