Bai Lian descended into a coughing fit, from her emotions being too worked up.
The person opposite her simply tilted his head in confusion.
*"G-g-g-ghost! GHOST!"*
Indeed, right in front of Bai Lian was a 'ghost', at least it must be. Otherwise how else could someone that had already died, appear here in front of her.
'Kain…I think that was his name? How…'
*"How are you alive?! Are you alive?!"*
However, he just continued to stare at her in confusion. 'Oh yeah…'
Bai Lian switched to the heavily accented Imperial Language that she'd studied back home and also practiced some more when partnered with Serena.
"Are you…alive…or a ghost?" She repeated, afraid of what the answer might be.
Kain was in a remarkably good mood after 'resurrecting from the dead' so he couldn't resist teasing the obviously frightened girl.
"I am a ghost, obviously….BOO!" He finished by rapidly approaching her at a speed that would even exceed that of the average 6-star beast-tamer without a corresponding physical gift, and bringing his face as close to hers as possible.
His joking words were taken seriously due to his speed and the gold ring surrounding his pupils in his originally solid brown eyes that had not been there before.
"AAHHHHHHH!" Bai Lian reacted as many would when confronted by a member of the afterlife: cover her face, shrieking in fear, and turning to run…
Unfortunately for her, she was originally sitting in a corner of the room, so when she turned to run with her eyes covered, she barreled almost full speed into the wall…
Bai Lian slumped to the floor in a groaning heap.
Kain winced. "Okay, maybe that was a little much…"
He crouched beside her as she slowly peeled her face off the stone, glaring at him with watery eyes and a red mark forming on her forehead. Her lips wobbled between a pout and a snarl.
"You are alive?" she asked again, her voice somewhere between disbelief and accusation.
"I'm alive," Kain confirmed, offering her a hand. "Promise. See? Flesh and blood," He said as she grabbed his hand and he helped her up.
She looked him over again—carefully this time. He didn't look like the ghosts her grandfather had described to her…He wasn't see-through. He had a shadow. And while he looked…unusual—torn clothes, smeared blood, and eyes that glowed faintly gold—he looked… alive.
"You…you were dead," Bai Lian muttered. "We all thought—Serena… she—" Her voice faltered. "Wait! If you are alive, maybe the others… Lady Zhao, Fang Lei…"
Kain's expression sobered.
"I don't think so," he said quietly.
The flicker of hope in her eyes dimmed. She lowered her head, hands clutching the hem of her robes tightly.
"I'm… not sure how I made it either," Kain admitted, his tone thoughtful. "But I don't think I ever actually died…unlike them."
Kain remembered it clearly.
The dagger in his chest had paralyzed him, sapping his strength too fast to scream or even move.
He hadn't had the strength to pull it out. The blade had stayed embedded in his sternum like a cursed brand, glowing with an unnatural heat.
And then it began to burn.
From the inside out, white-hot agony pulsed through him. His muscles seized, his breath came in ragged gasps. He felt like his organs were being cauterized from the inside out and he had no anesthesia.
He would've screamed if he could.
But the worst came after.
The heart Kian had just finished draining of its blood, had been dropped by him when he was stabbed, and left to balance precariously on the altar.
Right onto his chest.
The impact stabbed the dagger deeper. Fresh agony exploded down his spine. He thought he blacked out for a second. The heart, oddly light despite its size, settled there—directly next to the hilt buried in his ribs.
And something… shifted.
His own blood mixed with what little remained in the heart's veins. They merged.
The dagger responded, its glow flaring brighter, until it was impossible to look directly at it. Something inside him cracked open—like a door that had been rusted shut his entire life, finally forcing itself ajar.
He didn't remember what came next—only heat. Pressure. And the sensation of eyes.
Dozens of them. Staring down at him.
When his vision blurred and faded, the last thing he saw was the figures of the Thar'Ameth people fully emerging from the murals on the walls.
No longer mere faded paint and stone, their forms emerged from the murals like shadows solidifying into flesh.
They were tall—inhumanly so—muscular and graceful with scaled skin that shimmered like molten brass under faint light. Horns swept back from their brows, and golden tears trailed from lidless eyes that glowed dimly in the haze.
They formed a perfect circle around him. They were just watching. Guarding? Maybe even mourning?
And then… they moved.
He didn't open his eyes—he couldn't—but he felt it.
Rough hands. Clawed fingers.
They lifted him, slowly, carefully. His body hung limp between them.
He drifted in and out of consciousness. The sensation of being carried for what felt like an eternity.
Eventually, he reawoke in the exact same spot—making him unsure if the feeling of being carried was all in his head.
But…he was healed now. Aside from a new faded scar on his chest that looked like it was from years ago, he was in perfect condition…although both the heart and dagger were unfortunately gone now.
And almost immediately after he woke up, a familiar light encircled his body, teleporting him away.
---------------------
Kain blinked the memory away. He didn't share any of that with Bai Lian.
"Point is," he said, brushing some of the dried Thar'Ameth blood on his hands onto his clothes, "I'm here now."
She stared at him again, brow furrowed, lips pressed together like she wasn't sure whether to cry or curse.
"…Serena thinks you're dead," she finally said.
Kain's gaze sharpened.
"And Soreia…" Bai Lian looked away. "She told everyone you fell into a pool of acid. That she couldn't save you. Was that…true?"
Kain's expression didn't change. But his silence and unmelted body said enough.