"Chaos magic is a dangerous side effect of the Abomination condition, not a reliable power. Very few learned it and survived. To make matters worse, they all went insane in the space of a few years." The elf put the tip of her staff under Lith's nose as if she was about to hit him.

"All of them?"

"All of them." Aleejah sighed deeply. "The only way to safely learn Chaos magic would be to give up on your life, turning into a full Abomination and then coming back to life. Sadly, no one ever managed to do that."

'I actually did, but I don't know if I can pull it off a second time without a suitable body and Mogar's help.' Lith thought, realizing that Solus was going to beat the telepathic crap out of him the moment she read his memory.

"Thank you for your help." Lith gave the elf a bow of gratitude. "Do you mind if I ask you a history question?"

"Shoot."

"What do you know about Menadion's death? I am a Forgemaster and she is my role model, yet-"

"Well played, but I don't buy it." Aalejah had lost her cheerfulness and angrily looked at Lith as if he had betrayed her trust. "You just want to know about her tower, do you?"

"No, I don't give a damn about that." He said, withstanding even the scrutiny of the elf's Soul Vision. "I just want to know how Menadion died and who killed her. I have researched far and wide but, aside from rumors I found nothing."

Aalejah stared at him for a while, wondering what the thing in front of her was. Even the World Tree had no answer to offer her.

To Soul Vision, Lith now looked like a Fire Dragon shrouded by living darkness that had a human figure emerging from its forehead.

Yet the man didn't look like Lith and resembled the Abomination form instead.

Unbeknownst to her, Aalejah was looking at Derek McCoy, the mind that truly animated the mass of life forces that Mogar had named Tiamat. What she knew, however, was that there was no greed nor deception in his eyes while talking about Menadion.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know." The elf said.

"What? I thought that the World Tree knew almost anything and the death of the First Ruler of the Flames is supposed to be no trivial matter!" Lith said in outrage, speaking the very words that Solus was thinking.

'I wonder how deep our bond has become if we think the same even without our mind link.' She pondered in amazement.

"They do and indeed it's not, but I'm not a Chronicler, just an apprentice." Aalejah raised her hands in apology. "I share with the Tree everything about the distant past and about the old magical theories whereas recent history is sealed to me.

"Otherwise I would already know the secret of the violet core, where to find abandoned artifacts, and how to craft almost anything. Only after I become a Chronicler, putting my life and free will in the Tree's hands, will I have access to such knowledge."

She lowered her gaze, wondering once again if any amount of wisdom and power was worth becoming the puppet of another person.

"That's terrible." Lith shuddered at the thought. He didn't care one bit for the elf, but her situation was almost identical to Friya and he cared about her a lot.

"Don't worry, that's a decision for another day. Will you join our camp or not?" Aalejah asked.

"Phloria, I definitely need some rest. What about you?" Lith said.

It was hard for him to ask others their opinion instead of just making the most convenient decision for him, but at least he tried.

"Same. I used Invigoration a lot to keep the Gargoyles away from you and it's better that I reset its effects before the next fight happens." She replied with a warm smile on her face, glad to be considered a peer instead of just a minion.

"Then you can count us in." He said.

"Great, this will make my mission even more simple." Aalejah said.

"I'm not letting you touch me any longer. Sorry." Lith shook his head.

"Don't apologize. I have already learned what I could from my breathing technique. What I need now is to witness the scope of your abilities." She replied while they walked together toward the undead's fortified base.

"Are you going to help me master them?" Lith said in surprise.

"I can't. What I can do is to offer you to use my staff, but it comes at a price. Look at it with Life Vision, please." She showed him the Yggdrasill branch while keeping it at a distance.

"What the fuck?" Lith couldn't believe to his own eyes.

The staff was completely different from Vastor's. It had a mana flow and a life force that didn't belong to Aalejah, not even bearing her imprint. The branch only lacked a mana core to be a living being.

"Yeah, I know." She sighed. "The staff isn't just a weapon, it's also the way the World Tree keeps an eye on me and enforces our mind link despite the distance between us."

"I've seen three staves like that in the past, yet none of them was alive. What makes yours special?" Lith asked.

"The people that had one have probably received it in exchange for their services or more likely have stolen the Tree's wood." The elf tried and failed to keep the spite out of her voice. "To turn the Yggdrasill staff into a regular artifact, you have to kill it.

"Only after removing the Tree's life force can a mage carve the wood, cover it in runes, and replace the Yggdrasill's mana with their own to create an imprint. As it is now, instead, the staff is an extension of the Tree's body and will.

"That's why I can lend it to you. It will still allow you to sharpen your senses and deepen your comprehension of magic, but everything you learn, the Yggdrasill will know as well.

"As long as you wield the staff, nothing you do will escape their gaze. It will be akin to be under their breathing technique the whole time." She said.

"Fuck me sideways. That's how you lived until now?" Lith asked.

"Every single day." She nodded. "Think about it carefully and then let me know your-"

"I accept." Lith cut her short.

"Wow, that was quick." Phloria said with a worried look that expressed both her concern and Solus's.

"I have a lot to learn about myself and it's not like I'm going to keep my abilities hidden." He replied. "After all, only the World Tree would know about them and the Yggdrasill don't seem to be prone to sharing."

"Correct." Aalejah nodded. "Unless the Yggdrasill decides to send one of their Chroniclers against you, they would rather die than give away their knowledge."

'If the Council knew that the Tree stores the secret of the White Core and of Tower crafting, they would probably wage war against them.' She inwardly added.

"Perfect." Lith nodded.

'I wish I could combine the effects of the staff with those of the Eyes, but beggars can't be choosers.'