The flying pig was too heavy a burden to carry for Lin. He had tried, bless his heart, to contain the mana which the pig was giving him during its afterlife, but there was no use.
The flying pig, which was now the undead flying pig, was a champion of Karma himself. Whether that was actually important anymore was unknown. Battlepaws had proven that such champions had short lives.
And so, with a heavy heart, Lin decided to take the next step. It had been easy to talk himself into necromancy at the start. He had not been treated very nicely during his short life.
But now that he actually got to speak with the goblins of the tribe, he could do nothing but feel regret.
And so, with a heavy heart, Lin decided to cut off his necromantic core.
For that, he needed the dead flying cow.
"This is madness!" Kai told him after hearing him out. Lin could not help but agree with him. Yes, it was the high of madness. But what other choice did he have?
"Why? It is not like I am going to die. I will just give the cow my mana, and it will rise from the dead," Lin had only heard about the ritual, so he was not 100% sure that he could pull it off. Still, he had to try.
"No one has ever survived a complete mana transfer!" Kai continued to protest. The theory was known to him, but the fact that its inventor had earned the name: The Mad Mage, was also known to him.
"Madness is just the first steppingstone to greatness," Lin had just read that somewhere, maybe in a book. Still, it sounded wise and grown up, and the fairy believed that it could help him sort his life out.
"Did you just quote me a toothpaste commercial?"
Ah, so that was where Lin knew the saying form. He nodded. It was not like the words were any less wise just because someone tried to sell toothpaste with them.
To be honest, most advertisements were catchy. Lin was glad of that.
"Kai, it is not like we have any choice," Lin continued stubbornly. "The pig needs to be restored to life! The natural order of things hangs in the balance! If Karma doesn't have a champion, then he might create a monster to erase all his mistakes. He has done it before!"
Kai had no answer to that. He knew that what Lin was telling him was the truth, and yet he did not like it.
"Do as you wish!" Kai snapped finally, for he knew that there was no stopping Lin. "Just know that if you die, I will sic Battlepaws on Karma."
A charming smile blossomed on Lin's lips. Oh, he knew that he was cherished.
"I'd do the same, if our roles were reversed," Lin assured him, making his way to the corpse of the dead flying cow. It was already starting to smell. If he wanted to get the natural balance back in check, he had to be fast!
"Karma! Hear me and restore this beast's soul to its flesh!"
Karma hummed. He had first created a flying pig, which had been prone to arrogance and trickery. Then he had created a flying cow, which got killed by a kitten.
Things had to change. The fairy wouldn't know what hit it.
As mana enveloped Lin, he smiled. Only for him to feel so, as if someone was giving him a total makeover. It was not like it hurt, per se.
As a cluster of hair, he could see turned pink, he blinked. The ritual had left that part out. His eyes stung for just a second, before becoming normal again.
His clothes… his expensive clothes which he had gotten on a discount from a tailor who had long since retired, changed.
The corpse of the flying cow disappeared; Lin looked down at his clothes.
Wait… why were they made up from fabric? And why did they look so, as if he was an adventurer?
"I don't understand," Lin said, and then blinked. His voice! His voice was no longer high-pitched! "Oh, no."
Karma stung Lin on the thumb, forcing him to sign the champion contract.
"Wait a second!" Lin protested, as the contract got scrolled so fast before his eyes, that he could not even catch a word of it.
"No backsies," he heard an ancient voice say deep inside his head. "I have only one question for you: do you want the pig as a companion?"
Lin bit his bottom lip. The flying pig had suffered a lot. It had not deserved to die. The worst it had done was to trick some people, for which Karma had surely punished it.
"Yes, that would be kind of you," for if Lin could not save his brethren, then he could at least save one brave soul.
The flying pig turned completely pink, its wings becoming white like freshly fallen snow.
For a moment, the pig and the fairy stared at one another. And then, just as Lin was about to speak, the pig flew to him and snuggled up to him.
As the fairy hugged the flying pig back, he felt lighter, somehow.
Kai did not have any words for the vision he was seeing. Back while Lin had been a necromancer, he had been a catch as well, but now he was taller, his wings a brighter shade of pink, his hair a loverly pink color as well, not to mention as fluffy as a cloud!
But his eyes! Green like healthy grass, green like life!
Kai took a couple of steps towards Lin, wanting to hold him in his arms. Just to make sure that he was there.
Lin smiled at him; his gaze locked on the ground. The fairy had no idea how he looked. As he noticed a flower, he plucked it from the ground and offered it to Kai.
"Friends?" Lin asked, uncertainty coloring his voice.
"Yes, please," Kai told him, taking the flower, and making plans for their first date.