Chapter 1417 - Paying Your Dues (Part 1)

The violet star at the center of Lith's life force received the energy from the smaller ones through the thread, amplifying it before sending it back to them. The red energy allowed the stars to resonate with the void and to beat with it in unison.

The darkness didn't just feed upon the stars, it also kept them apart so that each one of them could grow without colliding with the others.

'It seems I'll need Faluel's shapeshifting lessons sooner than I expected.' Lith inwardly sighed after failing multiple times to change his form without magic.

'Maybe, and maybe not.' Solus pondered. 'My guess is that the red thread is the remnant of your human side. You didn't lose it, it just changed. Try to focus on that.'

Lith followed her advice, following and amplifying the part of the melody of his new life force that reminded him of the human melody the most. His body slowly shrunk, compressing his mass back into a human form while his life force folded to resemble one.

Yet it wasn't the same as before. The Tiamat was Lith's new nature and turning into a human felt akin to wearing an old set of clothes that didn't fit well anymore.

'Maybe you just need to get adjusted to your new condition as well.' Solus said in an attempt to ease his mind that was already running to the worst-case scenario.

'Maybe.' He replied.

Even back on Earth after Ezio's death, Derek/Lith had always felt like a monster. Like something that just wore a human skin and that couldn't become one, no matter how hard he tried.

Now, he feared that what had once been just a mental scar had suddenly turned into reality.

"Lith, are you alright?" Vladion asked after waiting for him to move for a few minutes.

The many wounds on Lith's body and the damage to his armor made the Firstborn Vampire worry for him.

"I'm not." Lith replied after fixing everything with Invigoration.

"Usually, I'd try to convince you to give me the Eyes, but I owe you and Scarlett too much to let my greed for a powerful artifact blind me. You have my deepest gratitude." Vladion gave him a deep bow.

"Gratitude? And for what? Everyone is dead, Thrud has escaped, and I bet one month of my annuities that she has gotten everything she came for." Lith replied. "The only question here is how much did we lose and how much did we gain."

"I disagree. Xedros is dead, we have avenged our fallen, and now that we know how Thrud's new Madness operates, we can find her the moment she makes another attempt." Vladion said.

"Good for you, because I, instead, have just lost a big chunk of myself, one of my most powerful allies, and I have to give my teacher the worst news a parent can receive. On top of that, I don't give a shit about Haug's reward anymore!"

"I've reached the violet core on my own and turned into a monster for it." Lith said with a snarl. "Let's go back to Lightkeep. I want to go home, give the bad news to everyone, and hope that Kamila will not break up with me for this."

***

While contemplating the gains of her latest success, Thrud Efila Daron Griffon wore one of the kindest and warmest smiles that Jakra the Emerald Dragon had ever seen.

In front of her stood hundreds of Emperor Beasts that she had "rescued" from the clutches of their power-hungry masters and that were now willing to follow her to the Golden Griffon.

"Thank you very much, Lady Griffon." A young Roc gave her a deep bow of gratitude. "If it wasn't for you and Lord Jakra, the very same Thunderbird that the Council had assigned me as a master would have sacrificed me to turn herself into a Griffon!"

"Don't thank me, Orsat." Thrud made the Roc stood tall while her voice sounded genuinely sad. "I apologize for being unable to find something better than just destabilizing their bodies after Xedros shared the Ambrosia with them.

"If only I was more capable, many more might have been saved."

"That's not true, Lady Griffon." A Scorpicore said. "You took care of us the whole time and did your best to ensure our survival. You're not even an Awakened, yet you managed to put a leash to all those monsters. What you've done is a miracle."

Thrud inwardly laughed, but her face showed nothing but the kindest motherly expression.

After Othre and having defeated Manohar along with an entire squadron of Spellbreakers, Thrud knew that humans couldn't hinder her plans anymore. She had only two enemies left: the Awakened Council and the Undead Courts.

Now, however, neither of them would be a threat to her any longer.

She couldn't care less about the Father of all Wyverns' ambitions. Yet by experimenting on him, she had the opportunity to study the bloodline purifying process and focus on that specific ability of Arthan's Madness.

That way, she had found a way to turn herself into a Griffon and her unborn baby into a Dragon-Griffon hybrid safely, increasing her powers by several folds.

Also, in exchange for her "help", Xedros had taught her the Awakening method that belonged to the Wyvern bloodline.

Thrud had involved in the project other members of the Council not only to have enough Guardian blood for her purposes, but also to have Xedros Awaken their most loyal followers and make sure that the Wyvern wasn't tricking her.

After her body modifications had killed the rest of Xedros's accomplices and Scarlett had killed the newborn Golden Dragon, Thrud had gained a small army of young Emperor Beasts angry with the Council.

They would follow her to the Golden Griffon, where she would safely Awaken them all and, according to Jakra, their loyalty would somehow be set in stone.

On top of that, there was a reason why she had chosen to kidnap young undead instead of creating them from scratch. Making a greater undead required time and focus, but her real goal had been to split forever the Eclipsed Lands from the Undead Courts.

The Neutral faction had asked both the Council and the Courts for help, yet they had either ignored its pleas or attempted to blackmail the Firstborns. The Council had offered them a deaf ear, suspecting the Eclipsed Lands to provide support and comfort to the enemies they were at war with.

The Undead Courts, instead, had demanded to the Awakened undead to join the war effort along with their armies and to provide them with food and artifacts.

The war would keep weakening the Kingdom, the Courts, and the Council so that when her army of Awakened came, they wouldn't have the strength to stop her. Their short-sightedness and petty grudges had made those old monsters dance at her tune like puppets.

"We are so close to victory, my love." Thrud said after making sure for the tenth time that Jakra's wounds were healed and that his equipment was self-repairing itself.