Supreme Magus

Chapter 4302: Tower Form (Part 2)

Salaark then gave them a few seconds to follow the conversations taking place inside the Mansion so that when she brought everyone back, they acted natural.

"Come on, guys, your names for Solus’ Dragon form are way lamer than usual." Garrik said, stinging the Overlord in her pride. "Is Snow White Dragon really the best you can do?"

"Of course not." Aran was offended by both the allegation and the fact that Salaark had uttered such an uncool name on his behalf. "I was just joking. What about Frostblade Dragon?"

"Much better." Garrik nodded in approval, yet Solus cringed.

"You focus on her joints and forget about the most important part." Leria interjected. "Auntie’s majestic, colorful wings. Prismatic Dragon is a much more fitting name for her."

The girls nodded, the boys retched, and Solus cringed harder.

"That’s even lamer than everything you proposed so far, Leria." Garrik pointed out, forcing Salaark to leave before she joined that ridiculous conversation to defend her taste in names. "That’s not a cool name. It’s too girly!"

"Auntie Solus is a girl, you numbnut!" She replied. "Tell him, Auntie."

"Leria is right. I’m a girl." Solus gave a noncommittal answer. "I’m sorry, guys, but all that shapeshifting tired me out, and I have to go now. I promised Ryla to take remedial lessons so that I won’t slow everyone else down the next time we practice together."

It was the first time Ryla heard of any such thing, but she knew how bad a kids’ quarrel could get and how awkward being dragged into it could become.

"Solus is right, kids. See you later." The Fomor acted as if it were the program all along and walked away with Solus.

"Thanks for the save." She sighed. "I don’t want to offend anyone, but those names were just bad."

"At least they just wanted to give you a name." Ryla sighed harder. "They want to find me a husband. They argue about which bachelor is better to set me up with, and not once did they ask my opinion."

***

Solus sought shelter in the nursery and showed her new forms to the babies. Unlike their slightly older relatives, the babies stared at her with their mouths open and showered her with enthusiastic baby babble of praise.

"Thanks, guys." Solus sniffled. "You’re the best."

Much to her dismay, her tower form got the lion’s share of the attention. With its golden skin and many precious gemstones, it sparkled like a giant toy that the babies couldn’t wait to bite and examine.

Much to the babies’ dismay, Solus kept them at arm’s length and allowed them to examine her only one at a time.

"I’m sorry, but I have no control over this stupid flaming hair." She tried to explain. "I can neither turn it off nor make it go cold, and I’m not going to let you get hurt because of me."

Luckily for her, the babies lost most of their interest when they realized how hard her skin was and that the shiny gems couldn’t be taken off.

The second-most appreciated form was the Dragon.

It was less gleaming, but it was pleasantly warm to the touch, and Solus let the babies come at her together. On top of that, Elysia, Valeron, and Raldarak loved expressing themselves via the Dragon Scales.

They shapeshifted into their Divine Beast forms, running up and down Solus’ body while challenging her to catch them. Surin and the others, instead, went for the horns. It turned out that after covering them with a blanket, they were a great place to take a nap.

The Indech form, instead, was met with a complete lack of interest.

"Why don’t you like it?" Solus asked. "Don’t you think I’m tall and beautiful now?"

"You’re always tall and beautiful, Mom." Valeron said, and the other toddlers nodded.

"Thanks, kids." She sniffled, enveloping them in a group hug with her wings. "I love you so much. You’re so smelly that I- Wait a second!"

After changing several diapers and feeding the hungry horde, Solus felt confident enough to return to the tower and ask Lith to join her as soon as he could.

He arrived a few minutes later and found Solus practicing with her Origin Flames on a few ingots of Orichalcum ore.

"I realized that now that I can use Origin Flames, I need remedial lessons from you as well." She said. "I have every word of Valtak’s teachings recorded in the Eyes, but listening and doing are worlds apart.

"Even worse, only Fire Dragons can use Primal Spark, and without it, I can’t practice for long. I need all the guidance you can give me."

"I’m fine with teaching you how to purify metals, Solus, but I’d rather you leave that to me. Also, I don’t think you should use Origin Flames outside of emergencies." Lith sat at a safe distance from her, which, along with his stern expression, doused her enthusiasm.

"And why is that?" Solus sensed his worry about her condition through their bond.

"Because your life force is much more messed up than my own." Lith replied. "You’ve seen how deep your cracks still are, and you even have a huge hole at the core of your very being.

"If not for the tower core holding your life force together, you’d still be stuck in your energy form."

"And Origin Flames consume a spark of life force." Solus felt stupid for not considering it on her own. "Primordial Flames consume much more than that, and Immortal Flames take a lot out even of a healthy Dragon."

"Not to mention that they can be turned against you." He pointed out. "Unlike your mana, all kinds of mystical flames you might be able to conjure can hurt their user. All it takes is a well-placed dimensional spell."

"Can you at least teach me how to conjure Cursed Flames?" She asked. "They don’t consume more life force than Origin Flames, and with my seven eyes, I should be able to use them. I promise I will keep them for emergencies only."

"Only if you also promise me to leave Dread Flames alone." Lith replied. "I’m aware of Tista’s attempts at it, and I’m not comfortable with that either. Dread Flames put a huge burden on the user and possess unmatched destructive power.

"Tista is an adult, and I can’t force her to listen to me. If she’s willing to risk getting seriously hurt or worse, I can’t stop her. Yet the consequences for you would be much worse, Solus.

"One mistake and you could lose your body, burn down part of the tower, or hurt me. We are bonded, but while my mistakes only indirectly affect you and the others, yours affect me directly."

Those words evoked the images of Solus losing control over the silvery flames, hurting her and Lith at the worst possible moment. Yet while she had the Bleed to shield most of her life force, Lith would take the brunt of the damage.

She could see the babies crying at their father’s coffin. Hear them ask her why he was gone, and Solus had been reduced to a wisp of light. Even in her imagination, Solus didn’t know what to say without feeling like the most foolish person on Mogar.