"That's fair." Balkor nodded. "Let me tell you a few things, kid. Don't be too quick to judge me, because I've heard a lot of things about you and very few are nice.
"You have no idea how it feels when your own country betrays you out of petty interests and takes away everything you love."
"I actually do." Lith thought back at how the legal system had betrayed him, leaving Carl's death unpunished.
"I doubt it. Based on what I know about you, in my shoes you wouldn't have acted any different." Balkor said. "Also, remember that yesterday's enemy can be today's friend.
"Don't focus too much on the circumstances where you met someone and consider instead how they act once your interests align. Manohar and I fought a lot in the past, yet now we work together on many things. Here, take a look."
The god of death showed Lith a small cube with a white crystal at its center.
'By my Mom! That's a working memory crystal with no cloaking device.' Solus said as the Eyes started to analyze the runic inscriptions.
"Is that a replica of the Spell Hoarding Cube?" Lith was glad to have never mentioned the importance of breathing techniques as Manohar passed the artifact to him.
"No, that would be beyond even our combined abilities." Manohar sighed. "Yet while I borrowed it, I managed to study it enough for Zogar to understand the underlying principles of the Cube. Ilyum provided the crystal necessary for it to work and Orion assembled that cheap copy."
"I call them memory crystals. They are the reason my creatures were so powerful." Balkor used Life Vision to make sure that Lith didn't cast spells, but he couldn't spot Abyssal Gaze flowing inside the proto-cube.
'How is this a cheap copy?' Lith thought while his breathing technique revealed to him a complex power core surrounded by so many mana pathways that they overlapped, forming a sphere.
On top of that, aside from the parts where the white crystals came out of the cube, every centimeter of its surface was covered in runes, most of which he had never seen before.
'Solus, is there any chance we can study the proto-cube thoroughly?'
'No way.' She replied while using her brain, Lith's, and the tower's power core as a third processing unit to expedite the scan. 'Even the basic activation spell is different from Ayleen's and to make sense of the rest I need to study it first.
'The silver lining is that while Ayleen's golem skeletons were a complex device, the proto-cube is relatively simple and its rune strings are straightforward. If we manage to understand even the basics of the proto-cube, it will save us months of research.
'We might even start working on building your golem assistants. Buy as much time as you can.'
As soon as Abyssal Gaze had revealed Lith every detail that Solus could memorize, he returned the pseudo-cube to Balkor. While in the presence of a fake Awakened genius it was better not to be too greedy.
After all, the Eyes would keep scanning the pseudo-cube undetected as long as the god of death kept it where Lith and Solus could see it.
"I can understand Vastor but Orion? How did the four of you end up working together? Knowing his loyalty to the Kingdom, I would expect him to attack you on sight." Lith asked while Balkor checked his prototype for any sign of spells or tampering with Life Vision.
'Weird. I expected Verhen to cast a Forgemastering spell from his palm or at least use a device to study my creation right under my nose. I guess I misjudged him.' The god of death thought.
"You have your secrets and we have ours." He replied.
"Then answer me this. Why are you two working for Jirni and what does that thing do?" Lith asked, making Balkor's jaw drop to the floor.
"Oh please, Ilyum. He's not dumb. Lith knows that demon disguised as a woman is the only person that can keep that hothead under control." Manohar shivered at her mention. "Yet I resent your choice of words, Lith. We work with her!"
'Yeah, right. Because Jirni can surely add much to Forgemastering with her non-existent magical talent. Also, I can see how scared you are of her.' Lith thought, but knowing how prideful the Mad Professor was he remained silent.
"We have common enemies that we want to get rid of." Balkor said. "As for the proto-cube, it's supposed to be a weapon for our magicless contractor but so far is a failure."
Lith almost couldn't believe his ears. It had been months since Manohar's fight against Dawn, yet four of the most brilliant people he had ever met had yet to make an enhanced version of the spell holding rings work.
'I work alone with Solus and I have no access to the resources of the Organization or the Royal Forgemasters. How long will it take me to make my golems work?'
'Don't be the usual sourpuss.' Solus said. 'We know that Tyris made the Cube so even a very downgraded version of it is still a very complex tool because anyone must be capable of using it.
'Your golems, instead, have a much simpler purpose and they'll answer only to their creator. Also, basing our work on Ayleen's and the proto-cube will save us a lot of time.'
"Since we are being honest with each other, there's something you can help me with, Professor." Lith told Manohar about Thrud's Skinwalkers and her collaboration with the Undead Courts.
"The problem is that I can't share any of this information with the Kingdom without revealing my nature as Awakened."
"Don't worry, Lith. I'll handle that." Manohar patted his shoulder. "What the Royals expect from me are results, not explanations. They have given up on that for years now. I'll just take the credit- I mean say that I've discovered the issue on my own.
"The Royals will take my word at face value and keep you out of it."
After that, Manohar and Balkor discussed for a while what Lith had shared with them about Awakening, asking for his input every time they formulated a theory. He would just reply yes or no to nudge them in the right direction.
Manohar practiced Spirit Magic with his wand the whole time and his mastery improved at a terrifying speed thanks to Balkor giving him a hint every time he hit a wall.
Lith waited patiently for them while Solus kept scanning the proto-cube with the Eyes. Even with three brains, they had to take a break from time to time to avoid a memory overload.
By the time Manohar and Balkor were done, Solus had finished studying the rune sequence necessary to trigger the memory ability of the crystals and to infuse them with willpower.
'I wish we could do more, but by comparing the proto-cube with what we have learned from Ayleen's skeleton golems we have enough material to work on the first prototype for Trouble and Raptor.' She said.
"It's time to decide where to bring Zogar for his bachelor party." Manohar opened a Warp Steps that would lead them to the nearest Gate.. "I've never been to brothels so I'm in your care, Lith."
