’I’m so sorry.’Acala said while taking Dawn’s wounds on himself to allow her to keep fighting to the peak of her strength.’If only I were a better host, we too would have achieved Fusion like Verhen.’ ’How can you say that?’She replied.’Maybe it’s my fault. Maybe I’m not as good a partner as Solus.’ ’It’s possible, but unlikely.’Acala telepathically shrugged.’You are born for that. I’m the messed-up one.’ ’Well, I disagree!’She snarled, releasing enough power from her steed to dispel the abnormal gravity of Collapsed Sun.’I don’t know what we are doing wrong, but there’s one thing I’m certain of.

’Your desire to protect me matches mine to protect you, and we’ll reach Fusion. Maybe not today, but someday we will!’ “Cursed be you, undead!” Ruugat conjured a second Cruel Star, and this time, there was nothing to stop the spell from reaching Dawn.

***

“I’ve seen enough!” Hundreds of kilometers away, from atop a mana geyser, Baba Yaga had spectated the fight since the beginning. “My baby girl needs me.”

She tried to stand up from her seat, but a powerful hand kept her down.

“No, she doesn’t.” Zagran the Garuda, the Guardian of Might, surrounded the hunting cabin that dissimulated Baba Yaga’s mage tower with a powerful seal. “If you want your children to grow, you must let them fight their battles.”

“How dare you stop me?” The Red Mother snarled. “One of my Horsemen has finally put her life on the line to help the undead she is supposed to protect. She is working with one of my Firstborns, not for petty interests, but for the good of all the races.