Chapter 77: The Prince’s Scheme (1)
"What do you mean by that?" Lloyd frowned in confusion. "So, he wasn’t after my body? Does that make Alford a victim too?"
"I may have phrased that poorly," Karnak admitted, scratching the back of his head. "He was after your body, but it wasn’t out of desire."
What Karnak had uncovered from Detzras’s soul was this. Prince Alford’s plan involved using necromancy to swap bodies with Lloyd, but temporarily.
"He never intended to make the change permanent in the first place."
That was why Lloyd, now trapped in Alford’s body, had been carefully locked away.
"Since he planned to return to his original body eventually, he had to keep it safe in the meantime."
Furthermore, Alford had discovered a way to reverse the swap.
"It doesn’t even require a necromancer."
Karnak pulled a small brooch from his coat, its center inlaid with a black gemstone, and continued, "This cursed gem is called the Soul of the Departed. It serves as the medium for the soul changeling ritual."
To lift the curse, the gem needed to be placed under the light of a full moon, then anointed with fresh blood from Alford's current body.
"Does it have to be this body? Can’t we use blood from my original body?" Lloyd asked.
"The curse’s beneficiary is you, Prince Lloyd," Karnak explained. "That makes your current body the curse’s subject."