Even though he didn’t have a twin to practice with, he had the best next thing.
Thanks to Solus’s Monocle form, he and Tista could share a perfect mind link. On top of that, as long as they were inside the tower, the power core relieved them from most of the burden that the artifact inflicted upon their minds.
After teaching Tista Xenagrosh’s technique, Lith had devised for his sister and himself the following routine. While he trained, Tista would study him with the Eyes of Menadion so as to spot his mistakes and keep his life force in check.
Once Lith’s condition neared the critical point, she would stop him and then the three of them would revise the footage together. This way, Tista wouldn’t make his same mistakes when it was her turn to practice and the siblings would both learn twice as fast than if they were alone.
The practice of Origin Flames took a huge toll on their bodies, forcing Lith to rest as Salaark wanted and giving Tista an excuse to rest from her hellish training.
“I don’t get why this is supposed to be a vacation for you and a near-death experience to me.” Tista said while using water magic to guide a tonic down her throat.
Her Red Demon form was lipless like a Tiamat and she had still a hard time drinking without spilling her beverages everywhere.
“Because I’m amazing for an Awakened of my age whereas you are a couch potato.” Lith laughed at her expense.
“It’s not funny! I’m not going to apologize for having a quiet life after years of suffering from the Strangler.” Tista replied with a scoff. “Too bad that Phoenixes don’t care for sob stories nor do they pull their punches.”
“The training would be pointless if they did.” Lith shrugged. “Besides, they want us to join the nest, but they have no need for weaklings. I can’t wait to go on a mission with Sinmara to learn a few techniques and spells from her.”
“Yeah, Solus told me a lot about how amazed you were by her ‘assets’.” Now it was Tista’s turn to laugh, making Lith’s red-veined feathers turn brighter in embarrassment.
“Thanks, Solus.” He said while hiding his face behind his hands. “Gods, I don’t know what it’s worse. If making a fool out of myself in front of one of the most powerful creatures of the Desert or being comprised of faulty parts.”
“I’m sorry. I’m not used to hiding anything from either of you.” Solus turned in her humanoid form to apologize. “Besides, I don’t know how many times do I have to tell you that I don’t think that Aalejah is right.”
“What do you mean?” Tista asked.
“I mean that being Lith the first perfect fusion between the Phoenix and Dragon bloodlines, it’s no wonder that we have no idea what his powers are. On top of that, if his beast side really was a lesser species, you wouldn’t be this strong, Tista.
“Unlike him, you have no Abomination side, only the human and the beast. If my hypothesis is correct, you have all of Lith’s powers except for those he derives from the Abomination.” Solus said.
“I’m not strong.” Tista sighed. “I’m still just a Wyrmling and aside from Origin Flames, I have no powers.”
“Just like me when I had a blue core.” Lith said to console her.
“There’s one thing that I wanted to ask you.” She replied. “Why didn’t you ever try to turn into a full Dragon or Phoenix while you were still a hybrid? Maybe it would have helped you to discover what bloodline powers you possess.”
“I couldn’t.” Lith shook his head. “For a long time, I had no idea what bloodline my beast side belonged to and after I did, I couldn’t risk compromising the balance that kept the Abomination in check.”
“Well, but I can.” Tista said. “Unlike you, my beast side is split in half and there’s nothing it has to suppress. If my Red Demon can really do everything you can, then I might have a human, a Dragon, and a Phoenix form.
“What do you say if I try and turn into a pure-blooded Phoenix?”
“That’s a great idea!” Lith said.
“That’s a terrible idea!” Solus said.
“Lith worked so hard to keep his different life forces together and you want to do split yours on purpose? What if you end up breaking the balance between your beast and human side, turning into a regular hybrid?”
At those words, the sibling’s enthusiasm died, yet their curiosity remained. They called for the Overlord of the Desert and asked her opinion.
“I’m sorry, kids, but I have no idea either.” Salaark said. “Solus might be right but, as she said, you guys are the first perfect blend between two Guardians’ bloodlines and there is no way to learn if not by experimentation.”
She used her breathing technique, Mother Sun, to make sure that Tista was at her peak physical condition and to memorize the structure of her two life forces down to the smallest detail.
“All I can do is to offer you my supervision and help, but the choice is yours.”
“I want to do this.” Tista replied. “Since my Phoenix side seems to be the stronger one, I’ll focus on that. Please, Grandma, step in the moment you even think that something is going wrong.”
She closed her eyes focusing on the melody of her beast life force until she recognized the two different tunes it was comprised of. Tista could feel the harmony between them while they were close grow dissonant as they strayed apart, allowing her to recognize one from the other.
‘The red star must be the Phoenix. Here goes nothing.’ She focused on the fire that she had felt burning inside herself ever since she was a child, making its melody grow in intensity.
The warmth of the Phoenix wrapped her body as Tista felt her mouth turning into a beak and her fangs fusing together. Her wings and arms started to fuse while her feathers grew thicker.
Then, the silver on her body faded away and the warmth turned into scorching pain. By enhancing the Phoenix melody, Tista had unwittingly made it grow stronger, to the point that now it eclipsed the Dragon side and pushed it away.
She now had three different life forces that were out of balance and ripped her body apart as they fought for dominance. The weaker silver star became the victim of the clash between the human side and the red star, slowly fading away.
Tista started to cry, not out of the agony she felt so much as out of grief at the loss of an important part of herself.
“I hate being always right.” Solus said while she could see Tista’s body shapeshifting from human to Phoenix non-stop, forcing her to choose between one of them or die.
“Hold still, child!” Salaark cast her own version of Body Sculpting, Rebirth Magic, using both light and darkness magic to undo the damage that the Red Demon had inflicted upon herself. “Focus on the silver star and don’t let it fade away!”
Rebirth magic used darkness as a scalpel to weaken both the Phoenix and the human side while light gave the Dragon life force the strength it lacked. Yet not even Salaark could restore the original melody, only Tista could.
