'I must keep Solus a secret so I have to study everything with the Eyes and then elaborate the information with the staff. I don't think that the World Tree can read my mind. If I'm careful, I can leave them in the dark about everything but the powers that I need to test.' Lith thought.
"By the way, how come you joined the undead group? No offense to you guys, but given your relationship with the Tree, I would have expected an elf to look for the plant folk's company." Phloria asked.
"Quite the contrary." Aalejah shook her head.
"Plant folk and Fae resent the Tree for not sharing their knowledge just like the offspring of the Guardians resent their parents. Beasts and humans still resent my species for respectively trying to drag them in the War of the Races and to wipe them out."
"Oh."
"Oh indeed." The elf chuckled at Phloria's embarrassment. "The undead, instead, have no grudge against us since the War took place before Baba Yaga birthed them. On top of that, due to our deep bond with the world energy, elves are universal donors of life force.
"I share bits of my essence with the pickiest eaters among the undead and they keep me safe. It's a fair trade."
"Speaking of which, would you please let me taste your life force? I heard that you have an undead friend so I hope that my request doesn't make you feel awkward." Trevan the Nightwalker asked Lith.
"I could, but according to what your companions told me, I smell either toxic or disgusting to them." Lith replied.
"My species is different from the others. To feed, Nightwalkers need not only someone that belongs to their original race, but also those talented in darkness magic. I noticed that your Abomination form is made of darkness instead of Chaos so we might be compatible." He said with a flirty smile.
"Feel free to take a sip." Lith offered him his hand with a neutral tone, pretending to not have noticed.
'If he's right, then I can assume that my affinity with darkness comes from my Abomination side. Abominations and undead are very similar and Nightwalkers are even more so due to being filled with darkness to the brim.
'They control shadows and so do I. I might be able to learn a few things from him.' Lith thought.
Trevan touched the Tiamat's hand, drawing in just enough life force to taste it.
The Nightwalker felt as if his entire body was on fire as the power coursed throughout his body and reached his half-red blood core without the need of being refined.
Lith's human side made even the lingering traces of the Beast side acceptable while the darkness mixed with them joined that already stored in Trevan's body, making him stronger.
"I was right! We have perfect compatibility. It's the first time that I manage to completely assimilate my food without wasting any of it. I've fed on countless humans with black streaks, but you're not merely attuned to darkness, you are living darkness just like me!"
"Good to know." Lith pondered those words, ignoring Trevan's rants about how easy it would be for him to reach the full blood red core with Lith's help and the Nightwalker's invite to become part of his herd.
Once they reached the undead headquarters, Phloria could finally give his half of the Eyes back to Lith, allowing them to communicate through the mind link they shared with Solus without the risk of being discovered or acting rude to their hosts.
'Are you really sure that it's safe using the Yggdrasill staff?' Solus asked.
'Let's put it this way. Based on what we learned in Laruel, either the World Tree already knows about you or they don't because they assume that, after remaining without a host for so long, you must be already dead.
'The former would mean that the Yggdrasill has no interest in you, otherwise they would have sent a Chronicler to retrieve the tower. The latter, instead, would mean that unless we expose your presence, the Tree considers you dead and will not pry.' Lith replied.
'I can't pass up the opportunity to expand my understanding of magic. On top of that, based on what we learned after asking Faluel about Vastor's staff, the Yggdrasill wood is the next best thing to a Fringe without the risk of dying.
'We can learn a lot with the Tree's help. We just need to split up before I touch that damned staff so that even if the Yggdrasill scans me, they will find nothing of use.'
'I still don't trust the undead much.' Phloria chimed in. 'Why did you let that guy feed upon you?'
'Because just like I learned to fight as a beast from the Beasts, I need the help of an undead to master the abilities of my Abomination side. I can learn by imitation and, until I manage to meet Xenagrosh, this is my second-best chance.' Lith replied.
Phloria didn't like their situation one bit, but between the cheerful elf and the Council's rules, she felt at ease. They ate and drank plenty to restore the energy lost during the fight with the Gargoyles, falling asleep without even noticing.
Much to their surprise, Solus followed them into their slumber. The strain from using the Eyes for that long and from processing the information she had gained sent her into the closest state to sleep that she could reach outside of her tower.
Such strain had also been shared by Lith and Phloria whose brains were now in dire need of rest. While they slept, Solus's power core slowly siphoned the data that had been forcefully stored in the feeble human minds of the three Awakened, relieving them from the burden it posed.
The undead considered it a great sign of trust and they didn't disturb their guests, leaving in silence after recovering their strength. Awakened undead could recover their mana from the world energy, leaving them solely the need for life force that they stored in special vials.
"Do you want to come with us or do you need to rest as well?" Trevan needed neither mana nor life force. Lith's essence had finally brought him past the half-red blood core, the undead equivalent of the bright blue.
"I'm dead tired." Aalejah covered the staff with a special cloth that sealed the Yggdrasill's influence and gave the elf the time she needed to make sure that her decisions were actually her own.
"I'll stay here to make sure that our friends are safe and that I'll have the strength to keep fighting in the case that something else happens."
"Suit yourself. We can't afford to waste any more time. The sun will rise in a while and then we'll be sitting ducks until sundown. If I don't find anything good, my master will never let me hear the end of it." Trevan said and the others nodded in approval.
The mission was meant to help the youth fraternize with their fellow Awakened, but it was also a competition between their respective masters. Aside from Lith, no one had found anything of value and the other factions didn't want to leave the spotlight to the beasts again.
