Surprisingly enough, death was nowhere near as painful as Artemis thought it would be.
Initially after the green mist was sucked back towards the Berseker Gate, Artemis found himself still standing, relatively unharmed and most importantly, alive. A glimmer of hope rose in his chest. Perhaps, just perhaps, I am wrong for once, and my human genes are able to overcome Bruin Fadda's magic. Maybe I'll survive.
The next instant, Artemis realised that his soul was being dragged out of his body. Excellent, I am still right after all, Artemis thought grimly. Admittedly, this process was more uncomfortable than excruciating. He felt like a butterfly emerging out of its cocoon.
However to his greater dismay, Artemis found that his spirit was still tethered to the human realm. While his body fell off like a discarded coat to the ground, a golden chain grew from the chest of his soul, linking his spirit to the exact same spot on the earth where he fell. Artemis gripped the chain hesitantly. A slight tingle rose from the cold chain into Artemis' hands, causing him to shiver slightly.
Artemis could feel his soul going into shock at the turn of the events. Artemis Fowl the Second, dead at fifteen years old. And he had yet to finish forging the Mona Lisa! In an attempt to calm his soul, Artemis detached his mind from the situation, analysing the current predicament as if he were a third person and not a scared spiritual entity.
Through his eyes, the world seemed like it was underwater with ripples and waves. Artemis watched as Butler raced towards his falling body. He felt his bodyguard's cries like if it were his own, as Butler realised that his charge has passed away. Butler's protests and denials seemed to come from miles away with echoes. His chain ached as he saw Holly drop to her knees, as he fully understood the pain his sacrifice had left to those who truly cared about him.
Father, Mother, Butler, Holly, I am truly sorry for the damage my actions have caused to all of you, Artemis thought. He leaned forward and touched Holly tentatively, and was not surprised when his hands passed right through Holly. After all, he was now a different entity from the living, and maybe in a separate dimension from the others.
As Artemis tugged his chain, he conjectured that the chain was perhaps to allow the soul to have a last look in the world he used to reside in, to contemplate and reflect back on the life he had. However, taking into account that Bruin Fadda's magic only allowed fairy souls to pass on to the afterworld, he supposed that he was left behind in the human realm, and worse still, imprisoned to this exact spot by the chain.
Artemis watched as Butler carried his body, like how a parent would carry his child back to the Fowl Manor, while Holly trudged along. He tried to follow, but was only able to make a few steps before his chain became taut and prevented him from moving further. Artemis sat on the floor, utterly resigned. Assuming that Foaly is intelligent enough to decipher my clues and is able to grow the clone, I would have approximately 6 months before the clone is grown to a suitable size.
In that case, what should I do to pass the time, to not let boredom make me become as mad as a Hatter, worse still, Opal Koboi?