Tales of Revenants

Chapter 63 – Banshee of the Forgotten

It was as if the fleeting dream unexpectedly fractured its precarious footing. Laken fixed her neck and believed it's not too late. He didn't understand why Alisa suddenly decided to take her life.

However, just a moment of quietness, Laken and the rest receive a bit of push on their back that made them feel eerie of silence.

They slowly turned their head only to receive a swift head-chop, "Why are you guys crying? I'm here you jerks." Alisa was behind them floating mid-air with her translucent spirit body.

At first, they can't believe what they were seeing and checked the original body, which is basically unconscious on the bed.

Before they all freaked out what is going on, Alisa speaks for her comrades who had their mouth gaping from curiosity, "I'm sorry to confuse you all. This simply is my Revenant Metamorphosis." 

Xenon even changed his personality attribute to use his thermal scanner to detect the effigy of Alisa he's seeing. It turns out she became a complete spiritual form or some sort of ghost that makes a joke out of Xenon's technomagic lifeform scanner.

Laken tried to touch her hair as it only passed through her. He then realizes that the reason why they can't catch Alisa when they were fighting her was that she's under her spirit figure.

He still can't make sense of why he was able to embrace her on the ship when they encountered her on their way to Redshore Port.

"How was I able to feel your warmth back then?" Laken is confused.

"The form you can see right now is my banshee. Whenever my physical body sleeps or becomes unconscious, my spirit wanders preventing me from getting a night of proper rest." Their surprised countenance shifted into a sorrowful melancholy.

A banshee is a form of wandering female spirit roaming on the underworld but they claim they have seen them on the north-west of the Arcadion continent.

"Then the reason why you encased your body..." Luciella cut off her sentence before she would sound presumptuous.

"You really have keen judgment aren't you Luciella?" Alisa patted her head, which made everyone even perplexed but instead clearing Laken's enigma.

"I have the ability to let those became a part of my life before I became a Revenant to see and touch me, but once they don't remember me anymore, I will vanish. That is the Curse of Forgotten." Alisa explained to them the true nature of her Metamorphosis.

Luciella was meek and subdued, "But I only first met you during on the ship back then..."

"Not at all. Remember when you accidentally joined the group that led you to a fated encounter with Laken?" Alisa sat beside her physical form.

"I will never forget that event," Luciella replied.

"Also the fact Laken wanted to take the third princess of Skyhaven? It was me who called for him. There is no such thing as fate. The small light you held in your heart when Laken lit it up for you became my only hope..." Alisa went behind Luciella.

She carefully grabbed her hand and placed it onto her physical body. The light Luciella emitted was a calm radiance that woke up the woman who would never taste the bliss of slumber.

Alisa's banshee vanished and her original body woke up, "The hope that I would never be forgotten was my only reason I guided you up to this point. I'm so selfish, am I? I should just disappear and–" out of the blue, Luciella gave her the warmest embrace she'll surely cherish.

"You shouldn't speak of throwing away your self! Laken taught me to value one's life... and you were the reason why we made it through up to this day...!" Luciella let out the emotions she manifested from effusive acceptance.

The rest of the party stays silent. Alisa and Luciella let the tears of gratefulness shed and showed that even if she became their enemy, she only did her best to vouch for the future of her comrades.

Alisa may have corrupted by the darkness, but her heart that longed for love shall never succumb to the abyss of the curse.

"I caged my body to protect it from the Midnight Pentagram. Unfortunately, they found a way to control even my banshee and did all those sins... I will make amends and will never leave Laken again!" Alisa declared a firm decision.

Her resolution is carved not through promise, but through the trust of her comrades whom she will fight side by side.

"By the way, I can't use my necromancy unless I am in my banshee form, so if a crisis arises, it's either I or you guys will twist my head for me to help you all," Alisa said something that should surprise them but they essentially got used to it.

They understand each other's circumstances, strengths, weaknesses, and they can fight as a party if ever they get into trouble. Laken takes over the command since he's planning to discuss their stratagem when Alisa instead took charge.

"Let me now get into the real part," Alisa didn't even tell everything yet.

"Oh? Let us hear it out," Xenon's curiosity switch is on. Eirisse fixes the bridge of her eyeglasses and got serious.

"I understand our true objectives are the Shards of Creation, but we must take a leap of fate and help our other comrades from the advent," Alisa suggested to them.

They think for seconds when Luciella tilted her head and asks something, "Who are they?"

"We are a total of seven, Alisa is referring to the remaining three who are still missing," Eirisse answered Luciella's concern.

"She's right. Specifically, the Soulless, Nameless, and Dreamless Revenant." Alisa identified their past comrades and Luciella now has caught up to their conversation.

In order to stop their imminent advent of becoming a Demon Lord, they needed Luciella's power to purify their curse before it's too late.

Laken, Eirisse, and Xenon are lucky because they are already beside her. Luciella was fortuitously able to prevent their demonic ascension. Now they needed to reunite with the remaining Revenants to help them conquer their curse.

"They are basically across the world, where do we start then?" When Laken asked what they should do, he originally answered his own question when Alisa gave him a hint.

She pointed out to the southern part of Archreverie which only one thing that comes out of their mind except for Luciella; it was the greatest artisan and weapon forger all across Arcadion.

"Now our target would be him? The Soulless Revenant." Laken perceived what he should do.

"According to my memory, he should be in Archreverie or Balakh Empire with his usual business creating weapons," Alisa presumes.

Without any doubt, Alisa enlightened them about what they should do first. Laken now takes the command and connect the things they should consider.

"It's a good thing we landed here in Archreverie. Our objectives will be to gather information concerning their current defense from the Nightbeasts and to secure Thalfeur, Soulless Revenant from the advent." Laken formulated the plan in which they all agreed.

During their meeting, Luciella still doesn't know what kind of person he is or why Alisa assumes he was in the Archreverie; that is why Laken and those who know him quite a bit have to explain things beforehand.

Laken tried his best from pulling out his memory of him. Thalfeur is a dragonkin, an ancient nature dragon who dwells on the south-east of Arcadion before civilization has arise.

He had his lover, also a dragonkin, in which his comrades don't know her name. They lived together in harmony, watching the rise and fall of nations and empires from time to time.

Until Thalfeur's lover, according to what he said when he was with Laken, one day disappeared from his side.

Driven by the loneliness, he turned his hobby of creating weapons into his sole job. He made weapons that are strong, but not enough to be called legendary weapons.

He wanted to create a sword that can surpass the Excaliber, Durandal, and other legendary armaments. Thalfeur kept failing up to this day and secluded himself around the area of Archreverie and Balakh Empire; the place where he met his partner.

Some say they always find broken blades around the outskirts, and no one has seen him ever again.

Laken seems to be eager to commence their plan when he heard Luciella's stomach grumbling from hunger. He knew it and saw it coming already so he checked their daily savings and swiped some gold coins from his waist belt pocket.

"Wait here everyone, I will buy us something to eat." Laken is being considerate and everyone agreed.

Luciella curled herself on the blanket and said, "I'm sorry for being a glutton!"

They all chortled and just let it be. It shows they needed to take a breather once in a while and appreciate what's on to their surroundings.

"Well, I also wanted to check the famous eyeglasses shop here in Archreverie, so mind giving me some golds pretty please?" Eirisse used her puppy eyes on Laken to get what she wants.

Laken is the only one who decides how should they spend the gold they got during their adventures.

The clanking metals reverberated in the room, Xenon won't let it be and changed his personality, "Changing attribute: frugal... I don't think that's a good idea. Your eyeglasses' frame is made out of hard alloys that lasts for years."

"Change that personality of yours into a good one! I wanted to see the current fashion!" Eirisse whined.

Laken doesn't want them to bicker anymore and simply gave Eirisse a handful of gold, "Be sure to return early, and Xenon, it won't hurt to spend our gold once in a while."

Eirisse jumped in delight and Xenon sulk on the corner of the room. Luciella and Alisa secretly smiled, they noticed how she can express herself for the better. Their camaraderie grows stronger each day as Luciella totally fitted in.

"Fine! I'll set up our carriage outside now," Xenon was the first one to leave the room so he could set up their merchant facade.

Laken dons his white mask and together with Eirisse, they went outside of the inn to buy necessities and needs.

The moment they left the premises, Laken noticed something unusual around the vicinity.

He didn't mind about it as he walked forward, and it was the time a mysterious silhouette from the window trailed Laken behind the shadows.