Supreme Magus

Chapter 4513: Two Decades Old Daydream (Part 1)

"Even if you keep your son safe, what do you think will happen once he grows up? How will you explain to him why he’s not allowed to fall in love, tell others about his heritage, or have children of his own?" Lith asked.

Althika’s rage died, and her face turned pale green. Tears of desperation streaked down her cheeks; the joy she had experienced a few seconds ago for being freed of the Vurdalak blood seemed a distant memory already.

"I’m sorry, child, but I haven’t changed my mind." Baba Yaga bowed her head deeply in apology. "Lith is right. We can’t allow a Vurdalak to live. No matter whose child they might be."

"How many times do I have to say that I’m not going to kill the baby?" Lith snarled. "I won’t deny that once I step on the battlefield, I become a murderer, but this is a hospital ward, and I’ve come here as a Healer.

"My role is to protect lives, all kinds of lives. Not to take them."

"Is this your instinct talking?" The Crone asked, and Lith nodded in reply. "Then even you have no idea what you’re about to do, I’ll trust you. You’ve already done what I considered impossible twice, child. You can do it a third time."

"Can I say something?" Lotho asked.

"No." Lith, Baba Yaga, and Althika snorted in unison.

The Crone activated the arrays of the towers and the underground complex, sending all the Fae in the building crashing against the ground and sending the message that their opinion didn’t matter, especially Naphila’s.

"Althika?" Lith asked. "I need your permission since I can’t ask your baby’s. If you want me to leave, I’ll leave. I’m a parent as well, yet I can only imagine what you’re going through."

"You’re not sure you’ll succeed. You don’t even know what you’re doing, right?" She asked, and Lith shook his head. "Do you really believe you can... heal my son?"

"I do. Just like I believed I could save you a few minutes ago." Lith replied.

"Then I’ll entrust my child’s life to you as I entrusted mine. Do everything you can." The Dryad said.

"Replenish your strength first." Lith pointed at the wooden floor. "I don’t know how long it will take or how hard it will be. He’s going to need your help."

Althika absorbed the nutrients from the ground and used her breathing technique to metabolize them rapidly until the fatigue from her treatments disappeared.

"I’m ready." She said, feeling as if she had just returned from a relaxing vacation.

"I’m not." Lith replied. "It might take a while before I start the third and final step of the treatment. I need you to remain silent and not disturb me unless it’s an emergency."

Nobody understood what he meant, but they nodded anyway. Life Vision showed Baba Yaga that Lith’s mana core and life force were back at their peak condition.

’The Infirmary confirms it. Lith is physically fine and capable of harnessing Starforge’s power.’ Solus said.

’Then what’s the issue?’ Baba Yaga asked, but Solus didn’t answer.

’By my Mom, I wish I could stand by Lith’s side.’ She thought, being careful that he couldn’t overhear her. ’The baby may be innocent, but he’s still Meln’s son. Lith must be torn at the idea of helping his despised brother’s bloodline thrive.

’It’s petty and mean, but it’s also a natural feeling after everything Meln put Lith and our family through. I’d give anything to stand by his side and share his burden, but this is something he must do alone.

’One of the biggest issues in our relationship is that we are codependent. We often do things not because we want to or believe they’re the right thing to do, only because it’s what the other wants.

’We care so much about each other’s feelings that we often end up trampling our own to make the other happy. I’m not leaving Lith alone. I’m taking a step back because I trust him and I know that if he needs my help, he will ask me.’

’Fuck me sideways, helping Meln’s offspring is only half of the equation.’ Lith thought. ’The other half is that if my focus strays even for one second or I hesitate in a critical moment, the procedure will fail and the baby will die.

’Bringing myself to do this is not enough. I must put my mind, heart, and soul in it. Or everything will be for nothing. The others may believe me when I say I did everything I could, but I’ll know the truth.

’How could I look my kids and lead them by example when-’ His train of thought didn’t derail; it switched tracks. ’That’s it. Listen to me, brain, I’m not helping a stupid, power-hungry Dryad keep Meln’s son alive.

’I’m helping Carl’s fiancée keep his son alive. I even know the little imp’s name. Carl always said that he would have called his first child Erik if it were a male. Remember this, Derek McCoy: you’re saving your nephew, Erik.’

Lith cleared his mind of stray thoughts and delved into a daydream over two decades old. He had pictured that moment so many times that it was as clear as a real memory.

Carl’s old fiancée lying in a hospital bed after giving birth, exhausted but happy. Carl staying by her side, excited yet terrified as he held his son. That was the moment when, in his imagination, Derek walked through the door.

He could see Carl showing off the little bundle of joy named Erik before offering his brother to be the first to hold the baby boy after his parents. Lith focused on that imaginary moment and let it overlap with the memory of holding Elysia for the first time.

Her warmth became Erik’s warmth. Her weight that Lith still vividly remembered became the baby boy’s weight. Reality and illusion merged into one as Lith opened his eyes, all seven of them.

He knew who and where he was. He was aware of how dangerous the procedure was. The only difference from one second ago was that Meln’s very existence had been banished from his mind.

Dread Flames burst out of his body, burning high and seeping deep. The layer of scales that usually covered his red skin was gone, replaced by the searing silvery fire.

Lith remained still for a few, long minutes, staring at Althika’s swollen womb as if trying to decipher the mysteries of life and death. In a way, he was. Spirit Vision locked in on the baby’s Vurdalak life force, and then went deeper.

Until that moment, Lith had always let the Voidfeather Dragon lead him in the use of the unknown ability and relied on Spirit Vision to study how life forces and mana cores interacted.

That wasn’t enough. Not anymore. Lith focused solely on the life force and pushed Spirit Vision to the limit, forcing it to reveal what happened beneath the surface. He memorized how many sections comprised the Vurdalak life force, the number and position of mana organs, and how every element interacted with its surroundings.

The life force looked like a molten, spherical contraption made from junk parts fused together with a blowtorch.