'The first days are bound to be intense.' Solus said. 'There is too much catch up to do. Things should get easier over time.'
During the following morning, Lith didn't get a second of rest as well. Between his family and his communication amulet ringing non-stop, he had barely the time to breathe.
News of his leave had spread out and his old friends and Professors were contacting him to congratulate or simply to get back in touch with him. The silver lining of the situation was that while everyone else kept Lith busy, Kamila managed to have a private conversation with Elina, ensuring her help with the treatment.
Lith had treated pregnant women in the past, but only curing minor diseases that required tier three magic or lower. Using Body Sculpting on an unborn child was a rare and difficult procedure.
On top of that, the Strangler disease's progression was faster than any medical textbook reported. Even if Invigoration was a peerless diagnostic tool, Lith needed a lot of time to understand what the best approach was.
Luckily for him, Rena would take a nap after every meal so that he could examine her while Elina and Kamila kept Senton busy.
Even though the baby was less than nine months, his condition was already worse than Tista's when Lith had first diagnosed her with the Strangler. The small lungs were properly developed but already more than half-filled with black matter.
Once outside the placenta, the baby wouldn't be able to breathe on his own, let alone survive even the simplest procedure. To make matters much worse, Lith had no idea where to start and even Solus had no solution to offer him.
The procedure he had devised for Tista was unsuited for a creature so small, to the point that Lith couldn't even alleviate the symptoms of the Strangler.
'Fuck me sideways, this is much, much worse than Xedros and Tista combined.' Lith thought.
'If I expel the impurities, I'll contaminate the amniotic fluid and endanger the lives of the healthy kids. I could destroy the impurities as soon as they come out, but I don't know how Rena and her children will react to darkness magic.
'No matter how much I focus to control it, darkness is still a destructive force that puts a strain on the patient. If it triggers labor, I risk killing all four of them. I was hoping to use Body Sculpting to help me find a proper treatment but that's impossible as well.'
Treating a single human life force was already complicated, four at once was the stuff nightmares were made of. Rena's life force was closely entwined with that of her babies as if they were four stringed instruments that shared their cords.
Any alteration on the life force of the ill child would have repercussions on that of the mother which in turn would affect the other babies.
If with Xedros Lith had to deal with twin suns, in Rena's case Lith had to unravel a tapestry and then weave it again without ever altering the image depicted.
To add insult to injury, this time his ability to hear a life force's melody was a handicap because there were four distinct melodies playing at the same time. The ill child's melody was barely audible due to it being much weaker than that of his mother and siblings.
'Great. To hear his melody, I have to purposely weaken Rena's, but that could lead to labor. Otherwise I can enhance the child's life force, who might not withstand the strain and die on the spot. Time to ask for the opinion of an expert.' Lith thought.
Headmaster Marth was happy to hear from one of the White Griffon's most famous alumni so he answered immediately. After a few mandatory niceties and chit-chat, Lith shared with Marth his diagnosis and doubts about his nephew's illness.
"If I heard this story from anyone else, I'd think that either the Healer is dead drunk or they are playing a prank on me." Marth remembered how serious Lith was about the Strangler disease.
Before Tista fully Awakened, he had her fully examined many times to make sure that the strain of attending one of the six great academies could compromise her health.
"The situation is indeed dire and if not treated before birth, the lungs will remain filled with liquid and the baby will drown without drawing a single breath. Why does it always happen with twins?" Marth slammed his fist on the desk in frustration.
"It usually takes an extra healer for each child involved and another for the mother, which in your case means four healers. I doubt you can pull it off stealthily unless you drug your sister and I do not recommend it strongly."
"Do you know someone who could help me?" Lith asked.
"I'm a specialist in regeneration and bloodwork, so my experience with newborn amounts to zero. Vastor would be the obvious choice since he is one of the best Healers of the Kingdom and a veteran, but due to his age, he can't lead such a delicate procedure.
"Endurance is everything when dealing with the unknown, and sadly he gets tired quickly. The best thing I can offer you is Quylla Ernas. She would be a great second and might help you find a way to deal with your problem." Marth said.
"Wait, what about our ace of all trades? I called you because Manohar likes challenges and he has yet to fail a single experimental procedure." Lith clenched his teeth, afraid of the answer.
"I'm sorry, but he's gone. Again." The poor Headmaster looked like he was about to burst into tears.
"He did what?" Lith unknowingly made an impression of the King that would have shocked even Meron Griffon himself.
"I know. The worst thing is that he's actually on official duty. As a penance for his repeated offenses, the Royal Court tasked him to identify the upper echelons of the Undead Courts and their associates in the Kingdom.
"Manohar seems to have gone so deep undercover that no one knows where he is or what is he doing." Marth said.
"How do you know that he isn't just fooling around with his secret experiments?" Lith asked.
"Because the Court seized all his notes and assets. I know his outrage was genuine because Manohar attempted to strangle the King before we managed to restrain him." Marth's words would sound as a joke to anyone who didn't know the Mad Professor.
In Lith's case, he doubted them not because an attempt on the King's life in front of the Royal Court was utter madness, but because he was shocked hearing that Manohar had failed.
'I guess Meron didn't become King by chance. He must be a really powerful mage.' Lith thought.
"I'll tell you what we'll do." Marth said. "Quylla, Vastor, and I will come to your house with the excuse to pay you a visit and we will discretely visit Rena. None of us might be able to find a cure, but between the three of us, we'll be able at least to point you in the right direction or suggest you the best expert to deal with the problem."
Lith nodded in reply and organized with Marth the details of their visit.
