Chapter 896
The Miracle of Resurrection
After Eivass restored Mo’s body and replenished the little cat’s energy, he clapped his hands and turned to focus on the scattered remains.
Zain’s corpse had already lost its warmth.
From the abdomen upwards, it was almost completely shattered, leaving only a broken spine about a palm’s length. His robe was not completely torn, and the remaining strips of cloth dangled, obscuring the bloody flesh and organs. They were soaked in blood, and now that they had cooled, they had turned into a dry, hard, dark black.
On the ground, there were traces of blood splattering when the lower body fell. Now, those bloodstains had dried, and even if Eivass stepped on them, he wouldn’t leave footprints.
Eivass looked at Master Amber and asked, “Do you want to do it, or shall I?”
“You do it, please,” Master Amber said humbly. “My skills are suited for repairing damaged bodies or creating new ones from scratch. We don’t have that much time now… or do you need more?”
“I’ve actually never tried it before,” Eivass shook his head and said calmly, under the suddenly terrified gazes of everyone. “This will be my first time… but let me try it first.”
“Feel free to try,” Master Amber’s temperament was very calm and gentle. Not only was he not surprised by Eivass’s words, but he also offered words of comfort. “If you can’t do it, I’m here. Resurrection is a miracle in itself, so it’s okay if you can’t achieve it.”
“After all, I’m the one who gathered everyone here. It doesn’t matter if someone dies in the process. As long as I live to the end, I will resurrect everyone.”
Eivass stepped forward and extended his hand, sensing the air above the corpse. He clearly sensed that the soul was still inside the body.
“Not bad,” Eivass commented. “Consider it a mild death.”
“Mi-mild death…” The vagrant’s mouth twitched.
Eivass merely explained, “Just as injuries are divided into minor, severe, and fatal, the mana consumed to heal injuries of different degrees varies… Resurrection is the same.”
“…Is… is that so?”
“Indeed, it is.” Eivass nodded. However, here he was referring not to the “difficulty,” but to the “price of a miracle.” Corpses that were relatively intact, recently deceased, and without incurable conditions like Amber Compaction Syndrome or Petrify, or curses from a Lich or Witch, could only be considered “mild deaths.” As for those who had been dead for several days, or if Zain had not only lost his “main part” but was reduced to just a “line” or even a “dot,” the difficulty of resurrection would naturally be higher. It could be rated as “severe death,” and the price of such a miracle would be comparable to healing Pure White’s Amber Compaction Syndrome. If the corpse had been burned to ashes, the soul had merged into the Origin River but not yet shattered, or if Petrify and Amber Compaction had progressed to the final stage, turning into a complete treant or amber, with the soul twisted or frozen along with it… such a degree could be considered a “fatal death” that Eivass found troublesome. It wasn’t impossible to resurrect them, but it would require too great a price.
Now, having learned more about the secret of the Pillar Gods, Eivass understood the Candlemaster’s words better. — If Eivass could not eventually confront the Ring Heavenly Envoy and instead absorbed him, then the Candlemaster could at least make him a Pillar God, thus preventing him from being absorbed by the Ring Heavenly Envoy. Just like the Supreme Heaven and the Great Philosopher of the past, they could not merge because they had each achieved the status of Pillar God. For a Pillar God must be pure, without any impurities.
If Eivass could achieve Pillar God status through the Path of Devotion, the Ring Heavenly Envoy would at least be unable to leave this World in the perfect state of Sacred Number Eleven. Conversely, if he devoured Eivass before leaving, he could probably take with him the full power of at least two Origin Rivers. And if this was not the final cycle, and Amber still had the remaining power to restart the World once more… then on the day of the Doomsday, Eivass, who held the position of Pillar God, would at least be able to retain his memories. In the final cycle, Eivass would also have a higher probability of confronting the Ring Heavenly Envoy.
From this perspective, Eivass’s transformation rate as a Sin Eater Beast was not a fallback option as the Candlemaster had said, “If things don’t work out, come back and inherit the family business.” Rather, it could be seen as a progress bar for his confrontation with the Ring Heavenly Envoy, so the “price” must be paid cautiously.
Even so. “If someone cried for help…” Eivass murmured softly, undoing the button on his shirt with one hand. “I probably still couldn’t stand by and do nothing.”
Cardinal Galatea had never seen Eivass’s transformation before, so she also watched the scene intently. Eivass’s body cracked like broken porcelain, and blood flowed like a trickle from his glowing white skin. In the next moment, the antlers on Eivass’s head began to glow.
Due to Zhu Tang’s ritual, many runes were destroyed, so the light here was much dimmer. It was as cold and dim as a hospital hallway at twilight. At this moment, that brilliant radiance bloomed from his antlers! Eivass’s cracking body grew, flesh stretched and contorted, and in the blink of an eye, it turned into a half-human, half-deer form. The antlers on his head were higher than before, already over twenty centimeters. At the tips of both antlers, a cluster of pure white flames burned. Mysterious and ominous black totems appeared on his chest and abdomen, and below his waist, he had a powerful white deer’s body. In his light purple crystal pupils, a cluster of golden-red candlelight flames burned, reflecting a vertical pupil shape in the jewels. A deer’s pupils should be square. However, this was not a true “white deer,” but a “Sin Eater Beast.” Even the illusion on Eivass’s face dissolved—the people no longer saw the youth who called himself “Pope,” but the true face of Pope Eivass! His sacred and inviolable great form left the crowd with no room for doubt about his words. This was the mythical form! The demigod, nearly three meters tall, was radiating brilliant radiance—even more obvious on the dim ground at this moment. Pure white light gathered into a ball, appearing like a lotus and illuminating the ground. The antlers on his head emitted a warm radiance.
Just by bathing in that light, people felt their stamina recovering. At this moment, Eivass had no desire for transcendence. The Ring Heavenly Envoy, the Doomsday, the many secrets of the Sky-Piercing Tower no longer interested him. The strengthened devotion made his heart calm and pure. Looking at the tragically dead Zain, Eivass involuntarily lowered his head and wept silently. A drop of tears condensed on Eivass’s chin and fell, yet it sparkled with pure white light. When the tear hit the ground, it caused silent ripples of light. Pure white light echoed on the ground, and Zain’s body suddenly turned into a mass of white light. That posture was like a Pokémon about to evolve—pure white light gathered into a ball and then extended and changed shape. When the light dissipated, Zain had resumed the posture of standing on the ground. He still had his eyes closed, and his body bore shocking wounds, but they vanished at an astonishing speed as if time were flowing backward. He didn’t even have a trace of bloodstains, and he became impeccably clean. If his upper robe hadn’t been torn, people might have thought he had merely fallen asleep standing up.
In the next moment, Zain opened his eyes.
“Aghhhh… Huh?” He instinctively let out a scream, which made people momentarily think that the resurrection was extremely painful—but then, Zain’s scream abruptly stopped. The reason Zain screamed was that his memory was still stuck at the moment before his death. His death was not instantaneous. Before his brain exploded, he had already been severely electrocuted by the spell reflected by the Mirror Demon. The high-voltage electricity at that moment had almost killed him, but compared to his fragile body, the overflowing spell damage instantly detonated him before he could even pass out from pain. He had felt the instantaneous darkness of death, and also that hazy, vague sensation of consciousness. But it all felt like a vague dream he couldn’t remember. As his consciousness rapidly cleared, he immediately connected to the memory before his death. But in the instant Zain let out his subconscious scream, he felt something was wrong—his body felt warm and comfortable, with no trace of the excruciating pain that felt like countless burning steel needles piercing his bones. Thus, Zain felt a moment of confusion, his brain falling into a blank.
“…So that’s how the resurrection mechanism works,” Eivass sighed. “It’s truly the first time I’ve known… If I had died after fighting to exhaustion, perhaps I would have reflexively attacked you upon waking. That’s valuable experience.” As expected, this “mild death” resurrection incurred almost no price. Eivass’s transformation rate didn’t even increase, remaining at 7%. Of course, it might be that this transformation rate doesn’t display decimal places… After all, his mana was indeed consumed. But it could be said that even if Eivass maintained this state for another hour or two, the energy consumed might be more than the resurrection itself. So, resurrection really doesn’t cost much power…
“Resurrection…?” Zain let out a hesitant and confused voice, looking at Eivass before him with disbelief.
Oh, right. …He did say he could resurrect after death. In his muddled mind, clarity gradually returned. Just like a sleepy person gradually regaining their thinking ability, the brain system completed its self-check and booted up. Zain seemed to not quite believe what he was seeing, so he subconsciously pushed up his glasses, but accidentally poked his own eye with his somewhat long fingernail, and couldn’t help but let out another cry of pain. But this real pain made him truly feel his own existence. And that momentary pain turned into numbness as soon as his nail left, and then recovered completely in less than two seconds. — No, you can really resurrect?! I thought you were just being polite… so you actually have the ability!
(End of Chapter)
