The squad leader fueled the Council amulet with mana and several Warp Steps lighted the darkness.
‘Where’s Solus?’ Tista and Phloria asked in unison with a mind link.
‘Home.’ Lith projected into their minds what he supposed had happened. Solus’s tower warping to the geyser outside Reghia and then reaching the city from there. ‘Do you want to go back to Zhen and tell Khalia’s parents what happened to her?’
The girls broke the mind link to not draw attention and simply shook their heads. Tista already felt the burden of the life she had taken; she didn’t have the strength to tell the merfolk that Khalia had died twice.
Once at the hands of the Kolgan and the second at her own.
Lith felt the life force that empowered his body slipping away again, making him worry that as long as he had cracks, not even Forbidden Magic could cure his condition.
The Council and the entirety of Jiera rejoiced at Kolga’s destruction, but Lith’s group had no desire to stay there a second longer. They refused the invitation to the celebratory banquet and went back to their building, finding the tower waiting for them.
Inside, Solus was back to having a deep cyan core and an energy body. Just like Lith, her cracked life force couldn’t keep anything she had gained from her stay in Kolga, and without a proper body, even her mana core was crippled.
The Hands of Menadion lay on the center of the table in the dining room, still free of imprint and waiting for a new master.
“I’m really sorry for your loss.” Phloria said to the other three.
She could tell from the black light in Lith’s eyes that Death Vision was back. Tista was on the verge of bursting into tears at the trauma of putting down an ally with her own hands.
Solus, instead, had lost all of her usual joy. Even though she had been a human being just for a few hours, it had been enough to get used to all the sensations that only a human body could give her.
She couldn’t help but feel as if a curse had turned her back into a puppet after she had finally become a real girl.
“Thanks.” They all said in unison.
“Where’s the crystal and why didn’t you imprint the Hands?” Lith had no wish to share his latest discovery about himself, even with Solus.
They both had their respective burden and by sharing it, they would only double their suffering.
Solus had a hard time accepting how much blood had been spilled because of her legacy and yet it was nothing compared to what would happen if the existence of the Hands was revealed, let alone that of the tower.
The two artifacts together were enough to trigger all the World Wars that Mogar had luckily avoided until that moment. As for Lith, meeting and losing Carl again had hurt him deeply. The discovery of being some kind of interdimensional Dracula only made his burden heavier.
“The crystal is safely stored in the tower’s mines.” Solus replied. “I’m curious to see if it can further evolve and if not, what are its effects upon the weaker crystals.”
She showed them a projection of the basement, where the Eye of Kolga encrusted in the wall spread white veins. Having been already cut, in theory the white crystal couldn’t grow, but they had no idea what the limits of the tower were or how white gemstones behaved.
“Also, I didn’t imprint the Hands of Menadion because it would have been pointless. Based on what Tista and Phloria have heard in Kolga, the Hands are a crutch for a towerless mage and all of my analysis seems to confirm it.
“Its power core is just a simplified version of my own. There’s nothing that the Hands can do that the tower isn’t likely to be capable of doing better.” Solus said.
“Are you sure?” Tista asked. “The Kolgan said that they planned to expand their empire from geyser to geyser.”
“Pretty sure.” Solus nodded. “It must have been propaganda to keep their morale high. I mean, Lith and I have traveled a lot and mana geysers aren’t that common. They are usually dozens if not hundreds of kilometers apart.
“The Hands cannot control world energy from such a distance. On top of that, my clash with Kolga’s King proved that the tower is superior to all of Mom’s other works by design.
“It proves that even in her naivety, my mother would have never crafted something that could be used against her or me. I might be wrong, but the only way to make sure would be to imprint the Hands and I’m not going to do it.
“I don’t want to add any more burden to my own and if I’m right, then not only would they be of no use to Lith and I, but the Hands would also be sealed forever since the only way to pass them unto someone would require me to die.”
Solus stored the Hands inside her pocket dimension, unwilling to see them any longer.
Tista walked to the door of her room, clinging to its handle as if it was a lifeline before asking:
“When do you think we can leave? I don’t care about seeing Jiera or learning how to fight anymore. I just want to go home.” For a moment, the smooth cold metal reminded her of Khalia’s skin the moment before Tista had beheaded her, making her shudder.
“Soon. I don’t care if I’ve learned my lesson, proven my wisdom, or accomplished whatever I was supposed to by coming here or not. I’m done with this place.” Lith went to his room and slammed the door behind him.
The others followed his lead, but with more grace.
‘He didn’t even take a glance at the white crystal nor did he share anything with Solus. Whatever has happened there, it must have been huge.’ Phloria stood still in the dining room alone, pondering what to do.
Three people needed help, yet there was only one of her.
“Do you mind if I come in?” Phloria asked while lightly knocking on the door that opened on its own.
“Do you need something?” Lith sat on his bed with a blank stare on his face and War in his hands.
The sheath of the blade had rarely been so thick and Phloria could swear that she could hear War humming with joy like a child after their own birthday party. Even though it was one of her father’s works, the angry blade always creeped her out.
“No. I just wanted to know if you need someone to talk to or if you’d just like some company.” Despite all that had happened between them after her Awakening, Phloria still felt that no bond that she shared with her companions was as deep as that she had with Lith.
Solus was a mystery to others as much as she was to herself while Tista had to learn how to walk on her own feet. Lith, on the other hand, had been unfazed by Kolga’s horrors and Khalia’s fate. Yet there he was now, as shaken as Tista.
