Chapter 258 Chapter256-Wraith Revival
"That sword... something's off about it," Ethan called out immediately.
"What sword?" Oberlis queried. Following Ethan's gaze, he too caught sight of the longsword held by the skeleton, its faint luminescence seemingly the root of Rose's current affliction.
"Damn it!" Oberlis cursed.
"Oberlis, be cautious! Don't be rash!" But even as Ethan's words left his lips, Oberlis's silhouette vanished, only to reappear by the skeleton's side, grasping the sword in the skeletal grip.
A dense black mist erupted from the sword.
"Ahh!" A cry of agony escaped Oberlis, who promptly cast the blade to the ground.
Dark smog continuously billowed from the forsaken weapon.
However, rather than dispersing, the smog seemed sentient, amassing and thickening into an oppressive cloud that emanated an aura of decay and death, sending chills to the core.
"What in the blazes is this?" Oberlis spat out, employing instant transportation to regroup beside Ethan and the others.
Thanks to Oberlis's intervention, Rose snapped back to her senses.
She immediately seized Oberlis's hand, discovering that the palm which had grasped the sword was now a raw mess.
It had been corroded by the black mist, exuding a foul stench.
"Oberlis, why would you act so recklessly?" Rose exclaimed, her voice laced with frustration.
Oberlis merely gave a rueful smile, offering no explanation.
Just as Rose would never abandon him, he too would never let her fall into peril.
After all, during those dark, painful days after their exile from the Dawn Elf Kingdom, she had been his sole companion.
"Seth, do you have any idea what's going on?" Ethan inquired at that moment.
Seth simply shook his head, feeling increasingly sidelined, and apologized, "I've encountered myriad oddities in my time, but this black mist... it's unfamiliar. Though, it seems... related to Alchemy in some way." Seth couldn't help but feel a little dejected.
"Damn Sovok. Even in death, he still manages to stir up trouble," Seth internally seethed.
He had hoped to leave an impression of erudition upon Ethan and the rest, but now it seemed that his plan had been thwarted.
"Alchemy?"
Upon hearing Seth mention Alchemy, a realization seemed to dawn on Ethan.
He turned to Quel and the others, saying, "Give me a moment."
Without further ado, he settled himself on the ground and activated the Eye of Alchemy.
Subconsciously, Ethan cast a glance at the black mist.
[An enigmatic black mist, seemingly harboring some malevolent presence.]
This time, the insight was not as detailed as he had hoped.
Ethan had anticipated this; such an outcome meant that either the object's Rank was too high, surpassing the limits of the Eye of Alchemy he wielded, or the object possessed means to shield itself from observation.
Either way, it was clear that the entity under scrutiny was no ordinary matter.
Ethan did not linger on his initial thoughts; instead, he used the Eye of Alchemy to extract the stored knowledge of Alchemy he possessed.
This was the knowledge held by the malevolent Alchemist, Cody.
Ethan had originally planned to wait until he left Dragon Garden and was in a safer location before drawing on this knowledge, but Seth's words prompted a realization.
If Cody had been chosen as one of the trials set by Sovok, he must have been exceptional.
Out of all the trials, only Cody was an Alchemist.
As Cody's Alchemy knowledge was extracted, Ethan's understanding of the Alchemy grew exponentially.
Experiences in creating potions, optimal combinations for certain potions, detailed knowledge on Alchemy tool fabrication... all of it flooded Ethan's mind, as if he had instantly grasped a lifetime of learning.
Such an influx of knowledge was captivating.
However, it wasn't long before Ethan's expression grew grim.
His facial muscles twitched involuntarily, betraying deep-seated anger.
Cody was a wicked Alchemist and naturally possessed sinister Alchemy expertise.
The creation of biological bombs using corpses, concocting potions from harvested blood, methods on how to meticulously extract organs from living beings...
All these malefic techniques were also transferred.
Ten minutes later, the knowledge transfusion was complete, leaving Ethan's complexion deathly pale.
"Ethan, are you alright?" Windsor reached out to support Ethan, allowing him to rest his head against her soft chest.
Ethan steadied himself and shook his head, saying, "I'm mostly fine, just witnessed some disturbing things. It's a bit unsettling."
Then, Ethan turned his gaze to the black mist emanating from the sword.
By now, the dark smoke had consumed a vast expanse where the throne stood.
The mist churned continuously but remained concentrated, not dispersing.
And with the ongoing release of smoke from the sword, it seemed to take on the silhouette of an object or being.
"Sovok might not be dead," Ethan remarked after carefully studying the dark mist.
"That's impossible," Seth was the first to retort. "I've spent a considerable amount of time with Sovok in the past. I'm more familiar with his essence than any of you. If his presence were here, I'd recognize it instantly."
"You're right," Ethan replied with a smile, looking at Seth, "But what if — just consider this — the Original Elf King Sovok did die, but he has now returned as a Wraith?"
"What do you mean?" The words puzzled everyone present.
"Wraith Revival." Ethan pronounced the term, and seeing the puzzled looks on everyone's faces, he elaborated further: "Wraith Revival is a form of Alchemy. It's demanding, requiring a multitude of intricate conditions to be met, and the process itself is exceptionally intricate. Yet, its effects are profoundly powerful."
"This type of Alchemy can resurrect a Wraith."
Means of resurrection are not entirely unheard of in this world.
Numerous bloodlines among different tribes possess the ability to resurrect.
Likewise, various artifacts have the power to grant life once more upon death.
Furthermore, there are potent skills that can achieve this.
For instance, after mastering Holy Light, one gains the Resurrection Spell, which can bring back those who've recently passed.
However, all these methods of resurrection share one stipulation: the time since death cannot be too extended.
The chasm of difficulty between reviving someone who has just died and someone who passed a year ago is vast.
The length of time since Elf King Sovok's death remains a mystery.
Thus, speculating what it would take to resurrect him, especially given his stature as a deceased deity, becomes even more challenging.
Alchemy – Wraith Revival is designed for such circumstances.
It was not originally an evil form of Alchemy.
From what Ethan had gathered, this Alchemy was crafted by a passionately devoted Alchemist, intended to resurrect his dearly beloved wife, even if she could only persist in the form of a Wraith.
However, as time went on, some Alchemists refined this spell.
They didn't just transform the deceased into Wraiths; they enabled these Wraiths to rejuvenate further, to become living once more.
Yet, the means to achieve this became decidedly more macabre.
The Original Elf King Sovok intended to employ such a method.
Sovok didn't ascend to deity status through his own might; he tapped into the collective Power of Bloodline of the entire Elf clan, essentially taking a shortcut.
As a result, he constantly faced the risk of being dethroned from his deity position.
In fact, it seemed like a deliberate choice on his part.
The cost of resurrecting a deity versus resurrecting someone close to being a deity is fundamentally different.
Before any of this, Sovok had already prepared the trial of the god.
It served to filter those with the right Elf Bloodline, but primarily, it was to amass a sufficient number of sacrifices.
Being an Elf himself, it was only fitting that the sacrifices were also of the Elf kind.
The seemingly unrelated and bizarre challenges of the trial of the god were designed to be insurmountable.
Those who failed would be confined within the Trial Village.
They would ultimately be stripped of all flesh and blood, nourishing the grand trees surrounding the area.
And the ultimate beneficiary of this scheme was none other than the Original Elf King Sovok, concealed within the royal city of treetops, wielding the sword held by the skeletal hand upon the throne.
In that moment, everything clicked for Ethan.
While there were still intricate details to piece together, the most pressing matter was the imminent revival of the Original Elf King Sovok. A deity!
As this realization dawned on Ethan, the sword ceased its emanation of dark mist.
The shadowy mist hovered in the hall's expanse, seemingly compressed and molded by an unseen force into the form of a male Elf.
As the face of this male Elf materialized, a ghostly expression overtook Seth. Quel and the others stood as if facing their gravest adversary.
Finally, the mist fully solidified into the figure of the male Elf.
A suit of armor, placed in the hall, levitated and draped itself upon the figure, and the sword, having completed its misty exhalation, was grasped firmly in his hand.
The Elf shook his head slightly, flexing his wrist, acclimating to this newfound form.
His gaze settled upon Ethan and his companions, fixating on the massive key before Ethan.
He broke into what appeared to be a gentle smile and said, "It's been a long time, Seth."
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