Death no longer held its conventional meaning for him. After his father had passed from the world, Lyon became all the more determined to override the barrier between the living and the dead. After his fair amount of magical tinkering, he discovered that the veil that separated the two to be surprisingly delicate. It turned as malleable as putty when put to craft by his intentions.
Thus, Ephraim’s corpse -- which would harried the Lyon of old with much woe -- simply proved a challenge that his magical prowess could easily combat. He imbued the inert body with life just as he had done with his late father’s, and the lady, Monica. That process had been simple; it was instilling the former intelligence and ability to speak that proved more difficult. Ephraim could only muster a few words at a time, and his gait was less of a walk than it was a clumsy shambling.
Lyon had dubbed this a mounting inconvenience, for no matter the time he had dedicated to righting the state of the corpse, it stalwartly resisted his every effort to make it live. True, he has effortlessly revived it, but its liveliness was akin to an imbecile’s. He had worked tirelessly, unyielding, to make certain his friend lived again. When he finally could show some semblance of effort -- intelligence by virtue of recognition of certain persons -- the very person Ephraim reacted the most to shrunk away from his gaze.
“Eirika,” Lyon said, his voice impossibly soft, as though she had balked away from a prospect that he was trying to goad her towards. “That’s quite rude of you to run. Ephraim has valued you even in death. See how his eyes deliberate on you? He recognizes you. Had he the strength, he’d embrace you.”
“Oh, look at that! He’s moving his lips. He hasn’t tried to speak until now, don’t you know? You’re having an effect on him, Eirika. Try talking to him. I’m sure you’ve much to say to him.”