Book 19 - Metamorphosis Chapter 63: Return

"Your mother?" The Chief Sovereign of Death gave Linley a surprised glance.

As the Chief Sovereign of Death saw it, it would've made sense if Linley had immediately wanted to locate his parents. To first search for his father...and then leave his mother for later.

"Wait a moment." The Chief Sovereign of Death shut her eyes.

Linley felt nervousness in his heart. "Mother...I've never before met my mother!" In Linley's memory, 'mother' was a word that was very distant from him. He had no recollections of that word in his mind. But Linley was able to see the parents of others, and occasionally would think of his own mother. What was his own mother like?

"Strange." The Chief Sovereign of Death opened her eyes, her cold, gloomy gaze falling on Linley's face.

"What is it?" Linley said hurriedly. Linley was worried about his mother; after all, compared to his father or his friends, when she was alive, she was very weak. Although her soul was very pure, her strength wasn't very great.

"You weren't able to find her?" The nearby Bebe couldn't help but feel worried for Linley.

The Chief Sovereign of Death just frowned, looking at Linley with some irritation. "Linley, are you trying to prank me?"

Linley didn't understand. He hurriedly said, "Sovereign, how would I dare prank you? Sovereign, please tell me, what is the situation with my mother? Is she undead? Regardless of whether she is alive or dead, please tell me directly." Linley felt nervous, but the look on the face of the Chief Sovereign of Death became even more unsightly.

"Hmph, Linley, your mother isn't dead at all, nor has she become an undead! And yet, you ask me to search for her?" A hint of a baleful look was in the eyes of the Chief Sovereign of Death.

Of course the Chief Sovereign of Death would feel irritated!

Linley had made a bet with her earlier; if Linley's mother was dead, then at least the Chief Sovereign of Death had a chance for winning the bet. But if Linley's mother wasn't even dead, how could the Chief Sovereign of Death possibly find her? If his mother was alive, and yet Linley asked the Chief Sovereign of Death to search for her...then that meant Linley was just toying with her!

"My mother isn't dead?" Linley couldn't believe it.

The nearby Bebe stared, wide-eyed. "Not dead? No way. That King of Fenlai said it himself. It shouldn't be false."

"Your mother isn't dead." The Chief Sovereign of Death had a dark look on her face. "Or, she might have died with her soul being destroyed as well. One thing is for certain; your mother's soul isn't in the Netherworld at all, nor has she transformed into an undead. There is a record in the Netherworld Heart of every single person who was transformed into an undead. There's no way it wouldn't find her if she was here!"

Linley frowned.

What sort of status did the Chief Sovereign of Death have? There was no way she would lie! And yet, his mother clearly had passed away. What was going on?

"Sovereign." Linley hurriedly said. "My mother did indeed pass away long ago. Based on my investigations, when my mother died, her soul was offered by the Radiant Church of a material plane to the 'Radiant Sovereign', the Chief Sovereign of Light. The Chief Sovereign of Light is a Chief Sovereign; would he care about a common soul? Is it possible that the soul would actually be transferred through the planes to the Divine Light Plane?"

Linley didn't believe this at all.

The Chief Sovereign of Death, upon hearing this, completely understood. She gave Linley a cold glance. "If things transpired as you stated, then your mother's soul should indeed have gone to the Divine Light Plane. It is under the complete control of the Chief Sovereign of Light, now. In short, her soul isn't under my control."

"The Divine Light Plane?" Linley was frantic. He said, "Is there any way for me to bring my mother back?"

"Impossible!"

The Chief Sovereign of Death said this with absolute certainty. "All the souls collected by the Chief Sovereign of Light will never regain their free will. I will tell you this...the Angels of the Divine Light Realm are completely loyal to the Sovereigns of Light; there is no way they will ever be disloyal. Even if you find the Angel which your mother was transformed into, there is no way she will return."

"Angels?" Linley knew a few things about these Angels.

The Angels were a powerful military race controlled by the Sovereigns of Light. According to the legends, the Sovereigns created the Angels, and although they were intelligent, they were described as 'human-shaped war machines'. His mother had become an Angel?

"Why else would the Sovereigns of Light collect pure souls? The purpose is to strengthen their Angel Armies." The Chief Sovereign of Death snickered.

"There's no way for me to bring my mother back?" Linley didn't understand.

"Reincarnated undead at least have their freedom. But Angels..." The Chief Sovereign of Death glanced sideways at Linley. "Linley, you have heard of 'Deathgod Golems', human-shaped weapons of war, yes? Angels are a bit more special than Deathgod Golems; they have their own intelligence, after all. But there is one thing that they share; Angels will never betray their masters, the Sovereigns of Light. In addition, given the temper of the Chief Sovereign of Light? Forget about you; even if other Sovereigns personally visited him and asked him to give one of his Angels freedom, it still wouldn't be very likely."

Hearing this, Linley's heart sank.

The Chief Sovereign of Light was a Chief Sovereign, after all!

"Is there anything else? If there is nothing else, I am going to leave." The Chief Sovereign of Death said calmly.

Linley didn't think about it any longer, hurriedly saying, "There's one more thing I would like to ask about."

"You really are a lot of trouble." The Chief Sovereign of Death nodded slightly. "Speak, then." The Chief Sovereign of Death's attitude towards Linley was clearly much better now than back on the Abyssal Mountain. Clearly, Linley's becoming a 'Paragon' had improved her view of him greatly. This was only normal...Sovereigns generally admired people who were able to become Paragons.

After all, becoming a Sovereign was a matter of fate and luck.

But Paragons? That was a matter of true skill and ability.

"I'd like to ask, if a person's soul is dissipated, is there any way to bring that person back to life?" Linley said nervously. The nearby Bebe couldn't help but glance at Linley. "For Boss to discuss this...he must be thinking about Grandpa Doehring." Bebe knew very well how deep Linley's affection for Doehring Cowart was.

The Chief Sovereign of Death chuckled. "Are you joking? Once a person's soul is dissipated, that person is definitely dead. How can that person be brought back?"

"Oh..." That final hint of hope in Linley's heart was shattered.

He hadn't held much hope to begin with, just a tiny bit of it.

The Chief Sovereign of Death raised an eyebrow, and then a hint of a smile appeared on her face. "Actually, Linley, there might be one small chance for a person whose soul was dissipated to come back to life."

"Eh?" Linley's eyes suddenly turned bright and sharp, and he stared fixedly at the Chief Sovereign of Death. "Sovereign, what method is that?"

The Chief Sovereign of Death was startled by the look in Linley's eyes, but her amusement only grew. "A person whose soul is dissipated will definitely die. This is the view of the Sovereigns. But according to legend, the 'Overgod of Life' is the personification of the Edicts of Life; she, herself, is the Edict of Life. The way the universe functions is controlled by the Edicts. I'm not able to save a person whose soul was dissipated...but perhaps the Overgod of Life is."

"Right. Right." Linley couldn't help but feel filled with excitement. "The functioning of the universe is controlled by the Edicts. The Overgod of Life, as a personification of the Edicts, would definitely be able to save that person."

"This is just my opinion. I'm not an Overgod. I can't be completely certain as to whether an Overgod can save such a person or not." The Chief Sovereign of Death laughed calmly. "However, as I see it, Overgods are completely omnipotent. It would appear that there is nothing in the boundless universe which they cannot accomplish. They are the Edicts, after all!"

This was just a guess of the Chief Sovereign of Death, but this guess was something Linley felt was plausible!

The Overgod of Life had control over life; perhaps rescue truly was possible.

"I have no more time to waste here with you." The Chief Sovereign of Death said calmly. "The six people you mentioned are all spread out throughout the Netherworld. I will arrange for them to be brought to the Abyssal Mountain. You should now make haste to the Abyssal Mountain...and reunite with your family and friends." As soon as these words were spoken...

The Chief Sovereign of Death's body disappeared, the energy returning to the world.

This was just an energy clone, after all.

Linley and Bebe looked at each other.

"Boss, congratulations." Bebe chortled.

Linley was all smiles. All of Linley's doubts had been resolved upon hearing this news from the Chief Sovereign of Death. His father and friends were able to return...and as for his mother, she had become an Angel of the Divine Light Plane. As for Grandpa Doehring, perhaps if he were able to meet the Overgod of Life, Linley would be able to ask for him to be revived.

This slender hope filled Linley with will and energy!

"Everything will work out." Linley said quietly to himself.

"Bebe, let's go. We'll go to the Abyssal Mountain." Linley didn't want to stay here at Flamebone Mountain. He immediately left with Bebe, and then entered their metallic lifeform, quickly advancing towards the Abyssal Mountain.

The Netherworld. Northbone Prefecture. The lair of the bandits of the eighteen mountain ranges. One of the mountain ranges.

Dark clouds swirled in the air above like a black dragon, covering the night sky. The bloody, devilish moon could faintly be seen.

George was currently seated before the window to his room, his head raised as he stared towards the eerie, bloody moon.

"The wealth I have accumulated should be enough to buy a house within the city." George was musing to himself. "More importantly, I need to find a chance to go to the city. Right...three months later, a caravan will be sent to the city to sell off some things that we've robbed. Three months from now, then!"

This entire time, George had been slowly, unhurriedly waiting. Although he was a steward for these bandits, in charge of dividing up the wealth, George didn't dare to embezzle too much. Still, having spent so many years as an official, he was in charge of the wealth for these experts, most of whom only knew how to train and to kill but knew nothing about financial management. Thus, it was a fairly relaxed position for him. Over the years...the bandits had become quite fond of George.

As they saw it, this steward was generous and kind, and divided things up fairly. Everyone agreed with his judgments.

Suddenly...

"Twelfth Bro!" A bellow echoed out.

"Who is it?" George frowned, immediately heading to the living room.

Quite a few people emerged from within the castle. The leader of this mountain branch, a big, bald fellow, strode out as well. "Hey, Boss. What's the rush?" As he spoke, he took his guards to go welcome the person. He could tell that the speaker was the chief of the eighteen mountain ranges.

The light of the eerie, bloody-red moon seemed to cover the entire mountain range with a layer of blood.

"Twelfth Bro, hurry up!" A deep voice echoed.

George was behind the big, bald fellow. By now, George also recognized the bearded dwarf who arrived, alongside a violet-robed, golden-haired man. The bearded dwarf was the chief of their eighteen mountain ranges, 'Kleopatra'. "Who is the person next to the chief?" George was rather puzzled. How was it that there was a person amongst their ranks he didn't recognize, and yet held a high rank?

"The person next to me is the Seven Star Specter, Lord Beverly [Be'wei'li]." The bearded dwarf said.

The bald man immediately bowed. "Milord."

The violet-robed, golden-haired man gave him a calm glance, but then his gaze fell upon George who stood behind the bald man. George, seeing this, was secretly shocked. "Why is this Seven Star Specter staring at me?" As George saw it, an expert on the level of a Seven Star Specter was definitely one of the supreme experts of the Netherworld.

"You are George, yes?" The violet-robed, golden-haired man said calmly.

"Uh...yes." George was shocked.

"In your previous life, did you come from the Yulan Plane?" A rare hint of a smile appeared in the eyes of the violet-robed, golden-haired man.

George was stunned, but he still nodded in acknowledgment.

"Very good. Follow me." The violet-robed man said.

"Milord Beverly, dare I ask, why are you taking George away?" The bald man said hurriedly. He had been very satisfied with George being his steward over these many years; George carried out all tasks fastidiously, making it so that he hadn't had to worry about anything. He truly didn't want to let George leave.

The violet-robed man couldn't help but frown.

"Twelfth Bro." The big bearded dwarf couldn't help but bark in rebuke.

"Chief, let me follow him." George felt grateful to the bald man for standing up for him right now, but he also knew that the request of a Seven Star Specter was something which these bandits wouldn't dare refuse.

"George..." The bald man looked at him, then slapped George on the shoulders.

George squeezed out a smile as well, but his heart was filled with a sour feeling. "I had prepared for so many years. We were about to go to the city...why did this person suddenly appear to take me away? It's hard to predict what will happen on this trip. By the looks of it, my reunion with Third Bro and the others will become even more difficult."

"Don't worry, this isn't a bad thing for you." The violet-robed, golden-haired man gave him a sidelong glance, then said calmly, "The Sovereign made these arrangements."

"The Sovereign?"

George and the surrounding people were shocked.

"You. Follow me." The violet-robed man looked at George and spoke in a calm voice.

"Yes." George didn't dare to disobey, but in his heart, he was utterly mystified. "I'm just a minor figure. Why would I attract the interest of a Sovereign to the point of sending someone for me?" George didn't understand, but all he could do was follow this Seven Star Specter and depart.