“I never wanted you to see me in my fallen state and be forced to hunt me down like a rabid beast. That’s why I never answered your calls before and I wouldn’t have contacted you if I wasn’t desperate.
“Guess what, oh mighty Leegaain, the only thing you were right about was that I should have chosen the dragon side of the family from the beginning!”
Xenagrosh shapeshifted into her Shadow Dragon form, flaunting a size that rivaled with that of her father. Her right hand was covered by Bytra’s Sky Piercer claws, which pulsed with the same fury that possessed their master.
Leegaain’s eyes moved from his daughter to the familiar design of the weapon she was wielding, finally understanding the meaning of Mogar’s words during Lith’s last tribulation.
The threat they were facing was beyond that of the usual madman aiming for eternal life. Whoever this Master was, he had somehow managed to upset the balance as Leegaain knew it.
The Dragon-Eldritch hybrid in front of him was proof of that.
“What do you need my help for, dear?” He asked. His voice was calm now and there was no judgment in his eyes. Xenagrosh was so shocked that she returned to her human form without even realizing it.
For the first time in her adult life, Leegaain was speaking to her like a father instead of a Guardian.
“I-” Xenagrosh was several centuries old. She had seen Mogar change in ways she deemed impossible, she had fought the most powerful creatures that roamed the planet without batting an eye, yet she couldn’t stop herself from stuttering.
Hating Leegaain the Guardian was easy. Hating the father who had read her bedtime stories when she was little, who had taught her almost everything she knew about magic, was another story entirely.
She felt incredibly stupid for revealing her envy towards the Magic Empress to him, for yelling like a petulant child while flaunting her hybrid form as if it was a new toy. She had emitted such a powerful energy signature that Leegaain would probably be able to track her if he wanted to.
“I’m feeling so lost, Dad.” She fell on her knees, crying. “I started this because I wanted more power. Because I wanted to become powerful enough to show this stupid planet that it made a mistake by abandoning me!”
For a magical beast, turning into an Emperor Beast meant that Mogar had accepted them. That was the reason why they would receive its help to shed their old form and be granted a painless evolution.
For Abominations, turning into an Eldritch was the lowest point. It meant that Mogar had completely cut them off from the natural order of things, relegating them to a state lower than the Fallen races.
They could at least still evolve, whereas an Eldritch was the end of the line.
“Yet after spending so much time with the Master, after I stopped living like a beast, thinking only about eating, surviving, and becoming stronger, I realized that power is not what I really want.
“What I truly wished for was to be freed from my hunger, to enjoy the little things like smelling a flower without it wilting at my touch. Now I’m so close to getting back everything that I lost, but no matter how much I struggle, I can’t overcome this new wall and I’m scared of screwing things up again.” She sobbed, making Leegaain’s heart tighten.
“What’s the matter, sweetie pie?”
Then Xenagrosh told him everything about her twin core and her inability to Awaken or to gain access to any of her old abilities.
“Do you know what’s wrong with me, Dad? I tried all the breathing techniques I learned over the years, yet all I’ve achieved is the feeling that if I make one wrong move, my new core will overload and my new body will be lost.” She said.
“And you’re right. The Master’s crazy experiment has simply created bodies and cores capable of withstanding the Chaos energy that normally ravages an Abomination’s physical form, but it didn’t cure your status as an Eldritch.
“I’m sorry, Zoreth, but you’ve been deluding yourself, you are still far from being normal.
“The Troll core is incapable of processing the darkness energy just like the black core is incapable of processing the light element, which creates a symbiotic relationship that allows you to maintain your human form, but that’s it.
“Both of them are still fallen cores, so they cannot Awaken. Any attempt to Awaken a fallen core will make it burst, causing your black core to haywire and killing you on the spot. I don’t think you can survive anymore without the troll core. You’ve changed too much.” Leegaain said.
“Wow, fallen cores? Do they really exist?” Xenagrosh wiped her tears while Leegaain nodded.
“I can’t believe it. I live together with the most ancient beings on Mogar, Guardians excluded, and no one was able to understand what was wrong with us. Yet you solved it all just by looking at my hologram. Can you cure me, Dad?”
“Honestly, and I don’t say this often, I don’t know. You’re a new life form so it would take me some time just to understand what you’ve become, but I’m fairly optimistic about your condition.” Leegaain said while thinking about Lith.
The anomaly was an Abomination hybrid as well, yet he hadn’t fallen, had been able to Awaken by himself, and was living a full life, even walking the path to Guardianhood.
‘If I could get to study how his mana core and life force works, I could cure my little girl. Yet I can’t afford to let her know about his existence. As long as Zoreth associates herself with the Master, she’s a liability to the balance.’ He thought.
“Really? Do you think you can help us?” Xenagrosh said, her eyes were full of hope.
“The others? Maybe. I need to see them to be sure. You? Absolutely, but first you have to tell me the Master’s identity and where I can find the Eldritchs. I can barter such information with the other Guardians in exchange for your safety, but I can’t make any promises about the others.” Leegaain replied.
“Are you really asking me to betray my family and the only person who ever gave a damn about me since the day I fell?” Xenagrosh’s hope vanished, replaced by her usual determination.
“They are not your family! They are worse than undead. Eldritchs are crazed beasts that destroy everything they touch. Each one of them has made more victims than the entire vampire race! As for the Master, he’s not any better than an Eldritch.
“The number of living beings sacrificed for his mad experiments is in the millions. He can’t be allowed to exist. Mogar can’t afford another Arthan Griffon.”
“Then what about me? I’m an Eldritch too, what makes me so different from the other Abominations? If it wasn’t for me, the Master would have never learned about the secrets of Awakening, nor about Arthan’s madness!” Xenagrosh said.
“By the Great Mother! You’re my baby girl, that’s the damn difference! I protect countless lives every single day. Humans, beasts, undead, plants, and the only thing they have in common is that I don’t give a rat’s ass about them.
“I can afford to be egotistical from time to time, especially when my family is involved. Come back home and I promise you that I will do all I can to save you.”
