Chapter 3327 Second First Impression (Part 4) "Don't worry, Mom. Once I'm done with all that, I'd like to take it easy. You know, spending time with you, Dad, and the kids." Aran and Leria cheered at the idea. "What about me and the babies?" Kamila asked. "You can tag along." Lith shrugged. "Sounds like a plan." She nodded. The dinner was delicious and pleasant. After they were done eating, Lith and Solus told the story of the battle for the Fringe with the help of holograms. They kept things relatively clean to not scare the kids or their parents. At the same time, Menadion, Baba Yaga, and Silverwing left for the mana geyser. "How could you name your tower after yourself, Lochra?" Menadion said while taking a good look at Silverspire with Invigoration. "Not only is it a self-absorbed choice but that thing is an ugly patchwork" "Yaga named hers after her children and Lith after my daughter. Take a page from their book and get yourself a life." "Ha, ah! Said the woman who is so trustworthy that if you were in control of Starforge instead of Epphy, I'd have Warped my tower far, far away from here not to let you snoop at my enchantments with the Eyes." "Calm down, Lochra. Baba Yaga said. "Ripha has a point. You also made a good one, though. Ripha, play anything funny and I'll punch you in the nose." "How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?" Menadion asked. "Until it's sincere." Silverwing grunted. "Also, I know Silverspire is ugly but we had little time for aesthetics, and without a tower, fighting the World Tree would have been suicidal. I have never forgotten my promise to you Ripha." "I know and I thank you for that." Menadion said. "Also, thank you for coming here. There are a few things that I need to take off my chest." To avoid being heard or recorded by Starforge's log, they entered Baba Yaga's tower. The Red Mother poured a liquor so strong that only a white core or an undead could drink without getting instantly drunk. "Be careful, Ripha." Baba Yaga said. "I don't know how Demons work, but even though most of their organs are just for show, my Firstborns experience the same effects of inebriation when drinking my Red Moon. "Of course, they don't slur their words or stagger since it's energy and will that move their bodies, but the danger of lowered inhibitions remains. The liquid smelled like vodka but had the color of blood. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺 "I guess Lochra already tried it." Menadion said. "Yes, and works like a charmed booze." She nodded. "If it's dangerous, why do you even make this, Yaga?" Menadion asked. "Because with the passing of time the emotions of an immortal become dull. We get so set in our ways and so stiff in our behavior that we don't have a stick up our asses anymore. We grow a gods-damned World Tree!" The Mother's voice was filled with self-loathing. "The Red Moon allows me and my children to loosen up. To stop calculating every move, even what kind of bread to eat for breakfast, ten steps ahead. The Red Moon is dangerous because it makes me act stupidly, but it's only because of that I am still human." "Is it that good?" Menadion raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "How do you think Vladion married Lysa and Radusk was born?" Silverwing took a small sip of the red liquid, feeling its warmth spreading through her body and heightening her sensations. "He was drunk both when he confessed and went for it." "Yeah. Baba Yaga finished her glass in one gulp. "Otherwise he would have been all 'woe is me' and dismissed Lysa as a moth-like existence that would die in a blink of his immortal eyes." "Then I definitely need this." Ripha followed the Mother's example, gulping down the shot of liquor. She started to cough harder and harder, her closed five eyes opened wide and watered as her throat seemed on fire. "Easy there, champ." Baba Yaga patted Menadion's back. "Why do you think Lochra sips it? It takes a while to get used to the Red Moon's potency." Breathing wasn't a necessity for Demons so Menadion conjured a burst of Origin Flames from her black core that cleansed the liquid plaguing her body. "That would have been a great move, if we were under attack!" The Mother snarled. "You have just thrown in the gutter decades of fermentation and priceless natural resources. Do you have any idea what it takes to affect someone like you and me?" "I'm sorry." Ripha looked at her reflection in the glass with surprise. "All that coughing and burning made me feel helpless and it terrified me to the point I lost control. I'm dead. I should know no fear." "You're undead." Baba Yaga corrected her. "Which means you are still alive and those who live and can die always know fear." The Mother refilled Menadion's glass. "Sip it or there won't be a third." Ripha nodded and barely wetted her lips. The warmth spread from her mouth to her throat and from there to the rest of her body. It felt like a slight fever but a pleasant one. "What the fuck?" Most of the Red Moon was still in the glass, the volume almost unaffected. "How strong is this thing?" "Strong enough to need me to warn you." The Mother shook her head in frustration. "Ripha, you are not a white core. You are not even at the level of my Firstborns. You are a violet core with her head clearly up her ass to overestimate yourself that much. "Undeath is no immortality, let alone invincibility. You should know that much." "I guess you are right." Menadion waited for her body to get used to the Red Moon before taking another sip. After that, she put her glass down. "So what did you want to talk about?" Lochra was halfway through her first shot. "This is really embarrassing for me, but I need to say it to someone I trust." Menadion fixed her hair in a ponytail to stop them from dancing in front of her face. "I don't know how the other Demons feel about their sleep, but to me, it was a humbling experience." "Because you were left at the mercy of a runt who hasn't lived long enough to be considered old even by human standards?" Lochra asked. "No, that's not the problem." Menadion replied. "Do you know how a Void Sigil works?" "Nobody does." Baba Yaga said. "Then I have to explain it to you and hope Lith won't resent me for sharing one of his secrets." Menadion said. "Always the type to ask forgiveness rather than permission. I guess some things never change." Lochra clicked her tongue in reproach. "You're lucky I don't like him. Go on." "Hey, it's not a big deal!" After Salaark's earlier reproach, those words stung at the First Ruler of the Flames' pride. "Also, what's the point drinking this stuff if I can't loosen up a bit?" "Sounds a bit premeditated but I'm too curious to care. Please, continue." Baba Yaga said. Ripha slumped in her chair, sighing as she searched for the right words and the strength to bring more of her shame to light.