Both times Lith had been shaken in different ways, but always riddled with emotions.

This time, instead, he looked depressed, sad, and resigned to some kind of impending doom Elina wasn't aware of.

​​

Yet.

"I'm sorry, Mom. If I ever have children, this is how they will look once they get out of their mother's womb." He said while unfolding his wings and turning around to let everyone see his demonic appearance.

"They might carry a shred of the Verhen blood, but I need to perform Blood Resonance on myself to make sure of it."

"Did you discard your humanity, son?" There was no spite nor disgust in Raaz's voice, only honest worry.

"No, Dad. Unlike other hybrids, I had no choice to make. Once my core reached the violet, my two life forces merged into one. They transformed into something I've never seen before and turned me into this thing." Lith replied.

"How is it called?" Elina asked, forcing herself to smile and accept that the only way she had left to see her son's human face was him wearing a mask.

"Tiamat. When I transformed, I heard Mogar call me Tiamat, the Father of all Demons."

"Super cool!" Unlike the adults, the kids considered Lith becoming a four-winged war machine solely as a reason to celebrate. Something to brag about with their friends.

"Was the form that you had until a few seconds ago just Body Sculpting?" Rena said, asking the question on everyone's mind.

"It's not Body Sculpting, but it's not my true form either. It's just one of my faces." Lith shapeshifted back into his human form, not knowing how to better explain the feeling he had without his scales.

The adult side of the family sighed in relief, considering his worries only the consequence of Mirim's death and of his pessimistic nature.

"I'd stop planning my marriage if I were you. Before the end of this day, I'm going to tell Kamila everything and she is likely to break up with me." Lith said with a snarl, considering their sighs as an attempt to belittle his condition.

"Please, you said that before telling her about your hybrid nature and again before telling her that you were an Awakened." Tista said, remembering what Solus had told her about how worried Lith was every time he had to open up to Kamila.

"I'm certain that she is going to be fine and accept it just like we do. It might take some time, but she isn't the type of woman to turn her back on you just because of this."

"You don't understand, Tista. I'm going to tell her everything." Lith emphasized the last word while showing his right hand to her.

The others had no idea what the gesture meant and failed to notice the stone ring for the umpteenth time, considering it the perfect accessory for someone as miser as Lith.

Only Tista realized the full implications of those words by recognizing Solus's ring.

'Good gods! If Kamila reacts like anyone but me did when discovering the deep bond between them, they are bound to either break up or at least take a break from their relationship.

'Both events would have a severe effect on our entire family. The children have gotten close like cousins and Zinya is now one of Mom's best friends. If Lith and Kamila break up, everything will come to an end, or at least things will be awkward for a while.' She thought while looking at Elina.

Then, Tista's eyes fell on her own hands and for a moment she saw them covered in black scales. She shuddered at the thought that once she reached the blue core, she might fully become whatever her brother was and lose her humanity as well.

Best case scenario, the next time Tista promoted her core she would just turn into a hybrid, and only once she reached the violet core would she be forcefully turned into a Tiamat.

No matter whether her body would react like that of a normal hybrid or of Lith, her core had now a cap that required a heavy price to be unlocked.

Suddenly, Accumulation and breakthroughs had lost most of their luster to her eyes.

"Since I don't want to drag Kamila in this mess any further until we clear our situation up, I'm going to do something important now. Don't be scared." Lith stood up and opened the door of the house.

"My siblings keeping watch of this house, please, come in." His voice was barely a whisper, but he knew that thanks to their heightened senses, the Phoenixes would manage to hear it in the silence of the night.

Suddenly, three shadows that surrounded the Verhen Household in a triangle formation gained a third dimension and assumed human form. The appearance of Crevan, Lenanna, and Jhet made the temperature drop a few degrees.

Phoenixes were creatures of light and darkness, making their presence enhance both the splendor of the sun and the void of its absence.

Much to everyone's surprise, the space between the Verhen and the Yehval household distorted as well, taking the form of a majestic pitch-black wolf with ten tails.

The members of the Queen's corps quaked in their boots recognizing some of the members of Salaark's nest yet it was the appearance of the Fylgja that covered them in a cold sweat.

There was something in the aura surrounding him that made even the moonlight grow duller.

"What are you looking at, kids?" Tezka snarled at the Phoenixes. "I'm his sibling as much as you are. Lith and I are both Abomination hybrids, something truly rare whereas Phoenixes are a dime a dozen."

Lith didn't actually call upon the Fylgja but he pretended to have been intentionally vague to summon them all.

The Phoenixes didn't like Tezka's attitude nor his disrespect, yet they recognized him as one of the oldest Abominations still alive on Mogar. Even Salaark respected his knowledge and power so they sucked it up.

The massive amount of magical power that the four creatures released even while in a relaxed state shook the nerves of the members of the Queen's corps to the point of bringing their minds to the edge of madness.

Yet the mental fortitude they had developed on the battlefield allowed the soldiers to overcome their fear and perform their duty. The members of the corps drew their weapons and started to chant their spells until their Captain stopped them.

"Wait. Archmage Verhen isn't moving from the door and isn't reacting to the sudden appearance of those strangers either. They might be his guest and we cannot afford a diplomatic incident between the Kingdom, the Desert, and the Verhens."

Locrias's calm voice reassured his soldiers, but his hand had already activated the army amulet, making reinforcements stand at the ready. Between the Warping Array and the Gate in the barn, it would take them but a split second to get there.

The Captain was covered in nervous sweat but when he saw Lith greeting the four monsters inside his house like old friends, he knew everything was alright.

"Everyone, they are Crevan, Lenanna, and Jhet from Grandma's side of the family." Lith introduced the Phoenixes one at a time. "This is Tezka. He's in charge of our security from the Abomination side of the family."