"Look deeper. The second life force is hidden by the first one, like a faint melody can be easily covered by loud music." Lith said.
"Wait, are you saying that you can hear life forces as well? Gods, thatās a relief. I was starting to think it was a sign of insanity." Quylla said with joy, having finally found a kindred spirit.
"What do you mean? I thought that every talented healer could."
"Manohar is the only one who has no problems admitting that he hears life forces and as you know, being like him is not considered a good thing." She chuckled, making a second attempt at Scanner.
"Good gods! This is amazing." Quylla said after finally finding Lithās second life force. "It looks like that of an Emperor Beast, but theirs isnāt surrounded by a black sphere, nor do they appear to be battling. Iāve never seen anything like that before."
Nor she would ever be able to. Scanner required physical contact and usually, those who touched an Abomination wouldnāt live to tell the tale.
If the human life force looked like a mix of lego blocks and erector set pieces, while the Emperor Beast life force looked like a burning star, the Abominationās looked like an empty black sphere.
"When exactly did you visit an Emperor Beast?" Lith asked. Even he had been able to make the analogy only after treating Kallaās failed attempt at Lichhood.
"Light magic is something most beasts are terrible at, so when they get injured, the Lord of the forest sends them to the academy to be treated. I always wanted to understand why magical beasts can use a different kind of magic and I think the answer lies in the difference between our life forces. They are nothing alike."
āThatās because we are two different species.ā Lith thought. āThe difference lies in the beast being born partially Awakened but limited to two elements, whereas we humans can always use all elements but we have no innate affinity to them.ā Lith thought.
"Your condition is truly unique. Your two life forces complement and strengthen each other. This probably explains why you always recover so fast." Quylla said over his musings.
"Meaning?"
"Whenever you take damage, your human life force tries to fix it, like it happens to every other person. What makes you special, is that your other life force is capable of helping and nurturing the former by sharing part of its energy.
"Which means that, at least in theory, not only could it lead to fixing your human life force over time, but also that you might actually live as long as a normal human being. Twice the life force, twice the life span." She said.
"Iām sorry, Quylla, but I think thatās not the case. My life forces are intertwined, when one runs out the other will die as well. Also, if you take a good look at them, they share the same energy.
"I havenāt got double the amount of life force, it just flows from one form to another. Otherwise the crack I sustained while saving Protector would have already healed." Lith sighed.
Quylla used Scanner on him again, this time focusing less on the marvel that a patient with two life forces was and more on what the implications of such a thing could be.
"Youāre right. Itās like two bottles sharing the same liquid. Yet it still makes no sense." Quylla was suddenly at a loss for words. She loved Lith like a brother, yet the fear of the unknown started to seep inside her heart.
If the second life force wasnāt a disease, nor a consequence of saving Protector, then it opened the question about what Lith was. At first, the fear of dying at the hand of the Odi hadnāt left any space for doubts and then, once they returned home, her affection for him had trampled her caution.
But now that that Quylla was forced to face the bits of truth that Lith could offer her, she didnāt know how to react. On one hand, she was supposed to be scared of the unknown being sitting in front of her, but on the other hand Lith was always Lith.
His strange abilities didnāt change the fact that he was her first crush, or all the time they had spent together, or the several times he had risked his life to help her, just like against the Odi.
Yet she couldnāt just shrug everything off as if nothing had changed.
"Do your parents know?" She asked.
"No. Itās not the kind of thing that you can tell lightly. Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad. Do you remember when Orpal said all the time that Iām a monster? Well, guess what, he was right." Lith replied with a sad smile.
"Thatās not true, youāre not a monster!" Quylla blurted out before she could think about her words, surprising even herself.
"Youāre very kind, but we both know that most people would put me on a lab table just because Iām stronger than the average Joe, let alone if they knew Iām whatever this is." Lith waved at his body.
"Does Phloria know?"
"Of course she does. I would have never dragged her in a relationship without letting her know the mess she was walking into."
"It was really brave of you. Of both of you, I mean." Quylla wondered if she would be able to accept as a boyfriend a man-something hybrid.
"Nah, it wasnāt bravery, at least on my part. Once I realized that Phloria was falling in love with me, that things were getting serious, I revealed myself to her in the hope to scare her away."
"Wow, thatās a dick move if I ever heard one. Almost as bad as breaking up with her with a letter." Quylla said with a chuckle. For a monster, Lith was pretty damn human.
"Youāre right, but you know me, dick move is my middle name. She deserved someone better, someone normal. Yet she accepted me anyway and kept my secret for all this time. You have no idea how much it meant to me."
"Were you planning to tell me, sooner or later?"
"No. I didnāt want to risk one of my only four human friends. Beside you, Phloria, Friya, and Selia, Iāve no one. I didnāt tell my parents for the same reason, because Iām afraid of their reaction." Lith said.
"So, no one beside me and Phloria knows?" Quylla didnāt know whether to be scared of flattered by the burden she now had to carry.
"Protector knows about it too. As I told you, Iāve no control over the transformation. It also happened when I was trying to save his life, otherwise I donāt think I wouldāve told him either. Why do you think I chose to work alone as a Ranger?
"Itās to stay away from people as much as I can."
"What about Kamila?" Curiosity was getting the better of Quylla.
"She doesnāt know it, yet. But since weāre almost together for a year, I think itās time to break up or move up. With all that has happened between us, I canāt let her delude herself or make plans for the future without knowing anything about the real me."
Lith had no intention of making Protectorās mistakes nor to play with Kamilaās feelings. He had never planned to grow so fond of her and the idea of losing her hurt like hell, but hiding the truth would have only delayed the inevitable.