Chapter 3904: Proper Order (Part 1)

"I see." Quylla replied. "If we nudge Zoreth’s life forces in the right direction, they will rearrange themselves in a new configuration that should be stable enough to allow us to heal the damage like we would with a normal patient."

"Exactly." Baba Yaga sighed. "Let me be clear. As Zoreth’s life force is, there is no cure. At least none that we can find in the little time she has left. Yet if her life force becomes less volatile and able to suppress the Chaos and Decay better, it would be a different story.

"Now, I don’t know you, but I already know what a Dragon’s, an Eldritch’s, and a Fallen troll’s life force look like, but I’ve never seen an unfallen evolved human. By the time I became a white core, Balors had already turned into monsters."

"What about Tyrants and Jotunns?" Faluel asked, fishing for information.

"Please, they both diverged on purpose from the intended path to preserve their mana cores." The Red Mother shook her head. "They are indeed evolved humans, but their life forces are of no use to us."

’So Jotunns really are evolved humans!’ Everyone thought as soon as Baba Yaga confirmed the rumors.

"I’ve never seen an Odi life force." Quylla said, trying to sound casual. "I know that Zoreth has a fallen troll half, but maybe if we also understand how an Odi evolved, we would be able to guess human evolution as well.

"I mean, you said it yourself. Humans and Odi have a common ancestor."

Baba Yaga gave Quylla a long, cold stare, without saying a word.

"Nice try, child." She clicked her tongue. "Nice enough to deserve a reward, but you’d better not push your luck with me again."

A flick of the Red Mother’s wrist conjured what looked like a finely cut transparent zircon-like gemstone.

"This was my life force as an Odi. You know the rest."

"So, transparent for the Odi, black and white for the trolls, and prismatic for the Traughen?" Faluel asked while conjuring the three gemstones side by side.

"What did you expect?" Baba Yaga scoffed. "A snake that turned into an eagle, and then into a Griffon? There’s a reason it’s called evolution. Changes are not radical. They are minute but significant.

"Take you beasts, for example." A wave of her hand conjured another series of holograms. "A magical beast’s life force looks like a fire, an Emperor Beast’s like a star, and a Divine Beast’s like a constellation.

"It’s always a mass of flames. In your case, there is no change in color, just in size."

"Good point." Faluel groaned, looking at the Divine Beast’s life force with eyes full of longing.

"I have just what we need." Quylla said. "I’ll bring here Urhen, Ryla, and Morok."

"I get Urhen, but why Ryla and Morok?" Friya asked. "Their data is already stored in the Infirmary, and you heard Lady Yaga. Morok’s life force is a mutation of the original bloodline."

"I know, but with Lith, they form the full evolutionary scale." Quylla nodded. "My husband may be a side step, but it’s still a step forward compared to all other Tyrants. Maybe Lady Yaga can learn something from him and we from her."

"The gall of this little woman!" The Red Mother burst into laughter. "I just warned you not to push your luck, and here you are, trying to manipulate me again. Your mother would be proud of you, child."

"Do you know my mother?" Quylla asked.

"I spend a lot of time at the Mansion, child." Baba Yaga said. "Your mother is hard to miss and harder to avoid. If only she didn’t always carry around her toddler when she pesters me, I would have already taught her a lesson."

"Poor Dripha! I mean, I’m sorry, Lady Yaga." Quylla bowed as deeply as her swollen belly allowed her.

"Don’t be sorry for her, child, be better than her." The Red Mother dismissed the apologies with a wave of her hand.

"I have a question." Lith said. "How do we bring Urhen to the Infirmary without revealing the existence of the tower to her?"

"Easy." Solus shrugged. "Rena is a good friend of Urhen, and we are in the Desert. Let’s hide the other floors of the tower underground and leave only the Infirmary visible. Urhen is no Forgemaster, and if we tell her that this is one of Grandma’s labs, she’ll believe us."

Since Lith had barely any contact with the people of Zelex, Quylla and Rena went to ask the Balor for help after explaining the situation to Ryla.

"Don’t worry, I’ll back whatever you say." The Fomor said. "If you don’t want Urhen to know that the lab belongs to Lith, she won’t hear anything from me."

Once they reached Zelex, the Balor and the rest of her species were all too eager to help.

"I never dared hope my turn would come this quickly!" Urhen said. "I’m sorry for not trusting you from the beginning, Lady Quylla. You truly are a miracle worker."

"Thank you for your kind words, but I think there is a misunderstanding." Quylla could read a mix of raw envy and furious annoyance on the faces of the rest of Zelex’s senate. "I’m not here to start your treatment, Urhen."

"Oh." At those words, the Balor’s smile collapsed like a house of cards.

"Don’t misunderstand, the data I’m going to collect today will be of great help once I’m done with Ryla." Quylla said, hoping to reassure Urhen. "Until then, however, I need you to be patient. All of you."

The expression of the members of Zelex’s senate softened, with one exception. Carana, the Traughen representative, stared at her colleagues the same way they had stared at Urhen.

She lowered her eyes to meet Quylla’s, asking her a silent question that Quylla answered with a slight shake of her head.

Traughen and trolls were among the few fallen races of Zelex with no healthy counterpart to serve as a blueprint to undo their fallen state. It put them at the bottom of Quylla’s patient list and gave them little hope for the future.

Carana gave a polite nod and ignored the rest of the conversation, feeling she had no part in it.

"What do you need my help for?" Urhen asked, drawing Quylla’s attention back to her.

"My research has hit a snag." Quylla lied through her teeth. "To overcome it, I need to collect detailed information about the various stages of human evolution, and you are the most stable reverted Balor of Zelex, correct?"

"Correct." Urhen nodded. "When you say various stages, does it mean that Lord Morok and Lord Verhen will take part in the research as well?"

"Of course." Quylla didn’t like how the Balor’s eyes lit up at her husband’s name.

Sure, Urhen displayed the same enthusiasm for Lith, but that was Kamila’s problem.

"Is there any chance I might experience the resonance effect again?" The Balor asked.

After the events that had led to the defeat of Ruugat of the Earth, Lith’s status among the people of Jiera had skyrocketed. Not only because he had displayed six elemental energy wings like a Fomor, but also because his presence affected all the human members of Jiera’s expedition.

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