"At home. Do you happen to know how to help her...? Wait a minute." Christopher stood up and turned to face her. "If you can read my memories, why don’t you already know this?" he asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
"Well..." Tiamat looked away, her spectral cheeks tinged with a faint blue.
"Come on, just tell me!" Christopher pressed.
"Okay, fine! I am not yet strong enough to fully access your complete memories... just as you are not strong enough to access all of mine. Therefore, I am unaware of your most private and recent memories," she confessed.
"I’m not sure if I should be relieved or slightly concerned by that revelation..." Christopher muttered, then bit his finger, drawing a bead of blood.
With a flick of his wrist, the massive scythe materialized in his hand. With another thought, a beam of light shot out from his ring, solidifying into the form of the three-foot-long centipede.
The centipede’s multifaceted eyes darted around the cave, its antennae twitching in utter bewilderment.
"This little beast is both rather cute and potentially quite dangerous. It’s a shame it’s not yet connected to you, so it can’t perceive me," Tiamat said with a faint smile.
"Hey, little guy, enter the circle and hold onto this," Christopher instructed, gesturing towards the two-meter-long scythe.
The centipede stared at the oversized weapon with obvious confusion, its tiny legs seemingly inadequate for the task. After a moment of hesitation, it cautiously wrapped its many legs around the scythe’s handle and looked up at Christopher.
"Now... hold on tight," Christopher commanded. He closed his eyes, channeled his life force, and poured it into the intricate rune circle.
A vibrant red glow emanated from the circle, and the pungent scent of blood instantly permeated the air.
"You know," Tiamat observed, watching the ritual unfold, "when you initially acquired Lazarus and Lucas, you weren’t nearly this strong, and you certainly didn’t possess my powers."
"What are you implying?" Christopher asked, glancing at her.
"I am suggesting that this resurrection will likely yield a beast even more formidable than your previous two. You didn’t gain any new skills during their resurrection because this particular beast was still missing. Now... you simply need to successfully complete the ritual."
Christopher nodded, a flicker of confusion in his eyes, but he refrained from asking further questions, focusing all his energy on resurrecting Grim.
[Five Minutes Later.]
A violent explosion erupted from the rune circle, throwing Christopher and his three beasts backward. Tiamat, however, remained stationary, a knowing smile on her spectral face.
"So fragile," she chuckled softly.
Christopher sat up, his ears ringing, and stared at the swirling red smoke that slowly dissipated, revealing a towering, two-meter-tall figure. Clad in a tattered black, smoky robe, its red eyes glowed menacingly from within a skeletal skull. Its bony right hand clutched the massive scythe, which now seemed perfectly sized at 2.1 meters.
Lazarus, Lucas, and Christopher called out in unison, their voices filled with a mixture of surprise and bewilderment.
Grim was undeniably a Grim Reaper, a being typically depicted as a ghostly phantom. Yet, the creature before them resembled a skeleton adorned in a mage’s robe, its life force radiating an intensity even greater than Lazarus and Lucas. The palpable bloodlust emanating from it suggested this was not merely Grim, but something far more primal – the Reaper itself.
Before anyone could react further, Grim dropped to one knee and bowed its skeletal head.
"Greetings to the master," it intoned, its voice a chilling rasp.
’Still so formal,’ Christopher thought wryly, then nodded in acknowledgment. "Finally..."
Before he could say anything more, a sharp pain shot through his chest, and his face instantly paled. "What is happening?!" he gasped, clutching his chest.
"Slow down, impulsive one," Tiamat said, floating towards him, a knowing smile on her spectral face. "You have just resurrected Grim. Now... you have fulfilled the final requirement for my full power. While you will only gain a selection of my skills initially, it is still a significant enhancement."
"You! You didn’t mention it would be this agonizing!" Christopher hissed, dropping to his knees, his body wracked with pain.
"You didn’t ask," Tiamat replied, folding her spectral arms and looking down at him with a slight frown.
"Still?! You should have warned me about this!" Christopher groaned.
"Geez... I didn’t realize you were such a complainer," Tiamat muttered, then snapped her spectral fingers, encasing Christopher in a shimmering blue barrier. "Now, be quiet and fully absorb everything. It will only take approximately ten minutes, and my barrier will help mitigate the pain," she said, turning her attention to the four beasts staring at them with concern. "Come on, your master needs your assistance!"
The four beasts exchanged worried glances, then slowly nodded their heads and cautiously approached the glowing blue barrier surrounding Christopher.
"Together, we will try to ease his suffering," Tiamat instructed.
[Valhalla Family’s Estate.]
"What is taking these girls so long?! And where is Christopher?!" Amara exclaimed, pacing back and forth in the lavishly decorated sitting room, her eyes darting to the ornate wall clock.
"Look! It’s already 7:15!" she declared, turning to Ethan and Adonis, who were calmly seated on one of the plush couches.
The two males exchanged a knowing glance, then turned their attention to Amara. "Mum... Katherine will be back soon. She wouldn’t miss dinner, and the same goes for Brother Christopher," Adonis said with a reassuring smile.
"Really?! Are you absolutely sure about that?!" Amara pressed, her anxiety evident.
"One hundred percent!" Adonis affirmed with an even wider smile.
"Okay... but if they miss even a single minute, I will hold you personally accountable," Amara warned, pointing a finger at her son.
"Huh?!" Adonis looked utterly bewildered by her pronouncement.
"Hey, woman... don’t scare the boy," Ethan interjected in a calm tone, his gaze now fixed on the sleek laptop resting on the center table. "You should sit down and try to relax while we wait."
Amara stared at her husband and son, then sighed softly. "So—"
Katherine’s cheerful voice echoed from the entrance, cutting off Amara mid-sentence. The three Valhallas turned their heads towards the doorway and were momentarily speechless at the sight of Sylvia and Advika, both looking stunning in elegant new dresses.
’Wow... such an enormous house!’ Sylvia thought, her eyes wide as she took in the luxurious décor of the sitting room.
’So beautiful,’ Advika thought silently, her expression more reserved than Sylvia’s open awe.
"Mum! This is Sylvia, Advika’s younger sister... I asked her to come along!" Katherine explained with a bright smile.