22 Chapter < 22 >

A warm sensation ran through Craig's body as he slowly regained consciousness. He squinted his eyes as they opened due to the bright light that immediately assailed them. Covering his eyes with his hand, he slowly got up into a sitting position. Looking around at his surroundings he was petrified. "Wow, is this... the afterlife?" He thought as he took in the scenery.

He was sitting beside a small pond that was situated at the center of a plaza. The plaza was a perfect square with four pillars at each corner, all connected by four beams at the top. The outside of the plaza was surrounded by an uncountable number of flowers and herbs, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Of all the impressions Craig had of what the afterlife would be like, he never thought it would be this. He spread open his palms and looked at them, wondering if he was a spirit. Then he looked at his chest. The injury from the arrow was gone, even his clothes were brand new. "So... I really died huh." He muttered as he touched where the hole had been. "Then... This must really be the afterlife." As his thoughts gathered he suddenly remembered the woman he saw yet again, in the water. "That woman, was she a messenger of death? Or a spirit of death itself." He stood up, looking around as he pondered.

"Divine lotus?" He remembered what she whispered into his ear before his consciousness faded. "What was that about? Was I just hallucinating that time?" Everything felt like it was nothing but a strange dream. Even presently, he felt odd in a way that he couldn't describe.

This certainty wasn't a dream. He felt a form of reality that he'd never felt in a dream before. He even felt like his life before was all part of a long dream and this was the true reality. 'So... What now?' He thought as he placed his hands on his waist and spun around, wondering what he should do. That was when he got a good look at the pond.

"Strange..." He suddenly realised that he had died in a pond of lotuses, and here before him was a pond of lotuses. Did the afterlife replicate one's place of death? If so then what was with the plaza and all the infinite flowers and herbs? Craig couldn't figure out what was really happening.

What surprised him was the fact that there were tens of each lotus, including tens of blue lotuses, however there weren't any black lotuses. Still, seeing so many blue lotuses in one place was bewildering.

"Confused, are you?" A voice came from beside Craig, catching his attention. Looking to the side he was startled into taking a few steps back. Suddenly, a woman was standing next to him as if she appeared out of thin air.

"Who are you?" He asked as he sized her up.

This woman, or... spirit, wasn't ordinary at all. She was tall, slightly taller than Craig. She had a head of long red hair, beautiful green eyes with pupils similar to a snake's, and luscious pink lips. Her nose was a bit odd, almost simply being two holes if not for the slight hump that was barely noticeable. Still, that didn't stop her from looking beautiful.

She donned a long red dress that fully displayed her figure. The most shocking feature was her grey, scaly skin. She looked liked a lizard in human form. If not for her skin one would consider her a human with a strange nose and strange eyes.

She let out a charming giggle and replied. "I'm the one who guided you through the forest. I'm also the one who saved your life."

Craig was lost. "Guided me through the forest? Saved... my life." He mused with a bewildered expression. He had never seen this woman before, not to mention such odd features would definitely have left an impression on him. "If you saved my life, then why am I here? Isn't this supposed to be the afterlife?"

"You aren't dead... Yet. I stopped your soul from dissipating back into nothingness." The woman said with a smile.

Craig furrowed his brows, unable to respond. He was trying to figure out what she meant. Stopping his soul from dissipating into nothingness? How freaky was his life becoming? "Truly, who are you?" He had the suspicion that she was the woman from earlier, however she looked completely different from before.

"How could you forget following me through the forest? You..." She suddenly stopped speaking and tapped her forehead. "I am so silly sometimes. All these cycles of loneliness have really gotten to me. I forgot this wasn't the form that you saw. This here is my true appearance. The woman you saw was copied from the channel I used to reach you." She explained.

"Channel?" Craig's head felt like it should be hurting even if it wasn't. "So the woman I saw was you wearing someone else's face?" He said as he gestured a crisscross motion with his hands. He had so many questions that his mind was overwhelmed.

The woman laughed sweetly. "Allow me to explain and clear your confusion." She said as she gestured with her hand, "Walk with me." She began strolling off the platform, onto a path that ran between the herbs and flowers.

Craig followed beside her.

"My name is Avanelle. Princess Avanelle of the Argonians." She proclaimed.

"Huh? Princess? Another one?" Craig blurted out loud.

"Ah, you know many Princesses?" Avanelle stopped and asked, rasing an eyebrow.

"Uh, well no, not really. I'm just surprised to meet another one so soon. Wait? You said you're an Argonian?" Craig suddenly asked. Without waiting for here to reply he continued. "The last Argonians died nearly five thousand cycles ago during the Great War. All we have are mentions of them in scrolls and books." He took a step back and studied Avanelle's body. "I can't believe I didn't notice that right away. Your skin, your eyes..." He tilted his head to the side, "I suppose your tail is hidden under your dress."

Avanelle laughed and continued walking. "Yes, I am an Argonian. I died long before the Great War took place. Many years after my death, I suddenly woke up, here in this place. Like you, I thought this was the afterlife." She shook her head. "It took me a while to realize that it wasn't. I had in fact become the soul of a lotus flower. It was strange how all this knowledge related to lotus flowers came to me in an instant, allowing me to know what I was, what I had become."

Craig didn't know what to think of Avanelle's story but he certainly couldn't deny it. After all, he couldn't explain anything that was happening himself. "Meaning you're the soul of... a Divine Lotus?" He asked, remembering what she had whispered into his ear underneath the water.

Avanelle nodded with a smile. "That's right. To be more precise, I am, the divine lotus."

Craig had never heard of divine lotuses before. "So then, what is a divine lotus and why did you save me?" Craig asked. He was still puzzled about many things. He could only slowly peel the onion.

"The Divine lotus is the highest form of the lotus." She began explaining. "It surpasses the black lotus which is the final physical form of the lotus flower. The divine lotus is a spiritual lotus that is born from the fusion of all seven lotuses, abundant mana and a strong soul. Its capabilities surpasses your imagination. Or I should say, my capabilities surpasses your imagination." She cast Craig a charming smile.

"As for why I saved you, it's because I was drawn to you. I had dreamt of you coming here long before today. It was the same dream, over and over, like a vision. The two of us getting married by the side of the pond and... copulating." She placed the back of her wrist to her lips in a bashful manner.

"Drawn to me?" Craig was lost as to what that implicated. Was it his destiny to end up here? Marriage and... Copulation? Would he have to do these things. Was this strange woman messing with him?

Avanelle nodded. "As long as a Divine lotus exists, it will be drawn to a true King and no one else. So I can only assume that you must be or will be a king." Her words were sincere and her gaze was respectful, as if she was really looking at a king.

Craig suddenly started laughing. "A true king huh? First a Transcendent king and now this. Whoever is in charge of the world has chosen the wrong man. I'm too much of a troublemaker to be a king. I doubt I'm of any noble blood either." He shook his head in disagreement.

"You may not see it in yourself but I do. The sight of the divine lotus does not lie. The potential of a strong leader resonates within you. A true king is not determined by nobility of blood but nobility of spirit."

Craig was at a loss for words. Apparently, he had a noble spirit. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

"However I should warn you about the most crucial thing about the divine lotus." She paused as her expression turned grave. "When it links with you it becomes the embodiment of your spiritual heart. Ironically, your physical heart was pierced by an arrow, which was the wound I used to bond with you. To put it simply, it is linked to your emotions and mental state. Positive emotions and ambitions will draw on the power of light, but... negative ones will draw on the power of darkness and corrupt the divine lotus."

Craig hummed in thought. "So you're saying it has already linked with me and that my emotions, ambitions and desires can affect it?"

"That's more or less the case." Avanelle replied. "There's no turning back now. The divine lotus holds great power which is now in your hands. You can either bring prosperity or destruction onto the world."

Craig felt perplexed at the revelation. He had unknowingly become a double edged sword. He was still wrapping his head around everything. Yet, how he could wrap anything when there were still so many unanswered questions. He was especially curious about Avanelle's life and her origins which led him to ask, "So what happened to you princess? How did you die and end up here?"

A sharp glint flashed through Avanelle's eyes as Craig asked the question. It only lasted a mere instant but Craig did notice it. She sighed. "It all started when I was betrayed by my father's court and injured on a trip away from home. It was an injury to the soul that was incurable." Her face tightened into slight vexation which eased in the next moment.

"My father tried everything to heal me but it was all futile. There wasn't a single doctor who could stop my life from fading away. I was on the verge of death when a young hero came out with a special medicine. He claimed that it was to save the life of a dragon and should work on me. When my father heard the purpose of the medicine he rushed to get it to me. Just like the hero said, it was very powerful and did work." Her expression showed a bit of sadness as if she remembered something painful just then.

"Fast forward two seasons and I was on my feet again, stronger and better than ever." She then shook her head and sighed. "Who would have thought that I would have been poisoned and kidnapped, never to see my home again. I was traded to the elves by my own kin and died a captive there. Then I woke up here some time later. I only understood later that it was the medicine that saved me from perishing completely. As It was made from a collection of lotus flowers and by ingesting it I had set the conditions for the birth of a divine lotus."

Listening to the story, Craig felt that it sounded so familiar. Could it be that Avanelle was the princess in the story of the dragon fever? How crazy was it that a so called legend, a myth that was thousands of cycles old was standing before his very eyes. "So then, the pond where I... died... Should be where you were buried right? In the forest, you were guiding me to your grave?"

Avanelle nodded. "That's right. Due to the special circumstances surrounding the birth of the divine lotus, my grave would turn into a lotus pond over time. As of now, it's already on the verge of becoming a Spirit Lake."

"Then wh--" Craig was about to ask another question when he felt a sharp pain in his head, causing him to Halt his speech. "Something's wrong, I'm starting to feel light headed." He said as he knelt on one knee.

Avanelle walked over and placed a hand on his head. "The poison within your body is spreading faster because your consciousness is here. You should return now and deal with it first. Return here once you're done by focusing on the power within your heart." After saying this, a bright light emanated from her hand and covered Craig's figure, vanishing along with him.

Once Craig was gone, Avanelle grabbed onto her chest and fell to her knees. Looking to the side her right arm transformed from it's normal scaly look to having black marks with dark energy seeping out of them. It spread all the way to her shoulder. " So, he is even able to feel the pain that I do. I hope he is able to reverse the spread of this corruption. If not then... I apologise for my selfish desire to remain alive. To think that after all these years I could not let go of these vengeful ideals." She let out a deep sigh and stood up, walking back towards the plaza.