"Lith didn't kill me, a madman did. Lith didn't turn me into a piece of stone, it only happened because Mom was so fixated on revenge that she abandoned me in the middle of nowhere without telling any of our friends!
"Because she didn't trust you or Malyshka with her legacy. Seeing how close-minded you are and how you behave to get what you want, I can only say that Mom was right!"
Actually, Menadion had simply brought the tower to a mana geyser that no one else knew to keep her safe in case Bytra returned while she was away. Also, Menadion couldn't ask either of the white-cored mages for help simply because back then they were both in Jiera and their communication amulets were out of range.
Yet Solus had no way to know it.
Silverwing lowered her gaze, incapable of denying Elphyn's words.
"I'm fine with using the Removal unit, but only if it means getting rid of you once and for all." Solus said. "Promise me that if even after severing our bond I don't change my mind, you'll leave us alone."
"I promise." Silverwing tried to reach the wooden box that still lay on the table near her, but Solus stopped her.
"Not so fast. As I said multiple times, I don't remember much about you and I don't trust you one bit. For all I know, you might take the box and Spirit Warp away the moment my ring is in there.
"Lith, you and I must be ready to make any dimensional spell collapse. Phloria, take the box, please. I trust you with my life." She said while never averting her gaze from the First Magus.
"Spirit Magic cannot be blocked except by powerful dimensional mages and-" Silverwing looked at Solus's emerald streaks brimming with power while five more eyes appeared on Lith's human face.
"Did you teach her Domination already?" She said in surprise.
Silverwing had spent centuries realizing the hidden potential of the elemental affinities and then learning how to use Domination. Magus or not, she was still a human and Emperor Beasts didn't trust her more than Solus did now.
"Yes, he did. Even though it means that I might kill him just by messing with his barriers during a fight." Solus said with a grunt, tired of the Magus' refusing to accept reality.
"What's Domination?" Phloria took the box and checked it with her Forgemastering spells to make sure that it didn't have hidden functions or traps.
"Thanks, Loka. Now Faluel will kill us. I can't wait to get you out of my life." Solus said. "We'll talk about that later, Phloria. Now please open the Removal unit."
Lith took off the stone ring, letting the strings of blue energy generated by the box take it out of his hand. When the ring reached the center of the Removal unit, the lid closed by itself and the blue gemstone sealed the box, making it akin to a dimensional space completely disconnected from the outside world.
Lith and Solus felt much worse than the day she had regained her human body. Not only was their mind link gone, but there was also the feeling of having suddenly lost a big chunk of their being.
Lith felt weak. Without the power of the mana geyser, he couldn't weave Tower Spells anymore and was forced to let them fade. At the same time, he felt sad and empty without Solus's light to soothe the abyss in his mind, yet he smiled.
Unlike when Nalear had separated them, this time it had been their choice. On top of that, having Solus out of his mind allowed him to realize that even though the rage and the grief were still there, now he could face them on his own without being crushed.
Solus fell onto her knees due to the feeling of her life force having lost her source of nourishment. It wasn't just the hunger terrifying her, but all the memories that came with it.
She could now remember the moment when Menadion's imprint had disappeared from the tower, leaving her alone in a dying body made of stone. Solus wept, clawing at her head as images of the past flashed in front of her eyes.
Solus remembered weeping over the loss of her mother for hours before finding the strength to Warp to the geysers where they usually met with Malyshka or Aunt Loka. She remembered how with each Warp the tower had grown weaker.
Alone and desperate, Elphyn had returned to the Trawn woods, Menadion's secret playground as a young mage. For weeks she had traveled Mogar until she couldn't Warp anymore.
Those very same feelings of desperation flooded her mind as the now masterless tower became weaker by the second just to keep her cracked life force and mana core from degrading.
Silverwing mistook her reaction for the shock of having been finally released from the slave spell. She had seen it happen countless times in the past. Slave spells didn't need brainwashing so the masters didn't bother creating a relationship with their victims, they just gave them orders.
They could have the slave behave and say whatever they wanted, but their mind was unaffected by the forbidden magic, remembering every abuse and disgusting command they had been forced to follow.
Elphyn was probably capable of killing Verhen with the same spells she had prepared to protect him, but Silverwing weaved a couple of her own, just in case.
For a moment, Phloria feared that there might be some truth in Silverwing's words since Quylla had behaved the same way after being freed from Nalear's slave ring. Yet she just had to look at Solus's eyes to know that she was nothing like her sister.
Quylla had been filled with remorse, shame, and pain whereas Solus was just afraid of something no one else but she could see.
When the visions passed, Solus's knees were still weak.
"Do you mind giving me a hand? I don't think I can stand up on my own." She raised her arms toward Lith, smiling.
Solus felt empty and alone inside, but she was happy nonetheless. She could finally experience her own feelings without Lith's interfering and when he took her in his arms to put her on a chair, Solus knew that the joy that gesture gave her was pure.
Her mind was clear like never before and she could think like her own person, worrying only about the things that she wanted.
"Are you happy now? I'm staying here." Solus said.
"What?" Silverwing's brain froze in confusion.
"We had a deal. I've done my part and now it's your turn. Get out."
"Please, think this through. My offer is still valid. I can help you recover your memories and feed you much better than Verhen ever could. I would give you absolute freedom." The First Magus said.
"The freedom of doing what? Of visiting places I don't care about and meeting people I haven't seen in centuries?" Solus replied. "Even if I trusted you, which I don't, my life is here.
"I have a family, friends, and a partner who actually listens when I talk.. What can you offer me aside from the shadows of my past? You speak about freedom, yet I'm willing to bet that you wouldn't let me come back here if I wanted to."
