The mont he said it, the atmosphere shifted.
Before Sol could even respond, Reena sprang up from her seat, eyes wide. "You did what?!"
Sol simply nodded. "It’s true. It wasn’t cheap, and it took a few months, but we did it."
"That’s not the point!" Reena snapped, clearly agitated by his casual tone. She was about to raise her voice further, but then rembered where she was and forcibly cald herself.
Still, her tone remained tense. "It doesn’t matter how much it cost or how long it took. Resurrection is taboo. No one is allowed to go against the natural cycle of life!"
"Taboo?" Sol tilted his head. That was the first he’d heard of such a thing. If it were truly a serious offense, surely Zaman would have warned him.
The Chieftain, seeing his confusion, clarified. "She ans taboo for the elves. The Yggtree is known for having a strong stance on preserving the natural order of life, and Sylmasera follows its teachings. But that only applies to the Great Forest. Most nations are actively investing in discovering the secrets of resurrection and immortality, though none have succeeded."
The nations at the forefront of this endeavor had made little aningful progress. It was nearly impossible; the more they researched, theorized, and tested, the more consistent the failures. Even those with so success were riddled with catastrophic downsides or insane restrictions. The most advanced attempts ca from the Holy Kingdom of Delvania’s Everlasting Spirit Institute, whose Spirit Vessel Project resulted in the loss of the subjects’ corporeal bodies and mories, and the Sapphire Scales Alliance’s Unlife Research Program, which was shut down after realizing that, no matter what was done, Liches always turned into heartless monsters filled with an unnatural hatred for the living.
Sol asked, "The Frostaxe Clan as well?"
"No." Kuruck replied, shaking his head. "We actually agree with the elves and the Yggtree on this matter, though for a different reason. Because what is the point of life if death is aningless? Everything we do in life has weight because we know death is inevitable. If we remove that, then what drives us to grow, to improve, to live with purpose?"
His voice was steady, but there was a deep weight behind his words. "Victory. Love. Legacy. None of those things an anything without an end. Death gives value to our choices. Take that away, and we beco stagnant."
Reena, surprised by his words, murmured, "I never thought of it like that..."
Sol, anwhile, remained silent for a mont, contemplating. Then, with calm clarity, he said, "I understand what you’re saying. But I won’t lie, I don’t regret my decision. I would gladly do it again if given the choice. I won’t sit idly by, knowing I can bring soone I care about back from the dead."
Kuruck frowned. "You think I haven’t lost people I care about? I’m the Chieftain of the Frostaxe Clan. I’ve lost more people than you’ve even t. I lost my fifth son, Daruck. But as much as I miss my son, and all those we’ve lost... I know the consequences of undoing death. I would never take them back from Ragnar’s army."
"You may be right." Sol replied, understanding his point of view. And even with his acknowledgnt of it, he said, "But I stand by my decision. If I can help it... I will always bring them back."
The two locked eyes. From Kuruck’s expression, he clearly disapproved, but Sol didn’t budge.
Reena watched with quiet anticipation, hoping this tension would lead to conflict between the two. But her hopes were shattered as Kuruck suddenly broke the stare with a hearty laugh.
"Bahaha! Good thing it only works with those two girls, isn’t it?" he said in a jovial tone, quite a switch from his previous seriousness. But Sol understood the underlying ssage.
If the thod worked on anyone, Kuruck would have beco his enemy.
Sol wasn’t too worried, even if it had. He was confident the Chieftain wasn’t stronger than him. What concerned him wasn’t his individual strength but his power as the Chieftain of the Frostaxe Clan. Kuruck was not only an experienced warrior with decades of knowledge, he likely had access to powerful trump cards, perhaps even legendary items. As the leader of the Clan, he certainly had other thods at his disposal that he couldn’t underestimate.
’While I think he’s a very straightforward person.’ Sol thought, ’I can’t assu he wouldn’t do sothing like informing the other countries that I know the secret to resurrection... and have the entire continent co after .’
Luckily, the resurrection thod was extrely selective, only working on Scale Born. That likely explained why it had been relatively easy to find it in the third floor of the Royal Library. If the resurrection did actually work with anyone, this dinner would have ended very differently.
"What if it only works on them? Even so, it’s still taboo!" Reena shouted, crossing her arms. She was clearly frustrated that there had been no real conflict between Sol and Kuruck. "Once the Yggtree learns you disrupted the balance of nature, you’ll be done for!"
She was practically giddy at the idea. Throughout Sylmasera’s long history, the Yggtree had only acted during two typed of occasions. When the elves were facing extinction or when the natural balance of the world was in jeopardy. She believed this definitely qualified for the latter.
Sol was speechless at how happy she seed imagining his downfall.
Kuruck, anwhile, looked puzzled.
He hadn’t noticed Reena’s attitude earlier, too focused on his children and Sol. At first, he’d assud she was simply cynical, but now it was obvious to him that it was hostility. The reason he hadn’t picked up on it before was that her hostility lacked killing intent. This was because Reena knew fighting Sol was impossible, so she couldn’t muster up any true killing intent.
free\.c o(m)
Now that he was aware of their odd relationship, Kuruck turned to Sol, silently asking for an explanation.
Sol saw the look and answered plainly, "She’s my prisoner."
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