Chapter 1643 - 1643: You Did Die

Above the Commander's Residence in Fallen Star City, a dimensional rift suddenly opened. Ethan and Abyron flew out a moment later.

Abyron was carrying Dahlia, while Ethan had his poleaxe slung over his shoulder with five bodies skewered on it: the Vesari Patriarch, three Tier 47 Varkesh, and the Varkesh Patriarch. Every corpse was Tier 47 or higher.

Miles, Henry, and the others were waiting outside the Commander's Residence. They all froze at the sight.

"Ethan, what are you...?"

"My spatial storage ring was still with Miles, and I couldn't let all these Tier 47 corpses go to waste. This was my only option," Ethan said helplessly.

He turned to Miles.

"Speaking of which, how's the storage ring coming along?"

"It's done. Take a look."

Miles pulled out the ring and handed it over.

"That fast?" Ethan took it in surprise.

"Yeah. It wasn't actually that difficult. I'd seen this Spatial Binding Ritual Circle in the Ritual Circle Compendium before. Once I studied it for a bit, I figured out how to modify it," Miles said with a smile.

"..."

"Being a genius really is different," Ethan marveled.

Abyron stared at Miles like he was some kind of monster.

He knew better than anyone how difficult it was to create a spatial storage ring. Altering the internal space might be easier than making one from scratch, but it still shouldn't be something anyone could finish in a few days.

Just what kind of freak was this guy?

Ethan immediately inspected the ring's interior, and his eyes widened.

The ring had originally held only a little over a hundred cubic yards. Now its interior was nearly the size of two football fields.

"Did you transfer almost your entire pocket dimension into this?"

"Pretty much. I kept a little over a hundred cubic yards for myself to store important things," Miles said.

"This is... You're making me feel guilty for taking it."

Ethan paused.

"Anyway, thanks."

"Captain, there's no need for that between us."

"Besides, the space inside my pocket dimension can regenerate. It's slow, but it's renewable," Miles explained.

"Good. That makes me feel better." Ethan nodded. "Was this storage ring the surprise you mentioned?"

"No. There's an even bigger one."

Miles smiled, then turned to Abyron.

"Give Dahlia's body to Henry."

"Why?" Abyron asked in confusion.

Ethan immediately realized what Miles meant. He activated True Sight and examined Henry, his face lighting up.

"This really is one hell of a surprise."

He turned to Abyron.

"Give Dahlia to Henry."

"I... All right."

Abyron didn't understand, but he trusted Ethan. He carefully passed Dahlia's body to Henry.

"You can lay her on the ground," Henry said with a smile.

Abyron nodded and gently placed her flat on the ground, then watched Henry in confusion.

Henry's expression turned serious. A soft, milky-white light appeared in his hands.

The glow was bright but not harsh. It was gentle and soothing to look at.

The light flowed from Henry's palms and settled over Dahlia's body before slowly sinking into her.

Henry didn't stop. More and more of the milky-white light poured from his hands and entered her body.

Before long, Dahlia's deathly pale skin began to regain its color.

Everyone's eyes widened.

Even Ethan and Miles, who had already guessed what Henry could do, were stunned by the sight.

Bringing the dead back to life?

Calling that ability overpowered didn't even begin to cover it. It was absurd.

But no one reacted more strongly than Abyron.

His breathing quickened. His face flushed, and his entire body began to tremble.

By now, he understood exactly what Henry was doing.

He was resurrecting Dahlia.

This man could actually bring the dead back to life!

Even with all Abyron had seen in his long existence, the revelation left him numb with shock.

Just what kind of monsters made up the Fallen Star Squad?

As time passed, Dahlia's condition continued to improve. Warmth gradually returned to her cold body.

Soon, her chest began to rise and fall ever so slightly.

At that point, there was no longer any doubt.

Dahlia had truly come back to life.

A few moments later, one of her fingers twitched. Her eyelids fluttered, then slowly opened.

"Dahlia..."

Abyron started toward her in excitement, but something seemed to occur to him, and he abruptly stopped.

"I... didn't I die?" Dahlia looked around in confusion.

"You did," Ethan said. "But you're part of New Atlas now. Even death isn't enough to take one of ours."

Dahlia's eyes widened. She pinched her own cheek.

"Ow..."

"This isn't a dream?"

"I'm really alive again?"

"That's amazing!"

She jumped to her feet and bowed deeply to Ethan.

"Thank you, Commander!"

"You don't need to thank me. If we hadn't brought you back, Abyron would've died of grief," Ethan said with a smile.

"Really?" Dahlia turned to Abyron, her face lighting up.

"No," Abyron replied flatly. "We're even now. Don't ever do anything like that again. I don't need you to save me."

With that, he turned and walked away.

"...?"

Everyone stared after him in confusion.

Dahlia's face immediately fell.

Ethan shook his head, then leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Don't believe him. That guy talks tough, but he's a complete softie. You should've seen him after you died. He held you the whole time and refused to let go. He wouldn't even put you down to help me when I was getting beaten up."

"Really?" Dahlia still found it hard to believe.

That blockhead had held her and refused to let go?

"Of course. Why would I lie to you? He's just too stubborn to admit how worried he was. Keep at it. You'll win him over."

Ethan's matchmaking instincts were kicking in again.

He couldn't help it. Dahlia was a Tier 47 fighter. He couldn't let her get away.

"Okay! Thank you, Commander!"

Dahlia was instantly fired up again.

"I'm going after him!"

She took off after Abyron.

"Some guys have all the luck," Ethan muttered.

Mia gave him a sweet smile.

"Jealous, Captain?"

"Uh... never mind."

Ethan cleared his throat awkwardly and quickly turned to Henry to change the subject.

"Henry, that resurrection ability is incredible. It has restrictions, though, right?"

"Yeah. My Innate Ability evolved when I reached Stage SSS. It can resurrect any living being, but there are several limitations."

"First, they can't have been dead for more than twelve hours. Second, all vital parts of the body have to remain intact."

"For aliens, that usually means the head. For Outland Beasts, it's the crystal core. If anything like that is missing, I can't revive them."

"My regeneration ability can restore lost limbs, but it can't regrow a head," Henry explained.

"Got it." Ethan nodded. "Even with those restrictions, it's still ridiculously powerful. From now on, we'll have one more safeguard whenever we go into battle."

"Yeah."