Silence permeated the room when they saw Saena being turned into ashes. Adrian just knelt there on the floor with a lost expression on his face. The other people with Adrian cannot believe what they have just witnessed and can only remain silent as well.
'This chapter is updated by N o v elBin.cᴏm',
Vitae wanted to talk to Adrian, but she could not feel the life force of Saena. Mortem, on the other hand, is a bit confused. Mortem looked around and above and cannot see Saena's soul nearby because her soul should be there if she died nearby.
Saena did not die because her soul shattered or anything as she was burned to death. Mortem looked a bit cold because he was not being silent as Adrian could be seen on the verge of tears. When Mortem was looking for something, Adrian then noticed it and asked him what he was doing to take his mind of his loss.
"What are you looking for?" Adrian asked as he bottled up his sadness.
"I know that this is not a good time to say this or even say it actually." Mortem replied.
"It is fine. You can say what you want as it would at least take my mind out of my sadness." Adrian stated.
"Oh! Okay…I cannot actually find her soul." Mortem stated.
"Who's soul?" Adrian asked.
"Saena's soul. I cannot find her soul in the premises. She would have gone to me, or you when she dies as we need to deliver her soul to the afterlife. If we are not the one to deliver her soul, then we should have at least saw the Aspect of Death. For some odd reason, I cannot find her soul as if she never died in the first place." Mortem stated.
"Brother! You should be careful with your words. I cannot feel her life force." Vitae whispered but Adrian could still hear what she said since he has very good hearing.
'ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ NovelB(i)n. ᴄᴏᴍ',
"No! He is right. If she really truly died, then she would have become a soul and come to me or Mortem." Adrian stated.
"Maybe, she just returned to your soul something or whatever the summoners keep their soulbounds." Cairo stated but Adrian refuted him.
Adrian knows that their soul link was destroyed because she died, and her ashes is proof of her body burning up. She has died in a physical sense, but she has not yet died in a spiritual sense. Adrian suddenly looked at Saena's ashes and could Aether Energy pulsing from it, but it was weak.
"She can still live once more but I need a catalyst for her revival." Adrian muttered as he already did his research on the Simurgh before even attempting to make Saena evolve into one.
A Simurgh is often related to the principle of rebirth as it would plunge itself into flames every one thousand seven hundred years to initiate its rebirth. What Adrian does not know is the fact why Saena is not yet reviving from her very ashes. She should have revived by now, but he was missing something.
"A Simurgh is said to purify the land and water…blah…blah" Adrian muttered as he looked at the notes that he took about the Simurgh.
Adrian took several accounts regarding the Simurgh as he knows that monsters in the game are somewhat based on legends. Some might be loosely based but there should be a clue that will tell him that Saena must be reborn. He then reached the last note that he took and froze upon reading it because that should be his last hope.
"The Simurgh is often roosted on top of the Hom which is another name for the World Tree." Adrian muttered as this is the last hope that he is thinking of.
A bird roosting on a tree is not just a simple relationship because it is a matter of balance. The bird and the tree provide a symbiotic relationship when it comes to their life. The tree provides protection and a place to live for the bird while the bird eats up the maggots that will damage the tree.
A symbiotic relationship that is based on the essence that one has a duty for the other. Adrian stood up and immediately called over the Twin Prophets as he cannot summon the Tree of Life and Death by himself. Adrian knows that Saena might only need a World Tree or a Tree of Life, but Yewdrassil is the progenitor of every tree of life or tree of death.
In fact, it would be perfect for Yewdrassil to be the tree that Saena will be bonded with. Adrian is the Champion of the Twin Gods and not just the Champion of Life. Adrian's soul is compatible with both life and death energy that Saena's soul would have transformed to accommodate that as well since she has been his soulbound for quite a long time.
"Vitae and Mortem…I need your help to create a spiritual link with Yewdrassil. I need to connect with it to make sure that Saena revives." Adrian stated as he is now confident that it is the missing piece, and he is correct because a notification appeared.
[You have unlocked the Hidden Piece of unlocking the Divine Beast Simurgh.]
[The Simurgh is said to become so old that it has seen the destruction of the world three times over. It would always plunge itself in flames every 1700 years to make sure that its cycle of rebirth will start. Only one Simurgh can be bonded to a Tree of Life which is why there is only one in every world.]
[If the Simurgh candidate does not bond with a Tree of Life before its ascendance then it would just burn to ashes. If an essence of a Tree of Life is to touch the ashes of a Simurgh Candidate, then she will ascend to the status of Divine Beast. If three days pass and the Simurgh Candidate does not revive, then their soul will enter the cycle of reincarnation.]
Adrian smiled as his information is actually correct and the sadness faded away as he now has a chance to make Saena revive. He will do whatever it takes to make sure that Saena will rise from her ashes. He will make sure that Yewdrassil will agree to make a bond with Saena as a Simurgh.
"Shall we start?" Adrian asked to which Vitae and Mortem nodded their heads as they want to help Adrian.
"We will conduct a ritual to call upon the Tree of Life and Death. Those security sentries might activate once more if they are to feel the intense energy of life and death that we will call upon. Can you please calm them down or protect us if they start becoming hostile." Adrian asked Sadiki, Estet and Cairo.
"It would be an honor!" Cairo stated as he felt that his help is not enough. If he wanted to prove himself to someone that he admires then he must do his very best. He must make sure that Adrian will immediately say 'You are in' once he gets to Avalon for the guild recruitment.
Sadiki and Estet also made sure that they will not be interrupted as they also benefitted from this. Adrian already gifted them parts of the Desert Sun Beetle that is used for the Golden Warrior armors and weapons. They must not be ungrateful people that only takes gift from others without even doing something small for them.
'',
Adrian, Vitae and Mortem suddenly started to close their eyes and hold their hands. They circled around the ashes of Saena as they attempted to communicate with Yewdrassil's essence. The three of them wished to talk to Yewdrassil and all of them suddenly no longer heard the noise from the outside world.
When the three opened their eyes, they are all sent to a dark place where the only one there was the Tree of Life and Death, Yewdrassil. In that space, Adrian resonated greatly with the energy of life and death while Vitae and Mortem felt a bit heavy.
"To have reached here at such an early time, I have vastly underestimated you, Champion Equinox." A voice that was both male and female reverberated in the area as Adrian looked at Yewdrassil.
Yewdrassil suddenly created an opening on its trunk as a humanoid form could be seen emerging from it. It was a figure that is half male and female with the death part being male while the life part being female. When Vitae and Mortem saw Yewdrassil's form, they fainted and vanished from the special space that they are in.
"It seems that the two prophets cannot see my real form just yet. But it seems that you are an exception, Champion Equinox because of your special qualities. A Daemos with the blood of an Asmodian with both Aether and Nether energy in his body.
You are a walking contradiction just like me which is why I like you very much. You might be able to replace the one that created Pandemonium at this rate should you turn into a god." Yewdrassil stated with a mysterious but excited tone.