‘If I learn enough about this Lith Verhen and understand how his possession spell works, I can turn his powers against him. I might be the one swallowing him and gaining his memories.
‘At that point, if I get rid of the hunger and my hands on his secret for immortality, I might end up enjoying this place. Speaking of hunger…’ The mana geyser below Zeska constantly provided the Void with energy, quelling his appetite and soothing his nerves.
‘Maybe I should stay here for the night. I don’t want to hurt my little buddy anymore.’ Ragnarök emitted a purring sound of gratitude.
Chaos was already accumulating inside the bloody scabbard but with the mana geyser fueling the angry blade’s power core and nurturing the Abomination side, keeping the Lith’s spark of Chaos under control was child’s play.
Ragnarök split the Cursed Element into smaller bits and weaved it into spells, just to be safe. The black blade could feel the hostility in the people surrounding its master and it didn’t like that one bit.
‘Protect.’ Ragnarök thought. ‘Not fail. Not again. Protect.’
***
Back at the Verhen Mansion, the entire extended family was in a frenzy.
Kamila had forbidden anyone to act on their own and had the rescue team assemble in front of the private Warp Gate of the Mansion.
“Are you sure you don’t want us to go to Zeska right now?” Quylla asked.
“Are you kidding me? If Lith is amnesiac and attacks you, how many chances do you think you have to survive? Let alone taking him alive?” Kamila replied.
“Slim to none.” Friya sighed. “But there’s a lot of us and one of him.”
She pointed at herself, her sister, Nalrond, Morok, Tista, and Valtak.
“And what if you fail? What if he runs away?” Kamila dismissed the idea with a wave of her hand. “I don’t want this to drag on for one day longer. I want you to succeed on the first try.
“I want my husband back. I want my children to get their father back. So, sit down, shut your mouth, and wait. I’ve already contacted Zoreth and Yaga. Once they get here, you’ll leave. Not a second sooner.”
Kamila was grinding her teeth in frustration, feeling helpless. She was in charge of the logistics but she would stay home. She was too weak to be anything but a liability to the rescue team and she knew it.
‘Even if Lith somehow recognizes me and refuses to attack me, I would still be in the crossfire. If spells fly around or buildings collapse, our friends would waste their focus and energy protecting me instead of capturing Lith.
‘This is the best I can do.’ She thought.
“Speaking of children, why don’t we just bring Elysia with us?” Morok proposed. “If Lith recognizes her, we win without a fight. If he doesn’t and attacks her, the Guardians will knock him out. Easy peasy.”
“I dare you do that.” Tyris was the one in charge of the baby for the day. “Elysia is not a toy and I’m no one’s pawn. My oath is to protect Elysia and that’s what I’ll do. If danger approaches her, I eliminate it.
“If you put her in danger, I eliminate you. Elysia is neither a shield nor a sword to be wielded for personal gain. Am I clear?” Her silver eyes blazed with mana, making the Tyrant feel small and insignificant.
“Crystal.” He replied in between swallows.
***
Back in Zeska, Derek couldn’t make heads or tails of life on Mogar. The roads were paved but not asphalted. Some buildings looked out of a postcard from a medieval village while others were beautifully tall and complex.
There were horse-drawn carriages yet most people had what looked like a holographic smartphone. Adults and teens used magic for their chores like it was the most natural thing in Mogar.
A wave of their hands cleaned the street. Water flowed out of their open palms and into flower pots. He even noticed a few people heating their tea cups by conjuring a small flame between their fingers.
“A flying car?” Derek said in amazement.
A high officer had been sent to Zeska with a DoLorean to appease Lith and hopefully keep him calm until the Awakened’s rescue team arrived.
‘How can wooden carriages and flying machines coexist? Either someone from Earth like me mixed magic and technology or the disparity between rich and poor people is even worse than on Earth.’
As he walked down the street, panic spread like wildfire.
The citizens of Zeska ran, yelled, and cried at his appearance, something that made Derek smile at first but quickly started grating on his nerves.
‘Okay, I get it. I’m big, bad, and fanged but I’ve yet to hurt anybody. Also, the guard at the gate told me this Verhen guy is a hero. Was he lying to me or is the definition of hero different on this planet?’
Even though the noise irked him, the Void had to admit that so far Mogar was better than Earth. He had yet to see a homeless man or a beggar, and people looked well-dressed and fed.
Zeska was cleaner than any city he had visited during his first life and there were no skyscrapers blocking the sun or rage-inducing traffic.
“Move it, you idiot!” A deep voice said, followed by a painfully familiar whimper. “I’m not going to die because you are too stupid to know what’s good for you.”
Derek’s eyes followed the sound to a man dragging a maybe eight year old boy around like a sack of potatoes away. The man gripped the boy’s arm with enough strength to make his little joints pop with every yank.
There was a woman with them, running right behind the man. Yet she did and said nothing to protect him. The woman looked at the man in fear and the boy in spite, as if it was the child’s fault they were in that situation.
A low growl rose from the Void’s throat as his Abomination hunger studied the unhappy family like a meal. The two adults were strong and healthy, their life forces vibrant with a wide emotional spectrum.
The kid, instead, was weak and malnourished. His life force was pale from the lack of food and many unhealed bruises. Derek could feel only one emotion from him: fear. And it wasn’t for the monster behind him but for the one in front of him.
The years spent as a victim on Earth and a healer on Mogar allowed Derek to understand the situation as if he were using Life Vision.
“I said move it or I’ll drop-” The man turned back to give the boy a strong pull when he slammed against a wall and the impact sent him butt-first on the ground.
Except there wasn’t supposed to be a wall in the middle of the street.
When he looked forward, he discovered he was right. There was no wall. Just a towering brute over two meters (6’7″) tall clad in an armor as black as his skin.
“Does he hit you?” His voice sounded like the howling of the wind through an abyss.
