2331 Night into Day (Part 1)

Tista was the person who had spent the most time with Phloria after her Awakening.

First Tista had taught her true and Spirit Magic and later they had worked together with the Awakened corps that Phloria had founded. To make matters worse, Tista wasn't faring much better than the kids.

Lith was her hero. Even though she knew he was just human, in her heart he'd always been a demigod capable of saving the day, no matter how impossible the situation looked.

His failure to save Phloria had shattered Tista's childish belief and undermined the foundations of her world. Tista didn't blame Lith for the death of their friend, but she also knew that if she talked to him, she would end up increasing his burden.

Lith entered the kids' room, discovering that they were already in bed. Aran and Leria hugged their furred friends, whimpering even in their sleep.

He gave them a kiss on the forehead and caressed their hair before leaving. A single Steps moved him and Kamila to the Trawn woods where Solus conjured the tower. A single Warp brought them to the geyser near Salaark's beach house.

"Why here?" Lith said as sunlight flooded the open windows and forced him to shield his eyes with a hand.

"Because we can all use a little warmth after such a dark day." Solus replied.

The air of the Desert was much hotter than the Kingdom's and the sun was still high there.

"Go get some air while I prepare dinner." Kamila pushed him out of the door. "Solus, do you mind giving me a hand?"

"Sure thing." She gave Lith a strong push, sending him face-first onto the sand.

"I meant in the kitchen."

"My bad." Solus slammed the door while Lith was still getting up.

There was a thin smile on his face and he was happy that there was no one to witness it. Every trace of happiness made him feel dirty. He had no right to be happy. Not after Phloria's death. Not after being an integral part of her demise.

Lith took a few deep breaths to calm down as his body started to shudder despite the heat.

'Fuck Thrud. She knew that taking away someone I loved was the best way to make me suffer and she even found a way to make me do it myself.' Lith looked at his right arm.

The sunlight highlighted the white of his Magus robe yet he kept seeing the red of Phloria's blood.

He walked into the ocean, dipping up to his hair in an attempt to wash away that sticky feeling that despite the passing of days still haunted him. Once Lith returned ashore, he inwardly thanked Solus for her thoughtfulness.

'There's nothing here that reminds me of Phloria and the sun almost makes the past few days look like a bad dream.' He thought. 'If only.'

His human form didn't suffer from water and cold yet he lay down on a deckchair and let the sun dry him. It took the time of a deep breath for Lith to fall into a dreamless sleep, waking up only when Kamila put a skewer of grilled fish under his nose.

The delicious smell first made his stomach gurgle in his sleep. Then, it twisted his dream into a banquet that never sated him, no matter how much he ate. Only after he screamed in frustration in his dream did he finally wake up.

"I hope you are hungry because we prepared you a feast." Kamila said while Lith looked around in confusion, trying to sort imagination from reality.

A loud grumble from his abdomen settled which was which in one second.

"I'm starving." He stretched his limbs while standing up.

The sweet relief from sleep was soon crushed by the memory of the recent events flooding his brain.

"Wow. Did you do this in just a few minutes?" Lith asked in amazement at the sight of the full-course meal waiting for him on the table.

"Actually, you slept for over one hour." Solus replied. "Magic made things faster and easier."

"Solus helped me a lot." Kamila helped him sit at the table, opening with tortellini in a steaming broth to warm him up.

"Yeah, I washed the vegetables, I cut the vegetables, and I even stirred the pots." Solus grumbled.

"It's not my fault if every time you cook something it comes out burnt, frozen, or both." Kamila shrugged apologetically.

"I'm not angry with you, I'm angry with myself."

After the broth came a fish dish with spiced potatoes, deep-fried breaded shrimps and cuttlefish. Everything was served with abundant Maekosh beer that the tower kept nigh its freezing point.

The contrast between the cold beer and the steaming food made everything even more delicious. When Lith was done eating, not a single crumb remained on his plates.

"Thanks for the meal. I'll do the dishes." He said.

"No need." A snap of Solus' fingers made both pans and tableware disappear, leaving behind only the scraps that she fed to the beach animals.

A second snap conjured a new set of everything in mint state.

"That's some cheating if ever I saw it." Lith said.

"Thanks, I learned from the best." Solus said with a warm smile.

"Do you want to talk now or do you want to take another nap?" Kamila asked.

"I'd like to talk now, thanks. Napping can wait." He replied.

"Good, but before you say anything, there is something you need to hear." Kamila nodded.

"I'm all ears." Lith sighed.

"Not here." Solus dragged him to the living room and forced him to sit on the couch in front of the fireplace before Warping the tower to the Rekar mountain range.

"Why did we move?" Lith asked in confusion.

"A lit fireplace in the Desert during the day is beyond stupid and this is for ambiance." She pointed at the starred sky now visible from the windows.

"Okay, I give up. You talk and I listen." He raised his hands with his palms out, hoping that the situation would make sense sooner than later.

Kamila sat down by his side and pulled her shirt up enough to expose her belly. Solus put her hands on Kamila's skin and weaved a spell.

Suddenly, a faint and rapid thumping filled the room, growing in volume as Solus' spell closed in to the source of the noise.

"Is this…" Lith asked, his eyes wide with awe.

"Our baby's heartbeat, yes." Kamila nodded, bringing his hand to her womb as well. "The moment Solus told me about Earth's fetal dopplers I fell in love with the idea. Since Mogar lacks the necessary technology, we had to make up for it with magic.

"I was saving this to celebrate a happy moment, but I think that you need to hear it now. I want you to remember that no matter how dark Mogar might look, there's always a light waiting for you at home."

Kamila took a pause, letting her words sink as the baby girl's heartbeat pounded them into Lith's brain.

"No matter what Mogar and Baba Yaga say. Even if you really turn out to be the Lord of Destruction, you can still create life."