Supreme Magus

Chapter 4067: Alone in the Dark (Part 2)

"I’m alright now. Thanks for waiting." The Drake said.

"How do you feel?" Faluel turned around to look at her friend.

"Terrible." Ajatar’s sapphire scales were still wet with nutrient potion, yet they had no luster under the tower’s magical lights. His eyes looked lifeless, and the only spark left in them was that of a creeping madness.

"That sounds accurate." Lith said, helping the Drake to stand up. "Do you want to rest or do you feel like joining us for lunch?"

"I need a shower first, and then I’ll eat." Ajatar sighed. "I’m tired of being sticky. I can’t even remember what it feels like to be clean. Also, after so many days of living on potions, I can use biting something solid."

"I’m going first." Lith nodded. "Take your time. We’ll start when you are ready."

Lith Warped away while Ajatar and Faluel moved to his private quarters.

’He didn’t even turn around to look at his research notes scattered all over the floor.’ Faluel thought. ’The Ajatar I know wouldn’t stand a mess like that. He would have at least sorted out the papers based on their subjects and arranged them in orderly stacks.’

The Drake didn’t seem to notice her worries, and if he did, he showed no sign of caring. He shrank to his humanoid size and went straight for the shower. Ajatar remained under the running water for several minutes, using that time to get accustomed to his body.

He had lived as a Drake for 384 years, yet after a few days as a quasi-Dragon, his flesh as an Emperor Beast felt alien. Like a suit he had no memory of having bought and that itched in all the worst places.

"Is it that bad?" Faluel asked when Ajatar finished putting on his human clothes and had yet to say a single word.

"It’s much worse." It was hard to recognize the old chatterbox Drake in the brooding stranger standing before her. "I don’t know who I am anymore."

"I believe you." Faluel replied. "If there’s anything I can do to help you, just ask."

"All I need now is peace and silence. Thanks." Faluel didn’t reply, but even in his current state, Ajatar didn’t miss the twitch in her face. "Let’s go eat. It’s not polite to keep everyone waiting."

Peace and silence were strangers to the Verhen Household, even at the Mansion where Lith had temporarily moved the tower in order to stimulate the second mana geyser.

Elysia and Valeron proudly repeated all the new words they had learned. Solkar barked the moment food didn’t stuff his mouth, while Surin and Dripha cried for attention.

Rena’s triplets spoke either in unison or in clockwork sequence, making it hard for Ajatar to decide which one of them he found more annoying. Aran and Leria told Ajatar all about their boring and elementary magic lessons.

Lilia and Leran did the same, but they often took a break to scold Slash and Crash.

"Can you believe that these two slackers are still magical beasts?" Lilia clicked her tongue. "Even I am an Emperor Beast already."

"You were born an Emperor Beast!" The Shyf snarled. "You did nothing to earn it."

"Oh, yeah?" Lilia pushed her nose against the feline’s. "Then how do you explain that I’m an Awakened and you are not?"

"You cheated!" Crash replied. "You exploited your mother’s thoughtlessness to steal her breathing technique and Ryla’s power to force a connection with the world energy."

"Hey, who are you calling thoughtless?" Selia chimed in.

"If it’s so easy, why didn’t you do it?" Two against one, Lilia and her mother soon cornered the poor Shyf.

"I was wrong." Ajatar sighed. "I didn’t survive my experiment. I died and went straight to hell."

"If you are dead, you don’t need to eat." Fenrir jumped on his lap and sniffed hungrily at the steak on his plate. "Can I have it?"

Anger, annoyance, and hunger warred inside the Drake’s heart for supremacy, yet they had to settle for a draw.

"No, you can’t. That’s mine." Ajatar’s voice came out much more menacing than he intended, making the young girl whine and lower her ears in fear.

The room fell silent, but it was awkward, and everyone stared at the Drake, not knowing how to react.

"I’m sorry, Fenrir. It wasn’t my intention to be mean to you. I’m in a bad mood because I’m hungry." Ajatar said.

"Me too!" Fenrir said, waggling her little tail. "Want to go halfsies?"

"Sure." Ajatar laughed, surrendering to her childish logic.

He cut every piece of meat in two parts, one for himself and the other for Fenrir.

"I’m so sorry. I should have stopped her in time." Selia tried to take the little girl away, but Ajatar gestured for her to leave Fenrir where she was.

"Don’t worry. I don’t mind." The Drake took his piece of meat while feeding Fenrir, who yelled with joy.

"You don’t?" Selia asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. Having my food stolen annoys me so much that I’ve finally stopped obsessing about my other problems." Ajatar nodded.

***

Much to everyone’s surprise, as the meal progressed and the parents managed to quiet down their children, Ajatar slowly returned to his old self. He chatted about everything with anyone, happily correcting them when they were wrong about the slightest detail.

He even stayed in the living room to play with the babies after the meal ended, entertaining them with his magic until they all fell asleep.

"Thank you, Val." The Drake said while caressing the boy’s head. "I owe you my life. One day, I’ll return the favor."

"You’re welcome." Valeron yawned. "I’m tired, Dad. See you later."

After reaching two years of age, the baby boy had demonstrated a tremendous learning ability that outshone everything he had achieved up to that moment.

He learned new words every day and used them to form complex sentences.

"Don’t worry, Lith." Ajatar said in response to the stunned expression. "It’s because Val is sleepy, and my hand is covered in scales. He must have mistaken me for you or Jormun."

"It takes more than that to make me jealous." Lith chuckled. "How do you feel?"

"Better. Your idea of using the kids to keep me company was right, but not for the reasons you think." The Drake nodded. "Their petulance and childishness expose my own. I’m just like them.

"I make a big deal of small problems that I can solve and spend more time whining about them than working on fixing them."

"That’s a very harsh vision of childhood and yourself." Lith replied. "The kids are not petulant, they are just excited. Everything is new to them, and they are eager to share their discoveries with us.

"They complain a lot, sure, but that’s because those you call small problems are what keep them away from their next adventure." Lith pointed at Lilia and Leran, who were trying and failing to teach Slash and Crash their breathing technique.

"Maybe you are right." Ajatar nodded. "Gods, I don’t remember the last time I’ve been happy about anything as much as Fenrir was about sharing my steak."

"I’m sorry for you." Lith said while caressing Elysia’s cheek as she slept. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."