’You were right!’ Theseus said. ’I can see your life force flowing throughout your body and reaching your mana core without the Chaos devouring it anymore. The procedure is a success!’

’Yet something doesn’t add up.’ Orulm said. ’Tezka’s idea was exactly what you would expect from him. Something well-thought-out, carefully planned, and brilliantly executed. Then why did you and the Master oppose it?’

’Because-’

’Because this was just the first half of my plan.’ Tezka said, cutting Vastor short. ’Theseus and the Master agree with me until this point and disagree with the rest.’

’Because it’s reckless and dangerous.’ Vastor snarled.

’Yet I have to move forward.’ The Suneater kept absorbing nutrients, world energy, and vitality until he regained his full might. ’Look carefully, Zogar. If I let things as they are, the Warg aspect will probably evolve into a Hati, but what then?

’A Hati is still a Fallen race, and it’s bound to meet another dead end. Besides, isn’t our goal to regain everything we have lost by becoming Abominations? To have an offspring? Then, please explain this to me. How can we achieve any of that if our Eldritch side remains the fulcrum of our existence?’

Tezka pointed at the hologram of his life force, where the black hole stood still at the center of all, stronger and bigger than all the other stars put together.

’Death is part of life, but nothing can be born from it. You need life to bring forth new life. This cannot stand. What I’ve just achieved is no resurrection, just a more favorable state of undeath that would bring us nowhere near our goal.

’I can see the real answer, Zogar. I can see how things are supposed to be, and I won’t be stopped!’ Tezka’s telepathic echo roared in the minds of his fellow hybrids as he started the second and final step of his procedure.

Much to everyone’s surprise, this time Life Well didn’t affect the Warg comet. The spell wrapped itself around the emerald dwarf, forming a barrier that held the full power of Tezka’s mighty cores and his indomitable will. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

’He’s insane!’ Zoreth’s eyes widened when she realized what the Suneater was about to do.

’We told him it’s suicide, but he won’t listen!’ Vastor snarled.

’Stop bothering me and prepare for the worst.’ Tezka said, waiting to return to his peak strength again before making his next move. ’Nandi, Xenagrosh, I need you to cast your doubts aside and focus on your task. Falter for one moment, and I will fail.

’Zogar, Theseus, if that happens or I’m wrong, you must be ready to step in and save me. Everyone else, shut the fuck up. My life is at stake, so I’m the only one allowed to talk.’

Before anyone else could so much as formulate an answer, the Suneater ripped the emerald dwarf out of its orbit, throwing it at the light elemental star nearby and the entire structure of his life force into disarray.

The Spirit star pierced through the silvery star, coming out from its opposite side after a few seconds and then crashing into the giant red star.

The interaction between the emerald dwarf and the others was as brief as the Warg comet’s but much more violent, and the energy exchange was also greater. Tezka had the Spirit star reside inside each of its temporary hosts just long enough to paint them green before moving on to the next.

Everyone’s mouths gaped in horror as the Spirit star pierced through the giant orange and dived fearlessly into the black hole.

The Chaos energy swallowed the emerald dwarf and dragged it into its very core.

The black hole relentlessly attacked the concentric layers of Life Well from every side, tearing it to shreds like a kid eager to get rid of the plastic wrap and reach the candy underneath.

Tezka released wave after wave of mana from both his black and Warg cores, focusing every iota of his considerable strength and magical mastery to deliver the mana to the Spirit star without it being devoured by the black hole.

The Eldritch-hybrids expected the emerald dwarf to bolt away after a brief stay, just like it had done with the other elemental stars. The Suneater had other plans and left the emerald dwarf inside the maelstrom of Chaos for long minutes that seemed to last hours.

His silver fur fell in big tufts, which were quickly replaced by a roiling mass of black energy as his muscular body withered as if he had been starving for weeks.

Tezka endured the failure of his organs and the shattering of his bones in silence, relying on the steady supply of vitality and world energy that he received from his allies to keep staring death in the eyes without allowing it to touch him.

Then, every fiber he had left tensed up like a bowstring, and he pulled the Spirit star free of the black hole with a final burst of mana and will. Some of the Eldritches had hoped to see the Chaos turn emerald or at least to shrink in size, yet none of that happened.

The black hole seemed unchanged, whereas the emerald dwarf was diminished and the Life Well spell all but spent. Despite all that, Tezka’s snout curled up in a triumphant smile.

There was one change.

One so small that it went unnoticed by all those who didn’t wear a Skull of Bytra.

A thread of Spirit Magic as thin as a hair’s breadth emerged from the black hole and connected it to the emerald dwarf. The other elemental stars soon developed their own emerald thread that connected them with the Spirit star and each other.

Tezka moved the emerald dwarf on the opposite side of the quasar, and had it trap the Warg comet in its orbit as the Spirit star moved towards its destination.

’This is how things are supposed to be!’ Tezka telepathically roared as the Chaos energy that plagued her body turned back into matter, and the matter became flesh and fur. ’Not a life force dominated by Chaos, but a twin system where the life force stands as Chaos’s equal!

’You have spent so long as Eldritches that you have forgotten that mana is nothing but the power of all the elements mixed with a spark of life force. The emerald dwarf was all the life force I needed since the beginning.

’What it lacked to grow and develop was the power of the other elements that was slaved to the whims of the Chaos that comprises my black core. Chaos is nothing but darkness, and even darkness must submit to the life force to generate mana.

’Right now, my Spirit star is weak and puny compared to the Chaos element, but now it receives the nourishment that my life force had been denied until this moment. In time, the two will become equals.

’At that point, I will attempt another change that will bring my life forces and my mana cores together like they are supposed to be.’

’What about the Warg aspect?’ Bytra asked.

’That’s my personal stroke of genius, child.’ The Suneater replied. ’Never forget that our endeavor is different from Quylla Ernas’.’