'On top of that, she would never question his authority like that, with respect. It takes an incredibly convoluted order to fix a single conversation and there's always a loophole that Epphy might exploit.' Baba Yaga thought.

"That's why I don't want you to examine me. I had only good memories of aunt Loka and look how our reunion turned out. If you're half as reckless as I remember, then this can only end badly." Solus said.

"No need to be embarrassed. It's fine doing stupid things when you're young and angry with your mother. I was there to protect you from the wrong crowds and yourself, not to enable you." The Maiden shook her head.

"Embarrassed?" Lith echoed, making Solus's eyes turn purple again.

"Fine." Baba Yaga sighed. "I won't examine you, but at least let me tell you what I think happened. Someone killed you or at least went very close. Your mother and I were still ironing a few things back when she disappeared so I assume that she completed the project in a rush to save you.

"Then, the person who killed you came back and Ripha was too weak to stop them. She probably sent you to a secret location where she planned to reunite with you after escaping, but she failed."

"Do you know who might have done it?" Solus asked.

"Sorry, there were too many people that wanted the both of you dead. The fact that Ripha opened her house to anyone in need doesn't help either. One of her apprentices might have actually been a mole who lured you into a trap." Malyshka said.

"What about you, young man. Will you allow me to examine your condition or do you want to refuse my help as well?"

"What good would it make?" Lith asked.

"I'm the greatest expert about hybrids alive and your condition is unique. There's nothing to fix with you, but I might be able to offer you some insight. Back in my days, reaching the violet core wasn't a big deal, but I am the oldest person alive to have achieved the white core.

"On top of that, I experienced world tribulations as well so the two of us have a lot in common." Baba Yaga said.

Lith and Solus exchanged a quick glance that cleared up any doubt that Baba Yaga still had.

'Their bond is based on trust, not authority. After breaking a slave's mind, the master can't ask their opinion simply because all the orders he has to impose to ensure absolute loyalty turn the victim into a waddling dog.

'Without free will, there is no imagination, creativity, nor cunning since they could all be used against the slave's master.' She thought.

"Okay fine. Don't blame me if I take the liberty to study your breathing technique while you use it on me." Lith said.

"I'd like to see you try." The Maiden giggled as she took Lith's hands in her own and activated Sun and Moon.

He let it flow, trying to grasp how it worked and how it was different from Invigoration. Baba Yaga didn't rush things, taking her time to study the three parts of his life force and the cracks in it.

"Hold my hands any longer and I'll ask you to buy me a drink." Lith said after a few minutes.

"How cheeky." She chuckled. "Don't you have any respect for beings older than the Griffon Kingdom?"

"Not since I got to call Salaark Grandma and Leegaain Grandpa." Lith said with a grin.

"You should have seen his face during the Blood Resonance results. It was hilarious." Baba Yaga laughed so hard that it broke both the breathing technique and the physical contact.

Once she managed to regain her cool, Baba Yaga turned into her Mother form to look into Lith's eyes without getting neck pain.

"Did you learn anything useful from my breathing technique?" She asked.

"Maybe. Only time will tell." He shrugged. He needed Solus's memory to replay the effects of Sun and Moon to study it properly and her mind to crack its secrets.

"Well, I sure did." Baba Yaga said, making Lith and Solus give her their undivided attention. "I felt it the first time when I saw you on the Feymar mines and now I'm sure of it. There's a great power within you.

"Something old like life itself yet new. Something that never existed before and still doesn't. Yet this power is corrupt and dangerous. You wear heavy chains, young man. They made you strong in the past but they also keep you from moving forward.

"You'll never bloom unless you get rid of them." She took a brief pause, letting them ponder her words before resuming to share her discoveries.

"Right now, you're akin to a nine-month baby in his mother's womb, a chrysalis which is about to be broken from the inside. When the time comes and you'll gain the power necessary to break free, don't try to resist nor to control its flow.

"You must become one with that power but without letting it take over your mind, just like you did with Epphy until now."

"What does this even mean?" Lith liked his explanations clear and possibly broken down in detailed steps, not in the form of riddles.

"Every person is unique and so is the wall they face when they are about to undergo great changes. Be it the violet, the white core, or even Guardianhood, no one but you can see that wall and find a way to overcome it.

"If you find yourself stumped in your path, instead of staring at the wall, remember my words. I can only hope that they'll make sense to you in your time of need." The Mother said.

"I get that you like Solus, but why are you helping me? Silverwing wants me dead to free her beloved goddaughter from an eternity of slavery whereas you've just given me clues that might bind Solus to me forever." Lith said.

"Lochra is young and ignorant." Baba Yaga replied. "No matter how powerful you are, the unknown will always scare you. Lochra doesn't know you, she doesn't even understand you so of course she's afraid of what you might do to someone she loves.

"I, on the other hand, I'm old and as ignorant as her, but I've given up on the foolish obsession of knowing everything. I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt rather than judge you out of prejudice."

"Why?" Lith couldn't believe listening to someone like Baba Yaga calling herself ignorant.

"I may have learned about magic from the other five original Guardians, but I knew nothing about life until I met Tyris. The Great Mother taught me many things, the most important of which was to let those I love go.

"Love and control are two very different things, yet most people, even the Guardians, fail to understand it. That's why they either rule their land with an iron fist like Salaark or give up on it like Leegaain.

"I named myself the Red Mother after Tyris and even shaped my daughters after her as a token of my admiration, hoping they would grow up resembling her in their hearts as well." The Mother said.

"That sure went well." Lith said with a sneer.