Thrud didn't miss his latest deception but she pretended to, breaking the stalemate.

"I like a power-hungry imbecile like you even less than you like me, but even imbeciles have their purpose. You have something I want, the secret of Awakening, and I have something you want, the secret to becoming a Dragon.

"Would you be interested in the trade?" She said with a charming smile.

"Tell me another." Xedros laughed heartily at those words like he hadn't done in centuries. "I traveled to a Fringe on my own just to be rejected by Mogar. I've spoken with countless Dragons and none of them had a shred of wisdom to offer.

"Your whelp is still wet behind the ears and you're not even an Emperor Beast. How could either of you know anything about the secret of evolution?"

"You're right. I'm no Emperor Beast, yet Tyris's blood runs through my veins." Thrud said, never stopping to smile. "Among the many horrible rumors you heard about me, did any of them mention how with each cycle, Arthan's Madness makes my Griffon blood thicker?"

A spark of Life Maelstrom enveloped her body, overcharging the Sword of Arthan and allowing it to forcefully switch the ownership of the lair from Xedros to Thrud.

Yet instead of being scared, Xedros felt happier than ever as the solution to all of his problems had just been offered to him on a silver platter.

"Just tell me what you want to know." He said.

***

Distar Region, Faluel's lair.

The apprenticeship resumed as soon as the men from the Ernas household completed the Warp Gate inside the barn of Lith's house, which took barely a couple of days. Like all the Gates belonging to a magical household, it could only be used by those with a special pass.

"I'm the one paying for it, after all, and this is the only way I can cover more contingency situations than most can even conceive. Besides, we won't barge into your house without a very good reason and you know it." Jirni said, ending the argument before it even started.

Lith didn't like much the idea of not having full control over his turf, but the advantages of having a personal Warp Gate far exceed the inconvenience of anyone possessing a Royal Override to access the barn.

Now Kamila could come and go freely from Belius and bring Zinya wherever she wanted. His family, instead, could evacuate the house at a moment's notice or just use it to visit the Kingdom at will.

On top of that, dimensional sealing arrays didn't work on Warp Gates, allowing reinforcements to come instantly no matter the situation.

"Glad to have you back, guys. We've got a lot to talk about." Faluel said while Warping them straight to her lair.

In her human form, the Hydra looked like a young woman in her mid-twenties, about 1.7 meters (5'7") tall. Her face had an oval shape, with rainbow-colored eyes and long hair of seven different colors that framed her fine features.

The simple grace of her slender body seemed to be perfectly attuned with her demeanor, making the final result much more stunning than the sum of the single parts.

Despite the barely chilly weather she already wore a woolen sweater, fur pants, boots, and overcoat, as if it was already winter.

At their arrival, Lith noticed that the classroom in the middle of the stone cave that was the Hydra's home had one more desk and a few unexpected guests.

Scarlett the Scorpicore was working on several arrays at once thanks to a swarm of hard-light tools that allowed her to carve the toughest rock with ease. Nyka the vampire, Kalla's adoptive daughter rode on the Scorpicore, studying her work while slurping what looked like a dense red smoothie.

Nok the Byk was stuffing his face with venison. He had grown to a size beyond that of a magical beast, making Lith wonder if Nok was about to evolve or if he was just that majestic.

As for Kalla, she stood there with an incredibly sad look on her face for someone whose features were made of shadows, and that usually made her less expressive than a corpse.

She wore a cone-shaped party hat and a little trumpet in her mouth. She had received precise orders to use it as her only means of communication.

"Congratulations for passing your test of wisdom and welcome to the family!" Everyone said in unison while a clap of Faluel's hands made colorful garlands of flowers and banners depicting Dragons and Phoenixes appear out of thin air.

"Toooooo." Kalla snorted more than blew into the trumpet, managing to make it sound depressing and receiving a slap on the back of the head from Scarlett.

Nyka and Nok threw colored rice at him since paper was too expensive on Mogar and no Mage in their sane mind would waste it to make confetti.

"I'm so happy that you actually belong to the Dragon bloodline." Faluel said giving Lith a hug and kissing him on both cheeks. "It makes our bond even deeper than that between master and apprentice."

"What the heck are you talking about?" Lith was beyond flabbergasted. "I'm no Dragon and how the heck can Nyka be awake in the middle of the day?"

"Interesting question. First-"

"I made an array that absorbs the light element in the cave so that her body feels like it's still night." Scarlett cut Kalla short, almost shoving the trumpet down her throat. "I told you that you can't talk or you'll ruin everyone's mood with your creepy stuff."

"Too!" Kalla blew in the trumpet, protesting at the best of her abilities.

"I can understand your surprise since I asked the Council to let me be the one to break the news to you. We've finally got the results of Blood Resonance on you." Faluel then told him all that had happened after Leegaain had procured a blood sample from Lith's parents.

"That's why Salaark sent me this letter, inviting me to the Desert and allowing me to call her grandma." Lith blurted out in surprise while showing them the envelope he had received from the Blood Desert.

"Well, yes. You are now considered a potential Guardian who belongs to two Guardians' bloodlines. Nothing like this has ever happened before, little cousin." Faluel put a party hat on his head as well.

"You are going to have lunch here to celebrate the good news. Now it's better if we start the lesson." She shapeshifted her clothes into a frilly buttonless white blouse and black pants since thanks to the heating system Lith had installed for her, the cave was spring warm.

"Nice to meet you guys, I'm Nyka." The vampire shook their hands one at the time, stopping abruptly when she touched Quylla. "Hello, gorgeous. Why haven't we ever been introduced before?"

Quylla felt flattered, but behind Nyka's flirty attitude she could feel the Vampire's gaze wandering on all of her wrong parts, making her feel like cattle in front of the expert eye of a butcher taking mental note of the best cuts of meat.

The smell of young blood filled with violet mana was intoxicating and unlike Lith, Quylla seemed completely defenseless.