"I may have relied on the work of geniuses but what matters is that I surpassed them." Lith said. "I’m the only one who noticed the connection between the elements and turned what others considered a crazy idea into a new branch of magic. "Any attempt to deny it is just the empty prattle the mediocre use to feel better about themselves. Look at it this way. Even if Bytra and I are lesser Magi, we are still Magi. What have those who criticize us ever achieved?" "A fair point." Quylla drummed her fingers on the armrest of her chair. "But it still sucks having to ask you for help. Yes, Solus?" "What did you mean when you said the Behemoth was using the elemental spheres all wrong?" She had been waving her hand in the air for a while to get Quylla’s attention. "That he was smart enough to notice the same problem I’m facing but too dumb to come up with a real solution." Quylla replied. "Using two tier five spells like he did consumes a lot of mana and has too many limitations. "On top of that, it’s nothing new. I found such a technique described in detail in the Ernas library. The theory behind it has been discredited centuries ago. Sure, Awakened can recover their mana with Invigoration, but it’s still not worth the cost. "That Behemoth made it work only because the Hippogriff infused him with Life Maelstrom. A discipline that requires being Awakened and having a specific bloodline ability is like a house of cards. Ready to crumble at the first bump in the road. "That’s why the Behemoth collapsed the moment you took the Life Maelstrom away." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦 "And what would the right way be?" Lith had never learned the elemental god series of spells, let alone researched its history and limits. ’There’s no point in working my ass off on this when Quylla is already an expert and is willing to share it as part of her Magus legacy. I can invest in her research, help her as I can, and reap the benefits while working on my own projects.’ He thought. "I’ll answer your question only on the condition you will keep our conversation a secret and not use anything I’m about to show you in battle." Quylla replied. "I trust you and Solus and if you’re going to help me, I need to be open. Yet if word of this spreads out, no one will give me credit for my work. They see you use my spell even in its embryo form and everyone will think it’s your work." Lith and Solus exchanged a glance before saying: "Deal." "First, I must give you a practical demonstration of the reason why even though tier five magic spells can easily conjure two elements, no one teaches this at the academy." Quylla narrowed her eyes in focus for a second and four elemental spheres appeared, two of fire and two of darkness. "In theory, I have sacrificed my armor but in exchange, I have a much more versatile version of your beloved Final Eclipse. Correct?" "Yes." Lith nodded, inwardly cursing himself for not thinking about it years ago. "Wrong." Quylla shook her head. "I only have two spheres of highly compressed energy per element whereas your Final Eclipse has the equivalent of three spheres of highly compressed energy per element. "This is the weakness of the elemental god series. Regular tier five spells have fixed form and effects, but that grants them an output limited only by the amount of mana the mage imbues them with. "The elemental god series, instead, keeps the elements in a neutral form that can take any form and effect but that comes at a price. "The mana expenditure and the focus required are so great you can’t conjure a second element. Sure, you have a fourth sphere, but its raw power is nothing compared to the synergy different elements can produce. "That’s why rather than use the fourth sphere for offense, it’s used to conjure an armor. The protection the elemental god series offers and its versatility makes it a true tier five spell. Yet take even one sphere away and it becomes inferior to a tier four spell." "And that’s not even the worst part. Watch." Quylla took a deep breath, conjuring an aura that far surpassed that of a bright violet-cored Awakened. The mana cores of the twins in her womb acted as powerful auxiliary cores that nearly tripled her abilities. Lith’s and Solus’ mouths gaped as a black eye opened on Quylla’s forehead, a red one appeared on the back of her left hand and a yellow one on the right. "What are you staring at?" Quylla’s teeth were now pointed and sharp like those of a shark. "You’ve seen Kamila shapeshift into a pseudo-Tiamat countless times. Why is my transformation upsetting you so much?" "Because you look scary and took us by surprise." Solus replied. "I didn’t know you could do that. How does it feel?" "Natural." Quylla replied. "I now have no doubts that Tyrants are the evolution of humans. These powers come easy to me, like I dream I had forgotten. But that’s not the reason I’m showing you this. This is." As she exhaled, three different elemental spheres appeared around her and a fourth one covered her in a layer of armor. "This is what the final form of my discipline should look like. Three elements at a time that I can switch at any moment, giving me access to all elements and spells. As you can imagine, there’s a catch. Look at me with Life Vision." Lith and Solus activated their mystical senses and noticed that the spell was weak despite Quylla’s powerful aura. Even if she combined the three spheres into a Tower Tier spell, its output would be barely half than that of a tier five. "I see." Solus nodded. "A single elemental sphere means little raw power. Even synergizing the elements can only improve it up to a point." "It’s worse than that." Quylla stood up. "Let’s assume I get attacked and need to reinforce my armor." She consumed more mana, making the magical armor grow thicker and harder. At the same time, the other three spheres grew bigger and brighter. "Or that I need to deal the finishing blow." She poured more mana in the attack spell and the armor kept growing. "Do you see it now? This is the second and biggest limit of the elemental god series. "A single spell conjures all the four elemental spheres. It means the mana is always split evenly, no matter my needs or circumstances. So let’s say that at the start of the fight you conjure an element that later becomes useless, at least one fourth of your mana is wasted." "That’s why you need Void Magic." Lith said. "And also why I’m still working on conjuring two tier five spells at the same time instead of just one." Quylla dispersed the spheres and closed the eyes on her body. "There’s no point practicing something that will become inaccessible to me once the babies are born. "I’m using the extra juice and temporary elemental affinities to work on a level slightly above what I can do at my normal condition.