---

︾

Francis gasped for breath as the air pressure had finally turned to normal. He was the guy with the blue hair.

“Are you ok?” Miles asked as he supported Francis stand up. Miles was the man with black hair.

“I am fine,” Francis coughed.

He trudged near the cocoon as he stretched out his arms and caressed through the outer layer.

The cocoon had a warm, fuzzy outer layer, similar to a human’s muscle layer.

“It feels so alive.”

Francis circled, examining the cocoon.

“What exactly happened to the generals’s corpse? And where did this cocoon appear out from?”

Miles asked as he looked into the empty coffin.

Francis shrugged, “I do not know.”

Francis and Miles flinched as they saw the outer layer of cocoon tear.

︽

---

︾

Leon stood there on top of the cliff as he peered into the screen

He felt sudden aches of pain, like needles stabbing his Flesh.

《Avatar Completion……….45.8%》

《Diagnosing Host’s Avatar……….4%》

《Diagnosing Host’s Avatar……….56%》

.

《Diagnosing Host’s Avatar……….100%》

《Multiple Injuries Detected》

《Preparing Safeguard Measures》

《Arranging Received Data》

《Host’s Profile Page Creation: Successful》

《Starting Scarlet Evolution》

“starting what?” Leons surrounding whitened, first his arms, then his legs, then waist, slowly his entire body faded.

His head felt dizzy, but his body felt warm like Flesh surrounded it as in a mother’s womb.

As he opened his eyes, he saw two men. His vision was too blurry, so he could not recognize them.

《Revival Process Successful》

《Due To The Disfigured Condition Of The Dead Body, Avatar Creation Failed Midway》

《Bonus Points For The Trial Transferred》

Messages popped in front of his eyes, but he ignored them as his head felt too painful and his body felt numb. He lost conciseness and fell.

︽

---

︾

Both backed away few steps as they saw the cocoon tear. Miles took out a dagger and held it up.

As the cocoon tore in half, they saw a man inside.

Some of his muscles looked coalesced with the cocoon. The man’s arms had a layer of black scales. A horn grew above his right temple. The man opened his eyes for a brief moment.

Miles recognized the man, “Thats…”

The black scales faded as the horn crumbled. Ligaments joining the man and the body separated; the cocoon parted midway, freeing the man of any shackles. The unconscious body, now without support, fell.

Miles rushed in front and caught the body, and gently placed it on the ground.

Francis took out the blue leather coat he wore and covered the naked body.

“He’s alive,” Miles said as he checked the pulse.

“How’s that possible?” Francis also rushed over to get closer to the view of his face.

Francis narrowed his gaze, “His face, it looks so much like…” His voice fell

Miles looked at the man’s face, “I get what you’re saying, that grey hair and that face, he looked like this in his 20s, before his hair became black and he grew a beard.”

“Are you sure?” Francis’ brows furrowed.

“I remember vividly, his body now a lot leaner, but I remember his face, as it was the time, when became I first became his discipline,”

Miles remarked as he placed the body gently on the ground,

Francis glanced over the empty coffin for a while.

“Dead coming back to life is just unheard of, but…” Francis sighed

Miles walked near the cocoon, “Those scales and horn we saw, and this cocoon, too many uncertainties,” He continued, “Prepare for an in-dept research party, and send them to research this cocoon.”

Francis nodded in agreement.

The ground trembled. Their gaze shifted behind the cocoon. Presently they were inside the end room of the tomb. It was a pentahedron room. The four sides of the room, each, had a semi-circular opening, like a gate. They had entered the room through one of such passages. The rest three all led to dead-end paths.

A rumbling sound echoed from the passage opening behind the cocoon

“Where does that passage lead too?” Miles asked.

“No where, just some underground passage with a dead end.”

Waves of water emerged through the hole.

Francis swiftly stretched his hands,

“Create a barrier hurry,” Miles urged

“I can’t, something is blocking my magic.”

A surge of water entered. The cocoon spread more ligaments, like a tree growing its branches. Various branches collided with the walls of the tomb and coalesced.

Few ligaments passed underground and fused with Leon’s back.

The drastic water pressure caused Francis and Miles to lose their footing,

The walls deformed and made a pathway for the water. The water swept both of them away into another room inside the tomb.

Meanwhile, the ligaments attached to Leon’s body clinched to it and held it to the ground. Few more ligaments emerged through the floor. They attached themselves above his heart.

After a while, the ligaments detached themselves. Leon’s body swept through the water in a different passage.

︽

---

︾

Leon’s head felt dizzy. Vivid images flashed through his mind. All images reflected his war days, people he killed surrounding him and urging him to join them.

He gasped for breath as his vision returned. His upper body sprang from the bed.

He held his face with his palm while breathing rapidly. In front, he saw a white blanket over his body. He looked beside and saw a small kid quivering. From his height and face, he looked to be around four years old. The kid wore a black vest.

“Mommy!” The kid cried as he ran out of the room.

Leon’s mind still felt dizzy.

“Another nightmare.”

His body stopped shaking, and breathing became normal.

He took a long breath, “Now, then where am i?”

“Are you alright?”

He looked beside again.

A woman sat beside his futon. She wore a white blindfold along with white and red clothes. Her eyes brows were arched, hair black like the night.

“Ahhhhhh,” He cried of surprise. His heartbeat rose, and he gasped for breath rapidly.

“Are you alright?” She asked again. She had an elegant and modulated voice.

He waved his hand, “Yeah… yeah,” His voice stuttered from the heavy breathing, “I.. am just…” “not used… to seeing..” “people.. pop out of nowhere.”

His breathing stabilized, “So, where is this place again?”

Looking around, he saw a vast wooden room. Leon rested on a futon. The room looked traditional,

“Oh wow, it’s been ages since I last saw one of these things.”

Leon attempted to stand up, “Aghhhhhh.”

Intense pain surged through his left leg. “Ok, it hurts, it hurts bad.”

He rested back the left leg and did not attempt to move it. Leon recalled back on the injuries he suffered during the war.

“That’s right, I died,” He nodded, “Wait, then I went to heaven,” He shook his head, “No, no, it was not heaven, there were mountains, and cliffs and skeletons.”

“Or was that just a dream?”

His gaze shifted towards the woman. She just sat there speechless.

“Nevermind, just me babbling.”

‘I totally forgot she was here.’

Leon’s gaze fell upon the blindfold, his eyes narrowed.

“So, where is this place?” He asked, scratching his head.

“Howell Village, near the river side, my son found your body drifting in the river.”

‘Her son, she looks too young for that..no no, that’s not important.’

“Howell village? In the Vuvell Empire?”

“Yes”

“The Empire that went in the war with the Druven Empire?”

“Yes”

Leons screamed internally as he realized he was now in the middle of the Empire, to which he dedicated his entire life to fighting against.

“Wait? What happened to the war?”

“War? You mean the one, that happened two months ago?”

“Two months already passed,” His eyes brows raised

“Yes. Many claim, no empire won the fight, and it ended in a tie. But, in reality, it was an absolute loss for Druven Empire.”

Leon’s pupils dilated, his body tightened. In a croaky voice, he asked, “What?” “How can that be?”

“Before all that, should not you be more concerned about your own health?”

Leon shrugged, “I am fine, just some legs injuries, tell me more about the war.”

“Oh, really? First why, don’t you check for your heart beat?”

“My heart beat” He checked his pulse. It beat typically, “See, it perfectly normal.”

The woman held Leon’s left hand. She dragged his palm near his heart.

Leon’s hand felt a cold sensation. After a while, his body flinched, “Why? why do not I feel a heartbeat?” His voice shuttered.

Chills passed down his spine, the realization that he had died once, suddenly all came back to him. Not just injured or crippled, but dead. He recalled back on the last breath he took, his final thoughts, the acceptance of death.

It all came back to him.

︽

---

 

---