“My life on Earth was hell. I was weak. Alone. I suffered for years and no one cared. I had to endure my father’s beatings and watch him hit Carl, feeling like the useless coward I was.” Derek growled in fury.
“I could just stand there and do nothing while my brother’s murderer walked out of the courtroom a free man. I had to get terminal cancer to find the strength to get some justice.
“My second life on that fucking ship was hell too. I was a cripple who couldn’t walk. I couldn’t explain myself or understand others. I could only suffer from hunger and isolation, praying that whoever I met would have mercy on me.
“This life, however, is different.” The Void said with a savage smile on his face. “Here I suffer and I’m alone, but at least I’m strong. So strong that I can tear men apart like paper and lift cattle with one hand.
“I have incredible powers, magic, and even telekinesis. This is nothing like hell. Yet since I’ve got this hunger that makes me hurt everyone around me, this isn’t paradise either.
“I’ll tell you what I think, little guy. This is an opportunity. If I understand how to master my powers and control my weakness, I’ll be unstoppable. And you know what’s the best part?” Derek asked and this time he took a pause to let Ragnarök reply.
The angry blade listened to the rhythmic pulse of Chaos in Derek’s veins and remained silent. Ragnarök knew the answer and it terrified the blade.
“That even if I fail, this time it’s not going to be just my problem. The world won’t keep spinning no matter how deep in shit I am. It’s going to be everyone’s problem.”
***
Hessar Region, Royal main road to the capital, a few hours earlier.
All those involved in the search for Lith moved to the site of the brigand’s attack on Borj’s family as soon as they could. The first to arrive was Xenagrosh. Between her access to most Gate networks and her Dragonspeed, there were few places on Garlen she couldn’t reach in a matter of minutes.
‘I’m sorry for Lith’s friends but I’m not going to take any chance that the Royals find him first and one of their goons screws things up. Lith might be a hero to people but politics are shit.
‘If the wrong person finds him, I bet my scaly ass they might try to murder him with the excuse he was violent or frame him for a massacre too big for the Royals to pardon him.
‘There are too many people that would pay Lith’s weight in gold just to take him down a peg.’ She activated her Eldritch ability, Stalking Predator, to draw in all the auras in the vicinities and assimilate them into her body.
She picked out one Abomination-hybrid energy signature, three dead men’s scents, and as many horse corpses. The other smells belonged to regular humans, one female and two males, and they all moved in the direction of the nearest city.
‘There’s no foul play yet. Everything is as stated in the report.’ Xenagrosh thought. ‘The only thing out of place is Lith’s smell and energy signature. Back near Vidun’s cabin, I sensed only his Abomination aura.
‘Now I can smell his Dragon side so he’s alive and healing. Yet there is no trace of his human side at all. What if it’s damaged beyond repair? Can Lith survive without his human life force and if yes, would he still be a Tiamat or become like me?’
The answer both scared and excited Zoreth.
It excited her because having a second member of her species would make her less alone. She would have someone who could truly understand her and with whom to share her burden.
Also, it would have made it much easier for Lith to enter the Organization.
The answer also terrified her because losing his human side would mean becoming a different person. To lose his special connection with Elysia and maybe even his ability to love his family.
‘I need to find Lith quickly. Whatever the wound he suffered, Father can heal him as long as I’m not too late. I’d rather be alone than let him endure all the shit I’ve gone through.’ She circled the area until she found his trail.
Then, she bolted forward while keeping the top speed that wouldn’t hinder her sense of smell.
She had left from a handful of minutes when the first Chronicler arrived. The World Tree had many Chroniclers, one for each area of Mogar outside the range of their mystical senses.
Great was the elf’s dismay when all of his locator spells failed to pick up any trace of Lith.
‘I’m sorry, My Liege. I came here as fast as I could but someone beat me to it. They have cleaned up the area beyond what even the spells you taught us can recover.’ Bas’Ren said via their bond.
‘Eldritches.’ The Yggdrasill spat out the word like a curse. ‘No one else could have done it. It matters not. Plant your staff in the ground.’
The Chronicler did as ordered and the living wood of his polearm sprouted roots and tendrils. It allowed the World Tree to use their breathing technique, Root Cause, despite the distance from their physical body.
Among its unique abilities, the Yggdrasill’s version of Invigoration allowed them to commune with the local flora and temporarily Awaken it, giving plants the gift of consciousness.
This way, the World Tree could read their memories of recent events and witness them as if they had been there.
‘Did you find anything, My Liege?’ Bas’Ren asked.
‘Yes. Verhen went northwest from here and Zoreth Leegaainborn is after him. You follow his path, I’ll put together a squad. It’s imperative that we find him first. We can’t allow him to regain his memories.
‘Many friends of Elphyn Menadion are still alive and I’ve no intention of discovering how far they are willing to go to help her.’
The Chronicler left the area less than a minute after his arrival.
Friya, Quylla, Faluel, and Protector arrived less then fifteen minutes later but no matter what they tried, they found no evidence of Lith’s presence except from the craters he left.
They followed the footprints until the point where he took flight and then they explored the area in every direction for kilometers before giving up.
***
Hessar region, near the borders with the Kellar region, in the middle of nowhere, right now.
Less than one hour was left before sunrise.
It was the moment when a young Abomination like Derek was supposed to be at his weakest. After a whole night spent away from a geyser and any other form of nourishment, an Abomination would be too hungry to think straight.
Their whole focus would be devoted to finding their next meal, strutting around like the apex predator that Mogar’s natural undead were.
In the Void’s case, it was only a half right assumption.
He was indeed hungry. So hungry that his sense of guilt for murdering the Ry was just a slight annoyance in a corner of his mind.
