Return to Jorgaldur Volume V: Reunion (2)

Reincarnation

"Thank goodness, it worked. It's time to take control," Kan Golge told himself.

He hadn't expected to have to resort to his most desperate plan. At least, everything was going as he had designed.

He had scattered some vessels around Jorgaldur as a last resort. They had his mark, and were in suspended animation, in remote places.

They were vampires that he himself had turned, although not ancestral vampires. In none of those bodies could he exercise more than a tiny part of his old power, but it was better than being dead.

"It won't be easy, but I'll regain my strength, I'll rebuild myself," he promised himself.

He still had his vast knowledge, and more than enough resources to develop a more than strong power. It would take time, but his enemies believed he was dead, so he would no longer need to hide.

Of course, he would have to recruit new helpers, since all his children had died, or had been freed after his previous body died.

He would have to go around Jolgaldur to visit his old hiding places, and make sure they were safe. He couldn't take any chances.

The vampire spent a long time connecting his soul to his new body. He familiarized himself with his blood, his muscles, his nerves, his flesh, his skin.

"How weak," he complained out loud, while opening his eyes.

"That's what happens when you escape death at the last moment," a voice he hadn't expected answered. It was strangely familiar to him.

He sat up startled, although his muscles complained. They needed time to recover from their state of stasis. Nonetheless, what he saw made him forget about the sudden pain.

"Domovik..." he muttered between his teeth.

"How nostalgic... It's been a long time since anyone called me that..." the leprechaun sighed.

If Gjaki or Goldmi were there, they would have undoubtedly recognized him. They couldn't even imagine that he was meeting someone they thought was dead.

"How...?" he began to ask.

"How did I know you were going to wake up here? I was lucky. The others are waiting near different bodies. You know, your daughter knows you very well, she knew you would try," the leprechaun revealed calmly.

"That damn traitor..." he growled between his teeth.

"Oh, of course. You killed her mother, her siblings, her uncles, her friends, and almost her, but she's the traitor. Not to mention that you also betrayed us, pretending to be our friend for hundreds of years. You're still just as twisted, just as wicked," the leprechaun accused.

"What do you want?" the vampire asked. He knew he was at a disadvantage. His enemy was much more powerful than his current self.

"You should know that. Revenge. For you to disappear forever. For real this time."

After those words, the leprechaun raised his small green hand. A powerful spell surrounded Kan Golge, and was threatening to pulverize him.

"Wait! I have many treasures! Valuable materials! Artifacts! I'll give them all to you!" the vampire offered desperately.

"So that you can stab me in the back at the first opportunity? No, thank you. Lucky will be those who discover your hiding places. Goodbye forever," he said before clenching his fist.

The mana rushed to the center of the spell, towards the vampire. He tried to resist, but his power wasn't comparable to the leprechaun's, not anymore. For a few moments, he felt his body compress, tighten, with intense pain. Afterward, he felt nothing anymore. It had been reduced to the size of a fist.

"Shit, shit, shit. I have to escape. At least one body must still be hidden, safe. They can't have found them all," he wished, panicked.

The spiritual escape had weakened him. It would take years to restore his soul, and now he was forced to escape again, to have his spirit move to another location, another body. He hoped that this time there were no one else.

However, his ability collided with an invisible barrier. He felt his spirit shake, and it was damaged again.

"Did you think I would let you escape? You've lost your faculties. You should've guessed that if I was waiting for you, I was also prepared for you to try again," the leprechaun mocked.

In that form, Kan Golge couldn't hear him. All he felt was a deep terror, he didn't want to die. However, it was impossible for a spirit without a physical body to break through the spiritual barrier that surrounded him.

He felt dread as it shrank, and was threatening to finish him off.

"No! Please! I'll do whatever you want! Just tell me!" he begged.

However, it was impossible for the leprechaun to hear him, unless he had spiritual abilities, or a rare artifact with that effect. That wasn't the case, or maybe it was, and he was ignoring his pleas.

"No! Stop! NOOOOO!" he continued to plead.

Finally, there was no escape. The barrier tightened against him from all directions, and was consuming his soul. The pain was more intense than he could have imagined, even though he didn't have a body. The annihilation of the soul is a terrible torment.

"You don't deserve the opportunity to be reincarnated. You've already done enough damage. May your presence disappear forever from Jorgaldur and from all the worlds," the leprechaun recited. It didn't matter if his enemy couldn't hear him.

The barrier was shrinking, until it collapsed on itself after having destroyed what it contained. This time, Kan Golge had disappeared forever.

"Sister, Hilkgo, Yronio..." he began to remember a long list of names. "You all can rest in peace now."

Shortly after, he came out of the hideout, and made sure to destroy it completely, leaving no trace.

"He reincarnated in my position. The monster is finally dead," he recorded a short message.

Domovik inserted the small cubic object where he had recorded his words into a strange artifact. In this way, the message was sent to different points of the world, where his allies waited.

Some were friends, others acquaintances, and there were even some enemies. However, they had all united against a common enemy that they hated more than any other.

Some felt disappointed that they weren't the ones to finish him off, but all of them felt relieved, and in a way empty.

For centuries, they had pursued Kan Golge to every corner of the world. They had destroyed any project or subordinate they had found, while trying to discover his true whereabouts. Now, the task they had fought so hard for was completed. Some were left without purpose.

There would be those who would simply lie down and embrace death. Until then, they had artificially kept at bay in order to carry out their vengeance.

Others had something else besides their vengeance, so despite the emptiness, the transition would be easier.

There were those who would have to search for a new purpose. Hopefully, they would find it.