Chapter 3926: Just as Important (Part 1) "I need to stretch my legs." Zoreth said. "Every step I take without my legs spasming with pain is a moment of bliss." "Fine, but I still think a picnic would be nice." Bytra shrugged. "There’s plenty of time for picnics." Zoreth took a deep breath and smiled, feeling her body her own again. "There’s plenty of time to do anything we want. We can tour the Desert, the Kingdom, or even Zima. Anything aside from sitting is fine with-" "Auntie Zor! Auntie Byt!" A choir of familiar voices halted the Eldritches in their tracks. Filia and Frey galloped towards her on top of fox-wolves hybrids, closely followed by Aran and Leria on their steeds. "Mom told us you were badly injured. Are you okay?" "Now that I see you, yes." Zoreth bent down to ruffle the kids’ hair. "Thank you for coming to see me so quickly. I missed you guys so bad." "Don’t mention it, Auntie." Filia asked. "Is that what I think it is?" She pointed at the Orichalcum pendant on her neck. "Yes, a share of Valtak’s legacy I don’t deserve." Zoreth replied, hugging Aran and Leria. "Bring it in, you rascals. Let me thank you properly now that I can." "It’s no big deal, Auntie." Aran returned the embrace. "I’m happy Grandpa Valtak’s blessing worked." Leria added. "I envy you guys so much." Frey said. "You are both Awakened and have cool Dragon relatives." "And what am I? A lame donkey?" Zoreth grunted in mock outrage. "You are super cool, Auntie." Filia replied. "But you are the only Dragon we know, and there was no one we could ask to help you." "Aww, you are so cute! Come here." Zoreth let Zinya’s children join the group hug and kissed their foreheads. "You look and smell... different. Stronger." Tezka lacked Life Vision, but his intuition and the Skull of Bytra noticed countless changes in the air surrounding the Shadow Dragon. "I hope so." Zoreth replied. "I went through a lot since the last time we met, but it should be worth it." "Can you take us for a flight, Auntie?" Aran asked. "Not yet." She shook her head. "As soon as I’m healed, I’ll take you for as many joyrides as you want." *** "Are you sure you don’t want to see Zoreth now, Zinya?" Quylla asked. "Thanks, but the kids need to see her much more than me." Zinya replied. "Where’s Kami?" "Your guess is as good as mine." Friya shrugged. "She wasn’t part of the hot spring group, just like us, and we’ve notified her of your arrival right after you called." "I see. Thank you." Zinya sighed in envy, her eyes lingering on Quylla’s baby bump and Friya’s womb for far longer than it was polite. "How are you two doing?" "Tired, cranky, and I can’t wait for this to be over." Quylla sat down just to feel the urgent need to use a bathroom. "Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited about the twins and the power up is awesome. It’s everything else that I don’t like." "I’m excited, terrified, and I can’t wait for this to be over." The mention of twins sent Friya pacing around the room like a caged animal. "I didn’t expect to get pregnant so soon or to have twins. What if I mess up? What if I’m not a good mother?" "At least you can do your best, and your family is eager to support you." Zinya gave her a sad smile. "I too was excited and terrified when I got pregnant with Filia. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to take care of my baby girl due to my blindness. "Sadly, I never got the opportunity to try. Fallmug hired a dry nurse and kept Filia away from me unless she needed to be fed. Frey’s pregnancy was even worse. I knew that they would take my baby away the moment he was born. "I spent those nine months praying for help. I begged the gods to change Fallmug’s mind and give me a chance to be a mother, but-" "I’m so sorry!" Quylla sobbed, embracing Zinya and lifting her as though she weighed nothing. "I’m such an insensitive jerk! I knew what you went through and still whined about my silly problems." "Suffering is no competition, Quylla." Zinya tried to console her. "You did nothing wrong." "Don’t mind her." Friya bawled her eyes out. "The pregnancy makes her overly emotional, and she cries at the drop of a hat. Let the poor Zinya go, you brute!" "Talk for yourself, snake woman." Quylla sniffled as Friya clung to Zinya too. "Hi, Zin. I’m sorry for being-" Kamila walked in to three grown women hugging. Two of them ugly crying, and the third one on the verge of tears. "Did something happen to Zor while I was away? Did something happen to you or the children, Zin?" "No." Zinya sniffled, the sight of Kamila’s baby bump the straw that broke the camel’s back. "Everything is fine." *** Much to Lith’s dismay, going back to Lutia had to wait. Zoreth needed the Infirmary, and Lutia was too far from a mana geyser in case something happened. On top of that, Garrik and Ryla were excited to see him in his Indech form and didn’t want to be separated from the rest of the family. Elina’s wish to keep teaching Lilax and Aryk for as long as she could was the final nail in the already closed coffin of Lith’s homecoming. Three days flew by, with Zoreth taking long walks and even longer sunbaths to quell her relentless hunger. Her Eldritch side feasted on light and heat, reducing her food intake by a significant margin. "You are good to go, child." Baba Yaga triple checked the Shadow Dragon’s life force and found no trace of injuries. The gray stars had found a stable orbit and now a black flame coated the threads of the human aspect. This way, the Chaos from the Eldritch was tempered by the fire of the Dragon aspect and suppressed the Decay carried by the human side. The Cursed Elements followed parallel paths, each bonding with a different aspect of the Eldritch life force. Chaos and Decay didn’t interact anymore thanks to the threads and fire acting as a buffer. The connection between the main and the auxiliary stars was stable. The Cursed Element flowing within the human aspect was dampened by the one burning without in a fine balance. Sometimes, a thread would snap, and the human aspect had to generate a new one to replace it, suffering minor strain. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦 "Are you sure I shouldn’t wait longer?" Zoreth asked. "I’m sure." Baba Yaga replied. "Your life force has improved tremendously, but it’s far from perfect, and some minor inconveniences have to be expected." "Define minor, please." Bytra swallowed hard. "We can visualize Zoreth’s life force with our breathing techniques, something that was impossible before." The Red Mother said. "Also, now it takes a few hours instead of a few minutes for a thread to snap, and the durability of the human aspect keeps improving. "Based on the progress Zoreth has made during the last three days, it’s likely that the turnover of the threads is going to drop further as her life force adjusts to its new condition."