Supreme Magus

Chapter 3322 Leap of Faith (Part 1)

"If I fall asleep, please don't wake me up." Salaark had healed Lith's wounds upon his arrival to the Blood Desert, but his body was still suffering from the aftereffects of mana abuse and his core was nearly depleted.

Keeping the Demons outside their Void Sigils didn't help.

"I say it's time we talk about the elephant in the room." Elina said.

"Mom, this is really not the time." Solus' stomach twisted in a knot.

'Now that Mom, I mean, Ripha is back, Mom, I mean, Elina might feel threatened. Gods, this is a mess. Is this how Elysia feels?' She wondered and the answer was no. The baby girl's grasp on Tyris' universal language allowed her to associate a word with something or someone but any complex concept was beyond her.

"I know, sweetie, but this is very important to me." Elina sighed. "How long do we have to keep Kamila's pregnancy a secret?"

"What?" Lith and Solus said in unison.

"As your mother and a grandmother, dear, there's nothing I take more pride in than bragging with my friends about my beautiful grandchildren." Elina said. "When can we throw a baby shower?"

"Mom, this is a matter of safety and opportunity" Lith replied. "We have only one shot at getting rid of whoever is left who might want to hurt. Kami and maybe even Meln. If you want to throw a baby shower, you can do it anytime you want as long as you keep the event private.

"Only those who already know about the pregnancy and Grandma's side of the family can be trusted."

"Thank you, dear." The Overlord smirked at Leegaain.

"I understand." Elina sighed.

"We're lucky I already communicated my intention of not going back to work to the Royals." Kamila sighed as well. "Otherwise the secret wouldn't last a day. There's no way my colleagues would miss my enhanced senses and the increase in my appetite." "At the same time, however, I must find an excuse to get out of the Verhen Mansion often enough to make our enemies believe they have an opportunity or they'll smell the trap from a mile away!"

"We can think about that later." Lith said. "We have months before your state becomes evident."

"We have less time than you think." Elina replied. "The baby bump will show up in the third month. Fourth tops."

"Baggy clothes can hide it until Kamila exceeds Solus' size. Menadion shook her head. "If anyone notices, she can just say that my daughter's bad eating habits rubbed off on her."

"Mom! What's that supposed to mean?" Solus blushed in embarrassment.

"That if you can be an overweight Awakened, she can too." Ripha shrugged.

"I'm not overweight. I'm..." Solus failed to find a non-ridiculous excuse. "Stocking up for winter, I know."

"Mom!"

"I'm sorry, Epphy, I mean, Solus." Ripha pinched her nose in frustration. "I don't mean to be obnoxious, it's just..."

She took a pause to find the right words to express what she felt without sounding even more rude than she had already been.

"Being a guest in my own home is hard. Hearing you calling another woman 'mom' is hard. I've spent centuries helplessly watching you and now that I'm finally by your side, I feel left out anyway.

"You've discarded the name your father and I chose for you. I know you have lost your memory and that calling yourself Elphyn in public would bring you a lot of trouble. "Yet hearing people calling you Solus and not being able to call you Epphy hurts. Menadion plopped on the nearest chair, holding her head between her hands.

"I got a body again. People can finally see and hear me, but instead of feeling happy about what I've gained, seeing you all smiling only reminds me of everything I've lost. With every new thing I touch or taste, I feel so angry that it's driving me crazy.

"I know the feeling, Mom." Solus took Ripha's hand, holding it tight.

"You do?"

"It's how I felt back when I was trapped in the stone ring and couldn't sleep for years." Solus nodded. "I could see Lith live his life, make friends, and fight to the death, but I could never be by his side.

"I was only a voice in his head and the feeling of helplessness tormented me every night. You had it even worse, Mom. I could at least talk with Lith and share his senses whereas until a few hours ago you were completely alone and ignored.

"I almost went crazy after living like that for a decade while you endured it for over seven hundred years."

"How did you overcome that?" Menadion asked.

"The same way you will, Mom. Sleeping" Solus replied. "You need to give yourself a break. To put an end to your thinking and worrying. Otherwise you'll turn into a Lich."

feathers, I need to give up on the power I've accumulated. To go back to being a helpless, voiceless shadow that can't even beg to be released from a prison I deserve." "Why do you say that?" Lith asked.

"Because I made no mystery that I don't like you and I've been quite unpleasant to you this whole time." Menadion replied.

"You have nothing to worry about, Ripha." Lochra shrugged. "Compared to how I treated Verhen when we first met, you have been charming, I still don't like or trust Verhen much, but we both care for Solus enough to put our differences aside.

"I know. I was there." Menadion grunted. "The difference between us is that if Lith kicks you out of his life, you just can't approach Epp-Solus. If he does that to me, I'm

done."

"Truc, but why would he do that?" Baba Yaga shook her head. "When we got out of the Fringe, you wanted to leave and Solus convinced you to stay. If you can't trust him, trust her."

It all made sense but still required a significant leap of faith. Menadion still missed Threin but after having a taste of life, after coming back home and enjoying the company of her old friends, Ripha was terrified of losing everything again. "I'll accept your hospitality, then, if you'll have me." Menadion stood in front of Lith, giving him a shallow but apologetic bow.

"Is this enough for an answer?" He unfurled his feathered wings, making them resonate with the Demon. The red veins on one of the innermost feathers shifted into a rune that carried more than Ripha's name, it also carried her essence.

"I'll keep you there for eight hours straight. Enough to reset Invigoration and hopefully ease the burden that weighs on your mind." Lith said. "If when you wake up you still feel cranky, I expect you to tell me.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"We don't have to like each other but we have to remain civil,"

"I know and I'm sorry for my behavior. I really am." Menadion felt her sanity slipping

by the second but she failed to muster the courage to take the leap. "Eight hours,

Epphy. Promise me that when I wake up, you'll still be here."

"I promise." Solus hugged her, sniffling. "Please, don't leave me, Mom."