Supreme Magus

"Look, I'm flattered by your feelings and I'm not afraid to say that I consider my vow to still stand." Lith said.

"If you ever need my help, just call my name and I will come. I will discard my duty and my honor, I will pierce through the gates of heavens and netherworld if they stand in my path.

"Where everyone else saw either an asset or a monster, you saw me as a person back when even I didn't consider myself as such. You've taught me to be human and for that, I'll always be grateful to you.

"Yet I've just broken up with Kami and I don't feel like-"

"I'm not asking you to get back together, you pompous ass." Phloria cut him short while chuckling. "What I was going to say is that it took me a while to understand that even though you're not a good person, you're a good friend and boyfriend.

"After discovering about Solus's existence, I was deeply hurt. The fact that we had broken up for years softened the blow so I can't even imagine how Kamila must have felt or the pain that she endured.

"Yet after getting to know you and Solus as separate entities, I understood that even though she's a part of you, she's not you and that everything we had together was real.

"You just called Kamila with her moniker which means you still deeply care for her. She might come to my same conclusion if you give her the time and the opportunity that she needs to sort facts from suspicions." Phloria said.

"I'm sorry but you lost me." Lith said.

"Gods, Tiamat or not, you're still as dumb as any man. I'm saying that if you want, I'll go and speak with Kamila. I am probably the only person on Mogar who has walked many miles in her shoes and who can relate with her struggle." Phloria said.

"Thanks, but no thanks." Lith pushed her closer, turning the dance into a soft embrace. "As you've pointed out earlier, I'm your master. If you go to her, Kamila might think that I sent you.

"She has no reason to trust you or me, for that matter. If she comes to you on her own, however, please be fully honest with her. More lies would fix things in the short term and ruin everything in the long term."

The dance came to an end and the past went back to being the past.

Quylla took Phloria's place after throwing her a reproachful look.

"What was that?" Lith asked.

"She just got promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and Great Mage. You've got your violet core, a huge ass mansion, and the gods know what bloodline powers. If you add the fact that even though Friya is still a Mage like me, she's basically the new Silverwing, I resent you all for leaving me behind in the dust." She pouted.

"Wow. Did you take Friya's Awakening that badly?" He said.

"No duh! Who would have ever thought that being a natural violet was actually a handicap? Fuck me sideways!" Quylla replied, making him laugh at her impersonation.

"Well, you still got your family and awesome powers whereas I just lost my humanity-"

"Don't you dare to ruin my attempt to make you feel better at my expense." She cut him short.

"I beg your pardon?" Lith was flabbergasted.

"I'm not really angry, you dummy. I was just trying to cheer you up since you've gone through a lot lately." Quylla sighed deeply. "Look, I didn't want to tell you to not ruin the mood, but I really think that there is something wrong with you that has nothing to do with your special talents.

"You've just won a big ass fight everyone thought you would've lost. Your enemies have been humiliated and your friends got rewarded for their hard work. Yet here you are, frowning as if there's a killer on the prowl.

"I thought that I knew your past, but I clearly don't. What the heck happened that not even Elina knows to make you so dark and gloomy even in your brightest hour?" Quylla had no idea of Lith's life on Earth as Derek McCoy nor of how it still haunted him to that very day.

"It's complicated. I'm sorry, but I don't want to talk about it." He said.

"Well, that's good, because I don't want to know about it." Quylla replied. "I just want you to let that go or you'll be forever miserable and drag everyone you love down with you."

"What do you mean?" Lith asked.

"Maybe it's because you've been my first crush, but ever since we met at the academy, I have always looked at you from a distance so I know that, just like me, you have a big burden on your shoulders." Quylla said.

"At first, I thought that the people of your village treated you like crap, like it happened to me because I was an orphan, but then I met your family and I understood I wrong I was.

"Then, I thought that you were ashamed of something, but you turned out to be a piece of work who doesn't give a shit of what other people think. Heck, after you shared with us and with your family all of your secrets, I thought you would finally lighten up, yet you're still like you were back at the academy."

"What am I like?" Lith asked, finding her honesty to be refreshing compared to everyone else walking on eggshells to not hurt his feelings.

"You are someone that, whenever something bad happens, he carries it with him forever. Like when you thought that Protector had died or after I killed Yurial." Quylla managed to say without either her voice or hands quiver.

"When something good happens, instead, you smile for a second and then ruin the moment, worrying about what could go wrong instead of enjoying your happiness. That's unhealthy of you, Lith."

He pondered her words for a while before being forced to admit that Quylla was right. Lith didn't think about Ezio, his father back on Earth, unless he witnessed child abuse, just like he didn't think much about his lost brother, Carl.

Yet their shadows were always there with him. Ezio poisoned every concept he had of human relationships, making it hard for Lith to trust even his own family unless he had no other choice.

Losing Carl, instead, had led him to be so worried about protecting those who were close to him that he always ended up spending more time arranging their security instead of enjoying their company.

"I don't know what big secret you still hide and honestly, I don't care about it because I know you long enough to fully trust you. It's fine if you don't want to share it because knowing won't change your problem." Quylla said.

"Whatever it is, you need to get rid of these chains that you brought upon yourself. I've gone through a lot of bad stuff myself, like the death of my parents, hunger, abuse, and then everything that happened during the academy.

"Yet I also got a loving family, amazing friends, and great powers. Just because I had it rough it doesn't' change the fact that if I just managed to find a damned boyfriend, I wouldn't hesitate to call my life perfect."