'Nice try, knife ears.' Tezka's whisper.

The dimensional distortion bent the space so that no matter what direction Ra'ntar mind link went, it would always converge on the Suneater.

"Make me repeat myself once more and I'll pull your guts through your mouth." Lith grabbed the Chronicler by the neck and threw him against the wall while healing Ra'ntar's wounds with light magic.

The fractures healed, the bruises disappeared, and the concussion was reabsorbed, but it came at a price. Lith's spell drew the nutrients from the elf's body, draining his vitality and making him hungry as if he hadn't eaten for two days instead of one.

"Verhen?" As his vision cleared up, the Chronicler checked his equipment with a short pulse of Invigoration.

The good news was that everything was still in its place. The bad news was that his brittle Darwen armor offered little protection in close combat.

"Since your master spent so much time and effort to find me, I thought we might as well have a chat like civilized people." Lith's words and actions didn't match.

His tone was polite and his smile sincere yet his clawed hand bolted for the elf's exposed neck.

The Chronicler sidestepped the attack while using the staff to push the arm away. Unfortunately for him, the cell was small, and even in his human form, Lith was a Divine Beast.

His muscles were coiled springs weighing hundreds of kilograms and their might was further boosted by fire, air, water, and earth fusion. His mere movement caused a wind blast that blew Ra'ntar off his feet.

The shockwave sent him crashing against the nearby wall and, without footing to exert leverage, Lith easily pushed the Yggdrasill staff aside. His hand reached the Chronicler's throat unimpeded, squeezing it tight.

"Let's start by introducing ourselves. You know me but I don't know you, elf. What's your name?" Ra'ntar was shorter than Lith but the neck choke brought them at the same eye level.

The Chronicler tried to reply but Lith squeezed his throat too hard for Ra'ntar to draw enough air to speak or use a breathing technique.

'How could Verhen possibly recover, travel to Jiera, and find me so quickly? The last report still gave him missing.' The Chronicler thought while struggling with all of his strength.

He grabbed Lith's wrist with both hands, trying to loosen his grip yet between the mass gap and Ra'ntar weakened state, it felt like a massage. The elf's consciousness reached for the World Tree to get answers and assistance but it only found the impervious wall of Tezka's will

"You don't feel like talking? Then let's see if I can loosen your tongue a bit." Lith let the prisoner go and slapped him.

Ra'ntar head twisted ninety degrees and several of his teeth broke, cutting deep inside his cheek.

"Not enough? Maybe you want me to even your face." A backhand slap shattered the other side of the elf's jaw in pieces and made him spit out blood and teeth. "That's more like it. Am I right?"

Ra'ntar drew a deep breath and activated Invigoration. The breathing technique fixed the damage and gave him his stamina back but without nutrients, his hunger grew further.

"Do your worst, Verhen. I won't betray my master." The Chronicler activated the bond between him and his Yggdrasill staff to quickly conjure multiple spells at the same time and mix them in a single blast deadlier than the sum of its parts.

Three tier five spells, weaved respectively by the staff, the elf, and the piece of wood fused with his body, merged into a hexa-elemental spell that would have been impossible even for a mage inside their own tower.

"I don't want you to." Lith's seven eyes were ablaze each with a different elemental color, ready to Dominate anything the elf could dish.

The spell stopped in mid-air as if someone had pulled the breaks while the willpower infused in the elemental energy and that injected by Lith's eyes clashed for dominance.

Lith was strong and rested while Ra'ntar felt dizzy from hunger and thirst. The spell broke into six smaller spheres that turned against their master. Two hit the elf's arms, ravaging flesh and bones while cauterizing the wounds as soon as they opened.

Two more crushed the legs' bones, grinding them into dust while leaving the main arteries unscathed. One pierced through the pit of the Chronicler's stomach and the last one forced its way into his mouth before detonating.

The six spheres had avoided hitting vital areas, dealing as much damage as possible without compromising the elf's survival.

There was still much power left in the spell, enough to kill Ra'ntar dozens of times over. A flick of Lith's finger recalled the spheres that formed a circle around him like trained dogs.

'This is fine.' Blood frothed from the elf's missing throat. 'I just need not to use darkness fusion to die from shock in-'

A magic circle appeared on the floor, enveloping the room with Solus' Immortal Body array and forcing the Chronicler back to his full health. The spell collected the bone fragments and blood scattered throughout the room and put them back together.

Yet to mend bones and tissues, Ra'ntar's body was forced to cannibalize itself for nutrients. His undamaged bones thinned, his muscles shrunk, and his hunger grew to the point that mental images of his favorite dishes replaced the runes he was weaving, disrupting his spell.

"I know how it feels, believe me." Lith circled around the elf with a grin as Ra'ntar's face became gaunt and exhaustion made it hard for him to catch his breath even though he was lying on the floor.

"Hunger is a terrible thing and thanks to your master, I've been hungry for the past few days like only an Abomination can be hungry. Now it's your turn. Get up."

The elf rolled over, using his hands to lift himself since his legs were too weak to do it alone.

It was then that he saw him.

Tezka the Suneater was leaning against the south wall of the cell, his arms crossed and a huge smile on his canine snout as he was enjoying the show. Last but not least, the room was sealed, with no sign of a window or a door.

'Mogar almighty! Verhen has already contacted the Eldritches. I have no-' Lith stepped forward with deliberate slowness, grabbing Ra'ntar by the collar of his armor and slammed his face against the wall.

The impact flatted the elf's nose, making it bleed. With each drop lost the Chronicler felt thirstier and weaker.

"I said get up." Lith said as the elf crouched on all fours again. "This isn't going to be quick or easy. The longer you make me wait, the harder I'll beat you."

Ra'ntar used light fusion to stop the bleeding and the Yggdrasill staff to push himself back to his feet.

The moment he stood straight again, Lith delivered three blows in quick succession. A right jab on the nose, shattering it again, a left hook on the jaw, ripping it off, and a headbutt that caved the elf's skull.

Ra'ntar welcomed the darkness swallowing him just to be pulled back to the light. The Immortal Body Array fixed the damage while Quylla used her Injection spell to flood the elf's bloodstream with several nutrients' potions.