In the meantime, in the corridor, Iris moved Ian's body to the nearest chamber, and now he lay on the bed, slowly turning cold. The colour of his skin was fading with each passing second.
Iris paced in front of the bed, wringing her hands and trying to think of a solution. She had no idea where his soul went. If Seth were gone, the guardian would have reclaimed him since he had willingly surrendered himself to the Hollow, and that could only mean that Ian's soul followed since the two were bound together.
" Rhya, how does one summon the Guardian?" Iris suddenly asked as she halted her steps and stopped in front of her.
Rhya turned worried at the question, " You would have to sacrifice an untainted soul. That means a child, Iris!" she looked concerned that she had such thoughts just to save Ian.
" Oh! Is there any other way?" she asked again for another option. She wasn't willing to give up that easily.
Rhya shook her head but " Open a gate to the Hollow. That's the only other way!" she replied, still concerned at what she would do to get Ian's soul back.
Iris fell deep in thought " I've never opened a gate to another realm! I closed this one, but It was the gate to Ellora, and it was within my power to do so!" she reasoned out loud while Rhya took a step forward and grabbed her shoulders and looked her in the eyes.
" We don't know what will happen if you succeed in opening one. It's best not to try!" Rhya warned while Iris fell deep in thought again. She was getting desperate now, and she was willing to do everything and anything to bring him back.
" Please, bring me the Damodar and the golden chalice!" she suddenly demanded while she took her cloak off and placed it on the bed.
Rhya and Tyla stood there frozen in their spot, shocked at her request and hesitant if they should follow the order or not.
" Now!" she snapped. There was not enough time to ponder the consequences of her action. Whatever they would be, she would pay them.
Rhya and Tyla flinched at the biting tone she used and scrambled out of the room, leaving Iris and Ian alone.
While Iris continued pacing around the room as she desperately hoped that she would be able to make it in time to open the gate. Even if she failed, She had to try. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she didn't attempt to help him.
Ian continued to remain frozen in the Hollow while Ettrick walked in circles around him.
" You are just a measly soul. How dare you defy the Guardian of the Hollow?" he thundered at Ian.
" Speak, child!" he thundered again, slamming his staff against the floor.
Ian smirked " I thought it's too wordy for your taste!" he remarked, still smirking, trying not to let himself be intimidated by half dead man
" The way I see it, I'm not defying anyone or whatever you call yourself. Let me put it in simpler terms, I have something that you want, and in exchange for that, you will have to let me out of here!" he continued to haggle with Ettrick, utterly unbothered by his earlier outburst. Now he understood where his anger stemmed from. It was that place.
" Blasphemy against the guardian won't bring you anything other than an eternity in the pits of the Hollow!" he thundered again. It seemed that Ian was determined to get on his last nerve.
In scoffed, " Now, you're just being unreasonable! I can stay here if you like me that much. I can already see all the fun that you and I can have!" he faked a sigh of contentment as he watched the guardian from the corner of his eye.
Ettrick fell silent as he looked at him with his flaming blue eyes. If he had been able to have facial expressions, Ian guessed that right now. He was pissed as hell.
Before the guardian could answer, a light appeared not far from where he stood, and a voice called him. He knew that was Iris calling him, and he had no intention of staying in the Hollow for much longer.
" I guess that's for me! I'll see you around Guardian of the Hollow!" Ian smirked as he walked away from Ettrick.
" Not so fast, you insolent child!"Ettrick slammed his staff against the floor one more time in his attempt to stop Ian, but it didn't seem to have worked since he carried on walking towards the gate.
" Give the sword back!" Ettrick said as Ian got closer to the gate that opened for him from the other side.
" You had your chance unless you throw something for me in there. I think I'll keep the damned thing. It might come in handy one day!" he showed Ettrick that he was willing to continue the bargain as he stopped before stepping through the gate.
Iris's voice was more unmistakable now as she called for him. He had no idea how the whole thing worked, but he made an educated guess, which involved him stepping through the gate before it was too late. Seth was now gone, and his chances of staying alive had significantly dropped to none.
" What do you want!" he asked as he approached Ian and the gate.
" I knew she was trouble from the moment she was born!" Ettrick commented as he heard Iris's voice echoing through the Hollow, getting louder by the minute.
Ian smiled. He knew he was talking about Iris " Yes, she is, but she makes me happy!" he retorted while turning to look at Ettrick.
" Stay away from her and stop helping the witch with her crazy plan! She has done enough harm to last this realm aeons! I know you are in it for yourself, and I can understand how much you will gain from getting control over Arkathira. You seem to be doing just fine without it!" he reasoned, hoping that he would let the matter go, and then it would be only the witch to worry about, and without Ettrick's help, she would be a breeze to wipe her off of existence.
" Give me time to think about it and have the troublemaker open a gate once seven suns have passed!" he gave his final answer and turned around to leave.
Ian nodded and stepped through the gate and back into his body while Iris kept a close eye on him, sitting on thorns as she couldn't bear the tension of waiting. She shouted his name one last time.
" Ian!"
Ian's eyes snapped open at the loud sound, and he looked at Iris and smiled " I'm not deaf, you know!" he jokingly said as he looked around the room and realised he was on a bed.
Iris hugged him, letting out a sigh of relief " I can't believe that you're joking at a time like this!" she scolded as she pulled away from the hug.
" How long have I been like this?" he asked as he looked at Rhya and Tyla, that stared at the swirling black smoke in the room, holding each other's hands, looking terrible.
" Not long, but long enough for your body to turn cold! I'm guessing that Mirin kept you alive for this long!" she explained as she moved from beside Ian and stood in front of the gate, mumbling something under her breath, and the gate closed, leaving behind a wisp of smoke.
Tyla and Rhya sighed in relief and looked at Ian, who stared at them " He had somewhere to be. He won't be gracing us with his presence today!" he joked, making the two look at him a little concerned.
Ian chuckled and shook his head " So gullible!" he commented as he stood up from the bed and patted himself to check if everything was in order and nodded to himself.