2. A wish (and consequences)

If there was one advantage to being within the Outsider in only the form of his own soul, Arganan guessed, it was that he never really felt thirsty. Or hungry. Probably because he was technically dead in a way, that only his physical form needed to eat, drink, and other bodily functions.

However, he found himself sleeping a lot. Perhaps it was due to simply being nothing but a soul, trapped within the Outsider with only Mitra as real company, but he longed to truly have a physical, human form again.

He kind of missed eating and drinking. Hell, he missed feeling a heart pound within him.

He leaned against Mitra gently, sitting in the ground and leaning into its fluffy mane. He slowly stroked Mitra's mane with his right hand.

"Mitra?"

Mitra perked up, turning its head slightly to look at him. The two had a mutual bond with each other, in a good way. They kept each other company (they were forced to anyway whether they liked it or not) and it was alright. Unfortunately, Mitra could not speak like other humans could, so Arganan often had to guess about what it was trying to say to him.

He paused, before speaking.

"Will I be stuck with you in a spiritual form forever? Or will I ever gain a physical form again?" He sighed. "I know that I'm...lucky to end up with you, here, instead of being repeatedly obliterated or worse, but still."

He leaned his head against Mitra, closing his one good eye. "Is it...bad that I want to be human?"

Mitra purred softly as Arganan opened his eye again, as if trying to comfort him.

"I could grant you a physical form to walk in your world again."

It was the Outsider that spoke. Arganan stood, gently petting Mitra as he looked around, then figured it was futile as he was literally inside the Outsider.

"Y-you could?" He responded. He felt a bit stupid—of course the Outsider could probably read his mind and hear him and know what exactly he was doing, since he was inside the Outsider itself. He probably shouldn't voice it aloud so much. "You...don't have to. You already sentenced me to be Mitra's bride, and that alone is something I accept..."

"Yes. I see that you have accepted it. But you don't really know what I mean by 'bride' other than 'companion for eternity.' You will find out what else comes with it. If I am to grant you your physical, human form to walk upon the earth you lived on, are you willing to bear the consequences of your reappearing existence in your original world?"

Arganan tried to think. What were the consequences of him regaining a physical human form, besides having to eat and drink and other things? It was only him coming back to human existence, right?

Well, if Calista or someone else ever knew of his live human existence, who knows what could happen? That must be the consequence that the Outsider was most concerned about.

But consequences were outweighed, at that moment, by Arganan's desire to be able to live, to have a physical human existence...

"I accept," He spoke, his words heavy, naivete of the true consequences hanging in his head. "I accept."

The Outsider sounded like it was smiling, before a soft blue glow appeared about Arganan and Mitra.

"Arganan...you will learn so much. Perhaps there where you once lived and soon will live again—you will learn there the full responsibility of being Mitra's Bride."

With that, Lucius Arganan and Sentinel Beast Mitra both vanished from the inside of the Outsider itself, their existences hurtling back to earth.

In the Last World, three beings stirred.

The first woke up by himself,wincing as a wound flared up in his chest. Though he proclaimed his glory to Lord Zangurak as he fell and passed from this world, in reality he could only think of his twin brother.

At first he was silent, but then realized that he was alone. Sitting up, he put a hand to his chest, wincing as he felt it sting. The stab healed, surprisingly, despite the fact that it shouldn't have. Did someone try to heal him, or...?

It couldn't be. How was he alive again? This had to be a dream. He looked to the floor, expecting to see a corpse of himself down there, but didn't. How strange. So was he alive?

He placed a hand to his neck to feel for a pulse, and felt it.

Th-thump. Th-thump. Th-thump.

Yes, he was alive. His breath hitched at this. He didn't know who could have done this, bring him back to life that is, but he knew that it didn't matter right now.

What mattered right now was finding his brother. And he could sense that his brother was not here.

Zepha took a deep breath, hoping that he had enough strength to teleport to where exactly his brother was, to be with him, and vanished from the Last World an instant later.

The second and third beings in the Last World would wake up. The second being woke up first, looking around as he hesitantly got to his feet. Good. He didn't feel too weak, he could move.

Where were his friends? A pang of guilt went through his system. With the last of his power, he'd used it to restore Lowell's life, having guessed that he must have fallen at the hands of Zangurak or maybe Zepha and Zesha.

Well, he had to do something. He had to properly apologize—what he said before he died was not enough in his opinion.

He walked out of the hall he battled his friends in, intending to make his way out.

Along the way, he noticed the third being on the ground, armless and having just woke up moments ago. The two looked each other in the eyes.

"So," The second being started, "We meet again."

The third being winced slighty, struggling not to show the pain, looking to him as he held his stump of a former arm with his only hand. "Yes. We do meet again."

They were both silent. The second being looked to his lack of an arm, golden eyes glittering in the dim light of the room.

"You're not going to try to kill me, are you? I mean, that's pretty stupid right now. You've lost an arm and I took your Outsider's Power because of it. You don't even have a weapon—"

"I am not that foolish, human." The third being snapped. He ran his hand through his wild red hair, knowing that nothing fruitful would come out of cradling a wound, and he tried to look a bit decent—hard to do considering he lost the Outsider's power and an arm. "Since we both happen to be the only ones here, what do you plan to do, Dagran?" He chuckled coldly. "Kill me?"

Dagran shook his head. "No. I won't. No point if we're not at equal level, really. And I have more important things to do than dealing with you." He walked forwards, intending to walk past Zangurak.

Zangurak observed him quietly, letting Dagran pass him at first. Did they have any need for an alliance? No, not anymore.

"Hu—Dagran." He managed after some silence.

Dagran turned to face him. "What? You actually want to try to kill me, or should I kill you? Look, I don't want to deal with you right now. You're at my bottom of my list for that."

Zangurak frowned. "Do you actually believe that you'll be welcomed so easily by your friends? You betrayed them." He reminded him.

"I know." Dagran looked to him. "I'm going to earn back their trust. No matter how long it takes. I don't know what you will do, what with probably no longer being even King of the Gurak."

The armless Gurak glared at him. "I'll regain my position." He snapped. "Or at least find a place for myself in my opinion. You'll see."

Dagran merely waved at him with his hand as he walked away.

"Good luck."

"Hello!? H-hello? I-is anyone—anyone—"

His cry was strangled as he held onto the mast tightly with both hands to support himself, and he nearly puked from standing on the rocking, creaking ship. Looking about, his eyes moving in a frenzy, he realized he was alone on this ship. Running a hand through his long dirty-blond hair, then looking to his hands and then to his chest (noticing a nasty scar on his chest from a stab wound in the process), he remembered.

He'd dueled Zael. And he lost. Humiliation bubbled through him. What would his family say if they heard of it...?

No, his family probably thought he was dead already. Of course. He was not worth anything to them.

He shivered, sitting on the wooden ground, not caring how grimy the ship was as a whole at the moment. What was he going to do?

But more importantly, why was he alive? And why now?

In a crypt under Lazulis Castle, one former Supreme General woke up to darkness.

He tried to shift around, but found it incredibly hard to—there were walls on all sides. Trying to shift upwards managed him to bump his head, and he groaned at that. Not exactly a nice awakening, no. He managed to move enough so that his limbs could actually move if not the rest of his body, and he tested the area around him by pressing his hands forwards.

His hands meet cold wood and stone.

He was in a coffin.

He struggled, pushing against what he guessed was the lid, with all his strength, but it wasn't budging. Was he that severely weakened since Dagran killed him? It was hard to believe, but if he was dead, but now was alive, his muscles underneath might have atrophied too much for him to..

No, no, do not panic. As a knight he must not panic. He pushed forwards again, banging his fist again the lid, pain spilling from his lips, his chest, his fist, his—

The coffin lid opened from the outside, and emerald eyes bore into Asthar's own. Asthar's breath was shaky as Therius extended a hand towards him, eyes wide in belief and disbelief all at once.

"General?" The white knight managed, his extended hand shaky. Asthar took it, took it tightly, and with some effort the white knight managed to pull him out of the coffin and get him to his feet. "H-how? Y-you died..."

Asthar tried to smile, and he chuckled weakly. "I don't know, Therius. I'm..." He took a deep breath. "I'm just glad to see you."

Therius smiled back at him slightly, relief flooding his eyes. "I'm glad to see you again also, General."

The two were silent, letting the shock of the situation hit them, before Asthar spoke up.

"Therius?"

Therius looked up. "Yes, General?"

Asthar bit his lower lip. Time must have passed by since his death, yes? "How long has it been since I died...?"

Therius winced. "About a month. Much has happened—though I am happy to tell you that the war between the Gurak and Lazulis no longer continues. Zael and his friends put an end to it only weeks ago. I would have gone back to the Empire sooner, General, to train virtuous knights for Lazulis, but I felt the need to stay here and help with things..."

Asthar nodded, resting a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "It is good that you have such plans. And I am glad you stayed to help, and that the war is no longer happening. Is there anything else I should know?"

The white knight nodded. "Yes, General, but...your eyes are bloodshot. Y-you're weak. I should get you to a proper bedroom with a proper bed and you should rest..."

Asthar chuckled slightly. "It's alright, Therius. I can handle it. It would be nice to strech my limbs after being stuck in a coffin, after all. Go ahead and tell me everything."

Therius nodded, smiling. "As you command, General."

Asthar grinned slightly at this. Same Therius as always.

The thought of why or how he came back to life, though, did not cross his mind until later.