Chapter 4578: To Get Better (Part 2)

"How in the gods’ names are you still alive, and what are you doing here?"

"You don’t know?" The First Magus had landed in the Mansion Park, where the kids played with their magical beasts under the spring sun, and the adults kept an eye on their little ones while enjoying the good weather.

Silverwing was used to meeting only people who knew everything about Lith and Solus, so she hadn’t bothered changing her appearance. She looked exactly like she was depicted in every textbook and portrait scattered all over Mogar, which made her quite easy to recognize.

"Know what?" Orion asked, his face still ashen from shock.

’Don’t be a prick! Don’t be a prick! Don’t be a prick!’ The First Magus thought.

"I’m Lith’s and Solus’ acquaintance." She actually said. "Mostly Solus."

"Really?" There was a tremor in Jirni’s voice that even her training failed to suppress. "Where are our manners? I’m Jirni Ernas, and this is my husband, Orion. We’re friends of the Verhens and their current guests."

She gave Silverwing a curtsy, which she promptly returned.

"That said, how are you still alive and youthful? Even by Awakened standards, you should be close to the end of your lifespan."

"I..." Silverwing didn’t know how much she could say without creating even more trouble for Solus.

"White cores exist, and Aunt Loka is one of them." The cat was out of the bag and Solus knew that Jirni would never fall for a half-baked lie. "She’s one of Grandma Menadion’s oldest friends, and she took care of me while I lived in the Desert."

It was mostly the truth, and the remaining layer of lies was too thin even for Jirni to notice. Moreover, the shock of learning about the existence of white cores numbed her ears to everything that came next.

"Let me get this straight." Orion sat down in an attempt to slow down his heart rate and avoid a massive stroke. "You know the First and Fourth Rulers of the Flames, three Guardians, several Divine Beasts, and also the First Magus?"

"Guilty as charged." Lith knew about Orion’s struggle with alcohol, so he gave his guest a strong chamomile tea. "Now if you excuse us, we have business to attend to."

A snap of his fingers moved Silverwing to the keep, right before Starforge and Bloodhaven.

"There’s something different about you." The changes in the First Magus’ body language were subtle, but the Mother noticed them at first glance.

"And I’m not the only one." Silverwing pointed at Starforge. "Ripha’s tower recovered another batch of floors, and Epphy recovered more of her strength, yet no one told me about it."

"Yeah, it happened about a month ago. My bad." Solus tormented her hair, feeling a bit guilty. "I’ve also undergone a few changes, but we’ll have time to catch up later. Why are you here, Aunt Loka?"

"It’s easier if I show you." Silverwing absorbed a vast amount of world energy and shapeshifted into her apex form.

She wasn’t weaving spells, nor did she release a shred of her aura, yet all the tower’s alarms went off. The mana pressure the First Magus exuded, and the volume of world energy she siphoned just by standing still, marked her as a tower-level threat.

"Wow." Menadion said, taking the words out of everyone’s mind. "That’s impressive, and it reminds me of Valeron. The First, I mean. What’s wrong with your skin and wings?"

"Thanks, Ripha." Silverwing nodded. "Mogar called my apex form a Valkyrie, and although it belongs to a different bloodline from King Valeron’s, it’s still one evolutionary step above your Indech, Lith."

"Mogar called it like that?" Lith was flabbergasted. "What does it even mean?"

He had researched countless legends and pieces of Mogar’s lore and was certain his new home had no mythical creature matching Earth’s Valkyries.

"Beats me." Silverwing shrugged. "She said something about picking the right people, but again, it’s easier if I show you."

She used a mind link to share the details of her enlightenment, everything she had learned about every step of human evolution, and her conversation with Mogar. The First Magus didn’t let out anything except her thoughts that could lead to the secret of the white core.

She even shared the planet’s remarks about Silverwing’s personality and lack of achievements with everyone.

"I’ve never heard about Valkyries either. What a strange word." Baba Yaga mused, confirming Lith’s doubts. "Still, it sounds good, and you did a great job, Lochra.

"Ajatar or not, reaching enlightenment is not an easy feat, and coming clean about your faults takes courage. I applaud you and Tyris. Why didn’t you ever tell anyone about your early years as a Guardian?"

"To what end? Brag?" The Great Mother replied. "Everyone has their own path and is bound to trip and fall along the way. I didn’t want to add pointless comparisons to the struggles I knew my junior Guardians would have to muddle through."

"Who are the people you had to deal with that you failed to kill, Tyris?" Menadion asked.

"Tezka, Orulm, and a handful of now dead white cores to name a few." The Great Mother replied.

"I get Tezka and Orulm, but white cores?" The Mother furrowed her brows. "Were they as strong as a Guardian?"

"They had mage towers and dozens of millennia over me, Yaga. They called themselves the White Council and worked together to keep the entire Verendi under their heel, but this is a story for another time." Tyris replied.

"You’re being disrespectful towards the poor Lochra. She came here to share her greatest accomplishment with us, yet you’re more interested in my past adventures."

"I’m so sorry, Aunt Loka!" Solus felt more hypocritical by the second, and bowed in apology like a frenzied parrot. "Please, continue what you were saying."

"I’ve come here because I have no idea what’s wrong with me." Silverwing patted Solus’ head and overlooked her hosts’ rude behavior. "As you’ve seen, my mirror image had six wings and an emerald body, yet I’m like this.

"Since you guys have already been conducting studies on human evolution, I hope we can work together. I let you and Quylla study my evolved forms, and you share with me what you’ve learned so far. What do you say?"

"First, I need to call Quylla. She’s the one working on human evolution; I’m mostly working on myself." Lith called his friend and then Warped her to the keep. "Second, what do you mean, forms? Do you have more than one?"

"Well, yeah." Silverwing devolved into an Indech for a few seconds before turning into a Fomor, a Balor, and then reverting to her human form. "I have access to all my evolutionary steps.

"I don’t use them because my apex form can do everything they do better and then some more. There’s no point in using a weaker form."

"That’s amazing!" Quylla looked at the First Magus as if she were a step-by-step guide to human evolution. "I don’t know about you, Tista, and Solus, Lith, but this might make my work much easier.

"Also, this means that Lady Yaga can do the same. You could help me study all the Odi’s evolutionary steps, yet you have no intention of doing that. Right?"