The Exiled King | ✔

Chapter 27 - Lirya's Choice

Wait for me in the in-between... I will come and find you. My offer still stands and always will, if you ever change your mind...

She had dismissed his offer back then, when things had been different. When she had everything, she had been the one to promise to return, but she never imagined it would be under these circumstances.

Lirya waited in the in-between long after she convinced Jason to leave. Amid the rustling of the golden stalks and the pitter patter of raindrops, she waited and waited until she began to wonder if he would truly come to find her.

Just as she was starting to lose hope, there was a brief ripple and he appeared in a flash of green sparks.

Lirya turned and greeted him joyously, "Naghren! You came!"

The king of Heresh approached her and smiled, but his eyes were filled with concern, "I told you I would... but Lirya, what happened? Why have you died?"

She quickly explained what had happened and finished by asking him, "You... once said that your heir would one day walk between both the living and dead realms. Does your offer still stand?"

Naghren frowned and answered slowly, "It is true that I said that, yes... but you would choose to throw away a life in paradise for this- this cursed existence? Though I offered you a place in my court, I never thought that this would be the circumstances that we met again!"

Lirya chuckled softly, "I did say I would come back... I wasn't expecting it to be this way, either. But, Naghren, I want this. I have barely lived! I have not had a long and- and satisfying life where I want an eternity in paradise... I want to live and experience the joys of life- and the pains... everything!"

In a quieter voice, she continued, "I know this is selfish of me... but I want more time. Even as I know that there will be consequences down the line."

"Well, no more selfish than I, who wanted you to stay in my realm, surely?" Naghren smiled.

Then, his face hardened and he said solemnly, "If you are certain that this is what you want, then I will name you my heir and make you a part of my undead court. You will have many decades, perhaps many centuries, to roam the worlds. You may live long enough to watch your friends enter the Ether, but one day you will be summoned to Heresh to take up my mantle and then... you will be trapped there, as I am. What awaits you, should you choose this path, is an achingly lonely existence."

Lirya hesitated, but then she realized that nothing scared her more than having to once again have to go along with the whims of others. This, at least, was a choice that was wholly hers to make.

She took a deep breath and met his eyes steadily and answered, "I have never been so sure about anything."

Naghren nodded and whispered, "During the ritual, trust me."

He conjured a small ritual dagger in his right hand, using it to slice a shallow cut into his left palm, his murky green blood welling up within the wound. Naghren held the dagger out and released it, where the dagger glowed faintly and hung in the air. Chanting under his breath, Naghren was engulfed in a soft glow and his blood levitated from his cut, then began to curl around Lirya.

Before she had time to think or cry out, her vision was obscured by a thin layer of green and her whole body felt both itchy and tingly, but not painful. Then, the blood receded from her vision and she watched, transfixed in both awe and horror, as the green blood knit itself to her translucent spirit, granting her new flesh and bone.

Naghren stopped chanting and waved his hand downwards and Lirya felt a soft weight engulf her, as comfortable black robes much like Naghren's own covered her. He gave her a reassuring smile, then closed his eyes, his brows furrowed in concentration and his arms held outstretched to receive an obsidian crown that slowly materialised.