2361 Embers of War (Part 1)

"The Royals may call Lith a hero for the feats he has achieved as a Magus, but it's for the things he does as a man that I love him." Kamila said.

Elina sniffled a bit but said nothing. She kissed Lith on the forehead and ordered a huge meal from one of the many valets.

"How do you feel, Solus?" Raaz asked.

"I'm almost as tired as Lith." She clenched her hands to find the strength to not fall apart.

Speaking with Juria and saying goodbye to Phloria had brought her great pain, but she didn't want to burden Lith or make the rest of the family worry.

"I'll be right back. I just need to put the tower in place so that Lith and I can recover our strength faster."

"Do you mind some company?" Raaz noticed her distress and didn't want her to be alone.

"Thanks, Dad. That would be terrific." Solus did reach the mana geyser and summoned the tower but then she hugged Raaz and let herself go.

"You should have seen them, Dad. Jirni and Orion were suffering so much and I couldn't even console them. Phloria was one of my best friends as well, but I couldn't explain to them how we met nor tell them how much she meant to me."

"I know, sweetie. I know." He held her tight, gently caressing her head.

"I don't get it, Dad. Thrud is dead, but I still hate her so much that I wish she was alive just to torture her more. Why don't I feel any better even after we avenged Phloria? Why do I still miss her so much?" Solus sobbed.

"Because she was a precious friend. Even though hatred may give you strength, none of it makes up for your loss. To make matters worse, once you get your revenge and the hate fades away, the void in your heart is bound to grow colder." Raaz replied.

"What can I do, Dad?"

"The only thing anyone can. Live on while remembering how Phloria lived instead of focusing on the moment when she died. I know that right now it seems impossible but in time, you'll be able to do it."

Meanwhile, between the tower and a hearty meal, Lith was quickly regaining his strength. His Awakened nature allowed him to recover simply by resting and assimilating the abundant world energy in his surroundings.

"I swear to the gods, Mom, I can cut the steak by myself!" Yet no matter how powerful a Divine Beast he was, to his mother Lith was still her baby.

"I know, but this way you can focus on eating. You are deathly pale, dear. The sooner you put some meat on those bones, the sooner you can go to rest." Elina replied while ignoring his grievances and making the rest of the family laugh.

"Do you want to go back home? Now Lutia is safe. No one will make an attempt on our lives anymore." Lith asked, his palms out in surrender and happy that at least she wasn't trying to spoon-feed him.

"Not today." Elina shook her head. "First you need to eat, then rest. Then I want you to keep doing that until you feel better. I love Lutia and our home, but this is the only place where I know that nothing bad can happen."

"Agreed." Rena nodded, glad to not need a security detail anymore.

"Grandma is the best." Aran and Leria nodded while playing with Shargein who in his wyrmling form had already reached their size.

"Thank you, sweetie pies. Tyris, Kamila, with me, please." The Overlord gestured for them to follow her into the adjacent room.

"What do you- Oh gods! Is this Valeron the Second?" Kamila pointed at a small baby boy less than six months old who kept shapeshifting from human into a Wyrmling and back.

"Yes, he is. He's also the next best thing to how your daughter will look and behave." Salaark nodded. "Lith can barely stand the sight of Valeron, but I thought you might want to meet him and maybe hold him a bit."

Valeron the Second looked at Kamila with his big violet eyes, emitting the same noise that any baby would.

"He's so little and cute. I can't believe that a monster like Thrud could make something so beautiful." Kamila said while taking the baby in her arms and triggering his shapeshifting.

In his Bahamut form, Valeron had the head, the hands, and the tail of a Griffon. Everything else resembled the body of a Dragon and was covered with white scales as big as a stamp.

A set of golden feathered wings emerged from his back while a second set of membranous white wings came out of his hips.

The claws and beak didn't hurt Kamila, yet he tried to reach for her breasts in search of milk, making her flinch for a second.

"Thrud wasn't a monster." Tyris sighed. "She was just a misguided woman who never managed to escape from the shadow of her Mad Father. As long as Thrud had Jormun by her side, I had hopes for her redemption.

"After his death, however, the loving mother and wife were gone and all that was left was Arthan's daughter." Tyris took the baby from Kamila and fed him from a bottle. "If only she had accepted Leegaain's offer, we all would have been spared a lot of pain and Valeron would still have his parents."

Kamila looked funny at Tyris and then at Salaark long enough for them to notice.

"I don't lactate at will. Or rather, I can, but it would bring also a lot of side effects like maternal instinct."  Tyris said with a sigh.

"Still feels weird seeing someone called the Great Mother using a bottle." Kamila pointed out.

"He's still Thrud's son and there's little we know about his abilities and squat about his character." Salaark shrugged. "We are not getting attached to him until we are sure Valeron the Second won't follow in his grandfather's footsteps."

"And how do you think to stop that if he grows up feeling that people are scared of him? If no one loves him?" Kamila asked. "Valeron is still your grandchild and you are the only relative he has left."

Tyris and Salaark exchanged a quick glance before answering.

"Point taken." Tyris held the baby close to her chest, singing him a Griffon song like she would for one of her own.

Valeron the Second gulped down the bottle, asking for another, and another, and another. After the second, Kamila asked to be the one feeding the baby. She wanted to get used to Valeron in case they adopted him and also make practice.

"Now that I think about it, is Elysia going to be a glutton too? I mean, now I eat really a lot, but once she's born, if she keeps needing so much food, I doubt I can keep up with this kind of appetite." She asked once Valeron the Second reached the fourth bottle and seemed to have no intention to stop.

"Don't worry. Elysia will be a hybrid and her human mass will limit her food intake. Valeron, instead, is already a perfect Divine Beast. That's why he eats so much."