2997 Inner Garden (Part 1)
The Zouwu had a newfound respect for his Eldritch allies but that didn't mean that he could underestimate the threat posed by someone who could spawn countless Abominations.
If the killer and his device were a threat to the Council, Lith was a threat to Mogar itself simply by existing.
"I wish." The Tiamat replied with such disappointment in his voice that it was hard to doubt his sincerity. "If that was the case, I would already have an invincible army of creatures that can assimilate the knowledge and powers of my enemies.
"They would be by my side and help me protect everything I care about. My blood is just blood." A snap of Lith's finger hastened his recovery and cleansed the stains on the ground and his armor.
"At least until you infuse it with life force and mana like our enemy did. You don't eat an Abomination. The Abomination eats you."
"Isn't that what happened when your child was conceived? How can your wife be still alive?" Strider pondered.
"My Abomination side was the first I made peace with. It loves Kami as much as I do and would never hurt her. Its consciousness actually reassured me that nothing bad would happen to her.
"Also, she didn't take a part of me. It was willingly offered. She didn't try to take my power for herself. She added something of her own and turned it into something, no, someone new. If you can't tell the difference, I pity you."
For some reason, the last part irked the Zouwu more than the threat of the Abominations born from Lith's fragments.
While everyone recovered, Lith projected holograms of the throne room.
The vines hanging from the ceiling, the bronze basin in which they poured the stolen life essence, and the sophisticated alchemical and Forgemastering devices were depicted in great detail.
"We must stop the minions from collecting more of our blood." Ryka the Titania said. "Judging by how the Redcap arranged the room and the corridors, this isn't something our enemy has prepared to deal with us. It's part of his original plan.
"Giving him our spells and bloodline abilities is already bad. If he really furthered his evolution, there's no telling what he might be able to do. We must destroy our blood the moment we get wounded."
***
In the throne room, Maergron had just finished rebuilding his body. He was weak, tired, and in desperate need of nutrients. The temple of the Great Mother was filled to the brim with world energy but without direct access to fertile soil, the regenerating abilities of a Fae were limited.
"This isn't over yet." His hands and voice trembled in exhaustion so he needed sheer willpower to not waste a single drop of the blood left in the basin.
With each gulp, he gained the strength of his enemies, their powers, and to a degree, their memories. By the time the Redcap had emptied the basin, he was back to his full strength and knew all of his opponents' weaknesses.
He sensed Strider's hatred for Abominations, and it wouldn't take much to turn the Zouwu against his allies. Maergron had no idea that there actually were also two Eldritches because they shed no blood.
The Redcap could taste Rhuta's ambition and his desire for his talent to be recognized. His frustration for being stuck at the bright blue for centuries while those younger than him surpassed Rhuta every day.
The youth only needed a timely nudge to throw himself at the first opportunity to prove himself.
The Titania was an even easier target. Maergron had underestimated her feelings. Under her cold demeanor, there was a deep fear of losing the person that made her feel more than a power-hungry monster.
She would do anything to protect the Zouwu, even if it meant compromising the mission or the safety of her comrades.
The Naga's weakness was inherent to his species, instead. Being evolved from a cold-blooded creature in a hot-blooded one, Nagas were subjected to severe mood swings.
By manipulating the others, the Redcap would make Unanna resentful toward his companions and destroy their teamwork.
The seeds of destruction were already there, planted long before the Council had sent the members of the Hand of Fate after Maergron. He only had to make them bloom.
Then, there was the Tiamat.
Maergron could still hear the Void's voice ringing in his ears. He could still feel the Void's touch as the black tendrils flooded his body and ate it from the inside.
"What the fuck is that thing?" He shivered at the memory of their confrontation.
The seeds of destruction were already there and Maergron was worried there was one for him too, waiting for the right moment to bloom.
***
When the world energy was close to restoring the balance in the tunnel, the group resumed its advance. The Awakened had fully recovered by using their breathing techniques while the Eldritches by taking nibbles at the Garden.
They couldn't withstand the full flow of the world energy but a few drops were more than enough to quell their hunger.
Lith did the same, using his Abomination side to probe the Garden and see how much energy he could take at a time without hurting himself. He had already used his breathing technique several times on Solus and wanted to preserve what was left.
Luckily, food gave him nutrients and the world energy did the rest, limiting the amount he had to eat to just enough to recover from the wounds.
With Solus still recovering inside the stone ring, the formation had to be adjusted. Now Lith walked in the middle, with Zoreth in front of him and Bytra behind to cover for attacks from every direction.
The Tiamat had his arms free and Ragnar?k in his hand but the wing-cradle would still impede his movements.
Suddenly, Strider raised his hand in a closed fist, the signal to stop.
'There's something wrong here.' He said via the mind link. 'There is too much humidity in the air and too much moss on the walls.'
A quick barrage of darkness bullets made everything wither until the rock walls were barren.
'The threat was too obvious and getting rid of it too easy. Any ideas?' He asked.
Zoreth cast her combination of detection arrays from the Maw, but aside from the members of her group, there was no magic and no one for a hundred meters (328 feet).
They resumed their advance, keeping their guard up and cursing the Garden.
'With so much world energy all around us and that damn device, Limbell's shadow apprentice can time his spells to perfection. Just because there's nothing now, it doesn't mean there will be nothing one second later.' The Zouwu thought and he was right.
The Garden made the patches of ground fertile and destroying the moss had only fertilized them. Barbed vines sprouted from the walls and whipped at the intruders from every side.
The world energy carried more than Maergron's light magic spells, it also carried his seeds. The vines grew faster than the Awakened could detect them, growing in size and length until they matched a boa constrictor.
