2417 Past Chains (Part 1)

"I didn't know my father much, but I can tell you this. His goal was to further the evolution of the Tyrant race and see the fruits of his labor before he croaked. Even if he forced me to have a child with Echidna, their life force would have been unstable.

"Even worse, to check the results of his experiments, Glemos would have had to wait years since Tyrants grow with the same speed as our human progenitors. The same thing would have happened for his next 'experiment' and those following."

Talking about children like they were things made Morok's face twist in outrage. He needed to spit every time he spoke Glemos' name, as if just the mention coated his tongue with poison.

"Also, even once he managed to produce a stable hybrid between Tyrants and Fomors, he would have needed to find a way to have their life forces merge to reach the next evolutionary stage.

"Glemos didn't have the luxury of so much time so of course he sacrificed thousands of monsters in order to reach perfection. If I had to take a guess, I'd bet everything I have that upon succeeding, my father wanted to further his own evolution.

"If you remember, he believed that my offspring with Echidna would have rivaled the Guardians. Which also means a Divine Beast level of strength and life force."

Morok took a pause to let the others understand the scope of the Tyrant bloodline's goal.

"I agree with you. It explains Glemos' rush and the magnitude of his experimentation. Tyrants live as long as regular Emperor Beasts. Three thousand years is also three times the average lifespan of a human Awakened but nothing compared to the 10,000 of an Awakened Divine Beast.

"Your f-, I mean that man would have gained 7,000 more years. More if according to his ramblings, he managed to surpass regular Divine Beasts." Lith had walked many miles in Morok's shoes and know how painful it was when someone else referred to a monster like Glemos as your father.

It reminded you that no matter how long you had cut ties with him, his blood still flowed through your veins. It sounded like everyone considered you guilty by association and made Lith feel dirty inside.

"Exactly." Morok nodded. "Don't worry about this and go on with your lives. I'll deal with this to the best of my ability and with the help of the Council. Even though I don't feel responsible for that fucker's actions, I still want to be the one to erase every trace of his legacy from the face of Mogar.

"Also, I want to make sure that those like Echidna have a shot at a normal life. I won't let the Council exterminate them all out of prejudice. I owe her that much and with Master Ajatar's help, I can do this. Morok out."

"Well…" Lith tapped his lips with his forefinger, a pensive expression on his face as he pondered what would be the most profitable course of action.

All of that crumbled when he saw the glares aimed at him. Solus, Kamila, and even Elina were staring at him in a silent warning to not mention loot or anything that might be gained by raiding Glemos' lab.

Solus was still deadly pale, feeling guilty for not having alerted the Kingdom instead of throwing herself mindlessly into the battle. Another consequence of not having Lith in her head 24/7 was that no one now kept her emotions in check and planned ahead.

'If I was more detached and less worried about my patients, I could have saved countless more lives. I was so focused on protecting Ne'sra that I failed to see the bigger picture.' Solus was shivering from a coldness born out of guilt and regret.

Tista fared no better either. She was still trembling from the shock of the violent loss of her feathers and her back kept slowly bleeding. The number of casualties that now weighed on her shoulders had brought her near the breaking point.

Nyka felt horrible as well and the mood in the room was so dark that there might as well be a total eclipse. Only Lith and Dawn seemed to be uncaring for those tragic events.

"This is a crisis but also an opportunity." The Horseman said, uncaring for what the others thought of her. "According to the news I've received from my loyalists in the Courts, the Harmonizers work on undead as well.

"We should take part in the search party, Nyka."

"How could you say that? Do you have no shame?" The Vampire replied in outrage.

Seeing her arguing with herself was both comical and creepy to Lith.

'I wonder if this is how everyone feels while Solus and I have our mind links in front of them.' He thought.

"Shame won't fix the flaws of our brethren. Remember that, unlike monsters, undead seldom have children. We need a perfect Harmonizer if we want to overcome the limitations of Mother's design and reach new heights." Dawn replied.

"I'm sorry guys." Nyka gave them a bow in apology and moved the quarrel into the Mind Space.

Seeing her expression change as the white light from the Horseman came and go from her eyes gave Lith a mile and then some in the shoes of his loved ones.

'Scratch comical. That's creepy as fuck.' Looking at Nyka's face it was hard to say where the Horseman finished and the Vampire started.

'More importantly, if Dawn didn't light their eyes and changed their voice on purpose, we wouldn't even know who's talking.' Lith thought.

"Okay." He sighed in relief now that everyone glared at Dawn and he wasn't the biggest jerk in the room anymore. "I'd say we all need a break. I'll do everything I can to heal Tista. Solus, do you need some sleep or…?"

Lith left the words hanging, afraid to be falling for the siren of their mutual addiction. Solus fiddled with the stone ring on her finger, wishing solely to give it back to Lith and let her human body fade.

It would make her strength recover at a much quicker rate and it would soothe all of her worries. His coldness would become her own and in the fortress of his heart, her conscience would find rest.

'I can't do it. It would be the easy way out.' She thought. 'I need to stand on my own feet.'

"I can use some nourishment." She actually said, her mouth moving faster than her brain.

Her human body disappeared and the stone ring flew at Lith's finger, making them both whole again. They both sighed in relief, feeling like they could breathe again as the world around them seemed brighter and its colors more vibrant.

'I'm sorry.' Solus sniffled. 'I know I shouldn't have done it, but I can't bear the thought of all those people dying because of me. Not alone.'

'I'm sorry too.' Lith replied. 'I should have kept my mouth shut instead of offering us the easy way out. Instead of helping you, I enabled you.'

'I guess that getting used to being on our own will be much harder than I thought. Now let's stop this. People are staring.'