"If death is so simple, then what am I doing here?" Lith snarled at the absurdity of such an explanation, even starting to doubt that the thing in front of him wasn't his long-lost brother so much as a hallucination.
"Even on Earth, where there's almost no mana, when someone died in special circ.u.mstances, their grudge kept them bound to the place of their death, unable to move on. You are the exact opposite." Carl said.
"You had no unfinished business that kept you tied on our planet, no place you belonged to, nor someone to reunite with. You spent your life loving no one and after killing Ezio and Chris, your desire to protect me from everything, including yourself, made it impossible for us to reunite.
"You are the cause of your reincarnation problem. With no one and nowhere to go, you wandered aimlessly. I came to put an end to your death and rebirth cycle. I'm here to take you home, big brother."
***
Baba Yaga's hut, now.
As the first living creature to have achieved a white core, Baba Yaga had lived a life long enough to have forgotten about the name that her parents had bestowed upon her at birth.
She had abandoned it, considering everything about the Odi legacy like a useless relic of the past. Baba Yaga had always preferred focusing on the present and working hard to build a better future for her children rather than waste time with memories.
"Why are we looking at this, exactly?" The Bright Day asked and her siblings nodded in agreement.
"Because an Awakened being able to reject a world tribulation before the white core is a rare event. The world energy in Kolga is thin, but not so much to hinder Mogar's vision or its influence.
"If the planet wanted, it should be able to start the tribulation yet nothing happens. It's something worth studying." Baba Yaga replied.
"I don't get why you are so fixated with hybrids in general and with this one in particular." The voice of the Black Night came out of Orpal's body.
After sealing the deal with Lith's disowned older brother, she had been forced to use Body Sculpting on him to make their body fit his ego. He looked nothing like during his youth, to the point that even Elina might not recognize him anymore.
Not after Night had also Awakened him and spent the last few months refining both his body and core. Orpal's physique was in a constant state of pain and the black crystal armor was the only thing keeping it from exploding like an overinflated balloon.
"I don't know if it's due to your new idiotic host affecting your mind or if I made some mistake while giving you birth, my child." Baba Yaga loved Night from the depth of her heart, yet she couldn't forgive her for endangering her life like that.
Choosing Orpal bordered on violating the restrictions that Baba Yaga had imposed on Night. On top of that, it was a clear sign that the Horseman of Night had no intention of letting go of Lutia, causing consequences not even Baba Yaga could predict.
"Why do you think neither the Guardians nor the Council have ever attempted to wipe out the Abominations? Why do you think they are even considering admitting them amid their ranks?" She asked.
Even the Horseman of Dusk, the wisest of the three had no answer to offer. As much as he hated Abominations, he respected their power and was eager to steal from them the secrets of Chaos magic.
"The answer is simpler than you think." Baba Yaga said. "Abominations are, for the lack of a better term, the natural undead of Mogar that I imitated and improved with my work.
"Just like my white core represents my absolute mastery over life, granting me eternal youth and boosting all of my abilities, a black core is the total absence of life. Abominations don't have any vital because they are already dead and the only way to kill them is dispersing the energy stored in their cores."
"They are souls so powerful that they can reject death and keep living even without a body. In exchange, however, they lose the ability to procreate and every means to appreciate the physical world.
"I fixed both those problems for you, but I failed to get rid of the hunger. To make matters worse, my undead are incapable of using Chaos magic and gain several limitations that Abominations do not have.
"This kid, Lith, represents harmony between life and death whereas the Master's hybrids are the first cases of a perfect resurrection. They are immortal, they can breed, and they have no weaknesses." Baba Yaga took a pause to look them in the eyes and made them realize the importance of the matter at hand.
"Even though Lith is inferior to the Master's hybrids, he has yet to reach his full potential while once they get used to their new bodies, there will be no more room for growth, just like it happens for my children.
"We are looking at this because the only way to survive the tides of changes is to ride them, not to stand in their path." She said.
***
"For how long did you know about Ezio?" Even after so many years, both brothers refused to refer to him as Dad. He had done nothing to earn the title or their respect.
"Back when I was a kid, I thought it had been a miracle. It took me years to understand that even if you didn't cause the accident, the photos, the lawsuit, our lawyer, everything went too smoothly to be just a coincidence." Carl replied.
"Then why didn't you ever tell me about your suspicions?" Lith said.
"Because I didn't want to force you to open up with me. Yet that's irrelevant now. The reason I'm here is that I want you to find the peace that you deserve."
"Are you saying that I'm some kind of ghost? An undead?" Even in the Mindscape Lith's voice quivered in shock.
"An Abomination, to be precise." Mogar-Elina waved his hand, splitting Lith's life forces in their components.
The took the form of a humanoid red fog and of a snarling shadow that only heavy blue chains kept from attacking those present.
"That's impossible! I have a human life force!"
"Just like the Puppeteer you fought had an orc's life force and consumed it to hold the Chaos in." Mogar shook her head. "It's not really yours, it belongs to the body you possessed and helps you to mask your presence."
"What about my beast life force, then?" Lith refused to believe that one of the most dreadful thoughts that had haunted him for so long was actually true, yet it all made sense.
"That's my point exactly." Carl nodded. "If you were truly human, then where does that come from?"
Lith didn't know what to say since no matter how much he and Solus thought about it, they had never found a plausible explanation.
"It comes from me." Mogar chimed in.
"I pride myself on being fair. All of my children who turn into Abominations, do it by choice. The choice to l.u.s.t for power more than for life. Even then, they still have a way out, they just fail to realize it.
