"I'm sorry for showing you this, but if you can't hold yourself together while watching a colorless hologram, you won't last one second in front of the real deal.

" Quylla said.

"Thank you, Quylla.

" Elina sniffled, cursing herself for her umpteenth crying fit.

"Thank you for what?

" Quylla asked in confusion, not feeling one shred of pride for torturing her friends like that.

"For taking such good care of us and Lith.

" Elina paused for a bit, holding Raaz's hand tight before adding:

"Especially after he tried to kill you and your babies.

" Quylla stiffened at the memory but she quickly shrugged it off.

"No, he didn't. Lith would have never done it. That thing is not Lith, it's just keeping him prisoner and we are going to set him free.

"

Elina stood up and went to hug Quylla, thanking her over and over again for believing in Lith so much.

Kamila, instead, clenched her hands and said nothing.

'Lith would never do that but Derek would and have a good laugh about it.' She thought. I recognize his voice. The voice he had in his memories from Earth. If I'm right, we are in big trouble. Derek considered family a joke and hated every parental figure.

'His only saving grace was Carl but there's no way I put a little boy in the same room with him. Not until those things leave him alone.' Kamila stared at the hologram, looking at the Void Demon Dragon's features shifting into those of the souls struggling to take over his body.

When that happened, Derek's eyes would go blank for a second. Then, his dominant voice and eyes would become alien.

"How do you want to do this?

" Baba Yaga asked.

"One at a time or all together?

"

"What's your recommendation?

" Everyone turned to Quylla.

She was the best Healer they knew and considered Lith her patient.

"All together is better.

" She replied.

"In normal circumstances, I'd say one at a time to not overwhelm the patient. In Lith's case, however, we need to strike fast and hard. My hope is that when any of you triggers his memory it will give him the strength to push the souls away.

"At that point, the presence of the protagonists of that memory should trigger more memories in a chain reaction. that will break through his current brain fog and awake enough of our Lith to put an end to the blue flames.

"If the shock treatment doesn't work, I don't know what else to do.

" Quylla lowered her gaze.

"Have you tried asking Grandma?

" The idea of losing her brother snapped Tista out of her reverie.

"She swore to us that no member of her family would die under her roof. Maybe she can help us if we bring Lith there.

"

It took them but a call to the Desert to shatter that hope.

"I'm sorry, I can't help you.

" The Overlord sighed deeply.

"What Yaga and Valtak said is correct. I can bring Lith back with Rebirth Magic and force him to shapeshift into his Tiamat form.

"Yet if he doesn't stop the souls from preying on his life force, my treatment would turn him into an empty husk trapped in a state of eternal agony. I'm not the Guardian of Souls and as far as I know, there isn't one. Roghar is the closest thing we have but he can't be trusted.

"His track record with the Fallen Races speaks volumes. Roghar is a tinkerer, not a Healer.

"

"Thank you anyway, Mother. It was worth a shot.

" Raaz sighed while hanging up the call.

"We can only cross our fingers and hope Quylla is right.

"

"I'll Warp you inside my tower and keep an eye on the situation from another room with the others.

" Baba Yaga said.

"Lith's history with us is too recent and since we are the ones who captured him, he won't trust us.

"

She pointed at herself, Dawn, Zoreth, Silverwing, Nalrond, and Morok.

"Good idea.

" Quylla nodded.

"I have an ace in the hole but I really don't want to use it.

"

With a snap of the Maiden's fingers, the Verhens and the Ernas were transported in front of Derek's golden prison. When they arrived, his eyes were empty and discordant wails came from his mouth as if he were a broken music box.

His body was engulfed in blue flames that burned his flesh and released a thick smell of barbeque. At the same time, the Abomination side absorbed the world energy to heal him and push the flames away from his vital organs.

Derek immediately regained his focus, jumping up to his feet to be ready to fight the unknown enemies.

"My baby!

" Elina broke free from Raaz's grip and ran to the hard-light sphere.

"What happened to you? Please, tell me you are alright.

"

"Who are you?

" The woman in front of Derek looked familiar but in the haze of fire, pain, and the memories of the souls plaguing his mind, he failed to

recognize her.

"I'm your mother!

" Despite all of Quylla's warnings and planning, Elina burst into tears.

"My name is Elina, but you always call me mom.

"

"Mom?

" Derek echoed with a sneer.

His voice oozed poison and spite, his face twisted in a mask of mockery. The word

"mom

" was alien to him as it had been for all his life on Earth. It only brought to his mind all the times he had been ignored, neglected, and abused. Then, came the memories of the parasitic souls. They projected their suffering and pain associated with that word, turning it into a mortal threat.

"Tell me another.

" He laughed to Elina's face.

"And stop crying. I'm not falling for that again. You can't manipulate me with the waterworks-

"

A pang brought Derek to his knees. He remembered casting Mother's Embrace and how the emerald figure conjured by the spell matched the woman called Elina down to the smallest detail.

He pushed the thought back, but then another memory popped up in his mind.

Derek remembered all the times Elina had held him to her bosom as a child to feed him and keep him warm. Of all the times she had protected him from Orpal until the day she had disowned her firstborn.

"Poopie!

" Derek wheezed, holding his head in pain.

Quylla patted Raaz on the back to snap him out of it and send him to deal the

next blow to Lith's psyche.

"And I'm your father, Raaz.

" He said.

"I taught you how to read, write, count, and whittle. Do you remember that?

"

Raaz took a small wooden ruler and a carved horse miniature horse out of his dimensional amulet. The former was the device he had carved to help Lith learn Tyris' alphabet and numerals while the latter was Lith's first attempt at

whittling.

"You were already so brilliant as a baby that I couldn't teach you much as a father but I treasured every moment we spent together. I always carry these items with me because they are the first gifts we exchanged. They are my most

prized possessions.

"

"Father?

" Derek stood up.

Rage and disgust flooded him with such intensity that, for a moment, he grasped control over the blue flames and parasitic souls.