Supreme Magus - Chapter 3827: Ripple Effect (Part 2)

Chapter 3827: Ripple Effect (Part 2)

“Whether you look at Ryla’s life force back when I had yet to start treating her or when I’ll be one step from curing her, the appearance of her life force will be the same since the programming of her Harmonizer hasn’t changed.

“Yet just because the shape of her life force is fixed, it doesn’t mean that the condition of her life force is fixed as well. You must remember that the Harmonizer is no cure.

“It’s just a means to rearrange a Fallen life force into a preset shape, no matter how much resistance the life force offers to the process or how stretched or compressed the various parts must be to match the shape programmed into the Harmonizer.

“It’s the reason the moment Ryla steps outside the geyser, she reverts into a Fallen Balor. Her Fomor life force is like a suitcase filled to the brim with unfolded clothes that you closed by force.

“When you open it, the pressure is gone and the clothes spill out of the suitcase.” Quylla looked at her audience, and everyone nodded for her to continue.

“My treatment consists of altering Ryla’s Fallen life force so that it offers less resistance to the Harmonizer and folds into a stable form. The closer I get to a cure, the longer she retains her unfallen Fomor state away from a geyser.”

“How much did my life force change?” Ryla had no interest in the how or why. She just wanted an answer to her questions.

“About one generation.” Quylla pondered. “After the events in Jiera, you are now four generations closer to a stable Fomor form.”

“Is that a lot or a little?” Lith asked, even though Ryla’s and Garrik’s tears of joy at the news answered his question.

“It’s enough.” Quylla replied. “My treatment consists of two phases. First, I alter Ryla’s Fallen life force so that it shapeshifts more easily into its unfallen state. After that, I check on her Fomor form and make sure that I solved more problems than I created.

“Life forces are not bricks that you can cut or smooth willy-nilly. Even if the procedure is a success, the way the various parts interact changes, and it’s not unusual for new problems to arise.

“Assuming that the first phase brought a solid improvement, I move on to phase two. I alter Ryla’s life force while under the effects of the Harmonizer until all the problems I created are fixed or they are no more dangerous than a natural imperfection.

“Only at that point do I move back to phase one and alter Ryla’s fallen life force further. I had brought her forward by three generations, hence I modified her fallen form twice and stabilized it once.

“Whatever happened during the battle stabilized my latest modifications. I can resume the treatment as soon as Ryla’s body adapts to the changes. It should take around three days to make them permanent. You did the right thing, Lith.

“The process is not over yet, and if Ryla had stepped out of the geysers, her life force would have unraveled and gone back to how I had left it.”

“Still, I don’t understand how this could happen.” Lith rubbed his chin. “Ryla has been living here for over a year now, and Morok moved in with us months ago. Why now and why on Jiera?”

“Those are great questions.” Quylla nodded. “But they can wait after dinner. You guys are exhausted and need to rest. After we eat, I want to hear all about the beauty of Jiera and the people you met. You guys must tell me everything.”

“Everything?” Morok swallowed too hard for it not to be suspicious.

He still remembered the deep kiss from the Traughen woman and the many love confessions he had received on Jiera from the women of Zelex.

“Everything.” Quylla’s voice went cold, her eyes narrowing into an executioner’s glare.

***

After the meal, the group split up since it was still the middle of the night and many of them had a dire need for sleep.

“That’s it?” Quylla sighed in relief after hearing the story of the warm reception her husband had received over a cup of chamomile tea. “I expected much worse.”

“Are you saying you’re not angry?” Morok asked in confusion.

“I’m furious!” Quylla snarled, and she slammed her fist into the armrest of her chair, shattering it, to make her point clear. “But not with you, dear. You did nothing wrong. I’m furious at those bi-rches who kissed you!

“Healer’s oath or not, if it weren’t for my condition, I’d go straight to Jiera to teach them a lesson.” Two eyes opened over the back of her hands and two more on her cheeks, while her teeth became shark-like fangs.

“Calm down, babe.” Morok caressed her hand. “Think of the babies.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” She took a few deep breaths, and her body reverted to normal. “Solus, can you make a quick sweep of the room?”

The code phrase didn’t refer to listening devices, but to those who didn’t know Lith possessed Menadion’s tower.

“Sure.” Solus checked that Orion and Jirni were in their room, playing with Dripha before going back to bed, while Bodya was taking a walk in the park.

“I’m so proud of you, son.” Vothal, Bodya’s grandfather and adoptive parent, said. “You contributed to taking down another lost city. You’ve done more for our country in one day than Forrn and his associates in the years since the plague.”

“Thanks, Grandpa.” Bodya scratched his head in embarrassment. “Your words mean a lot to me.”

“Don’t thank me yet, Hatchling!” The older Nidhogg replied. “I’m not happy with you risking your life like that without giving me a call. You don’t need my permission to do what you think is right, but I deserve at least to speak with you before you put yourself in mortal danger.

“What if something happened? What if you never returned? How do you think I would have felt if I had to learn about my grandchild’s death from the Council network?”

“I’m sor-”

“Don’t interrupt me, young lizard!” Vothal snarled. “I’ve many things to say and you’ll shut up and listen until I’m done.”

Bodya whined in reply, and his grandfather kept scolding him.

“The coast is clear.” Solus had finished checking on the handmaidens, Ryla and Garrik, and Lucky. “There’s only us around.”

“Good, because there’s something we need to discuss.” Quylla sighed. “Based on the information you’ve shared with me via the mind link, at some point, the Eyes and Ears of Menadion focused on you two instead of Ruugat, correct?”

“Correct.” Lith nodded.

“If we want to understand what changed not only in Ryla, but also in Morok, Tista, Lith, and Solus, I need to access that data.” Quylla said. “That’s not the issue, though. I want you to consider revealing the tower’s existence to Ryla and Garrik.”

“Because we might need her cooperation to activate our bloodline abilities?” Lith asked while pointing at himself, Solus, Tista, and Morok.

“Yes, but also because I think there’s a link between you and Ryla, Lith. Something that we missed all this time, and the tower spotted in the middle of the fight.” Quylla replied.

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