The Adventures of Rose Hood

Chapter 69: To Form a Legion

"Is he awake?"

A voice I thought was gone awoke me.

"Mammon?"

"Yes, it's me. Elren came and revived both me and you. Are you okay?"

"I can't move."

Elren spoke up.

"Yeah, I could revive you, but your body sustained injuries to the point that I couldn't heal you fully."

"Understandable, I fought a god."

"Yeah, though the real damage actually came from the way you fought."

"What?"

"You seemed to... level up in strength and fight on par with Kala. Your body couldn't handle the stress and started breaking down."

"Huh, I seem to remember Rose going through the same thing."

"Yeah, but Rose had the solution to evolve, as you are an elf, you can't."

Celios spoke up from the side of the room I couldn't see.

"Actually, that's not entirely true."

"What do you mean?"

"If a god regards one of their own in high regard, then they can elevate them to a new level."

"So, we can evolve Dallel if we get the nature god to bless him?"

"Yes."

I then heard Jalad's voice.

"Hey, is he awake? Oh, hey, happy to see you awake."

"Jalad."

"Yes?"

"I'm... sorry... I said horrible things to you."

I couldn't help but start crying.

"Nah, I also messed up. I put too much pressure on you and started yelling."

"Nowhere near as bad as I did, then I abandoned you because I was angry."

Mammon sighed.

"Ya did some stupid things, but keep in mind that Kala amplified your emotions."

"What?"

"Yeah, I did a bit of reading and found a book written by an unknown author called the Magic of Lies. Apparently, it gives power over others' perceptions."

"Is that why she was able to scare me and Jalad?"

Mammon nodded at Celios's question.

"But why was I unaffected?"

"Because your will was at the same level as hers. Your will to save Rose was bigger than her will to make you afraid."

"Huh."

"Yeah, that was the start of your ascension."

"How long was I out?"

"Two weeks."

"Any sign of Kala?"

"No, it's like she entirely disappeared."

"Crap."

"Hey, don't move too much."

"If I'm going to get the blessing of the nature god, I can't stay here."

"Where are you going then?"

"Haven."

Celios nodded.

"I'll come with you. Both Silith and Ausar are in that direction, I need to tell them of Kala's true nature."