Lith’s mind was relaxed and fully focused, working better, faster, and more powerful than ever. Compared with the broken person Lith had been until barely two weeks ago, the difference was like heaven and earth.
“Thanks, but believe me, it looks better on Kami.” Lith said with a warm smile that creeped everyone out.
Lith Verhen smiled only to deceive you or before dealing the killing blow. Orion, Vastor, and Balkor found this new Lith unsettling at best.
“During the day, my Abomination side drains all the light and heat, so I now eat almost as little as a regular human. Also, if during the day Kami wants some cool, she can snuggle with me.
“At night, instead, I’m warm like anyone else so the chilly ocean air makes it pleasant to cuddle. The Desert is really the best place for my honeymoon.”
Spouting random facts just to brag about his happiness was unprecedented as well. It made the three Archmages envious and willing to drop everything to go back to their respective wives.
Maybe even to try this beach and see if it really was a piece of heaven.
“Yep, they make a wonderful couple.” Solus’ voice was sincere, but she couldn’t avoid sighing.
She had gone on a few dates with Aerth, but the more she learned and remembered about her past, the more she wanted something different for her future.
‘I’ve become someone completely different from Elphyn Menadion. She was talented, free-spirited, and self-confident but also a spoiled brat. I never bothered worrying about my mother.
‘I only thought about my own pain, making Menadion lose both her husband and daughter on the same day. Yet Mom never gave up on me. Even when I cut her off from my life, she kept protecting me from the shadows.
‘Even when I blamed her for Dad’s death, she never got angry with me. Maybe, if I was a better person, if I managed to see past my wounds, I would have more good memories with Mom.
‘All that I’ve left, instead, are the echoes of the parties I attended, the clothes I bought, and the time I spent practicing. I don’t want to live such an empty life again. This isn’t just Lith’s second chance, it’s mine as well.’
“By the way, are you sure that you don’t want our help in the Forgemastering process?” Orion asked. “We may not be Awakened, but you have seen how the proto cubes work and what we are capable of.”
He had noticed Solus’ daydreaming often, but he didn’t know her enough to care about whatever was running through her mind.
“Thanks, but I need help only for the theoretical aspect of the Golem crafting.” Lith nodded. “I have a few tricks that should make up for what I lack, but if they fail, I’ll keep your offer in mind.”
Solus’ Fury could split up to nine times and every Forgemaster wielding one would have their energy signature converted into Solus’ which was identical to Lith’s. Yet to craft a true masterpiece, the power of the tower was needed.
Lith didn’t feel like entrusting any of them with such a vital secret. Balkor was a maybe due to his sworn allegiance to Salaark and Orion because of Jirni. Vastor, however, was still a mystery to Lith.
As long as he had no idea of what the purpose of the Organization was and why the Professor was amassing an enormous power, revealing the existence of Menadion’s tower was too big a risk to take.
‘With Manohar gone, Solus is the best Light Master I know. Friya is an outstanding dimensional mage and Faluel has more experience in Forgemastering than everyone in this room put together.’ Lith thought.
‘If I add Tista, Quylla, and Phloria, I already have seven people who have my complete trust. Before involving anyone else, I need to make sure that the tower can handle the power I already have at my disposal.
‘In its broken state, the seven of us might already be too much. The tower needs to stay a secret as long as possible.’
When Aerth and the Archmages weren’t available due to their own business, Lith practiced the Call of the Void. Ever since the shadow of Derek McCoy had further merged with his life force, Lith’s bloodline abilities took a significantly lesser toll on him.
The Void didn’t try to break free the first occasion it got, leaving Lith free to use his focus and power against his enemies instead of keeping his Abomination side in check.
Also, he practiced with Tista both the Cursed Flames and the Primordial Flames. She had now four eyes, making four kinds of Cursed Flames available. Lith taught her about Domination and Tista taught him how to unlock the new Flames.
He had received permission from Faluel to share his knowledge about Domination after Tista had proven to have a growing elemental affinity like a Hydra.
Last, but not least, Lith practiced Blade Tier spells.
Thanks to her eidetic memory, Solus could replay the memories of when they had cast one against Jakra and then those of Lith casting another with War alone. This way, they could study both the runes they had employed and how they had achieved the core fusion.
As for Jirni’s footage, it gave them a practical demonstration of Blade Tier spells, but the Eyes of Menadion couldn’t read the runes from a hologram. The silver lining was that War could give them a feel of that new branch of magic thanks to its Gleipnir skill.
It allowed the angry blade to override the power cores of the Voidwalker armor and the Double Edge sword and Lith’s mana core to produce a simple yet effective Blade Tier spell despite Lith’s lack of understanding.
Solus allowed War to harmonize her mana core and the tower’s core as well, producing an even more powerful spell. At the same time, she and Lith used the Eyes to study the phenomenon and focused solely on the feeling of becoming one with their equipment.
Gleipnir’s spells were nothing compared to Manohar’s Rogue Sun and the Mad Professor had been just a genius fake mage. Learning such a complex discipline would have been a mammoth task and required months just to scratch the surface.
Yet they had access to the Eyes, to the Sage Staff that amplified their focus and their comprehension, and War that was eager to help. Not only did the angry blade cast spells until its pseudo cores were exhausted, but it also explained the process to the best of its abilities.
Which mostly consisted of single words and sound effects, but thanks to the blood bond with Lith, even those childish noises carried significance to him. He could experience the blade’s feelings as it weaved the spell and also how it weaved the magical runes.
“Fuck me sideways, War is bad at this. It’s as if he’s driving a car with the hand brake on.” Lith said.
“He?” Solus asked, catching her breath.
The practice of Blade Tier spells never lasted long because every attempt drained a huge amount of their collective mana. After less than an hour, Invigoration would completely lose its effectiveness.
“I can’t keep calling War ‘it’. It sounds wrong.” Lith replied.
