Lith watched the grieving woman die of thirst, alcohol abuse, and all the ailments that the lack of self-care might induce. Every one of them disfigured her to the point that he couldn’t recognize the woman in front of him way before she even started rotting.
“I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do.” Lith handed her back the figurine and the lock of hair.
The woman took only the lock, holding it like a precious gem. She brought it to her nose, trying to smell the scent of her baby girl as her eyes became lifeless.
“Can you please kill me?” Her voice was a whisper, but still clear. “I know that you are a healer, but my illness has no cure. Only death can put an end to my suffering.”
“What about your husband? What about your family?”
“They have moved out of Lutia because they couldn’t stand how everything here reminded us of Ilka. I couldn’t leave my poor daughter alone. Her grave is here and I’ll stay by her side until my last breath.” Suddenly, Death Vision showed only one outcome.
The neck of the woman would get suddenly twisted at an unnatural angle by a shadow rope.
p
“No.” A voice coming from his mouth that wasn’t his own said.
A voice he hadn’t heard for almost two decades now. Before Lith could realize what was happening, he saw his hand reach for the woman’s head as his body shapeshifted into his Abomination form.
A black chain darted from his chest to the woman’s, making a second chain come out.
‘What are you doing?’ Solus asked via their mind link.
‘I have no idea.’ He replied as the new chain twirled around the space near the woman’s legs, like a snake circling on its prey.
“Stay back!” A high-pitched voice said a small hand slapped the mystical links to keep them from reaching her.
“Ilka?” The woman fell to her knees, trying to hug the little girl who couldn’t be more than four years old. Yet her hands passed through Ilka and the chains, grasping only air.
A shocked silence befell the room as most of those present forgot how to breathe until their lungs started to burn.
“Please, mister, stop that thing. If it reaches me, then I’d be forced to go away but Mom isn’t ready yet.” A wave of Lith’s hand stopped the chain and the edges of the girl’s figure started to fade like mist.
“What do you mean?” The Abomination asked with a voice that he and Solus recognized as Derek McCoy’s.
“After I died of fever, Mom was always sad. Every day she visited my grave and every night, she cried herself to sleep calling my name until Dad couldn’t take it anymore. If I go, she’ll be all alone.” Ilka replied.
“Forgive me, Ilka.” The woman said amid sobs as her suffering grew with each failed attempt to embrace her daughter failed. “If only I looked after you better, you would still be alive.”
“No, Mommy, it’s not your fault. You did everything you could. I was just unlucky. Please, stop crying. I’ll stay with you as long as you want. I promise.”
“Your daughter is stuck because of you. My chains failed to detect her because she has no will to be here.” Derek/Lith said. “She can’t move on unless you let go of your grief. Is this what you want for Ilka? To stay and watch her mother die?
“To keep talking without being heard, to be a shadow in a world of lights?”
“No.” The woman sobbed, seeing her pain reflected on Ilka’s face and all the worry she had caused her daughter. “You can go, my love. Mommy will be alright. I promise.”
She offered Ilka her pinkie and the little girl accepted the chain, turning into a small, smiling Demon.
“Pinkie promise.” Ilka said as her mother could finally experience her touch again.
“I love you, baby girl.” The woman grabbed Ilka, caressing her soft hair and losing herself in Ilka’s warmth until she started to fade away.
“I love you more. Dad’s waiting for you in Ritya. Say goodbye to him for me.”
The woman kept sobbing for a while, but no matter how long the queue became, no one dared to utter a single complaint.
“The cult was wrong.” The woman said when she managed to regain her cool yet refused to stand up. “There was a fourth god. The god of death.”
“The god of death.” Some echoed.
“The Lord of Destruction.” Others said, yet they all fell to their knees.
***
“That went well.” Lith said with a snort once they were finally back home for lunch. “If before only a few people bought the cult’s nonsense, now between Grampa going overboard and whatever my Abomination side did, the rumors about me are going to spread past the borders of Lutia.”
“Which is a good thing.” Leegaain showed him an image of the family while also sharing Soul Vision with him.
The children were playing in the woods, Elina and Raaz were still out to visit the neighbors, and Rena and Senton were at Zekell’s to spend time with the groom’s side of the family.
They all were smiling and there was no trace of fear left on their faces or shadows. The entire city of Lutia now shone with hope and wonder. Whenever its people looked at the temple or toward the farm, there was no mistrust anymore.
“What Tyris did yesterday reminded the members of your family of how much this farm means to them. They are now able to see past the recent traumatic events that took place here and recall the happiness that they enjoyed between these walls.
“Yet none of it would matter without their link with the community.” Leegaain said.
“Lutia can be their home only if they feel as safe in the city as they are inside this house. Were the members of your family victims of harassment the moment they leave the safety of their homes, fear would soon poison their hearts again.”
“The ugliness of the present would eclipse the joy of the past and stay here would be nothing but torture. Healing the citizens of Lutia was the first step to mending the gap that separates them from the Verhens.
“To remind them that your parents were a part of the community before you were born. That even though their son has become a Magus and turned out to be a Divine Beast, Raaz and Elina are still the same.”
“That sounds too optimistic to me.” Lith shook his head. “By showing off ‘my powers’ like that, you and my Abomination side hav just emphasized how much Tista and I are different from the rest.”
“Different doesn’t necessarily mean bad.” Leegaain replied. “Your ‘showing off’ proved to them how desperately they need you. Also, while you and your sister healed your patients, Rena and Elina kept company to those waiting their turn.
