Chapter 3379: No Changing the Past (Part 2)

The world wasn’t the safe place they spoke of to reassure him when he was afraid. Out of their house, there were people and things from which his parents could not defend him.

One of them was standing right in the middle of the living room.

Whether it was a thing or a person, Liru couldn’t tell. He was just five years old and Mogar’s complexity still baffled him. To make matters worse, the wonder he once felt for the unknown had been replaced by fear.

Fear that new things and strangers could hurt him. Fear of facing another threat above his parents’ means that might take them away from him forever. Liru was afraid of pain but loneliness horrified him.

Agra and Borj were all his little, imperfect world. Without them, he would be truly lost.

"It’s okay, son." Borj left Lith’s side and moved to the child’s, quickly followed by Agra. "Please, don’t move, Supreme Magus Verhen."

The creature blinked in acknowledgment, not moving a muscle.

With his parents by either side, holding his hands, Liru found the strength to take a small step forward. Once he felt reassured the shadow wouldn’t attack, he took another, and then another.

He left his father’s hand, taking the shining stone out of his pocket and putting it in front of the living darkness standing in front of him. The light didn’t banish the darkness, it only made it deeper.

Holding his mother’s hand, Liru took the final step forward and touched the shadow. It was cold, yes. It was solid, yes. But it was also harmless.

The chill of the Abomination gave Liru relief from the rising heat of the day, bringing back to his mind the shade of trees. Back when Mogar was still a safe place, Liru used to play outside and during the hottest hours of summer the shadows were his friends.

Liru took a step back and then ran behind his father’s legs. He was still scared, but he was no longer terrified.

"Turn back into a human, please." Borj asked and Lith complied. "Thank you for your visit but now I have to ask you to leave."

"As you wish." Lith gave them a polite bow. "I won’t bother you further. If you ever need me, Shay knows how to contact me."

"Thanks, but I hope we’ll never need to make that call." Agra noticed that Lith was waiting for someone to open the door and let him out so she did it.

She didn’t miss the relief on Liru’s face as he saw the shadows obeying his parents or the huge smile that appeared on his small face as Lith walked through the door. The first smile since that day.

Lith had just left the house and opened a Warp Steps when Agra found the strength to step outside and say:

"I also hope that one day I’ll be strong enough to forgive you, but that day is not today."

"Fair enough." Lith gave her a nod before disappearing through the Warp Steps.

Agra felt her knees giving out and leaned against the wall for support. The sun was still clouded but even under its dim light, Agra could finally appreciate the colors of Mogar again.

Shadows still lurked around every corner, but they were no longer filled with invisible enemies. Sunlight had stopped being the sword she needed to drive away the monsters and had gone back to being the annoying prick that covered her in sweat and stung her eyes.

Agra was still scared, but she was no longer terrified.

***

Nestrar Region, City of Zeska, a few minutes later.

"What can you tell me about the boy?" Lith asked. "Starting with his name."

He had remained willingly ignorant about his victims the whole time. There was nothing he could do for them aside from making sure they would be taken care of. The more Lith knew, the guiltier he would have felt but that would have only ruined the celebrations for Solus’ rescue.

He didn’t want such thoughts to plague his mind and pass on to hers, making her burden even worse than it already was.

"Osyan Neral, six years old." Rhami Ashol, the social worker assigned to the case said. "Long history of abuse. Physical for sure. When we had a White Griffon healer examine him per your request, he found major signs of calcification."

"Let me guess, lots of past bone fractures and cracks." Lith grunted as they walked.

"Correct. Also, lots of bruises that didn’t fit the event of Meln’s attack. Which is weird since your Abomination side treated the boy. It’s like…" She pushed her gold-rimmed glasses up her nose, letting her voice trail off.

"Like he wanted us to find them." Lith noticed how the idea unsettled Rhami, fear dilating her pupils enough to cover most of her blue eyes. "I mean, like I wanted you to find them."

"Yes." She nodded, sweeping a lock of her long brown hair from her face. "We don’t know much else. The old case file is thin and the boy refuses to speak to anyone."

"What do you mean, old case file? Your office knew?" Lith stopped in his tracks, glaring at Rhami.

"There had been rumors." She swallowed hard. "We conducted a brief investigation but nothing came out. Osyan’s father, Thram had a clean record and his wife, Isha, always denied all allegations, even when questioned away from her husband in a secure facility.

"There was no proof, no lead, and there were kids for whom we could actually do something. There are only so many of us and our funds are limited. We can’t bring in a skilled healer every time someone reports an unproven abuse."

"Fuck me sideways if this sounds familiar." Lith clenched his hands in frustration.

"I beg your pardon?" Rhami took a step back.

Lith wasn’t angry at her but she was scared nonetheless. From what she knew, he had managed to raze half a city to the ground and get away with it. He had even been praised by the Royals for his actions in Zeska.

"I mean that now the kid doesn’t trust men, women, or badges." Lith replied. "You have failed him too many times in the past. We have failed him. Osyan has no reason to believe this time will be any different."

"We always do our best." Rhami felt insulted, which gave her the strength to stand up for her work. "I’m not saying everyone here is a saint or a model employee but I can assure you we do everything we can."

"Go tell that to your victims." Lith scoffed. "See if any of them gives a fuck about your budget issues or hiring freeze. I can almost hear them saying: I see. I got beaten into a pulp and terrorized every day of my life but you had your own problems.

"We both know I’m probably going to die of internal bleeding one of these days, but what can you do about it? That’s life. I forgive you."

Lith used a childish voice for the last part. A childish voice belonging to a young Derek and so filled with spite and mockery that Rhami’s eyes misted with tears.

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