Yarlyn took his time pacing over before his eyes curved with joy at Darius. “Long time no see, Darius.”

Edward took several steps backward before realization hit him, and his mouth rounded into a big O-shape. He pointed a trembling finger at Yarlyn, stuttering, “Y-You’re…”

“Didn’t think it would take you this long to realize who I am.” Laughter rumbled from Shelvin’s throat. He placed his hands behind his back while walking toward Darius and sighing deeply.

“Yarlyn Weiss sacrificed his life. He condensed his remaining black, gaseous life force and used it to heal you, Darius. However, you said you didn’t need it and stopped him. At the time, he still had a slight chance of retracting his life force to survive, but he gave it up—because he was more than ready to die when you first asked for his name. At that point, he’d decided he didn’t want to continue living in torment. Thus, when you said you didn’t need his life force, he immediately transferred it and every last drop of his stre