Chapter 3862: A Method to His Madness (Part 1) "Let me guess." Menadion’s body slowly reformed while her equipment had already completed its self-repair. "You protected Epphy from that monster of a spell only because Lith would have died if the tower drained him to keep her alive." "Correct." Leegaain shrugged. "It’s also the reason Azith managed to escape. I could have protected Lith while chasing after Azith, but I couldn’t protect Solus as well. "That Blade Spell was very powerful, and I couldn’t risk Azith pulling another trick while I was too far away to intervene." "No matter the reason for which you saved my daughter, you have my gratitude." Menadion checked Solus’ legs, arms, chest, and face for injuries, and then wrapped her in a tight embrace. "And mine." Lith gave the Guardian a deep bow. "I’m happy to be alive as well, but this explains nothing." Bytra sighed in frustration. "Who’s Azith, and why have I never heard of him? More importantly, how can he be that powerful?" "He is, or rather, was my son. One of my firstborns." Leegaain replied, Warping everyone back to the secret lab’s location. "It’s no wonder you don’t know Azith because he was born over fifty thousand years ago. "He was a good son and a good Mist Dragon. He lived until his spark went out at the ripe age of 10,563 years, surrounded by the love of his many children and grandchildren." "It doesn’t sound like the story of someone who turns into an Abomination." Lith conjured a Gravity Spell to lift the debris slowly and search for clues about where Raum might have brought Zoreth. "That’s what I thought myself to this very day." The Father of All Dragons nodded. "I was there when the first Patriarch of the Mist Dragon bloodline died. I attended Azith’s funeral. This wasn’t supposed to happen." "Yet it d-" As the rocks floated higher and the air sealed under the debris of the lab flowed to the surface, Lith fell to his knees. He felt something terribly wrong in the air, the mana, the rocks, and the world energy coming from the ruins. Everything was wrong. Lith started to puke uncontrollably, his body shaking in revulsion with each breath he took. "What’s happening to Lith?" Solus knelt to check on him when the Eyes of Menadion flashed red with warnings, its readings scrambling into senseless words and numbers. "Forbidden Magic." Ripha replied. "Lots of it. More than I’ve ever seen and of a kind I’ve never encountered before." "This is worse than I thought." Leegaain’s face twisted into a grimace of disgust. "Please, allow me." A wave of his hand shielded everyone from the vapors, stabilizing both Lith’s condition and the Eyes’ readings. A second flick of the Guardian’s fingers exposed a wide network of underground tunnels and caves. The fire and heat of the explosion had erased every trace of Raum’s work. His spells had destroyed themselves, leaving nothing that even Leegaain Eyes could study. Only the air trapped under the rocks still carried a whiff of what had transpired there. "Blood and charred flesh." Leegaain sniffed the air despite the revulsion it caused him. "Many races and even more lives have been sacrificed here over the years. Too many to count. "Are you sure you’ve never heard of Azith before, Bytra? Not even at the service of the Master?" "I’m sure." She nodded. "They gave us a list of the Abominations and Eldritches who refused to join our cause, a description of their abilities, and a stern warning never to provoke them unless absolutely necessary. "Your son was not on the list. Zor would have told me. She believed to be the only Eldritch on Mogar who carries your blood. It was the reason she was so ashamed of her condition and so happy when she met Lith." "I believe you." Leegaain nodded. "I have good news and I have bad news, Hatchling. The bad news is that you must give up on this search. You are no match for Azith, and whatever he’s after, you can’t let him get his hands on either Ruler of the Flames. "You are to return to your home and bring Bytra with you. As long as you two are safe, Zoreth is safe. Azith won’t dare kill her. He would lose his only leverage." "What about your protection?" Lith asked. "I’m not safe while at your side?" "My protection doesn’t exonerate you from being careful or wise." Leegaain snorted black puffs of smoke out of his nostrils. "Besides, I’ll feel much more confident about hunting Azith down without having to worry about protecting you." "You’ll hunt him down?" Bytra lit up with hope. "Will you also save Zor?" "That was the good news I was about to share." The Guardian nodded. "Azith is my son. He conducted his twisted experiments on my turf for thousands of years right under my nose. He kidnapped my daughter. He is my responsibility." Leegaain lowered his eyes in shame and focused his will on restoring the deep damage that Raum had inflicted upon Mogar’s life essence with his Forbidden Magic. The wounds ran deep, the damage was beyond repair. Beyond even a Guardian’s might. "This is not your fight anymore. It’s mine." The Father of All Dragons opened his mouth and hurled a river of Origin Flames. He excised the corrupted world energy like a cancer and burned it until there was nothing left. He vaporized the stone, cremated what was left of the corpses, and erased all bloodstains. Once Leegaain was done, a bubbling pool of magma had replaced the ruins of Raum’s lab. "I’ve done all I can, but it’s not enough." He turned toward Lith and sighed. "There is too much pain here. Too many souls have been tortured into madness and chained to this place. Please, help me. Help them." Lith was so deep in thought that he almost didn’t hear the Father of All Dragons’ request. He had no blind pride that such a complete defeat could hurt, but Lith wasn’t used to feeling so helpless. Fighting and losing didn’t bother him as long as he survived, but that had been no fight. Despite his plans and preparations, he had been tossed around like a rag doll and had offered almost as much resistance. "What do I have to do?" Lith asked. "Be yourself." Leegaain removed the barrier, and color drained from Lith’s face. The sensation of wrongness was gone, but the place still made him feel sick to his stomach. A dull ache spread all over his body, like cold chains suddenly weighing down on him. ’Are you alright?’ Solus knew the answer, but she asked anyway. The Eyes didn’t detect traces of Forbidden Magic anymore, and she felt fine. Everyone was fine. Yet she could feel through her bond with Lith that the situation was anything but. ’I’m not.’ Lith replied. ’But I will be.’ He took a deep breath and released the Call of the Void. A black dome enveloped the area for kilometers, transmitting Lith’s call to every wandering soul it enveloped. Black chains erupted from his chest and connected Lith with those who fulfilled his criteria. This time, however, he wasn’t asking for help. He was offering it.