Matoya shook her head, but not in denial of his query. "You are mistaken. The tree does not return the dead. It is a flaw of Garland's magic. That tree exists to prevent the souls from cycling back to the source of life. This manifests in what this world calls Mist. Those who have returned to the living were blocked from returning to this world's source of life, and having no other place to go, reanimate. Once all the souls have been blocked from the Crystal, Garland will fill it with the souls of the dead world you saw."

She fell silent, staring into her dark crystal, pondering what answer she should give him. His friend could well return, but given the instability of the flawed spells, there was no guarantee, only possibilities. And even should the youth return to the living, he would never be whole once more. The restoration of those who had passed was unnatural and should in no wise be encouraged or thought of as a good thing. "Knowing that his return fulfills Garland's purposes for this world, is this still what you wish?"