"Ember ?. Wake up..." Danny said while fanning Ember with a piece of paper. He managed to drive Technus away from the city of Endsville. When Danny checked on his boyfriend, he encountered the grim reaper.
Fortunately, as Danny's soul was intact and never reaped before, the encounter with grim reaper didn't affect him at all. Unlike Danny, Ember's soul was reaped before at the time of his death as a rock star. As such, the second encounter with grim reaper brought ill effects for Ember.
"Huh... Danny... ?".
It took awhile before Ember regained himself. His blurred vision slowly came to focus as the spinning sensation inside his head decreases.
"Took you awhile, man" Came a thick Jamaican accent.
"Huh ?" Ember tilted his head toward the origin of the voice. Then came a shriek as Ember spotted that gleaming skull under the black hood he saw earlier. "GRIM REAPER !". With that Ember's trip to the world of consciousness just got delayed as he fainted again.
"Oookay, Mr. Reaper, you better keep your distance from him..." Said Danny. Was this an anime, he would have developed a huge sweatdrop.
AN HOUR LATER...
"Thanks for waking me up to see the Grim Reaper, Danny..." Ember growled as he crossed his hands. He finally woke up an hour later after the shock of his life.
"Sorry..." Danny said sheepishly while scratching the back of his head. "I've explained Mr. Reaper here about your... Well, our conditions".
"Mister Reaper...?" Ember can't help but to snicker.
"Call me Grim, will you man..." Grim Reaper sulked. "I never thought to see you alive again" He said while looking at Ember.
"Blame the Ghost Overlord for that..."
"The Overlord ?. The one that brought chaos to the ghost zone ?" Grim looked troubled by the revelation.
"None other" Ember nodded.
"This is worse than I thought" Grim scowled.
"You know him ?"
"Of course I do... He was an ancient wizard way before my time... A very powerful one too... He used to be called as The White Wizard by many and as Saruman The White by some".
"So that's the Overlord's real name... Saruman".
"Um... Surely he's not that bad, right ?" Danny piped in.
"You'd say that because you never see him..." Said Ember.
"Why don't we pay the guy a visit ?".
"I suppose we could... When was the last time you entered the ghost zone, Danny ?" "Umm... Months before I met you as Halfa".
"No wonder you knew nothing about him...". Ember turned his attention toward Grim reaper. "One more thing, Grim..." He shuddered as he mention the name. "I was wondering if you know something about the nightmares I've been having lately".
"Oh yes I do... It wasn't just a nightmare..." Grim paused and took a deep breath. "You possess an incredible power... Greater than any known ghost in existence. But ultimately there's price to be paid at the end".
"Lemme guess... My soul ?".
"Yes... But not for me... Should your power be unleashed, your soul will be consumed by your own demonic self" Grim paused. "In other word, you'll go berserk if your full power is unleashed and honestly, I don't know how to prevent that".
"What kind of power ?" Ember asked. He looked extremely troubled.
"Remember when you were a full ghost ?"
Ember replied with a nod.
"What happened if people starts chanting your name... ?".
It was a shocking revelation for Ember. Now he understand the nightmares. It was his own repressed memory and will trying to resurface and break the Overlord's curse.
"His power will multiply whenever the crowds starts chanting his name when you're a ghost... So I guess that this ability still exists ?" Danny asked Grim who was in turn, replied with a nod.
"The more people chant, the stronger you'll become... But your control over your dark personality also diminished" Grim looked at Ember. "You'll be a loose cannon and there's no stopping you until someone... Well, kill you..."
Ember gulped. He found the answer to his nightmares and what could be an ultimate weapon against the Overlord. But it was not to his liking. Ember heaved a deep sigh and at loss for words.
"That's why I'd rather not explain it to you" A voice with thick German accent boomed, accompanied by a thick puff of smoke.
"Jorgen Von Strangle..." Grim nodded at the muscular figure.
"Grim Reaper..." Jorgen nodded in return.
"What should I do... ?" Ember looked at Danny.
"You can't defeat the Overlord by yourself. Even with Danny on your side, the two of you aren't strong enough... Only Halfas can defeat the Overlord because Halfas are the only creature that can go trough the Overlord's defensive shield and fight him" Jorgen explained.
"Shield ?" Ember looked at Jorgen. He got a very bad feeling that the situation just became worse.
"Yes... The Overlord has erected a barrier around his stronghold and no ghost can pass trough it. But a Halfa can simply transform to their human form and walk trough the barrier".
"Ugh... There goes my plan of uniting ghosts against the Overlord" Ember deposited himself on the ground as his head aches. His grand scheme was just ruined by the new development.
"So... I think we know who we can approach and ask for assistance" Said Danny as he took over Ember's spot in the discussion. "But I can only think of two other Halfas around" He paused. "There's my cousin Danielle and..." Danny twitched. "Vlad Plasmius...".
"And to prevent the Overlord from rising again, I must destroy his soul completely" Said Grim Reaper as he summoned his scythe to his hand. "This scythe is the only thing in the known universe that can destroy a soul completely".
"But you're powerless inside the Ghost Zone, Reaper" Jorgen voiced his concern.
"I might be, but my scythe isn't... Just one hack with it and the Overlord will be gone forever, but only if he was severely weakened..." Grim reached for his robe and produced a gleaming red crystal orb. Gently he placed the crystal into Danny's hand. "You can summon me with this crystal. Just call my name into the crystal and I'll be there".
"Wow... Thanks" Danny smiled as he took the orb. He examined it briefly before tucking it into his pocket.
"And do call me often when you're doing ghost hunt... I'm bored and stuck with a total moron and a sadistic little girl in this place... Ghost hunting would do me good so I can vent my frustration".
"Heh... That Billy and Mandy kid, Grim ?" Jorgen snickered.
"Yes man... Those two were absolute nightmares".
"You haven't met the worse fairy ever existed..." Jorgen sighed.
"Cosmo, right ?".
"That idiot wiped the town of Vesuvius, sunk the Atlantis and destroy Xanadu faster than you could possibly imagined".
"So he caused all of my overworks...".
"Guys... If you don't mind, we're going home" Ember said as he transformed into his ghost form.
"Yeah, I'm tired" Danny yawned.
The two Halfas levitated into the sky, waved goodbye at Jorgen and Grim before darting off toward Amitypark.
"So Grim... Tell me... What chance do they have... ?" Jorgen looked at the bony figure.
"Slim to none... But they're our best hope to stop the Overlord".
"If they failed then every realm existed will fell into chaos as the Overlord claims it as his own".
THE END OF CHAPTER VII.