Behind the castle of the Amarins, high above the uninhabited mountain ranges, two figures were clashing as golden light met with a streak of blackness. When the two separated, the light switched to darkness, and the shadows turned into a column of crimson fire, clashing once more. From the explosion, a mixture of light and darkness emerged, forming into the shape of a spear while the burning flames turned blue, taking up the shape of a dragon's head, chomping at the spear and tearing it apart without mercy. 

"She doesn't hold back at all," Lauron murmured, watching his Mother face off against Lia in the distance, furrowing his brows.

"No... she does not, and she is pushing Mom back." Solren agreed, feeling just as strange while watching them fight.

"It shows that Mother is still weak; she is just making sure she realizes it too!" Razael exclaimed, finding logic in what he was seeing, but deep inside, he was also questioning why Lia was pushing Reyra so hard in a sparring match.

"From the left!" Shouted Reyra, and it was like the warning of instincts; Paman turned towards that direction, opening herself up to Lia's attack, which landed fair and square, pushing her back even more. "Bwahahaha! Fooled you again, bitch!"

Paman had nothing to say as she had to concentrate on Lia, who was mercilessly battering her again and again. There was no respite to be had, and Lia's eyes were cold, calculating, and focused on attacking. Worse, she was using all of the eight elements, using the opportunity to further her understanding. Blocking her fire was not enough anymore as she switched in the middle of the attack, unleashing a barrage of electricity masked behind the flames. Then came the rain of ice, followed by metallic spikes being shot at Paman just so her freezing fire rear its ugly head again, trying to bring her down from the skies.

"There!"

"Where?!" Paman shouted, but it was too late. Her body fell for it again.

Once more, it moved by itself, and this time, Lia hit her with a fireball, exploding violently and sending Reyra into the mountain range like a meteor, leaving behind a crater and initiating an avalanche, burying her alive. Paman wanted to scream, but every thought was drowned with the wild laughter of the true soul within her tiny body. It took her almost ten minutes to climb back to the surface, coughing up snow, seeing Lia land with a happy smile before her, stretching her hand towards her to pull her up. 

"That was great! I love it when we spar, Mom! You are so strong; I can go all out against you! We should do this often until you beat me and climb back to the top! Every day!"

"Y-yeah..." Reyra nodded, forcing a small smile, trying to look genuinely happy. 

"Don't sulk!" Lia giggled, helping her dust off the snow, "You will regain your strength! I am sure of it, and I will help you do it quickly! I also combined two elements, so we are the perfect sparring partners!"

"You look like someone who combined more than two!" Reyra chuckled, trying to direct the conversation to that point as there was something she had to know. How in the world did Lia reach this level of power at her age?!

"Well..." Lia blushed, "I am somewhat confident in merging three. Fire, Water, and Wind." With a raise of her right hand, her blue fire appeared above her open palm, and soon, it turned into a small tornado, whirling with a loud, whistling sound before she dispelled it. "The others are yet to work together! They are like unruly kids, so I finally know how you felt raising us! It isn't easy, but I can switch between them!" With a cheeky laugh, she let all the other five elements appear around her in such quick succession that it looked like she was wielding all of them at the same moment.

Paman couldn't help but show a shocked expression as, even for her, she had to keep multiple long-second pauses to switch between elements she was not familiar with. Mastering all eight was not what was strange for her, but the ease with which Lia managed to wield them all was. She was still stuck with working out and combining her first two at her age.

"Are you alright?" The shout of Lauron came as the brothers arrived, descending down, looking at them.

"Yep!" Lia clapped with a happy laugh, "It was an intense spar, and I'm sure Mom held back!"

"When did you start using spears?" Solren asked, watching their Mother, but before she could answer, it was Lia who spoke up.

"That's why I told you she has been holding back!"

"There is no better time to try out new things than when sparring with someone you know well!" Paman stated, perfectly mimicking Reyra's teaching attitude from memory, yet the real Reyra was still laughing inside her mind.

"Jealous! You are fucking jealous! You missed out on my daughter's body, and now you are drooling in your head for her! Bwahahaha! You are stuck with me, you old hag! You are a failure! A nobody! You scammed yourself! Go sit in the corner and cry! That is what you are good for! Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you!"

"Mom... are you okay?" Lauron asked, placing his hand on her tiny shoulders, seeing her space out for a moment.

"Ah... yes, yes, it's just some old memories resurfaced! Sorry! Ehehe-!"

"Let's go back!" Razael said with a smile, looking at his siblings as they flew up one by one.

"Lia," Solren spoke, stopping his sister momentarily right after the others were out of earshot.

"Hm?"

"Something is off with Mother. You noticed it too, didn't you?"

Seeing his serious expression, Lia couldn't help but drop her nonchalant smile, conflicting feelings arising within her heart. She wanted to tell him, but Solren had never lied in his life... right now, that would be catastrophic.

"You worry too much, Solren. She is fine."

"You are lying."

"Because you can't lie!" She retorted, raising her voice a little, her inner frustration resurfacing uncontrollably. "Sorry... I didn't mean to shout at you..."

"What's going on? Tell me."

"Solren, you are overthinking it!"

"For Mother, I can lie. Tell. Me."

Lia's eyes slowly softened before stepping forward, hugging her brother's body, burying her face in his chest. It was such a sudden move that he was taken aback, patting her back by a simple reflex. When she finally recollected herself, Lia explained everything to him, leaving out no details.

"I knew something was off from the start... Seeing Mother summon that spear was what made me realize it wasn't just my imagination! She would never do something like that. That was out of character, as she had never been good at any close-combat weapon! She is too short for it, and it was her who told me when I was six!"

"Tell her that next time. The more she gets pushed on, the better... that is what I was told!"

"No. That will be your job."

"Huh? You made me spill the beans, now what?!" Lia groaned, pouting and becoming a kid again, throwing a tantrum.

"I would be too angry to not confront her rationally. I will head out and start gathering people I can trust and prepare for the invasion of their realm. I am going to take Aurora and Sion with me as they would sooner or later notice it, too!"

"Should I tell the others...?" She asked, calming down and looking at her brother, a feeling of relief coming over her.

"Yes. But not Father. He wouldn't know how to handle it."

"Um. I will inform them and make Razael watch over Father; maybe he should be sent on a mission?"

"Not a bad idea. We can't have her gain any influence on him. Don't worry; Razael will handle her when she tries to get into power!"

"Haaah... It is hard..."

"It is. But we will save Mom." Solren smiled, patting his sister's lowered head, raising it back up. "We are his sons and daughters! If we can't deal with it, nobody could!"

...

....

.....

Razael and Lauron took the news surprisingly calmly, listening to Lia silently before agreeing to follow through on the plans and playing along with Paman, acting just as perfectly as her. While they took over keeping an eye on her, Lia had time to return to the Institute for more than just holding her lessons. It was time to meet up with the two spies once again.

"Which one of you can establish a connection with Camyu?" She asked plainly when she arrived in her office while Lucian stood guard and closed the door behind them.

"We can send a mental signal back, but it is not on us if she replies or not."

"Do it, both of you; I need to talk to her. If she does not answer me, I will take it that all future negotiations are off the table."

That alone made the two gulp, looking at each other before starting to meditate. For the following fifteen minutes, the two were becoming more and more nervous as nothing was happening. Lia was about to speak up when their eyes suddenly rolled backward. After a brief pause, they began speaking simultaneously, creating an uncomfortable echo.

"I was debating even answering you."

"But you have no other choice!" Lia chortled, ignoring Camyu's anger. "You are in the worst position."

"..."

"So-"

"You killed Swimmy." She interrupted Lia, her voice sounding as if she was partially angry and partially impressed.

"He lied to me. I couldn't trust him. Simple as that! Are you the same? Are you lying to me, too?"

"He was harmless."

"And I am a cat!" Lucian snorted from behind, making Lia giggle, almost blurting out the first thing that came to mind, but he signaled at the last moment with his eyes, mouthing the words silently. "Don't you dare!"

"His soul was under the strict rule of my Mother. She found him in a primitive realm, making a bet with Swimmy, and he lost... He was helpless and could not defy my Mother!"

"Could he have told me that he fought my Mother or not?" Lia asked back plainly, and when Camyu didn't answer, she just smirked. "Don't. Lie. To. Me. Not when you are in need of MY help! He got what he deserved."

"..."

"Now. Here is the deal I am willing to offer you! You give me the names and locations of all those who are loyal to your Sect Master! We will eliminate them all!"

"Continue," Camyu replied, wanting to hear the second part before making any decision.

"Then all of you leave Meriath."

"What?"

"You heard me!" She answered, raising her voice. "The moment the sky clears up, you leave! The Cosmos is big and wide; find your own place!"

"You can't be serious!"

"Oh, I am! Get the fuck out of our home!"

"You have gone mad!" This time, it was Camyu who raised her voice and made the two bodies she was using to communicate stand up. "This is our home! Our home, too!" She corrected herself quickly.

"It isn't. Not anymore! You lot almost destroyed it multiple times! If the realm could speak, she would be retching right now, hearing your words! Take your sorry little sub-realm and FUCK OFF!"

"..."

"Answer me. Now!" Lia pressed on, not giving her time to think about it. "I am neither here to give you time nor willing to negotiate. Take my terms or self-destroy! Your choice!"

"Deal..." She answered ever so softly that Lia almost didn't hear it.

"Good. I am not unreasonable! You have a week to give me the list! If you fail to do so, be late even for a minute; the deal is off!"

"You really think I can-"

"Yes. This is not a mutual agreement, Camyu of the Golden Claw." Lia said in a cold, gleeful voice, also standing up and looking into the whites of the eyes of the two men. She felt like she was facing the ethereal wolf herself for real. "This is my ultimatum. The one and only option you get to survive... Don't try and lie to me. I will know."

Camyu didn't answer, nor did she stay anymore, disappearing at once, and the two men fell back, unconscious and drooling onto her carpet.

"First time I saw you acting like this!" Lucian whistled, coming closer, stepping over the bodies before walking behind her chair and beginning to massage her shoulders.

"It felt good! I was so frustrated... Sometimes, letting it all out feels like sex!"

"Heh, idiot..." He chuckled, knocking on her head.

"She is right." Hajna chimed in, appearing. She looked to be in a delighted mood, beaming like a star. "I don't know what sex feels like, but I felt a kind of vindication that would surely make the real Hajna proud! Thank you, Lia Amarin!" She bowed, going to one knee and kissing the Realm Key on her finger, surprising both Lia and Lucian.