Chapter 3228 Cogs in the Machine (Part 1) Killing a bloodline patriarch meant to make an enemy out of all their descendants or in Valtak's case, also all those he had helped, trained, and nurtured. Dragons weren't big on generosity but when it came to revenge, they were second to none. "There is no misunderstanding." Lith shook his head. "The Tree targeted Solus and me to get their hands on the focus of my omni pockets and its content. If you don't believe me, just look at me with Soul Vision. Please, Aalejah, I need your help. "You and Tezka are the only people I know to have ever been inside a Yggdrasill's Fringe. I need a safe way to bring everyone inside without getting dizzy or falling into a trap. "I know that this isn't the same Fringe you came from, but after living as an aspirant Chronicler for centuries, you must know how the World Tree's standard defensive system works and what we can expect." Aalejah used Soul Vision on Lith and all those present. Three different types of people stood out. Those who knew the truth and cared about Solus, like Baba Yaga and Bytra, burned with fury and wielded bloodstained weapons. Those who only cared about the Ears, like Tezka, were all smiles and claws, clutching at the artifact like it was his firstborn. As for Lith, he appeared like a monolithic giant ablaze with silvery and blue flames. Under Soul Vision, his body shapeshifted non-stop from a Void Demon Dragon engulfed in blue flames into a Tiamat seething with silvery flames as the two flames battled for dominance. Neither of the figures looked reassuring. They both seemed hellbent on setting Mogar ablaze with their own kind of fire. Yet Aalejah could tell from the aura surrounding Lith's different forms that while the silver flames aimed to destroy, the blue ones possessed an infinite hunger. Aalejah looked at Lith's projection as hard as she could but found no sign of deception, only fierce determination. 'No matter if I help him or not, Lith is not going to back down. The only thing that will change is which side will take more losses during the initial stages of the fight.' She thought. "Fine, I'll help you." Aalejah sighed. "As far as I know, there is no way to get in or out of a Fringe except through Mogar's veil." "Forget about that. We'll figure out something once we know what we are dealing with." Surtr said. "What I'm curious about is what means the World Tree possesses that makes them stronger than a bright white core like me and on par with a Guardian like my father." "I was getting to that." The elf took a series of deep breaths, clinging to her Yggdrasill staff to clear her head and reconsider all the facts before opening her mouth again. 'This is huge. I'm about to break my people's most sacred oaths and divulge the secrets that allowed my community to prosper for millennia. Once I start talking, there's no turning back. 'All the members of the rescue mission will share this knowledge and what they do with it next will be on me. I must be sure this is the right thing to do.' She examined Lith's memories from multiple angles and then studied the fragments of the Darwen armor lying on the table. Everything about Solus' kidnapping bore the signature of one of the Yggdrasill's schemes to get what they wanted without being noticed. Altering the flow of the events of Mogar was a taboo to the World Tree but if no one knew, there would be no interference. 'Lith can't have made up so many details. Also, if he truly was able to craft a perfect Darwen armor, he would be at the level of a Ruler of the Flames.' All the convoluted possible scenarios and conjectures Aalejah could come up with crashed against the simplicity of reality. Each one of the alternative explanations required countless ifs and buts to line up to be plausible whereas Lith's recounting of the events was straightforward. 'A Yggdrasill staff is giving me the mental clarity to accept the truth and help plot against a Yggdrasill. Mogar sure has a wicked sense of irony.' A thin smile formed on her lips as she opened her eyes. Aalejah tapped the floor with her Moonsong staff and conjured the hologram of the Fringe where she had lived most of her life. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎 "This is how the late World Tree I worked for arranged their defenses. I don't know how much has changed with the new Tree so consider this just as a reference about the overall structure." "That's it?" Lith said while pointing at the hologram depicting the Ygdrasill and the extension of their domain. "It looks much smaller than Nalrond's Fringe but maybe that's because when I entered it, it had fused with Setraliie's Fringe already." "No, it's not. This is just a scaled-down version. Watch." First Aalejah added the hologram of an adult man right beside the Tree and even with his Tiamat eyes Lith could barely see it. Then, she added a Dragon standing on its hind legs as well. "Is that supposed to be an adult Dragon?" Lith asked and the elf nodded. "Fuck me sideways. That's enormous." "Language!" Jirni admonished him. "My baby might not be a Tiamat and not remember anything from her time in my womb but that's not the kind of words I want her to hear." "And we are not done yet." Aleeah ignored Jirni's remark and Lith's attempt to apologize, tapping the ground with her staff for a second time. Countless arrays became visible, covering the entire surface of the hologram like an elaborate engineering design. All of them were centered and powered by the World Tree. "Pick up your jaws, people. The worst has yet to come." A third tap conjured dozens of Wood Golems, each one bigger than the adult Dragon. She explained how they worked and how powerful they were to the rest of the group. "I had no idea those things even existed before Tezka broke into our Fringe." Aalejah said. "The golems beat the crap out of him and chased him out." "I can confirm. Consider that I already was a hybrid when that happened." The Suneater nodded. "During my last raid, I confirmed that the basic structure of the arrays didn't change much from the past, but before someone think this is good news, there's something you have to see." Tezka stood up and offered Lith his hand. "I don't know Light Mastery and without a hologram what I'm about to say is going to sound utter nonsense." The Suneater answered Lith's silent question. "Why me? There's Baba Yaga, Aalejah, Silverwing, Grandma-" "And all of them have the skill to take a good look at my body with their breathing technique without me noticing." Tezka cut Lith short. "You don't. I'm not an Awakened, yet, but I still can feel someone of your level prodding at me for information. "Also, I don't trust them as much as I trust you, little brother. You are the only Abomination among them and Bytra is willing to put her life in your hands. That's more than enough for me to do the same."