2483 Power Rush (Part 1) "I bet that they wouldn't touch Verben until they had updated themselves, if ever." Night regained enough of her cool to know how dangerous keeping the amulet active was and stored it inside her pocket dimension. This way the signal would be lost and even the best tracker among the cursed objects wouldn't be able to find her. "Did you hear that, maggot? Leech has become even stronger. While you waste our time crying like a bitch, he's never been happier. The whole Garlen reveres him as the Supreme Magus. "He has a beautiful wife and his daughter is treasured by the Guardians. Everyone thinks Leech is a genius and his family loves him. The same family that rejects and despises you. "They kicked you out and stripped you of your name yet they accepted Leech's other half into their fold and happily shared with Solus their last name." "I get it. I'm a loser and nobody gives a shit about me." Orpal sobbed, watching over and over the video that Thrud had released upon her death. It was a collection of the most embarrassing and humiliating moments of his capture. Every time he had begged, cried, or wetted himself was arranged without context in order to make him look like a pathetic fool. All the parts about the tortures he had endured had been cut out whereas those about Night fighting tooth and nail were still there. From the images, Orpal seemed to have folded right after being captured whereas the Horseman had never surrendered. It made Night look good, but that was exactly what Thrud wanted. She knew that Orpal's ego would never recover from the humiliation of being considered nothing without the Horseman. Thanks to the video, everything he had achieved, from unmasking Lith to killing Manohar was being second-guessed. People thought that the person who had accomplished those feats was just one of Night's Chosen after shapeshifting. Orpal's name had become a joke and a synonym for cowardice. No one believed him capable of harming a single hair on Manohar's head, let alone Lith's. Even if somehow Orpal rose from the ashes of his crushing defeat, even if he killed Lith, he would just go from living in the shadow of his brother to that of the Horseman. "No, you fool! My point is that we can't waste any more time. Close that video, grow a pair, and start training again!" Due to Baba Yaga's spell, Night was forbidden to harm Lith in any direct or indirect way. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦 Hence, she couldn't suggest Orpal a plan, only to remind him of his brother's successes to stoke the fires of his rage. She couldn't even possess his body and use the breathing technique in his stead. "What's the point?" He replied amid sobs. "Even if by a miracle I could become a bright violet by tomorrow, Leech's wife and daughter are beyond my reach. The Guardians would kill me the moment I touch either of them Even though the massacre of Jiera's council had happened during his imprisonment, Orpal knew all about it. The guards had told him what had happened to break his spirit and they had succeeded. He had no reason to doubt their words because even while trapped in a Sealed Space and surrounded by meters-thick Adamant walls, on the day of the Black Sun he had felt the fury of the Guardians and cowered for it. "Even if I was strong enough to face Leech and my Divine Beast form and bloodline abilities were superior to his own, he would kill me with the destruction spell. You said it yourself a moment ago. "At this point, it's painfully clear who got the better Horseman. Every time we faced them, we got our ass kicked and now Leech has become stronger. There's no hope for us. We are doomed." Dammit, I forgot how difficult is for humans to overcome their silly traumas.' Night thought. 'In the past, all I had to do when something like this happened was to dump the weak fool and get myself another host but that's not an option anymore. Even if I kill Orpal, my destruction spell would be still public knowledge. No one would ever bond with me knowing that anyone with a shred of magical power can kill us. "To make matters worse, without Orpal, my plans to make Verhen bend the knee will become impossible. I could go against my mother's slave spell only because it was Orpal's will to attack Verhen. Any other host would just enjoy the power and knowledge I bestow upon them and never think of facing the Supreme Magus. Without Orpal, all my pain and sacrifices will be for naught. 1 need to find a way to overcome my limitations and for him to get strong enough to achieve our goals. Until that moment, by reminding Orpal of Verhen's glory I would just add oil to the fire of Orpal's self-pity instead of driving him to improve. Night had followed Dawn's example and used the time of her imprisonment to think. She had come up with many plans to fill the gap in power between Lith and Orpal but she couldn't voice them due to Baba Yaga's spell. Her initial project was to regain control of the Undead Courts after her escape. There, she would have found people wise and smart enough to decipher the subtle hints she would embed in her battle strategies against the enemies of the Courts. Her loyal subjects would then relay those ideas to Orpal and help him turn them into a path to victory. Alas, with the destruction spell now available, the Undead Courts had no reason to follow her lead. Baba Yaga had crippled Night no less than Thrud had done to Orpal. My best hope to get rid of mother's workings is to bet on Orpal's bloodline. After all, Acala has changed Dawn and Solus has done the same for Verhen. I don't see why I should be any different. I think I know why Mother created Solus and kept her existence a secret from us. She's the failsafe in the case one or more of her Horsemen went insane and Mother needed to get rid of us. 'She's never been the type to dirty her hands, she likes to delegate. The first three Horsemen were born to fix the imperfections in the blood core while the fourth is meant to keep the other three in check. There's no other explanation for Verhen beating Dawn and me. Solus must also have some kind of assimilation ability to consume three cursed objects and bestow their life forces upon Verhen. Luckily for me, that's a game two can play Distar Region, Faluel's Lab, a few hours later. Tm glad we finally got to spend some time together, Mom." Faluel was in her Hydra form and wore the Hands of Menadion shapeshifted as six crowns of different elemental colors, leaving only her emerald head naked. "I would say the same, if not for the fact that you made me come here only to aid you with your experiments." Fyrwal grumbled. She was in her real form as well, standing five meters taller than her daughter.