"Gods, no. This is way too early." Elina stared at the two toddlers in amazent, and they stared back, waiting for the next letter.
Only Surin showed no interest in the lesson, making Elina sigh in relief.
"Also, just call Elina." She resud writing on the sand, and the small children's learning speed proved to be no worse than their much older classmates.
'This is no big deal.' Elina thought, hoping to be right. 'It's not like I'm teaching them magical runes. What's the worst that could happen?'
***
By lunchti, Elina's classroom had morized the alphabet, and the Elental Storage was full except for the Spirit Tanks. Lith had partially filled a second container with mana, but without using Invigoration enough tis to affect his prowess.
'I know that Baba Yaga will lead the procedure, but I'm the one bonded with the tower.' He thought. 'If I beco too weak, the burden from using all the pieces of nadion Set at the sa ti might cripple , and in turn it will affect Solus and the tower as well.'
The nutritious food and the vigorous flow of world energy helped Lith recover his strength, while the rest of the Healers used that ti to relax and empty their minds from stray thoughts.
"Eat a lot, Zoreth." Baba Yaga said. "You are going to need your strength."
"Sure." The Shadow Dragon nodded, cleaning every one of Elina's delicious dishes as though it were her last al.
Once they were done eating, Lith brought everyone to the Infirmary, and Solus connected the various pieces of the nadion Set to their respective stone pedestals. As the tower's floor gained access to the artifacts, the group of Healers felt their magical abilities increase and reached a deeper understanding of their role in the procedure.
The Yggdrasill wood stored in the Armory amplified their ntal focus, while the connection of the Ears and Skull to the Library allowed the Healers to access the readings of the artifacts with minimal delay.
"I'll wear the Skull of Bytra." Baba Yaga said. "I an no disrespect to your work, Ripha, but Bytra's piece is complete and possesses many enchantnts that will help during the procedure."
"None taken." nadion nodded, yet Solus seethed when she felt the artifact tainting her tower half with its presence again.
"Are you ready, Zor?" Solus asked.
"Give one mont alone with Bytra, please." The Shadow Dragon said, and Solus conjured four walls around them. "Byt, I have one thing to give you and one to ask of you."
She took a stack of letters from the breast pocket of her shirt and handed them to the Raiju.
"What should I do with them?" Bytra swallowed, and her face turned ashen.
Each envelope was addressed to a different mber of the Organization, and there was one for her as well.
"Deliver them in case sothing happens to ." Zoreth replied. "They contain my final words and will."
"You're overreacting." Bytra's hands trembled as she stored the letters in her dinsional amulet. "This is just the first session of your treatnt, and there are still five days left. You still have ti."
"Maybe." Zoreth shrugged. "But I have no certainty but the present. Please, don't read them. Especially yours. It contains everything I would have liked to tell you, but I never found the courage to."
"I won't." Bytra fought back an insistent tear. "What did you want to ask ?"
"Please, get out of the Infirmary." Zoreth replied. "I don't want you here."
"What? Why?"
"Because I don't want you to watch die if sothing goes wrong." Zoreth lowered her eyes. "Also, I don't think I would have the strength to hold my ground and face the storm if you were here staring at ."
Bytra said nothing, feeling as though the Shadow Dragon had slapped her.
"Also, please, whatever the outco, don't resent anyone." Zoreth mistook Bytra's silence for agreent and continued. "My condition is no one's fault but Raum's, and he's already dead.
"Don't let rage and grief drive you away from Lith and the Master. They are the only family I have and the only people on Mogar besides you who accepted for who I am and will rember fondly.
"Most of all, don't let your grief turn you into another Korgh." Zoreth took Bytra's hands into her own. "This is not your fault. I didn't end like this because you lacked power, talent, or skill.
"It just happened. There was nothing that you or anybody else could have done to stop Raum. You did everything you could and are the reason Leegaain rescued . It's only thanks to you that I got the opportunity to say goodbye.
"Please, always rember all the precious lessons we've learned together. Even the one we discussed last night."
Zoreth took a short pause to gather her strength while Bytra's tears landed on the stone floor with a plop.
"Be well, Byt. Be better. Be gone."
The Fourth Ruler of the Flas stiffened at those words, clenching her hands so hard that they beca white. Then she nodded and turned around, knocking on a wall to signal Solus they were done.
As the walls disappeared and Bytra left the room, Zoreth heard Solus crying.
"So much for privacy." The Shadow Dragon clicked her tongue and moved her chair towards the crystal tank.
"I'm sorry." Solus wiped her tears. "I didn't an to. I didn't expect the connection with the Ears to amplify my senses so much."
"The Ears?" Zoreth echoed, looking at Baba Yaga for signs of eavesdropping, but finding none. "Never mind. Let's start."
The Red Mother nodded and raised the crystal case. Zoreth got close enough for the array to pull her up from the chair and into the life support tank. Then, a violet liquid filled the tank to the brim.
A few seconds later, a 3D hologram of Zoreth's life forces and the ebb and flow of mana surrounding it in real-ti appeared on the holographic display.
The erald threads of the Lifespinner spells had beco thinner, but they still held the fractured parts of Zoreth's life force together. The effect of Elysia's Dread Flas had worn off, allowing the Chaos and Decay sides to regain their strength at the expense of the hybrid life force.
The human aspect was now weaker and worn out. Its thin threads struggled to keep the Eldritch and the troll sides from drifting apart as they squird and twisted like angry snakes.
Just like Baba Yaga had predicted, Zoreth's condition degenerated by the second despite all the treatnts she received. It was only a matter of ti before the human aspect unraveled, and the treatnt devised by the Red Mother beca ineffective.
'I know this is redundant. Everyone here is a skilled Healer and knows their job, but I'll say it anyway. When I ask you to do sothing, give your all. I don't care how long this takes. I can keep the patient stable while you use Invigoration.
'If I make a mistake or if you suddenly find a way to improve the odds of success of the procedure, I want you to say it. Seniority doesn't matter. Worry more about the patient's health than my ego's.
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