Supreme Magus

Chapter 4194: Important Detail (Part 1)

Lith felt it with every one of his senses, and Dragon Scales confirmed it. The baby boy was relaxed. He was happy. Most of all, he was safe.

Lith stopped the resonance effect with his children that had triggered the Demon Dirge and shrank back to his human form.

***

Meanwhile, a few hundred kilometers from the Verhen Mansion, Lochra Silverwing cussed like an angry sailor.

"No, no, no! This isn’t fucking fair!" As soon as the Demon Dirge had started, she had felt something change inside of her.

All the atrophied mana organs inside her body had come back to life, but she had no idea how to activate them. Her entire being burned with power like the day she had become a white core, but this time she knew why.

Not only was Silverwing now aware of the existence of her apex form, but the Demon Dirge also pushed her life force in the right direction.

The space on her forehead and cheeks where her extra eyes were supposed to appear itched, while small bone protuberances bulged on her shoulder blades.

’I know what I’m supposed to look like. I can more or less guess my powers, but I have no idea how to cross the divide that separates my human from my apex form.’ She had thought a few seconds ago as she bolted at top speed towards the Mansion.

Silverwing had already missed Lith’s awakening of the humans in Jiera and didn’t want to miss this opportunity as well. She knew that the effect was bound to decrease with distance, so she used a mix of sonic flight and Warp Steps to reach Lutia.

Unlike Vastor, however, she had to do everything by herself and lacked Tezka’s mastery over space and Chaos. When the Demon Dirge ended, she was still far from the mansion, and she had collected only a few scans of her life force during the travel.

"Fuck!" The First Magus screamed at the sky and earth as she released the full power of her white core. "I failed. I failed again! Gods, why am I so stupid? Had I not antagonized Verhen, he might have called me today.

"I might have already reached my apex form and used this Demon Dirge to tap into powers that not even an Indech possesses. Yet here I am, scorned and fighting for scraps!"

Silverwing tried to hold on to the residual energy of the Demon Dirge, but it was already fading away. She then examined every nook and cranny of her life force, hoping to find any clue that could point her in the right direction.

"It’s gone." Silverwing sighed. "The silver lining is that I’m back to being in the same condition as a freshly evolved white core. My body is primed to reach its apex form, and it’s begging me to trigger the transformation. If only I knew how.

"I won’t fail again. As soon as Baba Yaga is done with Verhen, I’ll ask her to help me." Then, she realized what she was doing and shook her head in annoyance. "Why do I keep talking to myself? Have I gone insane?"

***

"Hello, handsome. I’m Solus, do you remember me?" At the Mansion, Raldarak woke up when Lith handed him over, and the air got colder. "By my Mom, you’re so cute. I just met you, but I can’t already live without you."

The baby boy stared at her in confusion, trying to put a voice to that face. He remembered all those who had spoken to him in the past, but the sounds came muffled and distorted through the womb.

Raldarak recognized Lith as his father from the Dragon Scales and Kamila from the heartbeat. Solus remained a mystery to him for a few seconds, until she wrapped him in her hair, and Ral recognized Solus from Elysia’s description.

Warm, soft, and with lots of sparkly golden stuff to munch. The baby boy smiled and cooed to her as he caressed her hair in an attempt to grab it. It was a simple gesture, but it moved her to tears.

"Gods, I need to cry, but I don’t want to scare him." Solus hiccupped. "Who’s next?"

"Us!" Raaz cut through the crowd that had filled the room after the door had been opened.

While he waited, he had called Zinya, who was now there as well with her kids.

"You can go first, dear." Elina handed the baby to Raaz while Solus rushed to cry in a corner. "Ral is named after you."

"Gods, look at him, Elina." Raaz did his best to keep the emotions swelling in his chest under control. "Ral is identical to Lith as a baby. Except for the eyes and the streaks in his hair, of course."

"Don’t forget about the frown and the glare." Elina chuckled.

"That too." Raaz nodded, waving his finger in front of the baby until he grabbed it.

"What are you talking about?" Lith considered his performance as a baby one of his masterpieces, and was sure to have remained above suspicion at all times.

"You always had this disgruntled expression when nobody paid you attention." Raaz replied, making Lith swallow a lump of saliva.

"And you often seemed to fall into deep thought." Elina said. "Sure, you lightened up whenever someone talked or played with you, but you seemed... performative. Maybe I’m being silly, but you didn’t seem to enjoy our company."

’Damn, I underestimated my parents and overestimated my acting skills.’ Lith inwardly cursed.

Back then, Elina and Raaz already had five children and knew what to expect from a newborn. Derek, instead, had never seen one for more than a few minutes at a time while standing in line, limiting his practical knowledge.

After a while, Raaz passed the baby boy to Elina, who managed to cry while keeping her voice low and calm.

"Hello, cutie. We are Elina and Raaz." She sniffled. "We are your grandparents."

"But she would appreciate it if you call her auntie." Raaz pointed at his wife.

"Raaz!" Elina blushed in embarrassment. "I’m not ashamed of my age, and I’m proud of being a grandmother."

"I never said you did, and you didn’t deny my claim." He smiled at her.

"Everyone, are you okay if we keep the same order as the last time?" Leegaain asked, receiving nods in reply. "There you go, baby girl. He’s all yours."

"Dad, do not call me baby girl!" Zoreth became beet red. "Especially in front of a real baby. Hi, Ral. Nice to meet you."

She offered him her finger, which he promptly bit.

"Fangs already? You’d better be careful, Kami." Zoreth used Dragon Scales to introduce herself to Raldarak in a way he could understand. "Isn’t he dreamy, Byt?"

"A real charmer." The Fourth Ruler of the Flames said. "Your birth is already a gift, but when you’re a bit older, I’ll Forgemaster something to thank you for the other beautiful gift you gave Auntie Zor today."

After Zoreth, the Guardians took turns holding the baby boy and checking his bloodline. Tyris was honor-bound to defend and care for the baby until he came of age, so no one minded her cutting the line.

Scarlett, instead, received many glares for it, but she didn’t care.