Lith’s personal possessions still amounted to little enough to be stored in the trunk his dad made for him, leaving space to spare. Most of his clothes were now too small for him, but Lith kept them anyway, moving the trunk in the pocket dimension before departing.

Returning to Lutia took him just a few minutes. His mastery of dimensional magic coupled with his recent breakthrough allowed him to open Warp Steps with a range of dozens of miles.

Lutia was a balm for Lith’s heart. It was a small, insignificant village in the middle of nowhere, but it was his kingdom. The only place where he could not care for the appearances nor constantly watch his back.

He needed some quiet to decide what to do with Solus. Lith still had conflicting feelings about her, but she was a too important part of his life to keep avoiding the issue for long.

He needed her for his experiments, since Lith was unable to operate the tower or to Forgemaster with true magic without her help. Also, she had always been his best friend, confidant, and his moral compass.

Her absence left a dreadful silence in his mind and a void in his heart that was only getting worse by the day. Even more importantly, when he had fused their minds, Lith had understood how deep was the feeling of isolation haunting her.

The pain that Solus shared with him had turned out to be just the tip of the iceberg. Lith had never forgotten about it and was worried about her well being.