Jirni let the god of death rant while she checked on Manoharâs position. She already had two gods dancing on the palm of her hand and Jirni was eager to discover if she could get a third.
***
Lithâs house, Village of Lutia, a few hours later.
"We are about to have some tea, dear. Would you mind joining us?" Elina asked after knocking on Lithâs door.
"Thanks, Mom. Weâll be there in a minute." Tista replied while hugging her mother.
No matter how angry they got at each other, it wouldnât last long. Elina loved her children too much to hold a grudge for more than a few minutes.
"Iâm sorry for earlier." Elina said while returning the embrace. "Between Orpalâs death, your brother almost dying again, and hearing how much you suffered, I wasnât thinking clearly. Gods, why did all of this have to happen at the same time?"
Tista would have liked to say that Orpal was bad news in more than one way, but it would have achieved nothing but hurt her mother more.
"Iâm sorry too, Mom. I shouldnât have said all those things." She actually said.
"Donât think for a moment that Iâve forgotten about all the bad things that your brother has ever said and done to you." Elina let go of Tista and took Lithâs face between her hands.
"I havenât forgiven him either. Pretty words are cheap. Yet if he really has changed, then he deserves to be at least part of my life if you donât want him in yours. Are you willing to help your stupid Mom to make sure itâs not all an act?"
"First, youâre not stupid, Mom, youâre just too kind for your own good." Lith didnât have a shred of resentment toward her. There was a reason why Mogar took her semblance in front of him.
If not for Elina, Lith would have never cared about anyone but himself. Her unconditional love had quelled the abyss inside of him back when he was trapped inside his infant body and kept his fury at bay until he had met Solus.
Even after learning that Lith was a hybrid and maybe not even her son, Elina had been the first member of the family to accept him.
"Second, you donât even have to ask. Iâll help you to the best of my abilities, but you have to promise me that youâll keep an open and clear mind. The truth is pointless to those who refuse to see it."
"I promise." Elina hugged him, making sure once again that he wasnât hurt in any way.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully. After an awkward start, the mood of the Verhen family returned to normal. Later, that evening, Lith informed Vastor of the threat that Zinyaâs parents posed to her and asked Kamila to thoroughly investigate Orpal.
He also contacted his friends and arranged a meeting for the following day at Solusâs tower.
They met at dawn since both parties had many things to say and knowledge to share. Quylla went first, sharing the events inside the Fringe, what they had learned about how to communicate with Mogar, and the new magic they had learned.
Friya had become a Gravity Mage while Quylla had become the first human true mage and even dabbled in Light Mastery now.
"Seriously? Elves?" Solus couldnât believe her own ears. "Aside from the golden skin and the shitty attitude, they look like those in Dun-"
She pointed at Quyllaâs hologram until Lithâs glare cut her short.
"I mean, what a bunch of assholes!"
Before anyone could wonder what she meant, Lith told them everything that had happened in Reghia first and then in Kolga, leaving out only the part about Carl.
Listening to the fate of the humans in Jiera, to the fight against the Puppeteer Abomination, and to Khaliaâs fate was an emotional roller coaster that peaked when Solus used the towerâs abilities to make a hologram of her real appearance overlap with her energy body.
"This is how Iâm supposed to look like." She said while dispelling the illusion. There was no joy in her voice, only sadness.
Yet their ride derailed when Lith told them the truth about himself and an awkward silence fell in the towerâs main hall.
"Thatâs what you couldnât tell me in Reghia?" Phloria was flabbergasted.
It all made sense to her now. She had actually guessed it from the moment she had learned about how Awakened turned into Abominations, but she had always denied the possibility that Lith wasnât really human.
"Yes. I didnât tell Solus either. She already had too much on her plate and Kamila deserved to be the first to know about my latest crazy shit for once. I owed her that much." Lith said.
"Are you two still together?" Quylla asked in reflex while trying to calm the storm that raged inside her head.
"Even though I have a hard time believing it myself, we are. She said that between my Abomination side and my brief death at birth, she had already guessed, yet she doesnât care about it." Lithâs words made everyoneâs eyes but Phloriaâs go wide in surprise.
After the initial shock, it was the same thing that she would have told him if he decided to share that news with her first. Except he didnât and it really hurt.
"After talking with Solus and Protector, I donât care about it either. He is right. What I am doesnât change who I am or the way I love my family. Later Iâm going to inform Faluel as well but I wanted to tell you guys first.
"Iâll understand if you want to have nothing to do with me anymore, but I have to ask you to keep it for yourself. My life is already messy as it is and I donât need more trouble." Lith left the room to not be the proverbial elephant in the room while they decided what to do.
"You didnât have to tell them right now, you know?" Solusâs wisp rested on his shoulder.
After experiencing her human body, she could barely stand her energy form. Everything she saw, felt, and heard was now a pale imitation of the real thing as if a thin veil of cotton was spread over her body and dulled her senses.
"Yeah, but I donât want to keep lying. I have no need for fair-weather friends and they need to know the risks in the case I lose it. As Protector said, the first thing a real Abomination do is killing all those closest to them." Lith c.a.r.e.s.sed her gently, feeling her sadness as his own.
The door opened barely a second after he had left, letting out Nalrond and Phloria.
"You have yet to tell me what you did with the Hands of Menadion and with the white crystal. Iâm no Forgemaster but they are both priceless treasures that could help fix the problem with my two sides." The Rezar said, leaving Lith flabbergasted.
"Donât be so surprised. Ever since we met, Iâve never considered you a human. Humans donât shapeshift nor do they turn into frigging giants. I always knew you were a monster so giving it a tag changes little.
"Protector trusts you and Mogar considers you as one of her children. Thatâs more than enough for me." Nalrond shrugged.