Seeing the short woman made of light and hearing Solusâs voice gave Bytra a headache that usually led to a fit of Blood Madness and to recover unpleasant memories.
Yet she had long learned how to repress those urges along with her memory.
"In a minute!" Bytra replied in frustration.
She had come to the party hoping to meet Xenagroshâs little brother and take work off her mind, yet it was all she had been talking about ever since her arrival.
As for Solus, she had never seen her own killer due to the original Bytra backstabbing her heart before Elphyn could even realize what had happened. On top of that, during her first life, Solus had only deep spite for Bytra.
Elphyn Menadion had considered the Raiju as a phony Ruler of the Flames since Bytra had not only given just a derivative contribution to the Forgemastering arts, but she had also been incapable of making a tower of her own.
For those reasons, the two women had very few shared memories, making Bytraâs human appearance as relevant as a wallflower in Solusâs mind.
"What about my lessons?" Like a hound on a bone, Lith refused to let go.
"Hey, big sis, how have you been?" Xenagrosh mimicked his voice between spoonfuls of ice cream. "Iâm fine, Lith. I was worried for you as well."
"Okay, fine. Iâm sorry for being a jerk." Lith sighed. "Why didnât you reply to the message I left Tezka? I started to think you had dropped me like a bad habit."
"I was busy. I always am due to this damn war with the undead." She sighed. "I couldnât even come here earlier because Da- I mean, the Master was busy. We came here together once we were done with our respective jobs."
"The Professor is here? I was starting to think he had been dragged away again to do the Kingdomâs dirty job." Lith said.
"Donât worry, he is going to keep his word. The Master is at Zinyaâs." Xenagrosh replied. "He will keep them company and make up for everything they are missing tonight due to... You know."
"Iâll call him tomorrow first thing in the morning, yet Iâd appreciate it if you thanked him on my behalf tonight." Lith didnât even look at Xenagroshâs nod while he stared through one of the windows.
The sounds of the party become a dull noise to his ears while he sighed deeply, thinking back at everything he had lost from the day Kamila had left the tower without looking back.
Meanwhile, far away enough from Lithâs house to escape being detected by the ancient monsters assembled there, a blue-robed man stared at both households in hatred.
The state-of-the-art cloaking devices he wore were the only reason why he was still alive.
âI wanted so badly to inflict more pain to Verhen during his very birthday, but at this point, writing a sob story and sending the manuscript to him is the only chance I have to make him cry.
âThereâs so much mana in the air tonight that just being near Lutia is akin to staring into deathâs face. His break up with Kamila was supposed to make it easier for me to kill those whores, but even the Yehval household is a fortress!â
He thought.
Aside from the lowest tier of standard protective arrays, Zinyaâs house actually had few defenses. What the man perceived as a threat was the presence of the Abomination hybrids that had followed the Master.
"I know that I shouldnât drag you into the mess that my personal life is, Professor Vastor, but do you think I could go to Lithâs just to give him my present? I bought it in advance and I canât return it anymore." Kamila asked.
She held a carefully wrapped gift box the size of a book while moving her eyes from the window to Vastor non-stop.
"Absolutely not!" He and Zinya said in unison.
"I donât know why you broke up with him but I can see that youâre still a mess. Until you sort out your feelings, seeing him again is a terrible idea." The Master said.
"Itâs the same thing I told her countless times during the last few days, Zogar." Zinya nodded. "I hoped that Kami had at least opened up with you, but it seems you know even less than I do."
A few days after learning about Solusâs existence, Kamila had moved to Zinyaâs house because everything inside her apartment reminded her of Lith. On top of that, whenever she was alone, Kamila couldnât stop wondering how much of those last three years had been a lie.
The silence of her home in Belius drove her crazy and the take-away food only cut deeper into her wounds because she always ended up buying food for two out of habit.
"Iâm so sorry for troubling you so much, Zin. Yet Iâm barely holding myself together and Iâm afraid that if I stay alone for too long, Iâd fall apart for good." Kamila sniffled while clenching the gift box.
The break-up made her suffer much more than Lith. While he could talk about the issue with his family, friends, and his mentor, Kamila was completely alone. The only people who knew about Lithâs secret were part of his life, not of her own.
She couldnât vent her feelings to anyone, not even her sister.
Telling the truth had set Lith free, yet it had also trapped her in a lonely dark place. It made it hard for Kamila to think about anything with a calm mind whenever she wasnât busy with work.
"Donât you dare to thank me for so little, Kami. Not after everything youâve done for me over the years." Zinya stopped cooking to hug her from behind. "This is your home too and youâre free to stay here for as long as you need.
"You can tell me what happened when youâre ready. We have all the time in the world. I can use a hand with the kids and you can use some homemade food. Itâs a fair trade." Zinya was worried by how much weight Kamila had lost before moving to Lutia.
"Speaking of kids, I know that Iâm not exactly a toymaker, but I hope youâll like them anyway." Vastor took several presents out of his dimensional amulet.
Some he had enchanted himself, most were Lithâs handiwork that he had asked Vastor to deliver in his place.
It took Kamila a glance to recognize who had crafted what. Vastorâs toys were more expensive while Lithâs enchantments had the flair that Frey and Filia loved.
Vastor had yet to spend with them enough time to know their taste and even though Kamila wasnât an Awakened, she could almost feel Lithâs energy signature.
The familiar feeling made her weep a silent tear that she wiped before anyone could notice.
"Why can we play with the others but uncle Lith never visits anymore?" The kids asked after thanking and hugging Vastor for the beautiful gifts.
"Itâs complicated. Go wash your hands, dinner is almost ready." Zinya tried to change the subject to not pour salt on Kamilaâs wounds.
"Why is Auntie hurt? Is Lith a bad guy like Dad?" Frey and Filia held each other in fear.