5~ Revival
In the temple, on the altar, beside the lit lamps, under the boundless starry sky of the secret realm, bathed in a sea of bl**d—was where Dillin’s consciousness drifted.
Dillin felt his awareness scattered in a nebulous void, akin to being suspended in mid-air, unable to ascend or descend.
“Ah! d*mn…it hurts! That pointy-eared gal could’ve been a little gentler! No sense of restraint at all!”
This was Dillin’s first thought upon regaining consciousness before he slowly came to his senses.
“Am I dead now?”
“……I must be properly dead. All my bl**d’s drained, I’m probably just skin and bones.”
“Well, if I’m dead, then I’m dead. Guess this concludes my grand adventure in this strange world.”
He didn’t belong to this world anyway and had no significant ties here. Dying might even be a form of release.
He had long given up in this alien world where he didn’t fit in.
He had once wondered if dying in this world would allow him to return to his original one. Perhaps this so-called other world was nothing more than a fleeting dream, and upon waking, everything would return to how it started.
Reality slapped him hard, reminding him that d*ath is d*ath—you don’t just come back unless you ponied up for a resurrection coin.
Alright, if he couldn’t return to the original world, where would his soul go now?
…
Something’s not right.
Way off.
After floating in an endless expanse for who-knows-how-long, Dillin realized something critically peculiar.
If he was truly obliterated, how come he still had a soul?
Hadn’t his soul already been sacrificed? Why was he still aware?
Could this mean… It worked? No, it doesn’t quite feel like success.
Dillin was thoroughly baffled. Instead of the silent d*ath he expected after his soul was supposed to disappear, he was stuck in this strange limbo, which unnerved him even more.
“Did Bilodis trick me?” He dismissed the thought quickly; there was no reason for her to falsify such a significant matter.
Before he could ponder further, an unforeseen sensation of falling startled him. It was as if the tether keeping him suspended had been cut, and his consciousness plummeted out of the void.
“Plop!” He landed on an unknown green field, its edge lined with vibrant emerald hues.
Dillin noticed that he currently lacked physical form; he was merely a clump of consciousness, unable to feel, smell, or utter any sound.
This green field shared striking similarities with the previous Elf temple, inhabited by unheard-of creatures. There were unicorns entirely purple with lightning-coiled horns, flying horses soaring through the sky, and tiny fairy-like beings flitting through the forest, no larger than fireflies.
But these peculiar creatures didn’t capture Dillin’s attention.
His focus was entirely drawn to an eerily beautiful elf girl standing right before him.
“This is…?”
The golden-haired elf girl was mere inches away. Her eyes tightly closed, her body wrapped in chains of radiant golden arcane energy, as if a forbidden spell protecting her.
Her silver-golden hair fluttered with the arcane energy, like golden willow branches. Her flawless skin and radiant beauty, along with her luxurious hair and voluptuous figure, perfectly embodied every fantasy human beings had about elves.
As if all the best traits of a maiden were encapsulated in this elf.
After the initial awe wore off, Dillin belatedly recognized this elf girl’s resemblance to the Elf Empress Bilodis. She was at least 80% alike to the point that even if both were n*ked, one might mix them up.
Dillin found this odd. She was strikingly similar to Bilodis, yet he was certain this girl wasn’t her. It was as if…
He had intimate knowledge of every inch of this elf girl’s body, every detail of her.
How? He had never met Bilodis or this girl before…
Glancing down, Dillin hastily averted his eyes.
“Ah! Wait…this young lady… isn’t wearing anything…”
To think…how well-endowed…
If Dillin had a body, his face would probably be redder than a ripe watermelon by now.
That cursory glance confirmed an objective fact stated in books.
Pure-bl**d male elves have no beards; similarly, pure-bl**d female elves have no…uh…hair down there… Cough!
Should he look again for confirmation?
Just as Dillin thought about it, he realized the elf girl was already facing him, her olive gemstone-like eyes staring straight at him.
“?!,” Dillin got a huge scare. Before he could feel the embarrassment of being caught doing something inappropriate, he noticed that the elf girl’s gaze lacked any soul or sparkle.
It was as if this body was merely a shell, devoid of any spirit inside.
Their gazes met only briefly.
In the next moment, the elf girl’s eyes regained their vitality, like life was suddenly breathed into them.
But Dillin could no longer see; all he could perceive was the point where he originally was.
Simultaneously, he realized he could speak.
“Me?…” However, it wasn’t his original voice but a strange, melodious, and delicate voice akin to a nightingale.
Dillin understood. Lowering his gaze, a pair of ample, unrestrained bosoms obstructed his view.
As his consciousness faded into darkness, Dillin realized one final truth.
This lifeless shell had awakened because it possessed a new soul.
And that soul was him…
