The three samples had been stored so that the life force in the blood couldn't dissipate and allowed Faluel to perform Blood Resonance magic. The discipline invented by Duke Marth, the current Headmaster of the White Griffon, required the whole subject to be employed, but the Awakened had improved it.

Faluel used the tier five spell to stir Lith's life force, separate it in all of its components, and amplify each one of the energy signatures to their utmost limit.

The red energy of Lith's human side burned as bright as a star and emitted a fine mist that spread throughout the hall of the Council. It touched all of those present, Guardians included, giving no reaction.

The vials belonging to his parents, instead, resonated with the red light and further amplified it as they shone of their own radiance.

"Suck it! I told you it's an anomaly." Leegaain's words caused more groans as huge sums of Adamant, white crystals, and even Davross moved from one person to another.

"How dare you placing bets on my bloodline?" He didn't know whether to be more outraged by the bets or by the fact that no one seemed to listen to him anymore.

The black light of the Abomination spread as well, but it reacted to no one. Then, it was the turn of the blue-violet Emperor Beast life force. It spread slowly, overpowering the others that were already fading away.

The moment it touched Elina's and Raaz's blood, they emitted a very faint yet still discernible light, confirming once again that they were his parents. Strengthened by the resonance effect, the blue-violet light moved forward until it enveloped the entire room.

Leegaain and Salaark emitted a bright pillar of light while the bookmakers handed the magical goods to their rightful owners.

"What? This can't be right!" Leegaain refused to believe such a result and cast the spell on his own, yet nothing changed.

Salaark was equally flabbergasted, but she couldn't care less.

"We've had more than one fling over the years." She pondered out loud, adding more fuel to the flames.

"Hahaha! I knew it! Fire and darkness could only come from one possible combination." Inxialot the Lich King said, checking his ledger to make sure that nothing was amiss.

"Indeed. The Origin Flames made it even more obvious." Feela the Behemoth said while splitting their pay-outs. The two of them were the only ones that had bet to such a combination, earning massive profits.

"Remember your promise, or I will hold you responsible." Tyris congratulated Salaark before leaving.

"This cannot be! No!" Leegaain shapeshifted back into a Dragon in despair, yelling at the tops of his lungs until the mass of cigars, flowers, and blue ribbons muffled his scream.

***

Teraka mountain range, a few days later.

Completely unaware of who had been the unwilling donors for his Emperor Beast side, Lith had kept teaching chore magic to the children. After they had thoroughly mastered the basics of air and water, they had learned about light and earth.

Lith had kept darkness and fire for last because of the danger they posed even in their chore magic form. Aran and Leria might easily hurt each other if they lost control of their respective spells since they had to remain close to Lith so that he could follow their progress.

"I'd say to wrap this up for the morning." He said as Leria tried and failed to make a hologram while Aran was amid tall grass, using darkness magic to affect solely the mosquitos that tried to bite him.

Every time a blade of grass withered, he was forced to stop and start over from scratch.

"Always remember to practice light and earth akin to how you handle the hard forms of water magic. Darkness and fire, instead, have to be treated akin to air magic's soft forms. Compress them only if you mean to hurt someone."

Lith felt a slight pull at his consciousness coming from his communication amulet and sighed in relief when he saw that it was just Kamila's rune. Between Orpal's return, Zinya's parents, and whoever thought that mimicking Balkor was funny, Lith was on edge for bad news.

"Hey, handsome. Do you mind giving me a lift? I'm waiting for you in front of the Hot Pot." Kamila said while showing the road inn at her back.

"How the heck did you get here?"

"I'm thrilled at the idea of spending some time with you as well." Kamila's eyes were reduced to fiery slits of deep orange mana. That wasn't the welcome she had hoped for.

"I'm sorry, Kami, I was just surprised." Lith weaved a Warp Steps as fast as he could and kept his apologies simple. In his experiences, the more he stirred the shit he had caused, the worse its stink.

"That's the point of a surprise visit. As for your question, I've asked the colleague who dealt with your accident at the Hot Pot for a ride." She walked out the dimensional door, glad to see that Lith right in front of her with his open arms.

"First Jiera, then that flying car of yours, and now camping. I missed you a lot, blockhead." Kamila hugged him, uncaring for the smell of sweat and musk.

"I missed you too, but work isn't leaving you a lot of free time." Lith said.

"That's why it's so important to me that we at least dine together. The house feels empty without you. I miss our small talk and even the stupid bickering. It makes me fear that we are drifting apart."

"You are right, I'm sorry." Lith sighed.

He could have argued that building the DoLorean for his grieving parents took priority, or that without practice the kids' magical talent would have soon turned from a blessing into a curse, but Lith knew that those words would only sound like excuses.

Kamila already knew all those things, she wasn't stupid. She had given him her full support after learning about Trion's death and Orpal's return, helping him to smooth things over with his parents.

She had even helped him plan the trip with the children and found for him one of the few uninhabited mountains close enough to civilization that would allow him to quickly return home in the case something happened.

Kamila's reason and sentiment were at odds for a while and her heart simply had run out of patience.

"Aunt Kami!" The children ran to her, turning the tender moment into a group hug.

"How are my favorites Archmages?" She let Lith go and ruffled the kids' hair, kissing their sweaty foreheads.

"Can you please bring us home? Magic is fun, but I miss Mom so much that it hurts." The warmth of her embrace made Aran's determination crumble, turning him back into a five years old kid away from home.

"It's the reason why I'm here. Your moms sent me to check on you. This is supposed to be a vacation, not a boot camp. How is Lith treating you guys?"

A long awkward silence filled the clearing while the kids searched their brains for a way to tell the truth without hurting Lith's feelings.

"Uncle Lith is a great teacher and he's also a great cook. We never go hungry." That was all Leria could think about that didn't involve the relentless practice of magic.