"I don't know why or how the Master did it, only that he is only one step away from creating a new life form." Leegaain said. "If I put you back together, Hatchling, I would bear the responsibility of giving birth to sothing incredibly powerful and potentially unkillable.
"Do you understand what I an?"
"Yes. It ans that you wouldn't let go." Zoreth nodded. "You could not."
"Not without knowing why the Master is seeking this kind of power and ensuring that he can't give it to himself and the rest of his hybrids after he studies your life force and reverse-engineers my technique." Leegaain said.
"Let be crystal clear, pumpkin. I can and am willing to heal you, but only on one of the following conditions.
"Either you accept to co with and stay in my lair like Thrud's Generals until I understand the threat the Master poses and remove it, or you tell everything you know about the Organization, its mbers, and its goals.
"If you choose the forr, I'll heal you imdiately and bring you back ho. You won't be allowed to leave under any circumstances until I decide otherwise. I can arrange for Bytra and Lith to visit from ti to ti, but that's it.
"If you choose the latter, you have to talk first. Once I confirm that you haven't lied or omitted anything, I'll heal you and you'll be free to go. By then, the Organization will already be destroyed and most of its mbers dead.
"I'm going to spare only those like Bytra. The hybrids who have the clone as a base instead of the original Eldritch are mostly innocent and can be redeed. They have lived just for a handful of years, and the few cris they perpetrated were out of need, not malice.
"Everyone else, however, has to go. Especially the Master. I've seen his work and I can't risk him starting another Organization."
"You would kill even Tezka?" Zoreth flinched at the thought of the pain that Filia and Frey would suffer from suddenly losing their father and best friend.
"If I can." Leegaain shrugged. "I doubt he's going to let do it without a fight, and the old fox is dangerous. I might spare him, but only because killing him would cause too many casualties.
"Even then, I'd demand Tezka to swear to keep being a nanny and not return to his old ways. If he agrees, then it's much more convenient to keep him alive. Tezka knows many things that the rest of Mogar forgot, and with his help, I can salvage them."
"What if I choose neither?" Zoreth hated the idea of becoming a prisoner as much as she refused to betray her companions.
'I knew what this life entailed and that I might have died at any ti.' She thought. 'What happened to is a consequence of my actions, and I won't let the others pay for them.'
"Then you stay as you are." Leegaain replied. "You will be in pain until you die or soone finds a cure to your condition, but you will be free. I won't interfere in your decision or stop Salaark from allowing visitors if that's what she wants.
"This is her turf, after all. Not mine."
"Then the choice is easy to make, Dad." Zoreth clenched her teeth as her hands gripped the armrests and her back arched in a fit of pain. "I thank you for saving , but I refuse your offer. Selling others to save myself is sothing the old would do.
"I would never forgive myself if I did it, and neither would Bytra if I took away her new family. I won't be your guest either. If I have to lose everything I have, I might as well lose it on my terms."
"If that's what you want, so be it." Leegaain nodded. "Lith?"
"This is a ss." Even with the help of the Eyes and the Ears, Lith didn't know where to start.
"That's an understatent." Solus added. "No matter how much darkness we feed to the Decay and light to the Chaos, they never relent in their struggle. Zoreth's life forces keep destroying each other as though we are doing nothing at all.
"If not for her mana cores being stable, she would have died already."
"Zoreth's situation is precarious." Kalla learned a lot about how not to split a life force that day. "The struggling keeps the life forces close, but if they were to pull away, there would be nothing protecting the mana cores.
"Best case scenario, the Chaos wraps around the black core before it fades, and Zoreth goes back to being an Eldritch. Worst case scenario, both cores fade and she dies."
"I have to agree with Kalla." Faluel tried her best Body Sculpting spells, but they were either devoured by the Chaos or corrupted by the Decay before they could do anything. "The troll side is as good as dead if the life forces aren't fused together."
"You need to call the Master, Lith." Quylla said. "He's the only one who can save Zoreth. He already rged her troll clone with her original body and should be able to do it again."
"I'm sorry, but I can't." Lith shook his head. "The only thing keeping Zoreth alive is Solus' Immortal Body array. I can't let her get out of the tower, and I won't reveal its existence to soone as dangerous as the Master.
"I'm in an amicable relationship with him, but I have the sa questions about his goals and how he plans to achieve them as Grandpa."
"Are you really going to take away Zoreth's only chance of survival just to keep our secret?" Solus asked. "She's been good to us. She helped us recover the pieces of Mom's Set and you to save , just like the Master.
"I say we can trust him!"
"You can, but it would be pointless." Zoreth shook her head while gesturing to Quylla for another infusion of Red Dragon. "The Master didn't fuse my two life forces. He created the clone, but she developed on her own and I rged with her after our battle.
"I have no idea how it happened, and he doesn't either. He simply worked on my body to harmonize my two sides. The best the Master could do is to force back into an Eldritch and make another clone.
"On top of that, do you really think he would co here to get killed? Would you, Dad, or Salaark let him go once he was done examining ?"
"Of course not." Leegaain shook his head. "I'd kill him on sight. With him gone, I would have no reason not to cure you myself."
"My point exactly. There-" A spasm cut Zoreth short, and she had to wait until the pain subsided to resu talking. "There is no point in trading one life for another. Just let talk with Byt one last ti.
"It's the only thing I ask. Consider it my last wish."
"Don't give up on hope so quickly." Tista said. "We are not done giving our all."
The Eyes had yet to finish assessing the full scope of the damage Zoreth's life force had suffered, but Lith had already learned how to read and anticipate the chaotic flow of their struggle.
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