Supreme Magus

Chapter 3915: Poison (Part 2)

"I might be trapped in the nothingness, or maybe even spat out in this world as a vagrant soul as penance. Denying me peace for as many lifetimes as I’ve taken would be a fitting punishment for a murderer like me." A sad smile twisted Zoreth’s lips.

"You can’t be serious!" Bytra said. "What about the Master? What about everything we’ve achieved this far? What about me?"

"I’m not saying that I want to die, Byt. Far from it." Zoreth caressed Bytra’s face with her thumb, managing to keep her life forces under control enough to leave only tenderness in her touch.

"I’m just saying that I’m not willing to be like Raum again, even if it costs me my life."

After her brief clash with the Wonderer, Bytra had spent every moment in the isolation of her locked room mulling over what Leegaain had discovered in Raum’s base and what it meant for Zoreth.

The Fourth Ruler of the Flames had been forced to look at her shared history with the Master and their projects with new eyes. She wasn’t a researcher who considered the lives of her test subjects as ingredients anymore.

There was no cost-benefit analysis she could use to numb her conscience under the banner of the "greater good" and the "future generations".

Bytra had walked a mile in the shoes of the wives of her victims and discovered the agony each step carried. Bytra hadn’t slept or eaten during those two days, her mind picturing what Raum was likely doing to Zoreth based on what she knew about him.

The memories Bytra had inherited from Korgh and the many experiments she had performed with the Master to perfect his version of Arthan’s Madness gave Bytra enough material for hundreds of nightmare scenarios.

She had played them all, one by one, until Lith had called Vastor and he had unlocked the arrays of her quarters.

The Fourth Ruler of the Flames now felt the burden of the many lives she had contributed to taking, and the veil of self-righteous justifications she had believed until that moment had fallen off her eyes.

Yet there was nothing she wouldn’t do, nothing she wouldn’t say to save the love of her life.

"There is still one way out of this, Zor." Bytra said. "You don’t have to be like Raum to survive. Just accept your father’s offer, I don’t care which."

"Are you crazy?" The Shadow Dragon’s eyes widened in shock. "How can you ask me to betray the man I consider my second father? How can you even consider that I could sacrifice our fellow hybrids? I love them, Byt.

"Not as much as I love you, but they are family to me. Even Nelia." Mentioning the Frost Griffon’s name made Zoreth frown. "She’s like the sister I never wanted and I’d never see outside family events, but a sister nonetheless."

"Why shouldn’t I?" Bytra snarled. "You said it yourself. The Master is no better than Raum, and all Abominations commit massacres. Tezka may be a pleasant guy today, but he killed more people than a plague.

"Every one of us is a monster, Zor, especially Orulm. You’d be doing Mogar a favor."

"What about you?" Zoreth asked. "Should I kill you just because it’s convenient?"

"It’s different." Bytra shook her head. "I’m willingly offering my life if it means saving yours. Besides, I remember the terms of Leegaain’s offer. He is willing to spare people like me, Theseus, and Nandi, who are born from clones and can be redeemed.

"Leegaain is probably going to keep us prisoners until we pay for our crimes, but we would live. I would live, and we could be together again. Maybe Leegaain will allow you to stay with me until I’ve served my time."

"Well, Byt, your offer makes sense, but so did all my old plans and the Master’s pep talks about doing the wrong things for the right reasons." Zoreth replied. "This is my life, and the decision is mine to make.

"I’m not going to let anyone else pay for what I did, not even Orulm. That wouldn’t be accepting my fate. It would be no different from what I did until two days ago, but with extra steps.

"Just replace ’for the greater good’ with ’he deserved it’. Besides, I owe the Master too much. He gave me a home, a new life, and most importantly, he allowed me to meet you." Zoreth held Bytra’s hand.

"On top of that, what do you think would happen to... the kids Tezka has adopted? I can’t take him away from them. What am I supposed to tell them when they ask me why their best friend is dead and I’m still around?"

The Shadow Dragon used Tezka’s name, but she actually referred to Vastor. The thought of the pain Bytra had been so eager to cause Filia, Frey, and Zinya hit the Raiju like a ton of bricks, making her stomach churn with guilt.

"You’re right." She nodded. "It’s weird how you are the wounded one, yet I’m the one talking crazy. Then take the other offer. We’ll live together in Leegaain’s biomes. No one else needs to suffer."

"I can’t do that either, Byt." Zoreth shook her head. "We are nigh-immortal. I don’t want to spend eternity trapped in a golden prison. Your company would make it bearable, but only until the guilt eats me from the inside.

"Leegaain would hold my chain and I yours. After a few centuries, I would start wondering if you’re still there with me because you want to or because of pity. I can’t live with that doubt more than I could live with the guilt of dragging you down with me, Byt."

The Fourth Ruler of the Flames struggled to counter those objections, but to no avail. Bytra knew that leaving the biomes on her own, even if for a short while, would remind Zoreth of everything she had lost and make her wonder if Bytra would ever return.

’What if something happens to me while I’m outside? If Leegaain tells her I’m in danger, Zor would do anything to escape and help just to fall into despair when she fails. If he doesn’t tell her, Zor would never know the truth and think I have abandoned her.

"Even worse, what if the Master comes looking for me and Leegaain follows him back to the kids? Zor is right. If I enter the biomes, I can never leave. My freedom to leave would be a poison to our relationship, and sooner or later it would destroy us.’

"Enough talking, Byt." Zoreth pointed at the piles of still-steaming plates. "I’m very tired and hungry. Please, let me eat, and then let’s go to sleep. That’s the only time I am free from this agony."

***

Lith slept well over eight hours, yet despite the tower and the mana geyser, he still felt tired.

"Are you alright?" Kamila asked.

"Sort of." Lith replied. "I think yesterday I overdid it with the Storage, but aside from that, I’m fine."

"What about your nightmares?" Kamila said. "Did you still dream of the deaths of those vengeful souls?"

"Okay, fine. Aside from the Storage and the nightmares, I’m good." Lith sighed.

"That’s no different from saying: I’m still breathing, so I’m alive." She hugged him from behind. "You need to take care of yourself."