"My disowned brother did it by himself and almost killed me as well. I saved you not to punish you, but because even in my madness I recognized your pain." "Pain?" Osyan scoffed in between gasps. "What can someone like you know about pain? You, with all your money and your happy family." "More than you think." Lith’s voice was cold but not cruel. "I earned my money and the happiness you see me enjoying today is something I built. No one gave me anything." ’That’s not true. Fate gave you good parents.’ The boy wanted to retort, but he bit his lips because saying those words out loud would hurt him more than it would hurt Verhen. "Osyan, I didn’t want to do this. It’s too soon, but someone has to." Lith raised his hand and the boy yelped, afraid to be beaten like it had happened so many times in the past. His father, Thram, was a monster in the body of a human but still a human. Lith was a monster through and through. Osyan wasn’t afraid of dying anymore but he was still afraid of pain. Great was his surprise when the hand landed gently on his trembling shoulder and Lith knelt down to be at Osyan’s eyes level. "It’s not your fault." Lith said. "None of what happened was your fault. You didn’t get beaten up because you were a bad kid but because your father and mother were bad people. No one can choose his parents. You were just unlucky. "It’s not because you did something wrong that so many people died on that day. Meln Narchat is a cruel, deranged, piece of shit who doesn’t care about those he hurts as long as he gets his way. "It doesn’t matter where I was or with whom I was, he would have attacked anyway. You don’t have to feel guilty for being one of the few survivors. I know that you feel like you don’t deserve to live and that it should have been someone else, but that’s not true. "You are just a kid. You deserved none of the bad things this messed up planet threw at you. You don’t have to blame yourself if it took a massacre to land you in a place where someone finally gives a damn about you. "There’s no shame in admitting to yourself you’re finally safe and happy." Lith took a long pause to let his words sink. Most of them were the words he wished someone would have told him two lifetimes ago. "I won’t ask you to forgive me for the role I played in your life. If you want to hate me it’s okay, but don’t hate yourself. Don’t push away those who try to help you because you think you don’t deserve to be happy. "For what is worth, I’ll make sure you’ll have every opportunity you’ve been denied so far." Lith stood up and turned around without waiting for a reply, closing the door on his way out. He had walked for just a few meters when he heard the noise of short, rushed steps followed by desperate cries. "I’m so sorry." Osyan yelled, believing the door insulated him from the rest of the world. "I wished Mom and Dad dead so many times that the gods listened to me. It’s my fault if they died. If all those people died. I didn’t want anyone to die. I was just so angry!" "It’s alright, little one." Rhami held the boy tight, caressing his head and back. "No one blames you. It’s not your fault." Lith enveloped himself with a Hush Zone before contacting the supervisor of Osyan’s case. "I want someone to follow the boy closely. I want him in a foster family after carefully vetting them. I want your agents to perform regular visits and make sure Osyan doesn’t go from the frying pan into the fire. "I’ll pay for everything out of my own pocket if necessary. Hire someone just for this case, I don’t care. Yes, I know it’s preferential treatment, so what? Life has been unfair to Osyan ever since he was born. It’s time someone makes it unfair to his advantage. "One last thing. I’m going to check every expense and receive regular updates from people I trust. If even one copper coin of my money doesn’t go to the kid or if someone of your associates screws up, I’ll make sure that’s the last mistake you’ll ever make." *** Lustria County, Trawn Woods, Lith’s tower, a few minutes later. "How did it go?" Kamila asked. She was a bit surprised by Lith moving to the middle of nowhere and asking for her presence instead of just moving the tower to the Verhen Mansion. "It went as well as you might expect, Kami." He sighed. "This is not the kind of wound you can heal with a spell. It will take them years to recover if ever." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺 "Was it that bad?" From so close, Solus could feel how upset he was through their bond. "Worse." Lith shook his head. "I don’t like to dump this on you two but you are the only people I can trust with this kind of information." A quick mind link shared all the recent events in the blink of an eye. "Do you plan on keeping in touch with them?" Kamila hugged him, proud of how he had dealt with Agra’s family but especially with Osyan’s trauma. "No." Lith replied. "They need time and space. If they need me, they know how to reach me. I made the first step. The rest is up to them." "Is there anything I can do for you?" Solus asked. "You’ve already done everything I could ask for by being here, Solus." Lith smiled. "If you feel like walking an extra mile, though, pack your bags and start planning an itinerary for you, Kami, and Ripha. We are going to Jambel." *** Before leaving Lutia again, Lith followed Protector’s advice and went back to the Verhen Mansion to check on Garrik and Ryla. All he found was a note saying: "We are moving to big brother Morok’s house. The coordinates are already set in the Warp Gate. Get well soon, Uncle Lith." Signed by both of them. "Makes sense." Lith shrugged. "Garrik and Ryla must have been bored and scared." "You can say that." Kamila nodded. "They can’t move to any place without both a Gate and a mana geyser. With you gone and everyone else moving to the Desert, they must have felt lonely staying in this huge empty house." "Well, this allows me to kill two birds with one stone. I can check on my guests and pay Quylla a visit like she asked." Lith sent an access request before activating the Gate on his side. To access a private Warp Gate the dimensional coordinates alone weren’t enough. One had to possess an enchanted pass to activate the destination point and to notify their arrival. Without doing the former, the dimensional corridor wouldn’t open. Without doing the latter, the defensive arrays surrounding the mansion would regard the newcomer as an intruder, pass or not. On top of that, Lith didn’t even have a pass for Quylla’s house.