2085 Safely Endangered (Part 1)

"Fainting, though, is a bit extreme. Think of your poor wife." A crystal feathered Phoenix said.

"That's exactly who I'm thinking about!" Lith stood up, feeling immediately dizzy as his memory of the most recent revelation returned. He had yet to wrap his head around the idea of having a kid, let alone Awakened.

"See? He's back on his feet already." Salaark said to Kamila while they made their way through the crowd. "I told you there was nothing to worry about."

"There's a lot to worry about!" Lith snarled in outrage. "How can you be so calm while a baby Awakened in the womb stands above a mana geyser?"

His words caused endless gasps and exclamations, but no one seemed worried. Quite the contrary, they all broke out in tears, fighting over who'd get to congratulate Kamila and Lith first.

"This is not how I would have disclosed the news to the rest of the world, but you're the father." Salaark shrugged.

"Okay, what am I missing?" Between the worry and the bunch of strangers hugging him from every side, Lith had a splitting headache from suppressing his killing instincts.

"First off, it's not my fault if Kamila got pregnant nor that you always kept her above or near a mana geyser." Salaark said. "Between your mana flow and the power of your bloodline, the baby was bound to Awaken.

"Second, you are right. Under normal circumstances, this situation would be very dangerous, but Kamila is special. She's perfectly fine." Salaark rushed to say once Lith's family had started to turn pale.

"I'm special? How?" Kamila asked.

"Because your core is weak ass and until this morning you weren't even Awakened." The Guardian replied.

"Can you run that by me one more time please?" Neither Kamila nor Lith felt reassured by her words, only confused.

"It means that while the baby grows and uses the world energy to refine both their core and body, they can safely send the excess energy to you. Lith explained to you what pregnancy does to a mage, didn't he?" Salaark asked.

"Yes, he did. Basically, the mother and the baby are one so their mana flows combine into-" Kamila's voice faded as she remembered how oddly energetic she had felt lately and how during the battle she had even spewed Origin Flames.

"My point exactly." Salaark nodded. "Were your core stronger, the energy from the baby might have caused a deadly breakthrough, but since it's weak, the energy you received found plenty of impurities to move and frail tissues to refine."

"How did Kami Awaken and why didn't she notice?" Lith asked.

"The mother works akin to a safety valve for the child." Tyris replied. "Before the mana core forms, nothing happens. After that, Kamila experienced an invigorating effect instead of the usual complications of pregnancy because of the nature of the child.

"Then, when her life was at risk, the baby actively contributed to the battle with their own strength. The mana flow through her body increased until her core was forced to Awaken, combining Kamila's own fusion magic with that of the child."

"Is that why I felt that strong? I thought it was the armor." Kamila said.

"It was also the armor." Salaark nodded. "It multiplies your strength so when you used fusion magic, its effect were also enhanced."

"And you knew it all along?" Lith asked, receiving a nod for an answer. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"You already had so many things to worry about, my Featherling, and the two of you had just found each other again. I thought that the news could wait until you had put some order in your life.

"After everything your family had gone through, you deserved some peace. I wanted you all to enjoy life and mend your wounds without one more thing to worry about." Salaark caressed Lith's face, then Kamila, and lastly her womb.

"You have my word that I've always upheld my word and made sure that both of them were safe at all times."

Somewhere on Jiera, Roghar the Fenrir felt a cold shiver running down his spine and whimpered in pain. The wounds of the Guardian of Mana had yet to fully heal and his fur to grow back.

After pummelling him into a coma, the other three Guardians had made sure that he would think twice before defying them again and had also collected plenty of ingredients.

"Is it safe for Kami to stay here or in the tower, then?" Lith asked.

"Yes, it is. Just make sure she doesn't use Accumulation. This way, as the baby refines their core and body due to the geysers, Kamila's will be refined as well and have the time she needs to adapt to her condition."

"That will not be a problem since I have no idea how to use any breathing technique." She shrugged. "By the way, which of Lith's bloodline abilities can I use now and will they stick once the baby is born?"

"First, What? Second, the fuck? Since when you can use my bloodline abilities?" Lith felt his headache getting worse and worse.

"I get that this might sound confusing so allow me to make it crystal clear for you." Tyris established a mind link, sharing with him the details of the battle.

"You can use only those that the baby manages to channel." Salaark said while Lith's expression changed from rage into fear, pride, and terror as the images flashed in his mind. "And no, they won't stick. You are still a human."

"You kept them safe the whole time my scaly ass!" Lith's seven eyes and four wings popped out of his human body in outrage. "Why didn't you step in sooner?"

"I arrived the moment she was truly in danger." Salaark was offended by the allegation. "I couldn't follow her around 24/7 nor have her followed without intruding on both her and your privacy.

"Even if I had my children hide themselves in Kamila's shadow, the moment she entered Valeron they would have been exposed and forced to tell the truth. As I said, I wanted you two to have a good life.

"Blame Jirni's training if your wife has become so good that even an Awakened needed to get serious in order to catch her. The armor is programmed to alert me at the first sign of harm, not when she's the one inflicting it.

"Also, feel free to vent your anger on those assholes whenever you want. They are still alive in my Pits of Agony, yet believe me when I say that the sweet relief of death is all they can dream of right now."

"Well, thank you for everything you have done for us today." Lith said, inwardly planning to pay them a visit and exact his revenge in person. "If not for you, things would have gone much worse."

"There's no need to worry anymore." Tyris accepted his gratitude with a nod of her head. "Now that the cat is out of the bag, we can take turns following Kamila whenever she gets out of our Royal Palaces."

"Wait, what?" Kamila said.

"We don't expect you to stop working nor can we afford to take risks." Tyris replied.