As the coffin's lid creaked open, it unveiled a striking figure. The being inside the coffin appeared to be an amalgamation of human and demon, bathed in fiery crimson hues that danced across its sinewy form.
Unique, intricate markings adorned the body's jet-black skin, and its clothing excluded a dark, otherworldly elegance. The figure was resting in a state of serene repose, an embodiment of the Infernal Realm's eerie beauty.
Ty was left mesmerized as he hadn't taken the time to examine the previous body which had been reduced to ashes after he tried to enter it.
Without wasting another moment to hesitate, Ty thought of the moment when Jade was crying as she held his dead, lifeless body, and plunged into the cold, lifeless body which was summoned by the Demon King. Several seconds passed without any events before, once again, the entire body erupted into black flames, and the mark on Ty's soul continued to burn and obliterate everything it touched.
The explosion destroyed the coffin, sending the lifeless body that was carrying Ty's soul, crashing to the ground and rolling for some distance before it landed about ten feet away from Elithira, who expressed a look of disappointment, saying, "All this noise and commotion for a dud, huh?"
Ty's soul began burning the creature's flesh and as the figure's arms slowly began to move, a dark cry of pain and suffering escaped from its mouth. The Demon King suddenly perked up from his boredom after noticing that Ty had slowly started gaining control over the body.
As the black flames continued to consume the body, Ty began to cry out in pain, gripping the edges of his shoulder as the flesh and clothes on the body began to burn and melt away, giving off a putrid smell of burnt flesh.
His screams filled the vast chamber while the trio of Angelic Warriors watched the unfolding scene in utter horror. Caelum continued to bleed out slowly, barely being able to remain conscious.
Ty buckled to the ground as the pain seared into his mind, while the burning sensation washed over his entire body. His mind had started to break, and he was slowly letting go, fading away. But just then, a memory flashed to him, it was from the time when he and Jade were on a park bench during their freshman year, covered in snow.
Jade seemed to be laughing about something that he had said as she smiled, "We will make the world a better place one day, but first, my only focus is making your day better," saying that, she leaned in and gave him a kiss.
The pain returned to him in full force as the memory flushed away, but this time his only concern was Jade.
Gritting his teeth, he vowed in a broken, raspy voice, "I... will... endure... it all." Buckling back to a knee as all his flesh burned away and the bones began to chisel and crack, Ty yelled out in defiance of pain as he gripped his shoulders while they were also covered in blackened flames, a scene that everyone watched on in horror.
Slowly standing upright, his legs buckled but still maintained, a vortex of black flames swirled around him before it eventually settled and draped down his back, creating a rippling effect as if he was wearing a black flaming cape.
A chilling silence ensued until Aurelius broke it, stating, "Looks like the soul got itself destroyed. Now, we don't have any further business here," after saying that he snapped his fingers, following which a portal opened up behind him.
"We will return for the Gi—"
Aurelius suddenly stopped what he intended to say as he noticed that the skeletal remains of the body which Ty had entered into had started to shake and move ever so slightly.
The remains' eye sockets shot to life with a bright green glow, and the mouth opened up, seemingly gasping for air as if the being had not breathed for hundreds of years.
Ty looked down at his hands in shock. All the flesh had burnt off, leaving him with nothing but a skeletal remnant that was blackened by the flames while wearing a thick layer of soot.
"I... I... I'm alive, though. I can feel every touch as if my nerves are still here," Ty exclaimed aloud, bewildered about how all of this was happening, "How is this possible?"
"CLAP CLAP"
Giving a loud applause, the Demon King revealed, "I knew you could do it, boy! I was worried that once your soul enters the body all the flesh will be burnt to a crisp, so I put a condition in the contract which stated that a portion of the flames would be sent to me to make it a bit more bearable for you. I also made sure to select a body that had a high heat resistance. This body belongs to a warrior who served with me all the way back before I even became a king, so I knew that his bones would hold up, at least. I don't think that he would be very happy to know that I gave his body to some weak human."
"In any case, at least the first step of getting you in a physical form is solved. Dismiss the intruders now, and we can continue to discuss this over dinner… Well, even if you can attend dinner, I don't think you'll be eating much for the time being," the Demon King added with a light chuckle.
Aurelius, standing in the distance with anger in his eyes, lost a bit of his composure, and stated, "You must hand over the spirit. Human souls of high grade don't belong here, especially those that led pure lives."
Ignoring Aureliu's protests, the Demon King rose up in his smaller form and made his way towards a side door. "I will get started on dinner and see you and Elithira in a bit."
Saying that, he slammed the door as he walked out of the throne room as if the group of Angelic Warriors had never been there.
Elithira perked up, stating, "Well, it's time for you to be on your way unless you want your weak brother to be kicked over and die." She snapped her fingers, releasing the ropes that bound them, setting them free.
Aurelius put an arm around Caelus to support him since had little strength to even keep himself up, and vowed in a troubled breath, "I will get revenge for this."
The group held their heads low as they walked through a portal to an unknown destination.
Still restrained and held down by Kieran, Erebos joked, "Is that it? Little girl, aren't you even going to take a swing at them or anything? Your spirit must be so crushed." He let out a slight laugh. "Must be miserable to realize how much of a failure you are."
This event had been a complete bore for him. As he snapped all the chains around him, Erebos flexed slightly, but after not receiving any reaction from her dismay, he once again whispered into her ear, "Pathetic," and opened a portal.
"There's no point in killing a helpless pup. It was good to see you again, though. Ty, Make sure to drink your milk so that you don't go cracking yourself now, okay?" he let out a wild laugh before walking into the portal.
Elithira watched all of this unfold and couldn't help but let out a sigh, "Hey Ty, was it just me, or he was kinda creepy? Not like the 'I'm gonna stab you' creepy, just the overall creepy dude, you know?"
Ty, not giving a response to her question, muttered something else, "This body will be my first step getting back home, but first..."
With that, he began walking past Elithira and thanking her for saying.
"It was only to gain some favor from my Father," Elithira simply said, waving it off, making Ty force a smile on his face.
"Kieran," Ty spoke out, standing a few inches away from her as she stood on her knees, "Why are you still here?"
Finally managing to muster up words, she stared up at him with tears filling her eyes, stating, "I-Im so sorry, I let this happen."
"If I hadn't been so caught up in proving myself, none of this would have happened," tears broke out from her eyes as she tried to compose herself.
Feeling a bit of grief seeing a woman cry, Ty asked, "Was that your first time down there in the human world?"
A soft moment passed as she tried to rub off the tears that were coming out of her eyes before she nodded, "Yes."
"They mentioned something about a pool and being reborn as a warrior. Is that what happened to you?" Ty inquired.
She gave a short response, "Yes, I suddenly woke up with this body one day, finding myself on the outskirts of a fountain that spanned for miles along with hundreds of others. That was about two hundred years ago," she said.
Slightly shocked, Ty gave a heartfelt response, "Well, I do apologize for your tough situation. What has been done is done, and you can't reverse the damages or the failures you have done. Just promise me that you won't let anyone else suffer like the way I had to."
Looking up at him in shock after hearing that he held no resentment toward her, she nodded, "I... I will."
"Good. Now, let's hope that we never meet again," Ty said as he placed his skeletal hand on her shoulder and pushed her through the portal before she could get another word from her lips.