Chapter 838 Restore Souls and Save the Lost Elves
The team, with a renewed sense of purpose, began to inspect the pods and cages. Elijah, with his knowledge of poisons and antidotes, examined the state of the transformed elves. Mia used her ice powers to carefully break open the pods without causing harm to the captives inside. As each pod opened, the team was met with a mix of relief and concern.
Some of the elves were still unconscious, showing signs of the dark corruption that had taken hold of them. Others were slowly regaining consciousness, their eyes filled with confusion and fear. It was evident that the transformation had left a lasting impact on them.
Aelrinder, his demeanor calm but determined, approached the transformed elves. He extended his hands, and a gentle golden light enveloped each of them. The celestial energy seemed to penetrate the dark influence, causing a subtle change in the elves' expressions. The fear and confusion in their eyes began to fade, replaced by a sense of recognition.
"They are still under the influence of whatever that monster had done, but my powers can suppress it for now," Aelrinder announced. "We need to take them to the Queen. She might have the knowledge to fully cleanse them."
"The ones that were already changed are different, I can't turn them back, and I don't know if they will regain consciousness later, we should chain them and up bring them back with us, only Her Majesty will know for certain what can be done.
Reign nodded in agreement, and the team worked together to transport the transformed elves back to their headquarters.
The red elves that were chained up with mana restraining chains woke up midway and immediately started struggling and resisting. Their eyes turned wild as they growled like wild animals.
"It seems like without that thing to control them, they have lost their sanity," Aelrinder said as he clenched his hands into fists.
The elves they stumbled upon in the territory were not his own people, but they were still elves, they were his own race, just seeing them being held in those pods and turned into these kinds of monstrosities was enough to make his blood boil.
"We'll have to hope that the Queen knows what to do, even with my soul manipulation, I can't help them, their souls have been changed by something, but most of the soul is still fine, the changed part, however, is still a part of them, I could sever it, but that would definitely bring some side-effects." Reign said with a sigh.
"Loss of memory, a slight change in their behavior, increased or lessened aggression, lowered potential, the list goes on and on, after all, cutting out a piece of a soul is never a simple thing that can be done without any issues."
Aelrinder nodded at Reign, fully aware of the danger that was present when it came to manipulating souls like that.
The team made their way back to the Elven Queen's palace, the transformed elves still restrained and showing signs of inner turmoil. The journey was somber, the weight of their recent victory mingling with the uncertainty of how to help those who had been affected by the Umbraeth's dark influence.
Upon reaching the palace they quickly made their way to the Queen. Reign and the others, being the leaders of the territory, didn't need to wait to meet with the Queen, and neither did Aelrinder, the commander of the royal guards.
They entered the tree and quickly made their way up. No matter how many times they entered the tree, they would always be left amazed by the powerful spatial formations placed inside it, making the tree many times larger inside than what it looked like from the outside.
Eldar's castle had similar formations, but they were not as drastic as the castle was already quite large.
Upon entering the large room atop the tree, they met with the Queen who was seemingly waiting for them. The team explained the situation, detailing the battle and the aftermath.
The Queen listened intently, her expression a mix of concern and determination. "You have done well in defeating the Umbraeth and cleansing the territory. However, the plight of these elves is a grave matter. We must act swiftly to find a solution."
She motioned for the transformed elves to be brought forward. Aelrinder, his celestial powers still resonating, approached them. The Queen observed as he extended his hands, channeling golden light to envelop the afflicted elves. The room filled with serene energy as Aelrinder focused on suppressing the dark influence within them.
"Their souls bear the scars of the Umbraeth's corruption," Aelrinder explained to the Queen. "I can temporarily suppress the effects, but a more permanent solution is needed."
The Queen nodded solemnly. "I have knowledge of ancient remedies, but this is a unique situation. The Umbraeth's influence runs deep, and its methods are something I have not come across before. We must consult the archives and seek guidance from our most skilled healers and scholars."
As the team and the Queen delved into the archives, poring over ancient texts and manuscripts, they discovered references to similar incidents in the distant past. Tales of creatures like the Umbraeth, capable of twisting the very essence of beings to serve their dark purposes, were scattered throughout elven history.
One particular text spoke of a legendary healer who had confronted a similar menace centuries ago. The healer, known as Elandra, possessed unparalleled knowledge of soul manipulation.
She came long before the Queen, and even though she was not a Transcendent like the Queen, she was a powerful healer who had spent many years researching all kinds of illnesses, curses, and afflictions.
The Queen read the text, and upon seeing the name Umbraeth appear in it, she and the rest knew they got what they wanted.
"This is … a bit troublesome." The queen said as she sighed before looking at the elves.
"Those that have not been fully changed are not hard to heal even for you, for me it is even simpler." The Queen said as she glanced at the text once more before extending her palm to the elves.
Magic circles suddenly appeared in front of her hand, and then around the elves and the room as well.
In an instant, radiant energy started coming out of the magic circles, bathing the afflicted elves in it, causing them to groan slightly in pain, before groaning in relief soon after as the affliction was gone.
"My knowledge over the soul and how to control soul power is not as deep as Elandra's was, so even though she has written everything down, it is not easy to follow it, take a look." The Queen said as she gave the text to Reign.
The text was written in a language that Reign did not understand, but with the help of the system, he was able to translate it right away and read it.
His expression also changed as he read what was needed to heal the changed elves, well, it wasn't truly healing them as they would indeed lose a part of their souls, but a small part that shouldn't cause them to suffer from many changes.
Because the affliction had entered their souls, the only way to save them was to use soul power, but Reign would need to be patient and slowly do everything, the problem was that the precision needed for such a thing was perhaps out of his reach right now.
'Can you do it?'
"Of course I can do it boy, who the hell do you think you're talking to?!" Aethion scoffed before looking at the elves that were changed.
"The way that thing leaves a mark and changes them is quite different from how we Necromancers take over the bodies of the dead, but truly powerful Necromancers have a way of taking over those that are alive as well, changing their souls and turning their bodies into corpses while they are still alive."
"A body without a soul and a body with a soul are very different things, those with a soul have more potential and there are many Necromancers that will take souls with them so they can plant them in bodies that seem to hold great power in it."
"The way they use those souls and change them is a bit reminiscent of this but still different."
"Anyway, we don't have to worry about a thing, we have the instructions with us, taking care of this won't be that difficult, it will just take some time, so let's start."
"This will also be a good opportunity for you as well, watch and learn a master at play kid, you might pick up a thing or two from it," Aethion said smugly as Reign scoffed inside before moving toward the elves.
"I can do it, but I'm not certain how many I can heal at a time, let me try with one first, even if I fail, I can promise that no real damage will be done to any of them." Reign said as he crouched in front of one red elf that was growling at him.
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