2421 Lingering Conflict (Part 1)

Once she calmed down, Tista felt so tired that she went immediately back to bed, hoping to sleep everything off like a bad dream.

"Thanks for coming to our help, Mother." Elina said once they had moved back to the living room and she offered the Overlord the best sweets they had.

"Don't mention it, child." Salaark shook her head, accepting a cup of honeyed tea. "I'm always glad to help my blood overcome a crisis. I should have taught Lith and Tista how to regrow their feathers back when they came to the Desert for the first time.

"If it wasn't for me, this would have never happened."

"It's not your fault, Grandma." Lith said. "I guess that picking your race for the rest of your life on a clear mind isn't easy at all. I don't know if in Tista's shoes, I'd have acted any different and I'm honestly happy that when it was up to me, I didn't have much of a choice."

"Indeed." The Overlord sighed. "Most of my children have years to make up their minds but when the moment comes, when they have to discard something that they have gotten used to their whole life, they are all terrified.

"Sometimes, those who claimed to want to be a Phoenix, change their mind at the last second because they can't bear the thought of having feathers instead of skin and wings instead of hands.

"In the same way, those who bragged about how they would never abandon their humanity, end up becoming Phoenixes because they are not willing to relinquish the power and longevity that comes with being a Divine Beast.

"I'm not going to lie, for a moment I feared that's what was going to happen to Tista. That once she stopped her life forces from merging, they would have started clashing among themselves and she would have been forced to choose one right away."

"Could it have happened?" Raaz asked, fear draining the blood from his face.

"Yes." Salaark nodded. "Had she rejected her Divine Beast nature, it would have thrown the delicate balance between her life forces into disarray and she would have become no different from a hybrid who has come to age."

"What saved her?" Lith asked.

"Her admiration for you, dear." The Overlord replied. "What makes you an oddity is that despite being born a man, you never considered your Abomination and Beast sides as something different from yourself.

"Like all hybrids, there was a barrier separating them once they formed, but you wore it down over time by accepting not only their power but also their essence. It seems easy, but it's actually very difficult.

"It's not about mere acceptance or resignation. You don't have to get used to having lost or gained a limb but to consider all of your forms like your true form."

"What about Tista?" Lith was aware that due to his reincarnation problem, accepting Lith's/Strata's body had been as easy as accepting his hybrid nature.

He was actually Derek McCoy and ever since his second childhood, he had considered his own physical appearance irrelevant and his existence a mystery. Compared to being an undead coming from a distant planet, being a hybrid kind of made sense.

On top of that, Solus had wholeheartedly accepted him since the day they had met while Kamila had helped him to get accustomed to his hybrid form in ways he had never considered possible.

"She never rejected her other natures because of you." Salaark replied. "Ever since she was a child, Tista wanted to be like you. She started by becoming a healer, then she joined the White Griffon, and then she even began adventuring.

"Once you became a hybrid, that became her new dream. You were her cool shapeshifting brother and once again, Tista would have given an arm and a leg to follow in your footsteps."

"What about Shargein?" Raaz asked in confusion.

"He is different. There is no barrier between his life forces and unless he himself creates one, there will never be. As soon as his body becomes strong enough to handle that kind of power, his life forces will become capable of merging.

"Age and mana core won't matter, only his own will." Salaark said.

"Grandma, are my feathers the same as Tista's?"  Lith asked, receiving a nod for a reply. "What about the Void Sigils? Why can't a soul just move from a plucked feather to a healthy one?"

"Because the Void Sigil is the only feather that bears the rune of the true essence of your Demons. Consider the phenomenon as if when you accept a soul as your follower, you also allow them to imprint one of your feathers.

"It allows your Demons to bear your energy imprint and form a bond with you that keeps them from moving on even after venting the feelings that hold them here. Without the Sigil, the tether is broken and they fade away before they can create another."

"I see." Lith nodded. "I'll have to be extra careful then."

Aran and Leria barged in, demanding their breakfast and worried by the disappearance of their respective parents. Nyka was worried about Tista, but she couldn't pay her a visit without the risk that Dawn might wonder what secrets lay in the Verhen mansion.

"What about your trip, Aunt Solus?" Leria asked once she was done eating. "Are you going to leave as soon as Aunt Tista gets better?"

"Maybe and maybe not." Solus shrugged. "Why, are you already sick of having me around?"

"No. It's just that tomorrow Aunt Kamila has to go back to work and Uncle Lith with her. If you stay, are you going to spend your time with them or us?" Judging from the sparkles in her eyes, Leria hoped to have her aunts all for herself.

"I'll stay with you and Aran." Solus replied, making the kids shout with joy. "I'll teach you a lot of new cool spells."

The cheers became louder while the frown of Elina and Rena became sterner.

"You mean responsible spells." Rena said with a snort. "The last thing I need is having them throwing fireballs at each other while they play."

"Of course." Solus nodded, blushing in embarrassment.

"Are you going to live here as well?" Aran asked Nyka, looking at her in a funny way.

"Yes. Is that a problem?" She nodded while taking a sip from her "juice".

"No, but what can you do exactly? Why aren't you eating and why aren't you as pretty as the other Aunties that my brother brings home?"

"You are a true gentleman, aren't you?" Nyka giggled, knowing that the charm that undeath bestowed upon her had no effect on a child. "What about Aunt Kamila then?"

"Hey!" Kamila spat out her tea, knowing that just like the members of the Verhen family, the level of beauty of Awakened women was in a league of its own.

"Aunt Kamila is prettier than you and she's very kind." Aran shrugged, making her gloat. "Sure, she's no Aunt Friya, but at least she has saved my big brother from dying alone, right Daddy?"

"At least?" Kamila glared at Raaz who tried to walk away with an excuse but Elina nailed him to his chair.