"How can you suggest to order the Demons to blow themselves up like it's a joy ride? The second part of your strategy is almost as disgusting as the idea of attacking the elven villages." Kamila said.

"Listen, Lady Verhen, I understand your outrage and I sincerely wish there was still something inside of me that could give half a fuck about it. There's not. Twenty-three years ago, someone decided to teach me a lesson by slaughtering my family and my village.

"I've learned my lesson and taught one of my own to the Kingdom. Now it's your turn. What lesson do you want to teach your husband? To just roll over and die whenever his enemies have loved ones?

"To sit there and take it because two wrongs don't make a right?" Balkor paused long enough for Kamila to think about an answer before resuming talking the moment she opened her mouth.

"Would you be of the same opinion if instead of your husband's friend the World Tree had taken away your babies?" He pointed at Valeron and Elisya who had fallen asleep while holding each other. "Would you still preach mercy?"

Kamila's answer died in her throat as the mere thought of such an event made her quiver with rage and horror.

"My point exactly." Balkor took her prolonged silence as an answer. "Who do you think you are to tell Verhen that his friend is less important than your babies? Who are you to sit there and tell me my family didn't deserve the only kind of justice I could give them?"

Ilyum Balkor stood up and offered his hand to Lith who shook it promptly.

He had walked more than one mile in Balkor's shoes. He still grieved the deaths of Carl, Yurial, Lark, and Phloria, wishing to go back in time now that he was strong enough to save every one of them.

"I'm not telling you what to do, Magus Verhen." Balkor said. "I'm telling you what I would do if instead of Solus there was Eos, Eylen, or Erak. The choice is yours. My only suggestion is to pick the answer you'll regret less in the years to come."

Then, the Blood Magus walked out of the tent and returned home.

"I didn't say anything because I didn't want you to feel isolated, but Balkor is right." Jirni said as soon as the curtain was sealed and the room soundproofed again. "You are also right, Kamila. What Ilyum has suggested it's disgusting, inhumane, and heartless.

"Yet I'd do all of that and much more if it brought my Little Flower back." Jirni couldn't stop her hands from embracing her swollen womb. "You know all too well what it means not knowing if you'll ever see again someone you love.

"Wondering every minute if you'll ever hear their voice again or see their smile. Luckily for you, you don't know how it feels when your worst fears come true. I just wish you never come to find out."

Despite her words, Jirni looked serene.

There was no grief in her voice or tension on her face. Yet Kamila knew that was only because her mentor considered emotions to be a weakness and that Jirni would only show what she needed to get what she wanted.

That kind of speech was out of character already, making Kamila wonder about it.

'I wonder if pregnancy softened Jirni up or if this is just groundwork to get whatever she wants from Lith.' Kamila thought. 'Either way, I can't deny she has a point. If it were Elysia instead of Solus, I would probably be mad with grief already.

'Same with Valeron, Lith, or my sister. I wouldn't care about collateral damage until I got them back and whatever sense of guilt I might carry for it, I would welcome it with open arms.'

"You've got a lot of explaining to do, Jirni." Lith said, snapping Kamila out of her reverie. "Since when are you an Awakened? Most importantly how is the baby?"

"Why don't you look for yourself?" Jirni gave him a warm smile and offered him her hand.

It was the first time after her Awakening that she met Lith and allowed him to use his breathing technique on her. He could finally see past her cloaking device and notice the changes her body had undergone.

"Bright yellow core and you are very close to the next breakthrough." Lith said out loud for Kamila to hear. "The baby is perfectly healthy. She didn't Awaken, but her constitution is impressive."

Being born from an Awakened mother meant sharing her body refinement and physical prowess since the infant shared the mother's flesh and blood. Even as a non-Awakened, the baby would be born with perfect health and fewer impurities than normal.

That, however, would only last for a while. Babies grew quickly during their first months of life and all the extra weight they gained would dilute their enhanced tissues. In just a couple of years, they would be no different from a regular baby.

"Bright yellow? Like me?" Kamila said.

"Jirni had a better starting core than you but this growth rate means she practiced a lot and Awakened not long after you." Lith pointed out. "Somehow, you convinced Vastor to help you. Am I right?"

It was the most logical explanation to why Jirni had chosen the old Professor as her physician during the pregnancy instead of Lith or Quylla.

"He also Awakened Orion." Jirni nodded, making his eyes go wide in surprise. All seven of them. "We had Zogar teach us magic and Spirit Magic so even though I have just a bright yellow core I'm no pushover.'

Any sane man would have considered Lady Jirni Ernas a threat even back when she was a regular human woman with an orange core. Now that she had an Awakened body, Fusion and Spirit Magic, Lith considered her a force to be reckoned with.

"Now I understand why Quylla suggested me to ask your help. Am I the only one who didn't know about this?" Lith asked.

"Far from it. Let me start from the beginning." Jirni used a mind link to answer all his questions and share her current standoff with the Gernoff household.

"Nobody knew." She replied after bringing Lith up to speed. "I didn't want to involve any of you in my business. I'm doing it now only because I have no other choice."

"Let me get this straight." He said. "This is just your way to manipulate and guilt me into risking my life to protect yours."

"Correct." Jirni didn't bother deny the accusation. "One life for another. I help you saving Solus, no questions asked, and you help me not to die. Isn't it a fair deal?"

Lith pondered the issue for a while before answering.

"Between the Gernoff and the World Tree, the Gernoffs are the easy enemy. Yet I can't promise you anything. Unless we succeed in rescuing Solus, I can't do anything for you. The only deal I can offer you is the same I gave the others.

"I'll help you if we succeed and your contribution is meaningful. Otherwise I'll be either too busy planning a second attack on the Yggdrasill's Fringe or too dead to deal with the Gernoffs."