Luckily for Lith, time moved slowly in the Mindscape, allowing him to take in the revelation without the surprise breaking his hold on the Voidfeather’s fury.
‘If this thing is just the embodiment of my emotions cranked up to eleven due to Grandma’s and Leegaain’s blood, then I have to reason with him like I would with myself.’ Lith had no idea how to reach an agreement with the Voidfeather, but at least now he knew the source of the problem.
‘With my luck, until I succeed, I won’t be able to reach the bright violet core. That’s a problem for another day, though. Now I have to stop myself from screwing weeks of careful planning!’
‘Why do you stop me?’ The Voidfeather telepathically screamed. ‘Why do you hate me? I kept you alive for all these years and this is how you thank me? You’ve let so many of my friends die. You’ve let so many of my treasures get taken away from me.
‘I won’t let Solus be another casualty of your sick plans. I won’t lose anyone or anything again. No more. Never more!’
Lith tried to make the Voidfeather reason but the Dragon’s thoughts were chaotic and his attitude was that of a child throwing a tantrum. Lith could feel the Voidfeather’s suffering from the years spent in a losing battle with the Void.
His frustration at Lith for denying him peace and putting into danger the people he loved.
The memories of Yurial, Phloria, Lark, Mirim, and all the opportunities that Lith had missed and the things he had never shared with them had left deep scars in the Voidfeather’s mind.
Scars that could never heal because death had frozen the damage in time, leaving behind only regrets and what-ifs.
‘I’m not doing this for myself.’ Lith replied. ‘This was Solus’ idea. I only care for my share of Morok’s legacy, how I get it is irrelevant to me. She is the one who wants to save them. If you want to let her down, be my guest.’
His words stunned the Voidfeather Dragon stiff and the surprise grew further when Lith stopped fighting the Divine Beast for the control of his body.
‘How do I know this isn’t just an attempt to manipulate me?’
‘Are you telling me that you don’t remember what happened just a few hours ago?’ Now it was Lith’s turn to be shocked.
‘I’m too busy making sure that the jackass doesn’t ruin everything to stalk you. I have no idea what happened since Phloria died.’ The Voidfeather Dragon replied.
‘Are you serious?’ Lith blurted out in surprise.
‘That’s the last time you let me out.’ The Dragon snorted. ‘Haven’t you seen your Tiamat’s body? The jackass takes most of the space. Aside from your eyes and my wings, everything else belongs to him.’
Lith had to admit that his Dragon side had failed to manifest itself until the deep violet, when he had achieved the first feathered wing. For the second, he had to wait to reach the violet, when the Void had stopped fighting for dominance.
‘Let me bring you up to speed, then.’ Lith attempted a mind fusion and failed spectacularly.
‘We don’t need a mind fusion nor do we read each other’s mind.’ The Voidfeather Dragon guffawed in Lith’s face. ‘They are called respectively remembering and thinking, moron.’
It took the Divine Beast a split second to fill in the blanks in his memory.
‘Damn Solus and her big heart!’ He inwardly roared after understanding the need for stealth. ‘Why did you let her volunteer for such a dangerous mission? These vermin aren’t worth a single strand of her hair.’
‘I agree, but you know her.’ Lith shrugged. ‘You know how much he suffered for the wargs and Echidna. If even one of Glemos’ children can be saved and we let them be massacred or if anything happens to our friends because we sit this out…’
‘She’ll never let us hear the end of it.’ The Voidfeather Dragon grumbled. ‘Fine. Consider yourself lucky. You have called the right man for this job.’
A snap of the Divine Beast’s fingers reverted the Demons of the Abyss into their original and much less fleshy state of Demons of the Darkness.
‘How can you do that?’ Now that his beast side was calm, Lith could afford the time to ask a few questions. ‘I mean the chains and controlling the Demons. Isn’t that the Void’s job?’
‘The jackass? Don’t be stupid.’ The Voidfeather replied with a sneer. ‘No matter how much he brags, he reigns over the dead and he’s good at destroying stuff. I rule over the flames and the shadows. That’s all me.’
‘Then why back in Urgamakka I couldn’t do anything while in Dragon form?’ Lith asked.
‘Because at the time I was still dormant and the three of us were completely split. Why do you think that before the violet you couldn’t summon the Demons in your Abomination form either? Because it takes the three of us.
‘Your eyes and chains, my shadows and flames, and the jackass’ souls and Chaos. Now that we are partially fused, however, we have limited access to each other’s abilities even in our respective forms.’
‘I have a name, you know.’ The Void joined the conversation, sick and tired of being addressed with an insult.
‘I know, George.’ The Voidfeather said with a huge grin on its snout.
‘I hate that name!’
‘I know, George.’ Before Lith could put a word in edgewise, the Divine Beast and the Abomination started tussling around the Mindscape in a deadly embrace that reminded Lith of his split life force back when he was still a hybrid.
Seen from so up close, however, more than a dance it looked like a bar brawl. He tried to stop them physically, but the Flames of the Voidfeather and the Cursed elements of the Abomination burned at his mental projection.
Words didn’t get through the red curtain of their decades-long rivalry until Lith said: ‘Do you realize that every moment you waste fighting is a moment when Solus is alone, wondering where the heck I am?’
The Void had already proven in the past that he cared for her so much to force Lith to share with Kamila the truth about his origins. The Voidfeather Dragon had nearly gone on a rampage for her sake so his feelings couldn’t be any less intense.
The two creatures froze on the spot, staring intently at each other with eyes ablaze with mana and fangs bared.
‘This isn’t over, George.’ The Voidfeather said. ‘It’s just that you are not worth my time now.’
‘Say that name again and I’ll-‘
‘Solus.’ Lith repeated while pointing at her light in the distance.
The Void roared in annoyance and disappeared from the Mindscape before jumping at the Dragon’s throat again.
‘Good move, kid.’ The Voidfeather Dragon nodded. ‘Watch and learn.’
The Divine Beast took a deep breath and furled his feathered wings around his body like a cocoon. The shadows of the buildings converged on him, forming a small dome that seemed to merge with the ground.
His figure was compressed, and the boundary between matter and energy become thinner and thinner until only a small dark blob remained.
If you’re wondering why the Void is called George, so do I. Blame the discord for it. Vox populi vox dei.
