"It's true that Gentor put himself into trouble as well, but he was a lone Wyrm with no one to teach him."

"I needed to rescue him only once. He listened to me and, under my guidance, set himself straight. As for Verhen, I'm not babying him. The crisis he's in is not of his own making and he can't face the enemy alone.

"I'm helping a brother in his time of need, not a petulant Wyrmling who storms castles and then whines when humans hunt him down!" Valtak's fiery gaze overwhelmed Armak's, forcing him to shut up.

He couldn't refute his father's words but truth changed nothing.

"You were my father. You were supposed to help me." All the logic and time on Mogar didn't make the Lich Dragon feel any less betrayed.

"I am your father." Valtak countered. "And I haven't called you to repeat the same old argument again. I want to settle things between us. Please."

A long silence befell the two while Armak pondered what to do. He had waited for that moment for millennia and wanted to savor every moment of it.

"Not my problem. Goodbye." The call ended abruptly, the hologram of the Lich Wyrm shattering.

"I guess some wounds are not meant to be healed." The Father of Fire sighed.

He put his communication amulet away and walked outside the palace. He needed fresh air and solitude to cleanse the sourness that still lingered in his heart.

Alas, when it rains, it pours.

He was in the Blood Desert, where "fresh air" during the day was just an expression. On top of that, the main plaza was crowded with Fire, Golden, and different species of Dragons sired by Surtr that had answered the call of their respective patriarchs.

"Just great." The Elder Wyrm grumbled, waving at the newcomers with the closest thing to a smile he could muster.

"What's the matter, Valtak? Are you alright?" Zoreth's voice came as a surprise, making him flinch.

"Everything is fine, hatchling." The Father of Fire turned to face her and discovered that she was alone in the crowd.

The area around the Shadow Dragon was empty. No matter the Brood to which the other Wyrms belonged, they all considered her an embarrassment to their bloodline. A lost daughter of Leegaain.

'A lost daughter who answered the call of the Brood.' Valtak thought.

She and Armak had many things in common, yet they couldn't be more different. They had both disavowed their family out of childish pride and done terrible things.

Yet while one walked the wrong path because it was the only one available to her, the other did it out of sheer stubbornness. All Zoreth wanted was to live again and earn her place back into the Brood whereas Armak wanted everyone to recognize he was right and they were wrong.

The Lich Wyrm didn't seek forgiveness, he wanted others to beg for it.

Lith's request to teach Zoreth about Origin Flames came to Valtak's mind, quickly followed by his recent conversation with Gentor.

"Breaking the cycle." He muttered.

"What cycle?" Zoreth asked in confusion.

"I'll explain it to you while we practice." The Father of Fire patted her shoulder. "Follow me. We have many things to do and little time to do them."

***

Back in the War Room, Lith still couldn't find a solution to the problem Jirni had unveiled for him.

"I'm sorry, but I can't help you more than this." Jirni sighed. "The people on the list I can fight, you can deal with them on your own anyway. The others make the Gernoff's death threat look like a surprise birthday party."

"Don't worry, and thank you for warning me." Lith replied. "I have barely woken up and I have so many things to do that without you I would have probably forgotten the bounty on Kami's life. Yet this has to wait."

Lith called Friya who was waiting for her mother outside the tent. He had her call Faluel who in turn called Fyrwal. The Hydra was a good friend of Solus since the time she was still Elphyn Menadion and so was Tessa the Titania.

"They both agreed to help you." Friya said after hanging up the call. "With this, you have two more powerful violet cores and the only living members of King Valeron's Guard at that."

"It's not enough." Lith shook his head. "Call Kalla. She is too weak to help me, but I need her to lend me her glasses."

"That's right!" Friya clapped her hands in excitement. "You now have access to all four pieces of the legendary set of Menadion. They had never been put together and used by the same person. I can't wait to discover if they have some secret function!"

"You possess all four pieces?" Jirni pursed her lips and her eyes narrowed a bit, the same reaction she would have had while witnessing the descent of a planet-killer meteor.

"Friya!" Lith scowled at her.

"Sorry! I mean, she's my mother. She already knows about the Ears. It's not a big deal, is it?"

"No, she's Jirni. Hence that's a big deal!" Then, he turned toward Jirni. "I don't possess them. I know who does."

He omitted to say all the pieces of the set had passed through his hands and that he was the one who had handed them to their current owners.

"I believe you." Jirni lied through her teeth.

Lith sighed, knowing there was a 50% chance it was the truth and a 50% chance it was just what he wanted to hear.

"Thanks. Grandma?"

"Yes, Featherling?" Salaark appeared out of thin air.

There was no door or distance in the Blood Desert that could grant privacy from her from so up close. The Overlord was always one step away from all of her guests.

"Please, undo my imprint on the Ears and apply yours. If anyone wants to give it a try, please, take care of it. Kami and I have a lot to talk about and then I need to rest. I can't leave while my body still aches."

"I'll take care of that." Salaark took the Ears from his hands, switching their imprints with a mere touch. "Before going, you should welcome your allies. They are going to put their lives on the line for you.

"You owe them more than a 'let's go' on the day of the departure."

"Thanks, Grandma." Lith nodded and left the War Room for the main plaza.

He was shocked seeing so many Divine Beasts in one place. Even though they had all taken human form to save space, their collective aura was humbling. As part of their bloodlines' tradition, they all kept their wings furled around their shoulders like a mantle.

Membranes for Dragons and feathers for the Phoenixes and the Griffons while the color of the wings distinguished one bloodline from the others.

"What the fuck?" There were lots of golden and ruby membranous wings whereas most of Surtr's Dragon offspring belonged to different species of Dragons.

Lith was disappointed that only two of the many dragon races had come but he was even more surprised by the assembly of pitch-black feathered wings.