The Master didn’t care if the rest of Mogar judged him a monster.
He only needed the absolution of one person. Filia and Frey were too young to understand the gravity of such matters and Vastor was certain that with time and the help of their mother, they would forgive him as well.
“Now that I think about it, this is actually the most harmless scheme my mother has ever concocted.” Quylla stood up. “People Awaken every day. Why do those bastards have to make a fuss just because of the words of a ruthless killer who died over 700 years ago?
“Thanks, Professor. I think I’ve made up my mind.” She offered him her hand and Vastor shook it with a smile.
“There’s nothing you have to thank me for. I’ve just been a sounding board for your thoughts.”
“You’ve been much more than that.” Quylla gave him a deep bow. “You’ve been a friend and you’ve managed to put yourself in my shoes for my sake. However this goes, I’ll have no regrets. Goodbye, Professor Vastor.”
Those final three words struck him like a punch in the gut.
‘How could I be so stupid?’ He cursed as soon as Quylla Warped out of his room. ‘I was so focused on myself that I didn’t think of the consequences of my words. Now Quylla is going to fight alongside Jirni and maybe die with her.
‘The Kingdom would lose another Manohar and I another friend! She is going to die because of me.’ The parting words that the god of healing had left Vastor were still recorded in the Master’s communication amulet.
Manohar had offered him forgiveness in exchange for abandoning Forbidden Magic, giving Zinya a good life, and protecting the Kingdom.
‘I’m not as good as you were, old friend.’ Vastor thought. ‘When we meet on the other side, you’ll have to make do with two out of three.’
He sat down again, pondering how far he could go and how much destruction he could wring before the actions of the Organization threatened its position in the Awakened Council.
He forgot about his duty as Professor Zogar Vastor and focused on what he could do as the Master.
If Jirni had been there to witness the scene, she would have complimented herself for a job well done.
***
After reaching an agreement with Thrud’s former generals, Faluel the Hydra had taken them for a tour of the Kingdom. The newly evolved Divine Beasts needed to witness the consequences of the War of the Griffons to lift the wool of the Mad Queen’s lies from their eyes.
“Do you mind if we come with you?” Protheus and the rest of the Doppelgangers who had decided to risk leaving Leegaain’s lair asked the Hydra.
“I don’t, but there’s quite a lot of you. It could be a problem.” Faluel replied.
Only eight of Thrud’s former generals had survived the war, and the number included Ufyl and Protheus. The Doppelgangers that he had spawned upon request of the Mad Queen, however, were many more.
“You would be right, if we moved like a group, but that’s not my intention.” Protheus shook his head. “My children and I just want to be in the same city as you guys. This way, if something bad happens we can be protected without resorting to violence, just like per our deal.
“Also, we lack common sense and manners. If we encounter something or someone that confuses us, instead of digging ourselves a deeper hole we can come to you and ask.” Then, after noticing the Hydra’s hesitation, he rushed to add:
“We are not planning on coming to you every five minutes, we just want to cover all our bases. Please, consider that what you consider normal is new and scary to us. Our beast siblings already know Mogar from their time as Awakened apprentices.
“Us Doppelgangers, instead, have spent our entire existence inside the Golden Griffon or performing missions. We know nothing outside what we needed to learn in order to fulfill our missions as spies.”
“Fine.” Faluel sighed. “But I’ll bring you in multiple groups since there’s no way so many of you go unnoticed. Also, don’t worry about how many times you need help. You can ask me, Ufyl, or any of your siblings for help all you want.”
“What?” The Seven-Headed Dragon and the other Divine Beasts said in unison, but for different reasons.
“I’m coming along?” Ufyl asked.
“I have seven heads, but I’m just one Hydra.” Faluel shrugged. “I can use some help just like you can benefit from some rest out of your test tube. You can act tough all you want, but I bet you are tired of being poked and prodded without a single please or thank you.”
“You can say that.” He lowered his gaze in sadness.
Even though Fyrwal the Hydra had accepted Ufyl’s surrender and offered him a full pardon in exchange for his collaboration, everyone treated him like a murderous traitor of his bloodline.
‘And the worst part is that I can’t blame them because that’s who I am. Saying sorry doesn’t change what I’ve done and the people I’ve killed are still dead. Yet there are days I feel like there’s no point being my brethren’s test subject.
‘If redemption is impossible, if they are bent on treating me like this all my life, I’d prefer they kill me and get over with this.’ He thought.
“We’ll start from the half of the Kingdom that you tried to free from ‘the tyranny’ of the Royals.” Faluel said, snapping Ufyl out of his reverie. “You guys have failed and the war is lost.
“I want you to check with your own eyes if things turned as badly as Thrud made you believe.”
“How can we be sure everything isn’t staged for our convenience?” Leari the Thunderbird asked. “That this isn’t just a ruse?”
“Easy.” Leegaain chimed in. “Pick a city. Any city, and I will send you there right now. The Council is powerful, but they don’t have the resources to improvise something of this magnitude without preparation.
“Only a Guardian can, but we just don’t care about you. I’m fine with keeping you prisoners for the rest of your lives. I can always have better luck with your children. What I’m interested in is your abnormal bloodlines, not you guys as individuals.”
The Divine Beasts shuddered at the thought of spending ten thousand years locked inside Leegaain’s biomes. It was the reason they quarreled and argued a lot before agreeing on their destination.
“Ne’sra.” They pointed at the capital of the soon-to-be-renamed Deirus region. “It’s a place we all have been to and that has been destroyed during the war. It’s too big a city to be filled with actors.”
“Okay.” Leegaain opened a mind link with Tyris for permission to access to her turf.
“One second, please.” Faluel raised her hands.
She gave everyone a communicator amulet already carrying her rune and capable of showing her position and that of its owner at any moment so that getting lost was impossible.
“Guys, shapeshift in human form and we are ready to leave.” The Hydra said.
Divine Beasts and Doppelgangers followed her command and the Hydra found herself surrounded by gym wear models.
