2953 Victims and Perpetrators (Part 1)

"Yes." Kalla tapped with a claw near Quylla's womb. "A boy and a girl. I missed one earlier because the boy eclipses his twin and with all the equipment the mother wears it took the Eyes a bit to complete the scan."

Quylla checked her womb with Invigoration, finding the minuscule life forces only because she knew where and what to look for.

"It's fine." Quylla nodded and then fainted again.

After a few minutes, several glasses of water for Quylla, and slaps for Kalla, the situation went back to normal.

"I'm ok now. I think." Quylla received a second round of congratulations but this time she refused to get up. "Just to be clear, we are done, right?"

"Are you leaving already?" Kalla asked with a jovial tone that was anything but polite.

"No, I'm asking if we are done with the news. You didn't spot a third baby while I was passed out, did you?" Quylla said.

Kalla took a long pause, her gaze getting stern.

"Did you?" Quylla's voice quivered at the idea of triplets.

"I'm sorry are you talking to me? I spaced out for a moment." The Wight replied. "Yes, there's just two of them. Also, I'm sorry for upsetting you. I wouldn't have mentioned your pregnancy if I hadn't mistaken you for Scourge's wife.

"You resemble her a lot."

"Thanks." Quylla said with a chuckle, taking it for a compliment.

The truth was that all humans looked the same to Kalla.

"Please, don't apologize. It was an honest mistake and despite my unbecoming reaction, you made me really happy."

"Glad to hear." The Wight rubbed her muzzle against Quylla's hand in a friendly gesture. "So, when are you leaving?"

"Mom!" Nyka wanted to die in embarrassment while Nok's paw hurt from all the slapping.

"I mean, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

Lith briefly explained Nalrond's problem to Kalla and its experimental solution. Much to everyone's surprise, she remained focused for the entire conversation without missing a beat.

"I see. So you want to integrate Nalrond's life forces and you want to borrow my Eyes to couple them with the tower's and maximize the efficiency of the floors that require the Eyes to work."

"Yes." Lith nodded. "Out of curiosity, how come you remember Nalrond's name after hearing it once?"

"What a silly question, Scourge. I never forget the name of my specimens, I mean, friends." Kalla looked around, hoping that no one had noticed her slip of the tongue. "By the way, would you mind if I spectate?

"To become a Lich I'm going to almost die myself and I could learn a thing of two from your experiment."

"First, it's a procedure. Second, you should ask Nalrond, not me." Lith said.

"Yes, of course." Kalla replied, turning to the Rezar. "Do you mind?"

"No problem." Nalrond had just met the Wight but he couldn't wait to get rid of her already.

"Great! Let's get to work!" Kalla trotted toward the tower but Lith stopped her.

"Not so fast. The Eyes are just one of the things we need. Make way, Solus."

The only thing Lith remembered about Vladion's house was that it was underground whereas thanks to her previous visit and her eidetic memory, Solus knew where Baba Yaga's lab was.

'I hate it when Lith acts like this. Even more when he is right.' She inwardly crossed her fingers, hoping for the best.

Lightkeep was built over a geyser powerful enough to sustain temporarily both Solus' tower and Baba Yaga's hut and Vladion's house was so big that it could host them both.

Those who had never been to the undead city marveled at the sight of the training facilities and the masterpieces of art decorating the place. Yet nothing shocked and awed Nalrond more than the contents of the small hunting hut.

The room seemed to be made of plain hardwood and the magical equipment was similar to what he had seen countless times in Faluel's lair and Lith's tower. The Rezar lacked the Forgemastering expertise to recognize how more advanced it actually was.

So it wasn't a what who struck at the very core of his being, but a who.

"You!" Nalrond went pale, the blood draining from his face in trigger response to his trauma before flushing back in anger.

"Hi, Nalrond." Zepho Acala, former Ranger of the Griffon Kingdom and current host of the Horseman of Dawn, stepped away from the magical equipment. "Lith warned me of your arrival."

He kept his hands visible and away from anything that could be considered even remotely a weapon. Yet the bright white mana crystal coming out of his chest was visible through the fabric of his shirt and that was enough for Nalrond to consider Acala a threat.

"You did what?" He said in shock.

"I told you that I would do everything to ensure your survival and that you wouldn't like it." Lith replied. "Dawn is one of Mogar's greatest experts on life forces in general and yours in particular.

"You told me that your people sought her advice and that you've learned light magic from her. Dawn has studied the life force of the Rezars for centuries and she is bound to know a lot of things about it, if not even a cure.

"Not asking her advice before risking your life on a maybe would be stupid."

"Stupid?" Nalrond could barely contain his anger. "How can you bring me to the person who murdered my people and destroyed my life? How can you consider not seeking the advice of such a monster stupid?"

Acala remained still and silent, knowing that everything the Rezar was saying was true.

"You would be right, If I had brought you here with the goal of reconciliation." Lith replied. "I'm not asking you to forgive them or even to trust them. Only to listen to what they have to say and check if it matches with your theory.

"You are the last Rezar and if you die, your species will become extinct. You don't have to like them to take what it belongs to you."

"What the heck are you talking about?" Nalrond felt like Mogar had become crazy and he was the only sane person remaining.

"You are not going to ask for their help. As I see it, they owe it to you. Once we are done here-"

"We are done here!" Nalrond cut Lith short, enveloping Elysia in a shield of light that blocked her sight and hearing. "And they don't owe me answers, they owe me blood!"

He shapeshifted into his Rezar form and charged at Acala. A tier three Light Mastery spell enhanced the already razor-sharp edge of his claws and made them scorching hot.

They easily ripped through clothes, flesh, and bones, leaving four deep diagonal cuts that went from Acala's left shoulder to his right hip. The heat cauterized the wounds the moment the claws opened them, making them harder to heal and the surrounding blood boil.

Once it reached the nearby organs, they were steam-cooked from the inside and failed one after the other. Acala could have activated light fusion to mend the cuts, darkness fusion to stop the pain, or just the Lightspire Armor to prevent the damage, but he did nothing.