‘She’ll kick my ass and the only thing I’ll obtain is to ruin Solus’ friendship with her.’
The Mother noticed Lith clenching the armrests of his chair and so did Dawn.
“Mom?”
“Yes, dear?” Baba Yaga asked.
“I know that this may be hard to believe, but despite all of our differences, I’ve come to respect Solus and Nyka. To them, I may just be a heartless mass murderer but to me, they are the closest thing to friends I’ve ever had.
“They have opened their hearts and lives to me without expecting anything in return. We have fought and cared for each other even though our interests didn’t align. I don’t want to end our relationship with the sour aftertaste of a secret exposed instead of willingly revealed.
“Can you please put a seal on me as you did with Night and make me incapable of sharing anything I know about them?” Dawn asked.
“I can but it will be akin to having your free will dented. A small wound that will never heal.” The Mother said.
“For an action to matter, it must have consequences. Do it, please.” The Horseman replied.
A small silver magic circle appeared in front of Baba Yaga’s free hand as she altered Dawn’s power core forever.
Lith looked at Salaark and only when the Overlord confirmed to him that it wasn’t just a tear-jerking ruse did he sigh in relief.
“There. Even if someone interrogates my daughter or even bonds with her, that piece of knowledge will be sealed even from a mind fusion. I made sure that there are no loopholes this time.” The Mother said and Salaark nodded.
“Dawn, why?” Solus stepped forward, feeling both moved and baffled by the Horseman’s selfless gesture. “You owe us nothing and this limits your freedom.”
“You are wrong. I owe you just like I owe to all the people I hurt in the past, Zepho included. Words are cheap and all the ‘sorry’ in the world can’t make up for the harm that my actions caused.
“Undergoing this spell may not change the past either, but it at least shows that my resolution is sincere. I hope that now that you have no reason to be afraid of me anymore, you’ll allow me to visit you from time to time, Solus.”
“You are one of the few people who can truly understand me and I you. Let’s go, Mom. I need a new host. I can’t afford to be weak. Not with Night still around.” Dawn didn’t wait for Solus’ answer, knowing to have put her in a difficult spot.
The vow forbade her to share her knowledge, but did nothing to prevent her from exploiting what she had learned against Lith and Solus were they to meet as enemies again.
Once the Mother and her Horseman left the Overlord’s palace, everyone felt like a weight had been lifted from their shoulders.
“What now?” Solus tried and failed to look Lith in the eyes.
‘By my Mom, this trip has been the worst idea ever. First, the cursed objects hunted us down and now because of me, Dawn has discovered our secret. If not for Lith’s life force improving, I would kick myself to the curb.’
“Don’t beat yourself up.” Since Salaark still kept him from standing up, Lith extended his hand and caressed her head. “Things have gotten a bit messy but it’s nothing we can’t handle.
“Also, our gains far outweigh our losses.”
“What do you mean?” Solus clenched the seams of her dress, her voice this close to cracking.
“Thanks to our fusion, I know how much your journey meant to you. What you gained from it, what you learned, and how it helped you to grow as a person. This alone would be more than enough.
“We always deal with the problems that I cause in order to pursue my interests. It would be hypocritical of me to blame you for asking me to return the favor for once.” Lith replied with a smile.
“Also, even if you hadn’t left my side, we would still have to deal with the cursed objects and Night’s ploy. This way, not only have we discovered their plans, but we also have already killed three of them and collected the spoils.”
He had the Davross and the Evil Eyes appear from the pocket dimension.
“The cursed objects have lost the advantage of surprise and we can prepare to face them whereas they have no idea what happened to their brethren. In one move, we have turned an ambush to our advantage and the hunter is now our prey.
“Last, but not least, do you really feel sorry for healing my life force?” Lith chuckled.
“But, our secret…” Solus hiccupped, feeling unworthy of such kindness.
“Please, Dawn already saw us in our hybrid form. She knew from Hystar that you are the ‘fourth Horseman’ and how much Malyshka cares for you. I’m surprised it took her so long to guess your identity.” He dragged her close to the chair to hug her.
“Everything is fine, silly. You have nothing to worry about.”
“Thanks.” Solus returned the embrace, her worries fading away.
The fusion had also shown her how much Lith had missed her and from that close, she could feel his sincerity through their bond. He wasn’t just consoling her. There was no anger or resentment in his mind, only the happiness from being reunited with her.
“But I meant, how do you explain what happened?” She actually said. “You can’t go back to the Kingdom for a while and your Void Magic class will be suspended. With the Royals as your students, you can’t just run away and ruin your reputation like a Manohar.”
“Good point.” Lith let her go and pondered his situation.
‘I can’t tell anyone what happened. Explaining why the cursed objects are after me is feasible since their motive is public knowledge. I did destroy three lost cities and adding three more living legacies would only increase my fame.
‘On the other hand, however, disclosing that I got severely injured during the fight would embolden Night and reassure the remaining cursed objects of their chances to defeat me.
‘If three nearly did the job, the next time they might send four if not even six. The blow from the destruction of their brethren would be softened by the certainty that they almost succeeded. I need to play this smart.’
After a while, Lith took his communication amulet out of the pocket dimension and called Queen Sylpha.
“I’m glad to hear from you so soon, Supreme Magus Verhen. I trust that the issue has been resolved.” Her face was a kind mask, hiding to perfection her annoyance with the lesson being interrupted.
“Thanks for your worry, Your Majesty, and yes, the emergency has been resolved.” Lith gave her a deep bow as a spoonful of sugar before landing the blow. “Yet there were unexpected gains that force me away from the Kingdom for a while.
“I’m afraid that the Void Magic class will be suspended until further notice.”
“I see.” Sylpha squinted her eyes and pursed her lips into a thin line in irritation but she managed to keep her tone neutral.
