SURPRISE ALLIES (2)

Marshall waved his hand in dismissal, feeling irritated by the comments. The last thing he had wanted was to be called sick. "I'm not," he retorted.

A midnight-colored fabric flashed by his eyes as Lai Rylan reached to check his forehead. "No, I think you might have a fever."

"Oh, come on," Marshall pulled his hand away by the sleeve. "It's probably because I had apple cider earlier today. Must be the remaining heat from the alcohol."

"How much did you drink?" Lai Rylan interrogated, eyeing the disciple skeptically.

Marshall drove them him away, dispersing the group. "It doesn't matter. That's not the important thing right now."

"I second that." Calla Akeya, who had been silent during the break, jumped back into the business. "There is something else we need to discuss regarding Lord Chioni."

She exchanged a glance with Wyn before disclosing, "As you must know, Lord Chioni has been using demons to further his own goals. The reason why he framed you might be a sensitive topic, so prepare yourself. Now, I will put it bluntly—he seeks your body."

Marshall's eyebrows high-fived in bewilderment. "My body?"

"Yes," Calla Akeya confirmed. "There has been a prophecy beseeching that the person who succeeds at merging spiritual and demonic energies will become the next sovereign. Lord Chioni is aware that a strong demonic entity possessed you when you were a child."

The disciple wasn't following. "Hold on, but what does he need my body for?"

"To possess it and use it for himself. The spiritual flow is connected to the body. A developed spiritual flow will not allow any demonic energy to enter the core, so Lord Chioni is unable to infuse his body with demonic energy. One solution to that is to find a body that already has demonic energy in it."

A cold chill ran down Marshall's spine. Calla Akeya sure had great detachment, she said it so plainly. 

She continued, "Lord Chioni is responsible for preserving the dead bodies of the officials and high-level offenders in the short term. He would have full access to your body after your execution."

Marshall slowly paced around, his friend's gazes following him. "So that's what he wanted from the start? To have me dead so he could steal my body?"

"Correct," Calla Akeya affirmed, her expression remaining flat.

"But," he shook his head. "What if he never got to my body now that I'm away from the tower? What if I died and my remains were never found?"

Calla Akeya kept her formal coolness, elaborating, "Once you would have been executed, your body would have been brought back to the Chastity Tower for inspection. It is included in the customs of execution warrants—the body must be brought back to the tower."

An imagined scene flashed before his eyes. His body being carried back like a lifeless doll, subjected to be used by another. It felt as if his soul momentarily left him at the thought.

"All right. We covered the main topics. That is all for today," Calla Akeya announced with a clap, snapping Marshall out of it. She gathered Lai Rylan and Sun Hayden around. "The next meeting is in five days. Right now, we must return to the Chastity Tower."

As the three of them stepped towards the exit, Sun Hayden gave Marshall a hug, playfully swaying around in an uplifting gesture. "Keep your head up! We'll be back next week, and I'll bring some cinnamon buns!"

He nodded at Sun Hayden, then at Lai Rylan, and watched as the heavy door of the castle slid shut behind them with a clang. Once they were gone, he let out a long sigh, scanning the hall for a place to sit down.

Wyn followed him, noting, "They leave the tower under the guise of patrolling the distant territories. Due to the long trip from the Chastity Tower to Tainia river, the meetings are rather short and rare."

Marshall hummed to acknowledge the snow deity while looking for something that could work as a blanket. He settled on an old, moth-eaten tapestry hanging loosely from the wall. It wasn't much, but it would do.

He tore it off and wrapped the worn tapestry around his shoulders, trying to ward off the persistent chill that clung to him after the unsettling revelations. The frayed edges scratched against his chin, making him frown slightly.

Wyn kept quiet for a while, but it felt as if he saw right through the disciple. "Do not overthink it right now. We can discuss it tomorrow properly."

Marshall scoffed softly. "Can you blame me? It's not every day you find out someone wants to steal your body after you're dead."

The snow deity's mouth twitched. He said firmly, "I will not let that happen."

The disciple sank down onto a dusty bench by the wall. "The part about me dying or my body getting stolen?" he quipped half-heartedly.

The snow deity shot him a chiding look. "Both."

"Well, I wasn't planning to die either," Marshall kept the joke going. "Good thing we have the same objectives, eh?"

No response followed, and the words faded into the distant patter of water echoing through the castle halls. It must have started raining.

Marshall shifted to lie down, facing the wall, "Alright, see you tomorrow."

His head rested on the bench in a somewhat awkward position, but that subtle discomfort wasn't enough to keep him awake. As soon as he stilled, he was pulled into a distant dream of a memory, far away from the present.