Supreme Magus

'I don't know what her mage tower can do nor I'm willing to find out. Baba Yaga already knows too much. We can't afford to reveal any more of our hand to her.' Solus thought.

Eight hours after his breakthrough, Lith woke up. Even though his body absorbed the world energy on its own and the tower further boosted his recovery abilities, Lith still felt like crap.

Once again, after the core and body refining, Invigoration had no effect and could only be used to assess his physical condition.

'My bright blue core is half empty and my body has yet to stabilize.' He thought while checking his pocket watch. 'Usually, it takes me just four hours of sleep in the tower to reset Invigoration's effects, yet even after double that time, I'm barely able to stand.

'With each new breakthrough, the changes are so deep that this time I might need a few days before I can use either of my breathing techniques safely.'

Before even checking with the tower how and where everyone was, Lith called Kamila.

"Hi, Kami. Sorry to keep you waiting…"

"You disappeared for over half a day!" She cut him short. "I don't want apologies, just tell me that you are alright."

Kamila was still wearing the same clothes she had when Lith had left and judging by the state of the room, she had yet to let the cleaning service in, sleep, or eat.

"I'm alright, babe, don't worry." His words made her sigh in relief and flop into bed.

Kamila had no strength to look for her pajamas so she just stripped to her undies, giving Lith an adrenaline rush until the blankets covered her.

"Thank the gods. Now talk to me until I fall asleep. Why did it take so long? Did you get hurt badly?" She asked.

"Not really. Phloria's Awakening took a few hours and after that, I underwent a breakthrough as well. I called as soon as I regained consciousness, I have yet to check on her." Lith replied.

"Really?" Kamila giggled. "So now the powerful Archmage Verhen is even more powerful. When are you coming back? My leave ends in a few days and I miss you like crazy."

"Shouldn't you ask me what happened or how Phloria and everyone is?" Lith said.

"Nah. If you're so calm it means that the bad guys are dead and your friends are okay. I'll hear the details on your return, hopefully for breakfast. Now I just want to enjoy your company and hear only good news." Kamila yawned.

"Things went smoothly thanks to Protector, Nalrond, and Tista who gave me a hand."

"Say hi to them for me. Gods, I'm so happy that now I can talk about everything with them as well. Keeping your many secrets doesn't help my social life." Kamila stretched her lithe arms while looking for the most comfortable position.

"Will do. I'll get back as soon as I finish teaching Phloria the ropes. The rest can…" A small plop and the weird new angle of the hologram told Lith she was already asleep.

He closed the call and used his bond with the tower to check on the others. Aside from Phloria, everyone was up and having breakfast in the dining room. Lith stomach grumbled like a lion, demanding its due.

"Hi, guys, hope you slept well. Why the different location?" Lith asked after joining them.

"Solus…" Quylla attempted to say, but Lith's and Solus's eyes exchanged colors again due to their mind link. "Gods, don't do that in front of others. It's creepy."

"Thanks. I wanted to say it for years, but I never had the courage." Tista said.

"It's not creepy. It's efficient." Lith and Solus said in unison with their eyes still ablaze.

"And that was super creepy." Phloria said while walking into the room. "Gods, I feel like crap but I'm too hungry to keep sleeping. Are those hot chocolate and freshly baked chocolate chips biscuits?"

For a few minutes, crunching and swallowing were the only sounds filling the room. Only after the stomachs turned from roaring lions to purring kittens did the conversation resume.

"Kamila is waiting for me at the Flying Griffon resort and her leave is about to end. Tista and Solus offered to teach you the basics of Awakening until my return and answer any question you might have. Is that okay with you?" Lith asked.

"Are you really going away like this? After all that happened?" Phloria looked glum, way more than her sisters.

They all had hoped to spend some time together with Lith, but for different reasons.

"Phloria, it's her birthday and Kami waited months for this leave. If you were in her shoes, how would you take your boyfriend spending this time with another woman, an ex at that, rather than with you?" He put it bluntly for her to see.

"I would rip his head off after pulling his guts out." She grumbled.

"My point exactly. Thanks to you, I'm not obsessed with my work anymore…" Lith noticed Solus glaring at him while Tista could barely hold her laughter. "I mean, I'm not obsessed with it as before and I know how to treat the people I love right."

His words this time received a nod of approval.

"Once Kami has to get back to work, we can all spend a lot of time together. I don't see any of you taking another assignment in the near future." He chuckled.

"Yeah, I lost so many good people that it will take some time to find replacements. Honestly, I don't even know if I should try to rebuild the Crystal Shield guild or just disband it." Friya said.

The seven who had died during the incursion at the camp where all people she had recruited, tested, and trained personally. Friya had invested lots of hours in their preparation and to help them become better mages.

Friya cherished every member of her guild and now so many were gone, leaving a hole in her heart.

"Sorry, Friya, I don't mean to be rude. I'm really sorry for your loss." Lith said.

"Thanks, Lith. There's no need to apologize, too many things happened yesterday. Even though you had already given me the body count, I had completely forgotten about them until Solus reminded me of my duty.

"I can't believe that after you rescued us, all I could think about was Awakening and to not be the only one cut out of the group. I don't think I'm fit to be a leader." Friya's words struck at Quylla's heart as well.

'As soon as Phloria was out of hot waters, my obsession for magic kicked in. I didn't spare a thought about all the people that died nor about my parents. I'm no better than Friya.' Quylla thought.

The mood in the room turned so gloomy that Tista felt uncomfortable for being the only one happy to be alive and well.

"Before you leave, there are a few things that I'd like to discuss with you in private." Phloria cleaned her mouth and stood up.

"Do you want to take a walk outside? Because the tower and Solus are one, so if we stay in here, she'll hear everything." Lith said.

"What's the point? She and you are one as well. Even if she doesn't hear it now, she'll know the next time you do your creepy eye thingy anyway." There was an edge in her voice that hurt both Lith and Solus, making them feel guilty.