Chapter 4515: One Drop (Part 1)
Chapter 4515: One Drop (Part 1)
"My baby boy is alive. He’s perfect, and all those disgusting flames don’t torment him any longer. How did you do that? I thought your flames were meant to burn and destroy." The Dryad asked.
"That’s what I also believed, child, and the reason I once called Lith, the Destroyer." The Crone caressed Althika’s hand with her thumb. "We were both wrong. His silvery flames are meant to cleanse what’s been tainted and right what’s crooked.
"Lith’s Dread Flames only burned my mad daughter’s demented magic that forced the life forces of your baby to take the form of a Vurdalak. Lith has freed them from their cage and let them revert to their original state as if nothing wrong has ever happened to them."
"Life forces?" The Dryad echoed in disbelief. "Do you mean my baby boy has more than one?"
"I... may have glossed over a small detail." The sadness and regret in Lith’s voice became palpable. "Your unborn child is not just a human. He’s a human baby who carries one drop of Phoenix blood and another of Dragon blood.
"He’s no different from the baby my cursed brother would have if he never turned into a Vurdalak. Your son carries a life force similar to Leria’s, my niece, or any of Rena’s children. In other words, he’s a Verhen."
The thought of associating his family name with Orpal’s spawn disgusted Lith, but he still retained enough of his self-induced illusion to speak those words without letting his feelings transpire.
Lith still considered the unborn baby to be Carl’s child, Erik. On top of that, his earlier conversation with Elina was still vivid in his mind. He had promised not to poison his family against Trion, and the baby was no different.
’No matter the circumstances of his conception, the little guy is a Verhen. Mom will cry with joy when she learns that at least part of her lost son is alive and that she has a second chance to save him.’
"Really?" Althika smiled from the bottom of her heart. "Then my bad feelings were just caused by my stupid, power-hungry Dryad instinct! I wasn’t grieving the loss of my son, only the loss of the powers his Divine Beast side gave to me."
"I’m afraid that’s the case, child." Baba Yaga gave the Dryad a warm smile.
"Are you serious?" Since Naphila was still squirming on the floor, one of the Elders took it upon himself to enter the ward and ask the important questions. "Can a Vurdalak become a Verhen?"
"Yes, you obnoxious prick, or I wouldn’t be here." Salaark appeared out of thin air with Leegaain by her side. "That baby carries a drop of my blood. It’s just one, but I could feel it all the way to the Blood Desert."
Her glare brought the Redcap and every other elder witnessing or listening to the conversation to their knees.
"Interrupt any of us again with your disgusting comments, and it will be the last thing you ever do!" She turned to Lith, her furious expression becoming sweet and caring. "Thank you so much, Featherling.
"I know how much you despise your brother and how much this must have cost you. Yet I want you to know that even though my spite for Meln is no less than yours, I still mourn my blood he possessed.
"Thanks to you, Featherling, that blood is no longer lost. The potential that your revolting brother murdered, you brought it back to life. Back to me." Salaark cried softly.
"It’s just one drop of blood, a potential that might not manifest itself for many generations, but it exists only thanks to you, Featherling. For that, you have my eternal gratitude."
"And mine." Leegaain nodded, offering his hand to Lith. "The star that your brother snuffed out now twinkles in my mind again, Lith. It’s just a tiny, flickering light, but still a light in the emptiness of space.
"If you ever find a way to teach others how to conjure the Dread Flames, I will make you the next Father of Fire personally and give you anything you want in exchange for that knowledge. Before you ask, I mean it.
"No matter how absurd your request might be, it would still be a small price to pay to ensure that my bloodline is safe and no corruption can taint it."
"I’m going to take your word on that." Lith felt weak, and Leegaain conjured a chair for him to sit in and handed him one of his best tonics. "I’d love to accept your proposal, but I have no idea if teaching Dread Flames is possible.
"Even Tista never managed to do it."
"Don’t worry, there’s no rush." The Father of All Dragons shook his head. "If the time comes, however, my offer will always stand."
"I don’t know how to thank you, Verhen." Althika said. "I know it’s not much, but I’d like you to name my baby."
’Thank Bohr she doesn’t want to name him after me!’ Lith inwardly sighed in relief.
Solus wanted to scold him for dragging an innocent baby into his grudge with Orpal, but she remained silent, proud of what he had done.
"I know it’s a weird name, but I would love it if you called him Erik." Lith said, scratching his head in embarrassment.
"Don’t you mean Erlik?" Salaark found it weird that Lith wanted to name a baby after the insane Treant-Draugr who had almost killed him, but his name at least made sense.
"Or maybe Erkin" Leegaain chimed in. "Like the legendary hero of the Empire."
"No, just Erik." Lith shook his head. "If you share their misgivings, Althika, feel free to alter the name like you see fit. I don’t want your child to be mocked all his life because of me. He already has enough of that in store for him because of Meln."
"With all due respect, I’ll call him Erkin." The Dryad blushed a bit. "It contains all the letters of the name of your choice and will give my son someone to look up to."
"Fine by me." Lith raised his hands, inwardly admitting that an English name on Mogar would have sounded out of place. "That said, after all we’ve seen and heard, I don’t know if I can leave you in the hands of the Redleaf clan.
"You carry Erkin Verhen in your womb, and your so-called family has already demonstrated they only care about what he can do for them. I’m afraid that if you stay here, they might subject your son to experiments to Awaken him and then turn him into a Demon.
"It would give the Redleaf Clan the access to a Divine Beast bloodline they always wanted and even a bargaining chip with the Human Council. If the baby develops an Indech side like me, your clan can sell or rent him to let the humans study the secrets of their evolution."
"Gods, no!" Althika wrapped her arms around her swollen belly to protect it.
All the joy and hope she felt until a moment ago were gone, replaced by fear and horror. Luckily for her, the gods stood right by her side and seemed to like those potential scenarios as much as she did.