Chapter 160

"Abominations are creatures mostly born out of greed, when someone pushes his body beyond its limits, destroying it. Unlike what most creatures think, Abominations aren't only Awakened ones gone wrong.

I have fought and destroyed Abominations that spoke only gibberish, others that had no idea what had happened to them, having no concept of the mana core or world energy. They were simply born like that.

What I do know for certain, is that once an Abomination is born, there are three possible outcomes. The most common, is that the Abomination dies, either because of a prolonged lack of nourishment or because it gets killed.

They cause too much damage to go unnoticed, so humans or beasts usually hunt them down before they can learn to control their abilities. The second possibility is for the Abomination to seize enough world energy to stabilise its form and regain part of its senses.

They are called Empowered Abominations, and are much more dangerous than their younglings. They can use magic properly, control their hunger to a degree and live forever, or at least until they get destroyed.

Their greatest weakness is the lack of a physical body, which makes them impossible to blend in. They have to hide to survive, yet they manage to do great harm to the world, draining its mana to keep living.

The last and rarest outcome, is for an Abomination to find a proper host, becoming able of permanently stabilising its form and getting full control over the hunger. They are called Puppeteer Abominations, and are the most dangerous ones.

They usually prey someone of their same species, so a beast will target beasts, a plant another plant. The ideal body is freshly dead, in mint condition, and stronger than the one the Abomination previously had.

A dead body has no mana core, making it easier for the Abomination's to settle in. It's possible to possess a living body, but in such case, until the host is alive, the two cores will fight for control, making it impossible to use magic. (*)

The body's conditions and strength are related to the need for it to be able to contain the Puppeteer. Without these requisites, it would be ripped apart by the chaotic energies, just like the old one.

As long a Puppeteer is able to control its urges, it goes unnoticed. The only way to identify them is to use Invigoration and check for the presence of corrupt energies. They are hybrid in nature, allowing them to develop unique and unpredictable abilities.

Both Empowered and Puppeteers can further evolve into Eldritch Abominations. Their powers are on the same level of the superior Monsters, like Scorpicores, Wyverns or Treants."

Milea had become used hearing Leegaain's voice every moment of the day, even now that she was showering. The dragon demanded from her to keep the breathing rhythm during her meals, reading time and bathroom pauses.

Milea was avid for knowledge, the voice in her head had stopped bothering her after the first days spent together.

"Wait. I thought Eldritchs were the Guardians corrupt counterpart. You know, good versus evil? Are you saying they are weaker than you?"

Leegaain guffawed at such preposterous idea.

"Good? Evil? That's a human concept that the world never cared about and never will. And to be honest, neither you humans actually do. You just like to fill your mouths with righteous words, before feeding on those of your kin that are too weak to retaliate."

Melia felt insulted by such cruel remark, but then she remembered all the fake offers for help she had received, all the misery and pain that her kind inflicted on itself in the name of profit or pleasure. So she changed topic.

"Well, good to know. A Guardian Abomination is too scary even to think about. How does one become a Guardian?" She asked.

"That's a complicate question. Do you know what the real difference between the magic you learned at the academy and the one I'm teaching you is?"

Melia shook her head while applying the shampoo.

"Human magic is egotistical. You try to do everything on your own, using only the mana that your body holds. That's why you couldn't use powerful spells before, because your mana core was too weak.

Human magic forces its connection with the world energy, making a spell easier to cast, but doing so requires a great inner strength.

Now, instead, I taught you how to strengthen the core and how to borrow the world's mana. It's like the difference between lifting something using only the arms and doing it while coordinating your arms, legs and back.

That's a trait that permeates mankind's whole life, just like Abominations' lust for power. That's why you can become true mages, even evolve into Magi, but never before one of you became a Guardian.

To become one, you must accept the world, and the world must accept you back. Only by giving back what the planet has given you, it's possible to pass the world's tribulations and reach the Guardian state."

Milea sneered at her Mentor's contempt.

"Really? And what did you give to the world? A huge scaly a*s?"

They both laughed heartily. They were getting fonder of each other with each passing day.

"It's easier to show than to tell. Have you finished showering, or must I drain another waterfall?"

"Ready when you are, smartass." A sudden gust of warm wind dried her up, covering her with a white silk roman toga with a deep neckline and side slits that left most of her legs exposed.

"What the heck is this thing? It looks so ancient." Milea had materialized in what seemed a grass field for the livestock. Leegaain's lair had countless rooms, some so big that it seemed to be in a world of its own.

The dragon's mastery of dimensional magic allowed him to stretch the mountain cave into a continent.

"Back in the day, when people believed me a god, and I let them worship me, this was the standard dress of my priestesses. It feels nostalgic seeing it worn by a beautiful young girl again."

Thanks to the constant refinement of her mana core, the cleansing of the impurities and Leegaain home cooking, Milea's looks had improved by leap and bounds. She doubted her own mother would find easy to recognize her anymore.

"Wow, I would have never taken you for such a perv!"

"Hey, I'm ancient, not dead. Back to your question, kid. Do you know why the Gorgon Empire is named so?"

"Of course." She nodded. "Gorgons were a violent race of monsters, that plagued our lands, turning the living into stone. Then, before the Empire was unified, our forefathers discovered that their skin and bones were made of adamant, one of the strongest metals.

After slaying the beasts, they forged what later become known as the Empire's Arsenal. Without those weapons and armours, the Gorgon Empire would have never been born. The Gorgon Empire's foundations are the Gorgon's flesh and bones."

Leegaain clicked its tongue in disgust.

"Propaganda. That's how you make a lie so close to the truth."

They Warped again, getting close to what in the distance seemed a herd of cows. Milea discovered they weren't cows at all. They had red eyes without pupils, and their skin was made by something that resembled opaque emeralds.

They didn't react to the dragon, nor to the girl, lazily grazing the grass.

"Do they seem violent to you?"

Melia didn't hesitate caressing their odd skin. It felt like stone, but was warm and elastic to the touch. They were living beings, not stone constructs.

"Are these…"

"Gorgons? Yes." Leegaain completed the question for her. "Take a closer look at the grass, please."

Melia knelt down, discovering that the grass became hard and shiny under the monsters' breath, and that was such metal the Gorgons were actually eating.

"The real story is a bit different. Gorgons are a rare sub species of magical beasts, that happens to spawn only in some regions of the Empire. If the bull or cow is too meek, instead of evolving into a Tyr (AN: bull type magical beast), they become a Gorgon.

Gorgons only eat adamant, and that's why they are capable of turning grass into adamant.

Back in the day, before Davross was discovered, it was the hardest and rarest metal known to man. When your forefathers discovered the Gorgons, they made them breed, and once they had enough metal, they made sure Gorgons become almost extinct.

So yes, the Gorgon Empire's foundations literally are the Gorgons' flesh and bones."

Melia was flabbergasted.

"But why?" Centuries of history were crumbling before her eyes.

"Because they were afraid others could steal their monopoly. And because if any more weapons were produced, they would have lost their market value."

"How do you know?" Melia still refused to believe such story.

"Because I was there. Back when I still gave a sh*t about the Empire, I told them about the Gorgons. I taught them how to forge adamant. And then I had to spectate the slaughter."

"Why didn't you stop them?"

"Unlike other Guardians, I believe in free will. When your forefathers asked for my help, after the Griffon Kingdom was born, I offered them my wisdom, not my power, and they accepted. And then they betrayed my teachings."

Leegaain voice roared like thunder, his rage raised the temperature of several degrees.

"Don't you understand, already? My library, the animals, everything in this lair is what I am for the world. I am the keeper of everything and everyone that has been discarded before its time.

I will right all these wrongs, but only when the time is ripe and so are the people."

"That's why you abandoned the Empire? For the Gorgons?" As much it was an act of unwarranted cruelty, Melia couldn't believe that her country was the only one without an active Guardian for such reason.

"No. A species going extinct is hardly a novelty. I left because back when Lochra Silverwing left her legacy and magic was born anew, the Emperor went back on his word, preferring the use of the slave collars instead of pursuing equality.

I never joined the Empire because I cared for the glory or the riches. Everything you see here is mine. I collected it overtime from forgotten cities and sunken ships. I never stole or pillaged; I salvaged these things like I hoped to salvage your people.

The promise was that in exchange for my knowledge, they would have built a fair society, whose long-term goal was equal rights for everyone. Instead they chose once again the easy way, betraying their own people, betraying me for the last time."