Continue your story on freewebnovel.com "If you already know all this, what do you need me for?" Feela tilted her head in confusion. "I’m still curious about this Nalrond and since you’ve just returned from your trip with Verhen to collect the fragments of the World Tree’s essence, I hoped you knew more than me about this Agni species." Raagu replied. "I wish." Feela shook her head. "Lith never mentioned Nalrond Fastarrow to me. I-" A sudden quake spilled her tea and cut her short. "A quake?" Raagu was flabbergasted. "What kind of quake can overpower the defensive arrays of my home?" The two Council representatives took their communication amulets out and found them bursting with current and missed calls. Too many to answer them all. Feela and Raagu joined their amulets, invoking an emergency meeting of the Council. Lotho’s and Inxialot’s holograms appeared in the living room yet there was no trace of Leegaain. "What’s happening? I can’t work with all this noise! Make it stop." Inxialot’s opening statement revealed he was as oblivious to the nature of the quake as the human and beast representatives. "Even your lab is affected?" Feela was flabbergasted. "Do you know anything about this, Lotho?" "I don’t know the details but the quake comes from the north and a storm is coming from the west." The Treant replied. "Whatever this is, it seems the Griffon Kingdom is about to be wiped out from the maps." "Wait a second!" Raagu found the description oddly familiar. "This is like the day of the black sun. Verhen’s wife must be pregnant again." "No." Lotho shook his head. "That was my first thought as well so I checked her whereabouts. Kamila Verhen is safe and sound with Tista Verhen in the city of Vesta. Also, the sun is still up and shining. Now, however, it has a twin." "Two suns?" Feela said in disbelief. "This means that two out of three Guardians are involved." "Indeed." Lotho nodded. "I checked, and the only other member of the Verhen family in the Kingdom is Lith’s mother. Do you think…" "Gods, no!" Both women cut him short with a disgusted grimace on their faces. "Not only because it’s immoral but also because if it were true, all three Guardians would be involved." "You are right." The Treant had no concept of human mating customs and no interest in learning them. "Let me double-check." All Council representatives had access to the logs of the Kingdom’s Gate Network via the members of their factions placed in strategic positions. Inxialot was the exception but only because he had forgotten all about the contact runes that didn’t give him access to magical resources or knowledge. "There it is." Raagu said. "Lotho is right, only Elina Verhen is currently in the Kingdom." Feela said. "Here it says she’s accompanied by that other oddity. Shargein." "Shargein?" Lotho echoed in horror. "Yeah, a lesser Divine Beast that Verhen has taken in as a pet or something." Raagu shrugged. "He has been sighted numerous times playing with the babies. There’s nothing special about him except for the fact he’s another weird hybrid that popped out in Lutia." "Nothing special?" The color drained from Lotho’s bark, turning it grey. "Feela, have you already forgotten what Salaark said about him when we went to collect the fragments of the World Tree in the Desert?" The Behemoth furrowed her brows in focus before replying: "She said that she had to prepare Shargein a meal and- Great Mother almighty!" "Since when does Salaark cook?" Raagu asked in disbelief. "She only does that for her- Gods protect us!" "That’s not a Lesser Divine Beast!" Lotho gave voice to everyone’s thoughts but Inxialot’s. "That’s the son of Leegaain and Salaark!" "I’m sorry for the stupid question, but that means we are fucked, right?" The Lich King asked as the tremors became more intense and a blinding light engulfed the entire Kingdom. "We are." Feela nodded. "Why isn’t Tyris doing something? I feel like I’m going to die any moment!" *** Meanwhile, back at the clearing, things were getting worse by the second despite Tyris’ best efforts to contain the situation. The Griffon Kingdom was her turf which enhanced her strength and allowed her to repress that of other Guardians. The problem was there was still only one of her fighting against two angry parents mad with rage. "Shit!" Tyris said while squeezing every ounce of her power to keep the destructive power accumulated in the form of a small sun from spreading to the rest of the Kingdom. "Shit, shit, shit!" Very few people had succeeded in harming a Dragon whelp and lived to tell the tale. The number of those who had stolen a Phoenix’s egg without turning into ashes could be counted on the fingers of a single hand. Nobody, not a single soul, had ever managed to harm the child of a Guardian while he was still in his parent’s care. Not one person in Mogar’s history, and the record wasn’t going to change that day. "What…" As Leegaain and Salaark spoke, the pressure of their voices burst Janya’s and Garvi’s eardrums, and popped their eyes like egg yolk. "Did…" The air pressure shredded their enchanted armor and then ripped the skin off their bodies, exposing the naked flesh and muscles underneath. "You…" An emerald fire sparked within the two Awakened’s organs, flowing through their veins and mana circulatory system alike. The Immortal Flames ravaged every nook and cranny, burning through capillaries and mana channels. Janya and Garvi felt their blood boil and their cores shrink as they fought for survival. Everything, even their minds, was ablaze. The pain brought them to the precipice of madness but never crossed the line. It was strong enough to make them regret ever being born but not to the point of pushing them into the relief of insanity’s embrace. "Say?" The last word had the most terrifying effect. It healed their bodies, bringing Janya and Garvi back to the peak of their strength, ready to be tortured again. "How dare you harm my child?" Salaark’s figure was wreathed in white fire, her long hair whipping through the air like she was amid a storm. "I don’t know who you are or what your intentions were, but I will." Leegaain’s Fear shrouded him, flooding the space above and below the clearing and defying the law of physics. Mogar kept spinning in its orbit and the wind had never ceased to blow, it was the power of the Father of All Dragons that seemed to have frozen time. The Dragon Fear carried his will and nothing could move without his permission. "I’m the Guardian of Wisdom for a reason. I know many things, including the most painful and cruel torture techniques that any race has ever developed. Until I learn what I need, I’ll use them all on you." "I don’t have his Eyes or knowledge, but I’m quite the expert in reading minds." Salaark said. "Hide your thoughts as much as you want, it’s only a matter of time before you crumble. "We’ve just given you a taste of the pain that awaits you as well as a demonstration that death is not an option."