Quylla couldn't bring herself to like the Eldritches much, no matter what Lith said or they did for him. Yet she could relate to Zoreth's experience, and seeing her so strong after going through so much garnered the Shadow Dragon Quylla's respect.
"Yes, but I'd rather not talk about that." Zoreth nodded.
"How can you act so aloof? How can you joke after having your mind violated for days?" Quylla asked.
"I would like to say it's nothing much, but that would be a lie." Zoreth gasped and moaned, having a hard ti breathing. "It's just that I'm in so much physical pain right now that the psychological trauma has to wait its turn. Also, being dead drunk helps."
"If you want to talk about it later, I'm here for you." Quylla injected a double dose of Red Dragon, and Zoreth's pain subsided.
"Thanks." The Shadow Dragon whispered. "Not only for the offer, but for thinking there's going to be a later."
"Zor!" Bytra yelled.
She wanted to cry, but the idea of forcing Zoreth to console her made the Raiju feel like the most idiotic and entitled person on Mogar.
"I'm sorry, dear." Zoreth smiled. "Dead drunk, rember? I'm even drunkerer now. Or is it drink- dark…."
"Drunker." Bytra wiped her tears.
"That one." Zoreth nodded.
"Guys?" nadion drew everyone's attention to her. "This is all sad and touching, but what do you say if we bring Zoreth to the Infirmary? You know, the tower floor I specifically devised for a situation like this?"
"Because the tower wasn't built to deal with Cursed Elents." Lith replied. "Once, we tried testing Chaos Magic with the Grimoire, and it warned us that it might have caused long-term damage.
"What if the wild energy from Zor's life forces affects the Infirmary and, in turn, Solus?"
"Thank you for your concern, Lith." Solus replied. "But you, Ral, and Elysia also carry Cursed Elents. I'd rather discover the limits of the Infirmary now and work on a contingency plan than wait until it's too late. This is not just about saving Zor's life."
A snap of his fingers brought everyone to the Infirmary.
"But-"
"I'm sorry, Mom. This is my choice to make." nadion tried to object, but Solus cut her short.
She connected the five pieces of the Master Set to the different devices, sharing the burden of using the artifacts with all those classified as apprentices in the tower logs.
'For what is worth, don't forget the Bleed.' Ripha said via the black chains. 'The stored life force has Epphy's energy signature, but an Eldritch can feed on anything, and probably a troll can do the sa.'
'Thanks, Ripha, but we'd rather not.' Lith replied. 'We want to save that energy for Solus. Moreover, if our friends ask us where we got the life force, we don't know how to explain it without revealing you dabbled in Forbidden Magic.'
'I know, but your friend, your choice.' Ripha said.
'Thanks for putting your reputation on the line, Mom.' Solus joined the conversation. 'Still, we'll keep the Bleed's existence a secret unless it's absolutely necessary.'
"What am I supposed to do?" Zoreth looked around the Infirmary in mild amusent.
She had so much Red Dragon flowing through her veins that if not for the pain she endured, she would have found even a sneeze hysterical.
"Just stay still and try not to touch anything, please." Lith said while marking her as the patient.
The room flashed red and several alarms blared until Solus turned them off one by one. Leegaain pushed the floating chair towards the center of the room, and the crystal tank rose enough to let the Shadow Dragon in.
"This is amazing." Bytra recognized a few parts that the Infirmary had in common with the Madness, wondering whether Arthan had based his work on nadion's research or the other way around.
'It would be rude and insensitive of to question Ripha while she's doing all she can to help Zor.' The Raiju thought. 'Maybe it's just a coincidence. Maybe great minds think alike.'
Her wishful assumption shattered when the crystal case sealed the space around Zoreth and filled it with an all too familiar purple liquid. Despite her mass, it took only a tier zero Gravity Spell to make the Shadow Dragon float weightless.
"Warning." The Infirmary spoke with nadion's voice. "The patient is critical and dangerous. Are you sure you want to proceed?"
Lith turned to Solus, leaving her the last word since the tower was bonded to her just like she was to him.
"Yes." Solus nodded.
"Acknowledged." The Infirmary replied. "Warning. Contact in three, two, one…"
As the countdown proceeded, small tendrils of Adamant erged from the upper and lower lid of the crystal case, slowly advancing towards Zoreth's either side.
"Why the second warning?" Solus asked. "I already said-"
The rampant Chaos in the Shadow Dragon's body blacked the Adamant, corrupting the diagnostic tool until only a fine black soot remained. The Decay, instead, aged the liquid-soaked tal, covering it with rust at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Adamant wasn't supposed to rust or crumble, yet the tendril fell apart into copper-red flakes.
Solus' eyes widened, and her words turned into an agonizing scream as the damage the tower took reflected on her body via their bond. The veins on the left side of her body bulged black while the right withered as if she had been under the Blood Desert's sun for days.
Lith rushed to her side, and so did nadion.
"It's fine." Solus tried to reassure them, but she needed help to stay upright. "I'm fine. I just experienced for a brief mont what Zoreth feels since we tried to cure her. It's not you should worry about."
Much to everyone's surprise, the contact with Lith restored Solus. Silvery flas burst out of his fingertips and seeped inside her skin, triggering sothing inside of her.
A gentle warmth spread from her lungs to her throat and from there to the rest of her body. The Dread Flas fed upon the Chaos and Decay alike, turning their destructive energy into a source of vigor.
"That was weird." Lith showed Solus her reflection in an ice mirror.
"Why are my eyes burning silver, and why do I feel great?" Solus asked, watching the ravages of the Cursed Elents fade like a bad dream.
"As long as you are fine, I don't give a damn." nadion checked her daughter from head to toe until she made sure the aftershock from the Infirmary hadn't widened the cracks in Solus' life force and mana core.
"That was weird indeed, but this is no joke either." Faluel pointed at the results of the diagnostic scans displayed on the holographic screens.
"Mana cores: dormant and compromised." Lith read out loud in disbelief. "Life force: uncategorized and unstable. Life force composition: 25% Eldritch Dragon, 25% Eldritch rank 1 human, 50% rank 1 Odi.
"Warning: 50% of the life force is severely damaged and deteriorating. Urgent intervention required. No therapy available. Insufficient data. Estimated ti left before the damage becos irreversible: 6 days, 22 hours, 17 minutes, and 45 seconds."
The clock kept ticking, and there was no point in having a constant reminder of the little ti they had left, so Lith hid the countdown.
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