"On top of that, even if we find a way to fix my core, I cannot part from the tower. I might become my own master after your death, but that would mean living an eternity of loneliness.

"Immortality would be my curse rather than my blessing. After losing everyone I love, it would be only a matter of time before grief and isolation drive me insane as it happens to Liches." Solus had never been so scared of her future.

Finding the answers she had long searched had brought her no joy, only despair.

"Stop spewing nonsense, Solus!" Lith said. "You've never been a burden for me. You are my most precious friend and confidant. Our bond made me better and I have yet to even start repaying you for all you did.

"I'll take care of you not because I have to, but because I want to. No matter what kind of mess my life will turn into, I want you in it. As for immortality, you and I are in the same boat.

"I can't afford to die without taking another trip to never-never land so don't kill me off like that. Don't worry about the future. We'll deal with it when the time comes just like we did with everything else. Together." Lith kissed her head, lulling Solus between his arms.

"Since we still have some time before going to bed, what do you say I prepare you my worlds-renowned hot chocolate with whipped cream and pancakes drowned in syrup?" Lith asked with a soothing voice.

"Are you trying to give me diabetes?" Solus nodded and chuckled at the same time.

"The good thing about having an energy body is that you can't get fat. You should enjoy it while you have the chance. Once you get your real body, you'll be like anyone else. A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips." Lith playfully pinched at her belly.

"How dare you make fun of a lady!" Solus laughed, trying to return the favor but finding nothing to pinch at.

"I'll take your advice and a double chocolate. Then, maybe, I'll forgive you."

While Lith prepared the food, Solus checked her body and realized that she had no idea how to prepare a single meal. Mages were often so focused on their research to pay no mind to things like cooking or sewing.

The idea that to keep enjoying all of her favorite foods as she had always done without gaining ten kilos per month she would need to both exercise a lot and learn how to prepare them, made immortality look like a minor issue to Solus.

***

Weghan region, near the lair of Ajatar the Drake, in the central part of the Griffon Kingdom.

Ajatar was sound asleep even though the sun had just set. His latest experiment had not only been a massive failure, but it had also lasted over three days. The Drake was annoyed and in dire need of rest.

Invigoration couldn't mend his wounded pride nor his bad mood. The only prescription was taking a bit of time off to learn from his mistakes.

That's why when someone triggered all of his alarm arrays and knocked on his door, Ajatar was royally pissed off even before learning the identity of the unwanted guest or why they were bothering him.

"This better be urgent, pal, because otherwise I'm going to paint you black and blue all over." The Drake resembled an oversized lizard covered in sapphire-blue scales with a huge white horn coming out of his snout.

Despite his huge size, Ajatar moved as lithe as a cat, reaching the door in a split second.

"What the actual fuck?" He said noticing a raggedy man asleep on his doorbell. "How the heck does a human know how to find my buzzer and how did he trigger yet dodge my traps?"

Ajatar activated his mystical senses and arrays to make sure it wasn't some kind of elaborate ruse for an ambush. A lot of people would kill Drakes for their sturdy scales that could be used to craft extraordinary protections.

In a similar fashion, the Drake's home was surrounded by human skins to remind all wannabe hunters that skinning was a game two could play. Only after all the security sweeps came back negative did he take a good sniff at the stranger.

The ragged man smelled of dirt, loads of alcohol, and something that reminded the Drake of his own dissolute youth. Under all that stench, the smell of a fellow Emperor Beast was faintly detectable.

"If you want to sleep, go somewhere else. What do you want from me?" The Drake asked.

"Oh, sorry." Morok managed to yawn, burp, and fart at the same time, releasing a noxious gas that wiped away any trace of sleep left in Ajatar's body.

"I need a ride back to the Ernas Arch Duchy to collect my prize since those bastards dropped me like a bad habit." He said before literally falling asleep on the ground with a thud.

"What kind of idiot has just stumbled in my house?" Ajatar asked the heavens while rolling his eyes.

"Be more specific, dammit! Do you have any idea how big an Arch Duchy is? There are several Awakened Lords living there. Either you tell me where you want to go or I swear to the gods that I'll Warp you to a random location."

"Take me to the Ernas household, thanks." Morok stopped snoring long enough to answer and then promptly resumed.

Tired of playing along with all that nonsense, Ajatar used Invigoration on Morok, cleansing his body from substances and fatigue alike.

"It doesn't work like that, pal. Start from the beginning. Who are you and what do you want?" The Drake asked.

"You fiend!" Morok looked at the Drake with outrage, making him feel guilty even though he had no idea why. "That was some first-rate booze and chemical joy. Do you have any idea how much it cost me? I demand compensation!"

"Do you want me to pay for messing with your intoxication?" Ajatar was flabbergasted but no longer felt guilty.

"You break it, you pay for it. Why is the Warp Array still inactive?" Morok extended his hand for the money while looking at the messy lab in contempt. "Dude, this place is a stinky mess. Do you have no shame?"

The failure and consequent explosion had indeed left the lab in a pitiful state. Pieces of broken equipment lay everywhere and the stench of burned ingredients gave the lair a pungent smell.

Yet hearing those words coming from someone that made his lab look and smell like a rosebud in comparison, almost gave Ajatar a stroke.

"First, I'm not going to give you a single copper piece. Second, if you don't like my house, go to Feymar and use the humans' Gate." The Drake said.

"Have some respect, dude! I'm a fellow Emperor Beast and a war hero at that. I faced Baba Yaga, barely survived the legendary battle of the three armies, and then crawled my way here. Is it too much to ask for a little help?" Morok said.

"Even if I wanted to believe you met a living legend like Baba Yaga and lived to tell the tale, I call bullshit on the rest. The last war happened before I was even born and I've never heard about such battle."