"What's normal?

" Lith asked after taking his eyes off Kamila's face.

"The **?

"

As the Dread Flames disappeared, fresh grass and undergrowth sprouted throughout the clearing above the mana geyser at a speed noticeable to the naked eye.

Lith bent down, using Demon Grasp on the soil.

"It's incredible.

" He said.

"Yeah, too bad those words can be applied to too many things that just happened. Do you have any idea how little 'incredible' narrows it down?

" Kamila sighed.

"You have to be more specific.

"

"The corruption left by the first Abomination I fought, the Wither, is completely gone.

" Lith replied.

"Eight years have passed since then yet even with the world energy constantly gushing out of the mana geyser, the taint of Chaos was hard to cleanse.

"Now it's completely gone. The sudden growth isn't due to the Dread Flames. At least not directly.

"The lingering Chaos element had created a sort of dam that limited the energy flow of the geyser and now that dam is broken. The world energy that had been bottled up until now is flooding the Trawn woods.

"

Unbeknownst to Lith, the phenomenon went beyond the clearing he and his wife stood upon. During the past eight years, the Trawn woods had undergone many quantitative changes.

The number of magical beasts had increased every year as more animals evolved and the preexisting packs of magical beasts produced new litters. Reaper, Lifebringer, and Sentinel had evolved to Awakened Emperor Beasts and each one of them had sired many cubs.

The presence of the tower whenever Lith was in Lutia focused and spread the magical aura encompassing the woods further, affecting the flora as well. Then, Protector and his children had moved there and so did Nalrond and many of the magical creatures that currently lived near Lith's home.

The taint of Chaos was the only reason such quantitative change in the world energy coursing through the Trawn woods had not brought forth a qualitative change as well. Until now.

The Dread Flames had done more than remove the toxic impurities left by the Wither after going on a rampage for three days and by the scattering of the residual energy of his body upon his death.

They had also removed the natural impurities in the soil, unclogging the invisible arteries through which Mogar's life breath flowed. The byproduct of the silver flames wasn't the broken, useless matter that the blue flames would have left.

The natural impurities had been transformed into ashes mystical in nature that fertilized the soil with nutrients and mana. The Dread Flames had turned the mana geyser from a fountain that nourished solely the clearing into a river that watered the entirety of the woods by carving invisible irrigation channels.

Each magical beast served as a focus point and each Emperor Beast living in the woods was akin to an auxiliary core, spreading and amplifying the world energy further.

After eight years of slumber, the Trawn woods was stirring, taking its first step toward Awakening like the White Griffon Academy's forest and other magical places.

Yet this a story for another day.

"Oh, okay.

" Kamila had gone through too many sleepless nights and faced one grieving madman from Earth too many to waste time understanding the implications of what her husband was saying.

The only thing she cared about was that he was back in her arms. Kamila stood on her tiptoes and gave Lith a sweet kiss, taking care not to squeeze Elysia between them.

"Gods if I missed you. Welcome back home, Lith. You have no idea how worried I was. How worried Elysia and everyone else was.

"

"Believe me, I've missed you too. All three parts of me did.

" Lith held her tight.

"Now, I hate to be that guy but…

"

He handed Elysia back to Kamila.

"But what?

" She asked.

Lith answered by losing consciousness and crashing down on the ground like several tons of highly compressed bricks in human form.

The pain from the constant exposure to the blue flames, the mental agony inflicted on him by the parasitic souls, and the trauma from once again rearranging his life forces had taken a huge toll on him.

Cauterizing the gate in his Abomination form and kicking thousands of souls back into the Void was just the icing on the cake. Lith had managed to stay awake that long only thanks to his willpower, stubbornness, and the adrenaline from being back to his family.

The moment he started relaxing, fatigue pushed him down and gravity did the rest.

***

Jiera continent, several hundred kilometers into the mainland, on the path of the lost city called Auros the Bringer of Unity, a few hours earlier.

The news of the return of the Dead King spread like wildfire. Even more those about his alleged defeat at the hands of the Supreme Magus who had triumphantly returned to the folds of the Kingdom.

According to the official version of the events, the Royal Army sent to rescue and help the Supreme Magus had ended up being rescued and helped by him instead. The few who had survived Orpal's attack owed their life to Lith.

Even in his frenzied state, there were some lines that not even Derk McCoy would cross. Everyone else, however, was dead and buried.

The World Tree knew that Lith's alleged heroic acts were all a cover-up to justify Zeska's destruction and the many civilian casualties but that was the least of the Tree's worries.

The local Chronicler had reported about Lith's capture and the identity of his wardens. The Yggdrasill was now aware that Zoreth, Baba Yaga, and other lesser creatures would soon be involved in Verhen's foolish attempt to rescue Elphyn Menadion.

'I can deal with the old hag.' The World Tree pondered. 'Even if she finds and enters my Fringe, she'll discover that her powers are greatly diminished in here. The world energy is under my command and unless she can taint it like Menadion's tower does, Mogar's lifeblood will resist her call.

'Every one of her spells and enchantments of her tower will be diminished akin to a Guardian fighting on the turf of a hostile Guardian. As for the other members of the group that captured Verhen, they are so weak that I wouldn't even bother recording their existence if it wasn't part of my purpose.

'Zoreth Imerith Leegaainborn, however, is another story entirely. If she's involved, then she might drag in the Master and the rest of their Organization. That's something I can't underestimate.

'Eldritches don't call upon the world energy, they prey upon it like a hungry pack of wolves with a herd of lambs. My influence over the Fringe doesn't affect the Eldritches' powers and their mere presence might taint its world energy in so many ways that there's no point in preparing a specific defense against them.

'Yet what I'm really afraid of is the possibility of the Suneater's involvement. Never lose sight of Auros, Ra'ntar. The Bringer of Unity works for the hybrids and by observing how he helps their operations on Jiera, we can predict their plans.

'If the manpower increases or stays the same, it means the Organization will stay out of Verhen's mess. If the magic crystals and metals mining operations slow down, instead, it means the Eldritches are gathering their forces for something big.'