Supreme Magus

"Rationally, we understand and accept it, but a relationship is not based on timetables and cold logic. It's born from feelings and dies with them. On top of that, the long life of Awakened makes them consider months as days and years as weeks.

"I've had many relationships crumble because I would isolate myself to finish a research, discovering that so long had passed that my partner had assumed we had broken up and moved on.

"Many Awakened keep many relationships at the same time not because they are fickle, but because when they need to take a break from it and their significant other finds someone else, decades can pass before they are both available again.

"You deserve someone like Selia, that will count the days you are apart instead of losing track of them. Someone that can give you a full life and not just fill the pauses in between your experiments.

"Someone like Solus or Kamila." Faluel said.

Lith pondered her words for a while before sharing with her what Manohar had told him about his crippled life force.

"That man really is a genius, but he's also a jerk. He shouldn't have told you." Faluel grunted while eating her fifteenth steak and ordering the tenth refill of beer.

"So it's true?" Lith suddenly lost his appetite.

"Why do you think Salaark is helping you so much and I asked so little from you?" The Hydra replied. "You are a burning candle and we both want you to reach your full potential in the time you have left."

"Why did you hide it from me?"

"Because it would have increased your burden to the point of driving you crazy. You already had to deal with your hybrid nature, your Abomination side, Death Vision, and all the shit that both the Kingdom and the Council threw at you.

"If I told you the truth, you wouldn't have enjoyed your relationship with Kamila and would have rushed things, knowing that your time was limited.

"Then, after she discovered about Solus and inevitably broke up with you, the failure of your marriage would have scarred you for a long time. Instead, here you are, back on your feet already." Faluel replied.

"Thanks for your care and your wisdom." Lith said, realizing the truth of her words. "Was it really necessary to make a mess of this date, though? Good company and a warm smile can sugar-coat even the harsher of truths."

"I think that seeing how much I eat and how I eat would have turned you off anyway." Faluel ate the steaks whole, her mouth deforming to thrice its original size like in a cartoon to chew them.

She had drunk more beer than her human body could reasonably contain and kept ordering more. It was indeed an unsettling sight that clashed with her lovely and lithe appearance.

"Since we are being honest with each other, there's a reason I didn't ask Solus out even though I'm aware of her feelings and she already got her body back." Lith said. "Our bond made us grow close in the past, back when we had nothing but each other, but now it just makes things awkward.

"Our shared thoughts and emotions are great during a fight or while working on a project, but they would destroy us as a couple. If one gets angry, the other follows and even the silliest argument would escalate.

"The same happens when we are sad. We can't support each other during any shared emotional moment because staying together just makes it worse. It happened with Lark, Mirim, and even after Ekidna's death.

"On top of that, what would happen if, in the end, we break up? Solus can't walk away from me and I from her. It would be beyond unpleasant and ruin any possibility of staying friends."

"That would be ugly." Faluel nodded.

"Last, but not least, I don't like it that along with her powers Solus has lost her memories as well. If she still remembered her past relationships, what she likes and dislikes in a partner, I wouldn't hesitate to ask her out.

"Yet while I was free to go out, meet people, and date whoever I wanted, she has always been stuck at my finger. I don't know whether she likes me for real or just because for 15 years I've been all she had.

"Until Solus dates someone else, as long as she doesn't have meaningful experiences that only belong to her, even the thought of us being a couple makes me feel like I'm abusing my position to take advantage of her.

"As you said, I'm a stingy, workaholic asshole, but I love Solus too much to hurt her. I'd rather wait until she can freely get away from the tower and live on her own than abuse her trust just to ease my loneliness."

"I never thought about that." Faluel nodded. "It's very noble of you. Most people I know wouldn't see past her pretty face and the possibility to have a willing concubine. You're making me regret screwing up this date on purpose."

"You're very lovely when your mouth is empty and I'm pretty sure that if I play my cards right, I can still get some pity sex from you. I mean, would you really be so cruel to deny the final wish of a dying man?" Lith clenched his heart with a dramatic gesture, as if he was having a stroke.

"Maybe you are right, I shouldn't have told you. You're clearly delusional." Faluel laughed at his performance.

"Look at that. Another spell you don't know." Selia pointed at the couple near them that was apparently laughing about the effects of inflation on the gold price.

"Not only did you never learn how to 'dull your blade', you also forced me to speak in riddles for years whenever we needed to have an adult conversation in front of the kids. Either you learn both those spells quickly, or I'll make you."

"Sure, dear." Ryman racked his brain trying to find a way to change the subject. "How do you think Nalrond is doing?"

"Better than you for sure. It doesn't take much." Selia called Haug, forbidding him to bring more alcohol to her husband. It wasn't fair that she was the only one paying the price for his mistakes.

***

The city of Catreesh, West of the Kingdom.

"Is it going to take long to reach our restaurant?" Nalrond asked, eager to get away from all those familiar smells that made him recall memories from his past life.

Catreesh was south and west enough from Lutia to have a much warmer climate despite the season. Some flowerbeds were already blooming and thanks to the artificial lights, the roads were lively and crowded with people even after sundown.

Being one of the border cities between the Kingdom and the Desert, the city was a hybrid of both cultures whose beauty came from harmonizing them over the years. The people of the Desert treasured greenery above all while those of the Kingdom loved order.

Each city block was a perfect square, comprised of rectangular buildings of different heights based on the wealth of their owners. Every one of them had its own garden and another green area on the rooftop.

Nalrond's stomach churned in nostalgia from the mix of vibrant colors of the buildings and the scent of the traditional dishes of the Desert that came from the various establishments near the local branch of the Association where the Warp Gate was located.