'I want to take back Solus! I want to see Kami and Elysia again. I have yet to name my unborn son!' Anger and regret mixed as Lith's body was chopped into pieces small enough for the Yggdrasill's spells to vaporize them beyond recovery.

'I can't die and I won't!' He conjured a silver key with a spark of his life force and used it to fling the door to the Void open. 'Come out, you annoying bastards. Teach the World Fucker a lesson he won't forget!'

For the first time since Lith had discovered the power of the blue flames, he didn't fight it. He surrendered to the invasion of the parasitic souls completely in order to achieve victory.

'If I have to die, I might as well risk everything. If it means saving Solus and getting to see my family again, even for just one more minute, it will be worth it.'

***

Blood Desert, Salaark's Palace

"This doesn't look good." The Overlord looked at the horizon, feeling a massive disturbance in Mogar's world energy.

"Agreed." Leegaain sighed. "Do you think this is the choice Mogar talked about?"

"I don't know." Salaark shook her head. "If it is, however, our Featherling chose poorly."

***

The remaining bits of the Tiamat and his allies turned into Void Demon Dragons. The vitality of the Abomination took over the life forces of the five connected by the When All Are One array.

In such form, every bit of flesh they had left gulped down world energy, grass, and even bit at the Yggdrasill weapons in order to gain the energy and mass necessary to rebuild their bodies.

"A desperate move. Interesting, but still desperate." The World Tree knew about the blue flames and the Void Demon Dragon and had plenty of time to prepare.

The combined regenerative abilities of the Void and the Titania regenerated Lith and the others in the blink of an eye, withering everything around them. The Golems and the elves took several steps back, forming a defensive circle and surrounding their enemies.

"Come on, show me what you can do." The Yggdrasill taunted the Void Demon Dragons.

The parasitic souls flooded Lith and the others, screaming their pain inside their host's minds and breaking their focus.

'Don't try to control them, it would be a waste of time. Just follow my lead.' Lith took a deep breath and sparked the blue flames from inside his lungs, using them to consume the souls and empower his attacks.

The others did the same, finding relief from the voices in their heads.

The five regrouped and charged against the Golems, wreathed in blue flames. Their claws cut easily through the Yggdrasill wood and set the gaping wounds ablaze. Their feet scarred the ground black, draining it of life and world energy.

The infection of the Abomination and the blue flames was so deep that not only did it burn the influence of the World Tree, but it also tainted the Fringe. The spirits of the dead who escaped the consuming touch of the flames spread through the ground like a blight.

They took everything they could, using it to form new bodies that owed allegiance to no one. Lith didn't care about it. He lost himself in his newfound powers, in the Void's hate for the Tree and the Dragon's hope to be reunited with Solus.

As the dead spread and the Void Demon Dragons advanced, the blue flames grew and burned at everything. The Golems burned, the elves burned. Everything burned.

Everything.

The When All Are One array was no exception.

"Fool!" The Yggdrasill guffawed. "An unstable power is worse than no power at all. You should have retreated to the safe zone when you still had the chance. At least you'd have gotten out of here alive and have the consolation of having lost against a superior opponent.

"Now you are going to die by your own hand out of foolishness!"

Without the array, not only were the members of the groups reduced to their original bodies and powers but they were also still engulfed in blue flames. Vastor's twin cores were not stable anymore and without the seven heads, he couldn't cast spells fast enough to save his life.

Orion was back to being a small human that a Wood Golem could squash with a flick of his finger. Fyrwal lost the Titania's regenerative abilities while her massive body was still recovering.

Tessa lost Vastor's power and Fyrwal's heads. Everyone lost the black chains dooming most of the Demons of the Darkness to disappear.

"The weak point of your blue flames is that it's easy to snuff them out if your enemy doesn't let them build up. Sure, even a small quantity requires overwhelming power to be smothered, but that applies to you and your allies as well!"

The Golems and the elves followed the Yggdrasill's instructions. They ignored Lith and the others, focusing on getting rid of the blue flames plaguing them and squashing the parasitic souls now that they had lost their fuel.

***

Inside the World Tree, Menadion finally reached the exit.

Reaching her goal only made the shattering of her hopes more painful.

Ghar'mar had indeed brought them to the closest exit and Ripha's might and magic had overcome every trap the World Tree had set in their confined bowels but that was the end of the line.

"What are you waiting for, master Menadion? There's the door. You wanted to get out at all costs until a moment ago. Why are you hesitating in front of the finishing line?" The Yggdrasill's voice oozed mockery.

The door in front of the First Ruler of the Flames was open and past it, there were four Wood Golems and hundreds of elves with their arrows already nocked.

The corridor Ripha and Solus had come from was already closed and the walls were shrinking, leaving them no escape.

"You are a rat in a hole, my dear Menadions. Either you come out or I will smoke you out." The Golems spread their tendrils inside the opening and readied more spells than Ripha could count. "The least I can do is offer you a front-row seat to Verhen's execution.

"If losing your mother and your partner at the same time doesn't break you, Elphyn, it will surely make my job easier."

***

Outside, Lith was beaten and battered.

'I have been an idiot! I should have realized that blue flames and the When All Are One array wouldn't mix. Those stupid things don't mix with anything!'

He promptly closed the door to the Void shut and snuffed the flames plaguing his allies.

The legendary array repaired itself instantly and restored the connection between the five. Lith's presence of mind saved Orion and the others who found their strength back and blocked what until a split second ago would have been a death blow.

Alas, it didn't save Lith.

The Golems surrounding the area formed a space-compressing array that kept Lith's group from Blinking while those in close-quarter combat focused on the Tiamat.

With Lith dead, Menadion's Demon would disappear. The tower and the four pieces of Menadion Set he wore would fall into the World Tree's roots, making their victory inevitable.