Chapter 144: Home Sweet Home

"They have returned! Ka’z and his warriors have returned!"

A young kobold barely a little over a year old raced through the tunnels as fast as his tiny legs could carry him, his excited voice echoing from one passage to another. His feet slapped against the stone floor while he waved his arms wildly, unable to contain the excitement bubbling inside him. Every kobold he passed immediately turned toward him, and before long, heads began emerging from the entrances of nearby homes as people tried to understand what had caused the commotion.

"They have returned! Ka’z and his warriors have returned!" he screamed again, practically bouncing as he ran.

"They have returned! Ka’z and his warriors have returned!"

The news spread through the colony almost instantly. Kobolds began leaving their homes and gathering within the tunnels, voices overlapping as everyone talked at once. Some had been waiting anxiously for Ka’z’s return while others had spent the past several weeks wondering whether the young leader would ever come back at all. The longer his absence had lasted, the heavier the atmosphere within Vaal’kor had become.

Meanwhile, Za’r stood inside the infirmary, completely unaware of the commotion spreading throughout the colony. She was carefully feeding an elderly kobold whose hands were too weak to hold the bowl himself.

A thick mixture made from crushed herbs had been prepared for him, and Za’r slowly tipped the bowl toward his mouth, allowing the liquid to flow out in small amounts. She watched patiently as he swallowed, waiting before giving him another mouthful.

The old kobold’s eyes were tired, and his breathing remained shallow, but Za’r continued helping him without complaint. She had thrown herself into her duties ever since Ka’z left, filling every spare moment with work so she would have less time to think about what might have happened to him.

Bam!

The sudden sound of someone crashing into the entrance startled everyone inside the infirmary. Za’r’s hand jerked, nearly spilling the remaining medicine, while the elderly kobold flinched in surprise. The young messenger had practically rammed himself into the entrance, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he struggled to catch his breath.

"They have returned! Ka’z and his warriors have returned!" he shouted again.

Buzz!

Za’r’s eyes widened.

For a moment, she simply stared at the child as though she had misunderstood him. Then the bowl in her hands nearly slipped as she immediately jumped to her feet and sprinted toward the entrance. She had already taken several steps before she suddenly stopped and looked back at the elderly kobold she had been treating. Her excitement battled with her sense of responsibility for a moment, but before she could decide what to do, Lady Zira walked over and gently took the bowl from her hands.

"Don’t worry, just go. I’ll handle it from here," Lady Zira said with a small smile as she waved her away.

"Thank you..." Za’r muttered, barely managing to restrain the excitement in her voice.

She did not waste another second.

Za’r raced out of the infirmary and charged toward the entrance of the cave, her heart pounding so hard that she could feel it against her chest. It had been nearly three weeks since Ka’z had left, and those weeks had felt like the longest period of her life.

Every day she had wondered when he would return. Every night she had wondered whether he had survived. There had been moments when she forced herself to believe that he would come back because Ka’z always seemed to find a way to overcome whatever stood in his path, but there were other moments when darker thoughts slipped into her mind.

What if he had been killed? What if the mission had gone wrong?

What if the enemy had been too powerful even for him?

She had repeatedly tried to push those thoughts away, but they always returned.

So she worked.

Whenever she caught herself worrying, she found something else to do. She helped Lady Zira in the infirmary, assisted with gathering herbs, tended to the elderly, and occupied herself with anything that could keep her mind from imagining the worst. Yet none of it had truly stopped her from waiting for him.

Now he was finally home.

After several minutes of running through the tunnels, Za’r reached the cave entrance and immediately saw a huge crowd of kobolds gathered outside. Cheers and excited voices filled the air as the colony surrounded Ka’z and his warriors, making it impossible for her to see them properly. The crowd had grown so dense that Za’r could barely even determine where Ka’z was standing.

She immediately tried to push her way through.

"Excuse me!" she shouted, squeezing between two larger kobolds.

Nobody noticed her.

"Excuse me!"

She pushed again, but the excited kobolds barely moved. Everyone wanted to see Ka’z, hear what had happened, and welcome the warriors who had returned from a mission that had kept the entire colony worried for weeks.

"EVERYONE MOVE!"

Ka’z’s cold, much deeper voice suddenly rang from within the crowd.

The effect was immediate.

Every kobold fell silent and hurriedly stepped aside. A mixture of shock and fear spread across their faces as they created a clear path through the center of the crowd. Za’r stopped as well, her breathing still heavy from running, before slowly looking through the newly opened path.

Then she saw him.

For several seconds, Za’r could barely recognize the kobold standing there.

Ka’z’s hair and scales had changed dramatically, the golden coloration that had once defined him now replaced by a deep crimson shade with patches of black scattered across his body. His muscles had become leaner and more defined, giving him the appearance of a warrior rather than the young magus who had left the colony weeks earlier. His body had grown taller as well, and the difference was immediately obvious even from several meters away. Most striking of all were his eyes.

They burned with a deep crimson light.

For a brief moment, that light remained intense as Ka’z looked across the silent crowd, but as everyone settled down, the crimson glow gradually faded. His expression remained cold and tired as he walked forward without saying a word.

Za’r remained rooted to the spot.

She had imagined this moment countless times during his absence. She had imagined herself running toward him, asking whether he was hurt, demanding to know why he had taken so long, and perhaps even scolding him for making her worry so much.

Instead, she could barely move.

Ka’z continued walking until he stood directly in front of her. Za’r’s eyes trembled as she looked up at him, then she threw herself into his arms.

Her face buried itself against his neck as both arms wrapped tightly around him, and her body immediately began trembling with the emotions she had spent weeks suppressing. Ka’z felt the warmth of her body against his chest and heard the quiet sobs escaping from her throat. He did not say anything. He simply lowered one hand onto her head and gently patted her hair, allowing her to hold him for as long as she needed.

From somewhere within the crowd, Mi’ya watched the scene with an annoyed frown.

She had spent the entire journey back imagining the reception they would receive, and now it seemed like Za’r had immediately claimed Ka’z for herself.

Eventually, Za’r pulled away slightly, though she kept her hands against Ka’z’s body as she looked him over. Only now did she truly notice how much he had changed. His shoulders were broader, his body more defined, and he was significantly taller than when he had left.

He was already 5ft tall, that was as tall as Bigi and Bruk who were considered giants of the colony.

"Ka’z..." she whispered before looking up at him again. "What happened to you? You changed so much."

Ka’z gave her a bitter smile.

After his magic had proved faulty during his battle against Loki, his body had begun undergoing rapid changes. The transformation had not happened all at once. It had progressed gradually as the days passed, with the remnants of his affinity to Orthodox magic slowly disappearing until eventually there was nothing left.

Now he could no longer use even the simplest spells he had once been able to conjure through Orthodox magic. But his affinity toward Unorthodox magic had only continued growing stronger.

"I... I’ll explain to you later..." Ka’z said quietly before pulling her back into his embrace. "For now, just let me hold you a bit longer."

Za’r immediately relaxed against him, and Ka’z closed his eyes for a moment as he held her. The tension that had remained in his body since the destruction of Ashmork slowly began to loosen.

Then his gaze moved past her.

Several familiar figures were emerging from the cave entrance.

Tong’a, O’nil, Ru’k, and Kurg walked out side by side, each of them looking toward the gathering crowd. Ka’z’s eyes immediately settled on Kurg, and his expression changed.

"Silver Core..." he mumbled in deep shock.

It was not merely Kurg’s core that had changed.

The kobold had developed thick, robust muscles that gave him a noticeably stronger appearance than before. He had grown to approximately four and a half feet tall, while his green scales had darkened into a deeper shade of green. Even from where he stood, Ka’z could sense the difference in his presence.

Ru’k suddenly stopped walking.

His eyes were fixed on Ka’z, and slowly, goosebumps spread across his body.

The kobold standing before him felt completely different from the Ka’z who had left the colony. There was something heavy about his presence, something that made Ru’k’s instincts scream at him to keep his distance.

"Is that really Ka’z? Why does he feel like that monster Grash?!" Ru’k mumbled under his breath.

Tong’a, O’nil, and Kurg stopped and looked toward him. The two elderly kobolds did not seem surprised by Ru’k’s reaction at all.

"When you kill enough people, your presence will change as well... Now come on, let’s get going," Tong’a said casually.

"You worthless brat, you have switched places with Kurg and you are now the coward of the group!" O’nil scolded before grabbing Ru’k by the ear and pulling him forward.

"Oow, oow... I’m sorry, okay? I’m coming," Ru’k protested as he stumbled after him.

Kurg could only laugh awkwardly as he followed behind them.

Ka’z watched the ridiculous scene unfold before him, and something inside his chest loosened.

The tension that had remained trapped within his muscles finally began to disappear. The weight he had been carrying since Ashmork seemed a little lighter as he watched the familiar figures bicker like they always had. This was the place he had left behind. These were his people. Nothing had changed here despite everything that had happened to him.

He looked down at Za’r still holding onto him and allowed a small smile to appear on his face.

"I’m finally home," he mumbled.