“We?” He asked in confusion. “My doppelgangers have lost their effectiveness as undercover agents since Manohar taught everyone how to expose us. Our cores are still weak and our magic is lacking. There’s no we. Not anymore.” He replied.
“You are wrong.” Thrud took the last batch of ambrosia out of her dimensional amulet and handed it to Protheus.
“What am I supposed to do with this?” He asked.
“Why do you think I waited for them to come out to show it to you? Because now you have access not just to my Golden Griffon, Valeron’s Bahamut, and Jormun’s Emerald Dragon’s bloodline, but to over 30 different Divine Beasts.
“I’ll be honest with you. I didn’t plan to give you your powers nor to use ambrosia on you, but fate decided otherwise.” Thrud said. “You can store and access the forms of the most powerful creatures of Mogar and with the ambrosia, you might even gain their bloodline abilities.”
At those words, Protheus’ eyes sparkled with greed. He would be back being her champion and his power would be unmatched. On top of that, if the ambrosia worked, all of his descendants would inherit the ability to recreate mana organs as well.
“Don’t act rashly, though. Remember what happened with Verhen’s tissues.” Thrud said, snapping him out of his reverie. “Also, you have no real Guardian blood, just tissue samples.
“What I said earlier about pain and madness applies to you as well. I have no idea how ambrosia will interact with your body and powers. You might become the supreme being just like you could turn into a mindless jigsaw creature.”
“How long would the procedure take?” Protheus had already made his mind.
The only question left was if he would come out in time for his presence to tip the scales of the war, otherwise the ambrosia would have to wait. He couldn’t lay asleep while his family risked their life.
“A few days at most.” The Mad Queen replied. “You already have all the mass you need and it’s already refined. The only step you’ll undergo is the bloodline awakening. Please, think this through before-”
The Doppelganger placed the vial in the Madness, starting the preparatory steps of the procedure.
“I had one month to dream for this moment and I’m not going to wait for a second longer. Only for the time that I need to collect the samples from my newfound siblings.”
***
Verendi Continent, deep underground in the Zagovia plains, Council Hall.
After hearing Tryssa’s report, the representative of the four races had rushed to meet, dropping whatever they were doing no matter how delicate the step of their research was.
Sending a youth to deal with old monsters had been a mistake and they had less than 23 hours before that bomb exploded in their faces.
“This is bad.” Ozak Estus, the human representative said. “We are stuck in a lose-lose scenario. If we surrender the Mouth of Menadion and its owner, we’ll not only lose a powerful artifact, but we’ll also go back on our word.
“We had promised Visante our protection and a full pardon for his crimes. No one will ever trust us after this.” Worry made deep wrinkles appear in his otherwise handsome features.
Ozak was over 600 years old, but his smooth dark skin and his muscular body were flawless. Aside from the grey patches along with the silver, orange, and blue streaks on his black hair, it was hard to consider him one day over forty.
“I disagree.” Xergov the Dullahan, the undead representative said. “This is much worse. Our Council can’t afford to lose the Mouth. It’s the second wind we have been expecting for decades.
“Without it, soon even Jiera will surpass us. Garlen with its three Guardians and its three countries has always been a nightmare for us. The number of mines our fellow Awakened can exploit and the infrastructures they enjoy are incomparable to ours.
“We have so many fucking borders to cross, so many governments to infiltrate for a single delivery that our progress has always been slow. To make matters worse, these constant territorial wars are a pain in our ass.
“We lost a lot of potential Awakened candidates among the war victims.”
“Indeed.” Senara the Firbolg, Tryssa’s mentor, nodded. “Until a while ago, we could console ourselves that Jiera fared no better, but now things have changed. The plague has erased their cultural differences and driven out the undead, leaving the Council free rein.
“Ever since they overcame the crisis of the aftermath, their development is progressing by leaps and bounds. Awakened can now reclaim and mine all kinds of magical resources in broad daylight.
“The number of Awakened in Jiera has boomed and soon they’ll become as strong as Garlen. I heard That Zagran the Garuda is actively helping them and wants to follow in Salaark’s footsteps to give her own Kingdom a go.”
“They’ll never reach Garlen’s prowess.” Ileza, Guardian of Life and Mother of all the Bastets said. “The War of the Griffons has weakened their Council, but once it ends, they’ll come out stronger than ever.
“They have now a regular army, they are sharing their knowledge as I’ve been suggesting you to do for millennia, and they even added the Abominations to their fold. Yet the crown jewel of all this will be the union between beasts, plants, and humans.
“It doesn’t matter who wins, Garlen will be the first developed continent to overcome specism and its prejudices. If they stop living as three separate races and become one great society, they’ll thrive like never before.”
“What about Jiera?” Rokuno the Jotunn, the beast representative, asked. “They have already built a society where all four races live together and Awakened teach magic to fake mages.”
“Do you really want to compare a bunch of ruins to a flourishing culture?” Ileza said with a sneer. “That’s why I said developed continent. Jiera is ahead of Garlen, but it’s incapable of facing an invasion.
“What they have built is wonderful, but it will crumble at the first gust of storm.”
“Enough spreading salt on our wounds, Guardian!” Xergov said. “Instead of reminding us how much we suck, offer us a solution. Who knows, maybe if you were as good at your job as Tyris, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“I am Verendi’s Guardian of Life, but I’m no Great Mother.” She gave the goddess a small bow while mentioning her name. “Also, I have told you idiots and your predecessors countless times what our continent needs.
“It’s you who refused to listen and take action. If you expect me to do all the hard work and the sacrifices, letting you reap the benefits, you’ll wait until the end of times!”
“Easy for you to talk!” The plant representative said. “You are a Guardian and have eternal life along with amazing powers. What would take you a finger snap to achieve takes us decades.
“Also, it’s not our fault if Garlen’s Guardians are better than our own. The Master overcame the limits of undeath, the Tiamat is a brand-new race that has no equal, and Thrud’s child might be his peer if not even his better!
“All three of them came to be because of Tyris, Leegaain, and Salaark. While your offspring slaughtered innocents, theirs achieved great things!”
