"Young King, I have a way to help your friend."
At first, Daneel didn't want to believe that he had heard right.
He had been in such a pit of hopelessness and despair that if he were given hope and pulled up before being plunged into it again, he didn't even want to think about how he would take it.
Besides, the one who was responsible for his friend dying was from the same lot as the one who had just spoken to him. Even though he claimed that not all of them were evil, Daneel hadn't really been ready at all to believe him.
However, now, after everything that had happened, he couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, Drakos might not be lying.
Or…this could be another scheme to take advantage of him in his darkest moment.
Maybe Drakos's 'help' would require Daneel giving over his own body in some way.
If that was the case, would he be ready to do it?
No, before he made hasty judgments, Daneel decided to at least listen to what the man, or, the Spirit had to say.
Even while pushing down the hope that had been born in him after hearing Drakos's statement, Daneel replied, "How? That knife was carrying a special spacial blade on its edges. His heart and even the organs surrounding it are completely destroyed: mangled into a heap of flesh. He was beyond saving by the moment I touched him. No healing spell that I can cast can do anything, and we both know that you can't cast Hero-level spells now. How can you help? HOW?"
Indeed, after the pause in his descent into darkness that had come about due to Drakos's statement, Daneel had become aware of the facts surrounding his friend's death.
Usually, even if a strong Exalted Human was pierced in the heart by a normal blade, he could be saved by a skilled healer.
However, in this case, to make the threat real, that damn Black Raven Empire Spirit had conjured a special blade that was designed to kill if it managed to hit a vital spot.
If Faxul was a Warrior, maybe there might have been a little chance. Alas, he was only an Exalted Human, so there was nothing the system or Daneel could do.
"You are right, Young King. His body is beyond saving. But the same cannot be said regarding his mind, I mean, his consciousness. His consciousness is lingering in his mind right now, and if we wait for longer than 5 minutes, it will disperse. If you choose to, you can make your friend become someone like us: a Spirit bound to a corporeal object, capable of taking control of a suitable host in the future."
As Daneel heard this, he could only stare into the distance, dumbfounded.
Yes! That was right!
The consciousness was a mystical object that even the system did not seem to completely know about. However, for those from the Empire of Angaria, who had made these things called Empire Spirits, it must be a subject they excelled in.
If Faxul's consciousness could be saved, then there was hope for the future. Daneel was confident of his potential and how far he could go. He knew that if he was given time, he would definitely be able to obtain anything and everything needed for his friend to revive.
With this, the darkness inside him receded even more, but some of it still remained, as if it were still hoping that the hope he had been given was false.
So, Daneel decided to be rude in order to find out clearly whether his suspicions had been right.
"What do you need in return? Possession of my body? Or some process that involves possession of my body?"
"Uh…yes?"
There it was! All of these Empire Spirits were the same! Just like the one that had caused Faxul's death, even this one just wanted to scheme and use any opportunity it had to take control of him!
"I KNEW IT! DAMN YOU EMPIRE-"
As frustration and rage swept over him, Daneel started to shout at the Empire Spirit in his head.
The darkness swept over gleefully to consume him again, but it stopped in its tracks when Drakos spoke, interrupting Daneel.
"Young King, I think you misunderstood. I just need to take control of your body here, just like before, so that I can cast the spell to save your friend's consciousness. You'll still be able to take back control; just like you were able to before. And, oh yes, I need you to take the podium out of that solution quickly, before it becomes too weak to even hold an Exalted Human's consciousness."
As Daneel heard this, his eyes widened, before he hastily cast a spell to lift the podium out of the pool and set it on the ground beside him.
After that, he pursed his lips and actually felt a little embarrassed.
It seemed that he had really jumped the gun here.
However, no one could blame him, as he was quite a bit unhinged due to what had just happened.
"The sooner the spell is cast, the lesser the chance of there being damage to the consciousness. I suggest you hurry, Young King, and I'm doing that out of good will, so that we can better help your friend. Not to hasten you so that you can take a decision that would benefit me."
Hearing this, the King of Lanthanor didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He could hear chagrin in the tone of Drakos, which apparently stemmed from being screamed at even though he just wanted to help Daneel.
"I apologize. Please proceed."
Daneel's hesitation and doubt before had been that Drakos might want to do something that would involve taking Faxul to his own corporeal body before giving instructions that might involve more of himself coming into Daneel.
However, if it was the case that everything could be done right here, then Daneel didn't have to worry anymore.
After all, he had already been possessed like that once, and he was 100% confident that he could get out of it easily.
So, he didn't hesitate anymore to apologize and ask Drakos to go on.
"Good. Now, brace yourself, and relinquish your defenses once again."
As Daneel nodded, he went through the same experience as before when the control of his body had gone over to Drakos.
After the process was done, Drakos let go of Faxul's body before getting up and walking to the podium.
Touching it and closing his eyes, he said under his breath, "Old bird, you always did like to fly too high, too confident in your power and wit. Look where that got you. Of all the Imperial Beasts, you were the first to slip into endless slumber. However that may be, you were once my comrade, so I offer a prayer to you. May you be released from the slumber as soon as possible."
Imperial Beasts?
Right…hadn't the Black Raven Empire Spirit referred to itself as the Imperial Black Raven?
Did that mean that…
As Drakos started to cast a spell, Daneel's stopped that line of thought and focused on Faxul's body, as a change had just come over it.
Daneel's left hand was touching the stone podium, while his right hand was raised, with his palm pointing at Faxul.
The moment Drakos began casting his spell, Daneel was amazed at the way he handled the elementary particles.
Mages usually coaxed, prodded and poked elementary particles into doing their bidding to become formations that would result in spells.
However, Drakos didn't need to do any of that.
With a touch here, and a touch there, he would make the elementary particles flow naturally into the formations he desired.
Even the complexity of the formations was dizzying- far beyond the level of anything Daneel had ever seen.
Slowly, a hue started to form around Faxul's mind, which was what Daneel had noticed before.
As that hue began to grow brighter, Daneel could see that something seemed to be dissipating from Faxul's head before it was absorbed by that hue.
This something was like a white mist, but it seemed so alive. It frolicked in the air, moving side to side as if it were intelligent before finally being absorbed.
With each absorption, the hue grew brighter until finally, the light around Faxul's head was so bright that Daneel, or Drakos, who had turned Daneel's head toward Faxul, had to squint his eyes lest he be blinded.
This seemed to be some signal, as Drakos changed the spell and made the hue form a globe before traveling in the air toward the podium.
At this point, Daneel's mageroot started to hurt, as it was already very taxed due to the fight before.
Ignoring the pain, Drakos persisted, not pausing at all until the white, shining globe came into contact with the podium after which it was instantly sucked away, causing darkness to once again befall their surroundings.
The next moment, Daneel felt control of his body being returned to him, which made him squint his eyes to adjust them to the light.
"It's done. This stone podium now contains both the consciousnesses of that old bird and your friend. The old bird's consciousness is at Hero level, and as the level of Energy inside the podium cannot support him, he can only sleep and remain in a dormant state. Your friend, however, will be up in a few hours. It will be very jarring and confusing for him, so you must be prepared to ease him into his present state."
As Daneel heard Drakos speak, he realized that he sounded weary, as if something had been taken out of him.
Yet, in his state of worry for his friend, Daneel ignored that and asked, "It's really done? He will live on in the consciousness form? And if he finds a host, he can inhabit him to live again?"
"Yes, Young King. This is a very effective way to cheat death. Hence, it was always guarded as the heirloom spell of the Empire of Angaria. Many wars have been fought to defend it, and many lives have been lost. Yet, the Emperor instructed it to use it for those who showed potential. That should show how much he valued you."
Daneel couldn't believe it. No, he was too scared to.
Yet, the notification from the system confirmed it.
[Target Faxul's consciousness has been shifted to the Ker Root structure. This deduction can be made from the data that was collected on analyzing the two Empire Spirits that host has come into contact with.
No damage has been detected.
Complexity of spell observed is beyond system's complexity. Please upgrade the system to analyze.
Complexity of spell model/inheritance observed is beyond system's complexity. Please upgrade the system to analyze.]
Daneel was almost ready to believe it, but he decided that he would wait till he heard from Faxul personally before completely letting himself feel relief.
So, to pass the time, he decided to ask Drakos about the thought that had appeared to him before.
"Thank you. Oh, yes, I heard you refer to yourselves as Imperial Beasts? So the Black Raven Empire Spirit once served the Emperor? Does that mean…"
"Yes, that does mean that I am the Dragon who served by his side. It is my heart which you see every time you enter your chambers. Pleased to meet you. Now, instead of wasting time, why don't you use that pool and become a Peak Warrior before its efficacy is lost?"