By the end of the lesson, Lith and Solus had yet to jump on the second leaf successfully. The others had tried and failed several times to cross the pond, but it was only a matter of time before they succeeded.

As for Quylla, Invigoration didn't work on her anymore. Sweat drenched her body faster than the self-cleaning properties of her Featherwalker armor could cleanse it, leaving her in a sorry state.

​​

Faluel had to forcefully stop Quylla's senseless training before her core ran dry. Only then did the Hydra notice that the floor near Quylla's right hand was covered in more dust than the self-cleaning spells of the lair allowed.

"What the heck have you been doing until now?" Faluel asked.

"I learned how to manifest the fire element of Spirit Fusion." Quylla said while placing a pebble as big as a pea in her palm and pulverizing it with the sheer strength of her grip.

***

"Excellent work guys." Faluel said while wrapping up the lesson. "Tomorrow there will be a special lesson for Friya, Solus, Lith, and Morok. Everyone else will perform physical training."

"Can't we practice Fusion Magic again?" Quylla had no use for more body training, not now that she had finally found a way to learn the runes of all kinds of elemental fusion.

'Step one is using the wand to exploit Spirit Fusion to learn the runes. Step two will be learning how to use them individually to conjure Fusion Magic instead of wasting so much precious mana.' She thought.

"Not a chance. Everyone here needs to strengthen their mana core through their breathing technique and that's possible only when their body will become strong enough to withstand a breaktrough." Faluel replied.

"On top of that, as Morok so kindly pointed out, I need to lose some weight so we'll combine business with pleasure and I'll join you in your workout. Now go home and sleep. There's only so much time in a day."

"Before we leave, I've got a question." Tista said. "After seeing what happened to my brother, what do you think will happen to me once I reach the blue core?"

"That's a very interesting question, Tista, but I'm not certain about how to answer. A dormant bloodline resurfacing is a very rare phenomenon and so far, yours has followed the rules you already know.

"My hypothesis is that either you'll be forced to choose between one of the two life forces or you'll follow Lith's path because that's what happens when a successful hybrid turns into a new species." Faluel said.

"What do you mean?" Tista asked.

"Think about it." Faluel replied. "Regular hybrids are born in a situation similar to Nalrond's. They have two life forces that don't mix and the more a hybrid grows, the stronger the life forces clash until one of them has to go.

"Nalrond is different because by having a second body and a second core, each life force has its respective space, keeping the conflict between them from reaching a critical point.

"In Lith's case, instead, the two life forces worked in synergy from the beginning to keep in check his Abomination side. His second life force didn't manifest until he reached the blue core, when his body was strong enough to withstand it.

"Then, the life forces started to mix as the core refinement progressed, merging at violet instead of at a specific age. Which means that if the same applies to you, you'll gain a second life force at blue, and then they'll merge at violet, no matter your age.

"The good news is that you'd be able to retain your human side indefinitely as long as you don't refine a violet core. The bad news is that the moment you go beyond the bright blue core, you will not be human anymore." Faluel said.

"Thanks." Tista gave the Hydra a deep bow.

"Thanks for what? I just told you that you'll either have to make a tough choice right when you reach the blue or that you have no choice at all."

"I can deal with tough choices whereas not knowing what to expect was eating at me from the inside." Tista had already decided to refine the blue core as soon as possible, Faluel's insight had given her the information she needed to plan ahead.

'If my life forces work like those of a regular hybrid and I have to choose between human and Wyrmling, I'll take the human side. I have no time to learn how to shapeshift and to adapt to a new body. Whoever killed Lark and Distar will not give us the time.' She thought.

"Nalrond, do you mind coming to my place after dinner?" Lith asked while Faluel Warped Morok to his master's lair and the rest of the class to the Gate in the barn.

"Depends. Will you bathe before my arrival?" The Rezar pinched his nose.

"Happy now?" A wave of Lith's hand and a pulse of darkness magic removed the smell and most of the dirt.

"Not even close. If you want my company, you'll follow my rules. While I was on the run, I had enough of musk for a lifetime. Now the only smell I enjoy is that of soap." Nalrond said.

"Fine. See you at 9 sharp." Lith checked on his clock, giving them two full hours for dinner and personal hygiene.

"Are you trying to piss me off? I don't have a damn armor, let alone a frigging clock!" The Rezar didn't like being the Cinderella of the group.

Even Morok had access to all the enchanted metal and mana crystals he needed thanks to the services he provided to Ajatar the Drake.

"Fine. I'll pick you up, then. Since you're playing hard to get, at least wear something pretty." Lith chuckled, obtaining a finger in return.

***

Lith spent dinner between the clang of silverware and awkward silences. His birthday was behind the corner and he could almost hear the questions that the members of his family wanted to ask but they kept to themselves instead to not hurt his feelings.

It was one of the many reasons why Lith had searched for Nalrond's company for the first time since they had met. After dinner, Lith took a long hot bath like he hadn't done for too long, washing away both dirt and worries.

"Well, what are we doing here exactly?" Nalrond asked while in the comfort of the tower, sitting in what looked like a club lounge filled with sofas and alcohol bottles.

"I usually don't need personal advice from anyone, but after my break up with Kamila I feel the need to have a second opinion about what I did and about what to do next." Lith replied.

"And you're asking me? Why not Morok? Or even better Protector? You two know each other for a long while and he's the happiest among us." Nalrond said.

"Please! Morok is Morok. I wouldn't ask him anything about relationships even if we were the last two men on Mogar. As for Protector, he has no experience with breakups and his relationship with Selia is unusual at best.

"You, instead, told me that you had a regular life in your village. You were even about to marry, which makes our situation pretty similar." Lith said.

"Except that my fiancée is dead while yours just dumped you." Nalrond said with a snarl.

Lith ignored his remark and showed the Rezar his last meeting with Kamila and her parting words via a hologram.