Chapter 3706: A Name’s Weight (Part 1) "You, on the other hand, deserve compensation." Feela said. "We’ll see what we can do. Anything else?" "Make them suffer." Lith replied. "Death is the easy way out." "On that, we agree." Lotho opened a Spirit Steps, carrying his newfound serfs home. "We’ll keep you updated." Raagu said before disappearing through a dimensional gate with her prisoners. Now that he was alone and his mission accomplished, Lith exhaled sharply and let go of the Life Maelstrom. The sudden weakness made him fall to his knees, but he asked neither his Golems nor Demons for help. He kept them ready to step in, in case someone planned to be the icing on the cake of that terrible day. ’I can see why Griffons don’t go around always overcharged.’ He panted heavily as his strained muscles relaxed. ’Even in its balanced form, Life Maelstrom puts a heavy burden on the body if kept active for too long. ’Harnessing this power without destroying everything I touch takes a considerable focus, and my body feels like I’ve just finished a marathon.’ Every movement now felt slower and every one of his limbs heavier, yet it also felt like someone had taken a mountain off his back. Lith waited until the weakness faded and he got used to his normal strength again. "Ladies and gentlemen, time to go home." Lith sighed, there was no enthusiasm in his voice. "Time to face my retribution." *** A few Warp Steps later, Lith reached the Verhen Mansion. He had been true to his word and entrusted Valeron the Second to Kamila, Solus, and Elina after explaining to them what had happened with a mind link. The restored link with the tower had recharged the Golems and given him the strength to empower the Demons inside his Void Sigils before he left to stalk his prey. The little boy had stopped crying after entrusting his Life Maelstrom to Lith, but he could still hear Valeron’s desperate wails ringing inside his head. "Are you alright?" Kamila asked. "Are you hurt?" Solus said. "Is it over?" Elina stepped forward with the other two women, but Lith raised his hand for silence and stopped them in their tracks. "Has Valeron gotten any better while I was away?" Lith asked, reverting to his human form. He had only two eyes now, but they were more than enough to express his sadness. "It’s hard to say." Kamila wrung her hands. "For what it’s worth, Valeron hasn’t cried since you brought him here. He’s so shocked and confused by what happened that he spaced out most of the time, no matter what we did or said to reassure him. "The few times he snapped out of it, he always asked two things. ’Did you know’, and ’is Lith alright’." "Lith." The Tiamat echoed his own name, feeling a sting to his heart. "Valeron hasn’t called me by my name for a long while now. He always calls me dad." "Don’t take it to heart," Solus said. "Valeron’s whole world collapsed just a few minutes ago. He’s a smart baby, but still a baby. He’s hurt, scared, and confused." "And he has every reason to." Lith took a deep breath. "Did you talk to him?" "I tried, but he didn’t listen." Kamila replied. "When Valeron asked me if I knew, he used the Dragon Scales. I couldn’t lie or sugarcoat the truth. I told him that we didn’t tell him about the death of his parents to protect him, not to fool him, but he wasn’t interested. "He just wanted me to tell him everything I knew, and I did. I mostly confirmed what he had already learned from you." "I don’t have Dragon Scales, so I had to rely on Kami." Solus chimed in. "I filled the gaps in what she knew, and she passed it to Valeron. After that, he asked over and over where you had gone and when you would be back." "Well, now I’m back." Lith hesitated for a moment, letting Elina check up on him like she always did when he returned home. She patted his arms and chest for wounds and then his face for signs of malnutrition, just like she did when he was just a little boy. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂 "You’ve gone through a lot as well, baby." Elina said. "You can take five minutes to yourself and rest." "Thanks, Mom, but it would be five more minutes Valeron has to spend trapped in his own mind." Lith lowered his head to look her straight in the eyes. "I made him an orphan. I owe him that much." Elina would have liked to raise many objections to such an unfair statement, but she knew there was no stopping her son once he made up his mind. She just brought his head to her lips and kissed his hair before letting him go. "Mom, call Dad and bring Surin along, please." Lith said. "There’s a strong chance you have to take care of Valeron from now on." Elina nodded and disappeared through the door, returning less than a minute later with her husband and youngest daughter. Lith went to the babies’ room, already knowing what to expect. He wasn’t disappointed. Valeron sat in a corner of the Doomslayer crib, his stare blank, ignoring every attempt Elysia made to cheer him up and understand what troubled him. Valeron’s deadpan face broke into a smile when he saw Lith and relief washed his most impending fears away. Yet it lasted only for a moment. Then, worry made way to the most recent revelations, and anger accompanied them. "Lith, explain." Valeron extended his small arm, covering it in Dragon Scales. "Explain again." "Okay, Valeron." Lith thought he was respecting the baby’s feelings but, to Valeron, his own name was akin to a slap to the face. As if the word "son" had just been a pretense and had been discarded the moment it no longer served its purpose. "I’ll start from the beginning and be clearer this time." Lith continued, unaware of Valeron’s turmoil. "I’m sorry for before, but I couldn’t risk you struggling out of my grasp and falling in the middle of the fight." Valeron grabbed Lith’s scaled hand and was glad to see how sincere his worry had been. "This might be long and confusing, so if you get tired, just tell me and we’ll take a break." Lith said. "Start." Valeron nodded in reply. Lith showed him how he had met Jormun inside the Golden Griffon for the first time while working as a Ranger. This time, Lith even replayed their first non-conversation since back then neither of them understood what the other was saying. After learning Dragontongue, most of their encounter sounded as silly as a bard’s tale. Then, Lith showed Valeron his first encounter with the Headmaster of the Golden Griffon, Sevenus Hystar. A man that Valeron knew and didn’t like one bit. Valeron saw how Hystar had tried to trap Lith and how Jormun, his real father, had helped the Ranger to escape from the death trap. The two men still didn’t speak the same language, but they thanked each other. Lith for the rescue and Jormun for guiding him to the exit.