"You've gotta stop using your powers, Abigail," Liam urged, his voice firm as they stood alone in a chamber aglow with ancient runes, their faint pulses casting eerie shadows across the stone walls. Now a young man, his crimson eyes burned with a focused intensity, a shadow of his mother's strength. "You can only push them a few more times at full strength before they kill you. I can't lose you." His plea was raw, his face etched with worry, a son haunted by the specter of loss.

"What're you talking about, Liam?" Abigail shot back, her tone defiant as she crossed her arms, feigning control. "I'm fine, and I've got this handled." Her words were a shield, hiding the truth of her deteriorating body, though the faint tremor in her hands betrayed her.

"I've got some of Mum's powers," Liam said, his voice heavy with concern. "They're weaker, not like hers, but I can still read your blood flow and its purity. You're dying, Abigail—slowly, but it's happening." His eyes locked onto hers, pleading for her to face the truth she'd been dodging.

"But if I don't flex my strength in this cutthroat world, your life—and countless others—will be in danger," Abigail argued, her voice rising with fierce conviction. "I don't wanna die, Liam, and I'm not tossing my life away, but I promised to keep you safe. That means sacrifices, tough calls, whatever it takes." Her words burned with her resolve, a vow forged in love and loss, her mind flashing to Velira's final moments.

"Then what if we set up a situation where you don't need to use your powers at all?" Liam suggested, his mind racing. "Make the enemy think you're backing off, giving them the edge, while you save your strength."

"And why the hell should I do that?" Abigail demanded, her brow furrowing, skepticism sharp in her gaze.

"Because you're dying," Liam said bluntly, his voice cracking with emotion. "One more big fight, and you're done. We need you alive, Abigail—I need you alive. If you go, no one can stop them." His words were a desperate plea, his fists clenched as he fought to hold back tears.

"That's why I'm planning to take them out with me in one last fight," Abigail declared, her tone unyielding, her eyes blazing with a determination to end the threat once and for all.

"That's too damn risky," Liam countered, his voice sharp with urgency. "What if you die and they don't? I can't lose you, Abigail. Mum's gone—don't leave me too." His plea shattered her defenses, his pain a raw echo of her own, stirring memories of Velira's fading light.

Abigail paused, her gaze softening as she studied Liam's anguished face, his words sinking into her heart like anchors. After a long moment, she nodded, a silent agreement to his plea, her resolve tempered by the love she held for him.

---

Through a human intermediary, Abigail arranged a tense truce meeting with Draken and Lyrith in a neutral chamber, its crystalline lanterns casting prismatic light across ancient stone walls, the air thick with suspicion. Each party stood poised, a hair's breadth from violence, the weight of their history crackling like static.

"So, what's this about?" Lyrith asked, her tone light but her eyes sharp, sizing up Abigail with a mix of curiosity and wariness. Unlike Draken, whose vendetta burned like a furnace, Lyrith had no desire to see Abigail dead—her and Asmodeus's plans hinged on Liam's safety, a priority that tempered her usual malice.

"Let's cut a deal," Abigail said, her voice cold and commanding, slicing through the tension like a blade. "We all back off from meddling in this world's affairs. In exchange, you leave Liam and any future family he has alone." Her offer was a steel trap, her eyes locked on her foes, ready to ignite at the slightest provocation.

"And why should we agree?" Draken asked, his masked face unreadable, his voice dripping with distrust, his posture rigid with barely contained hostility.

"Because if you don't, I'll drag you both into a fight to the death," Abigail replied, her tone icy, her aura flaring with a hint of her power, a reminder of the devastation she could unleash, the air humming with latent energy.

"Whoa, hold up," Lyrith interjected, her hands raised, shark-like teeth flashing in a nervous grin. "No death matches here. I'm just a girl, not looking to get obliterated." Her quick retreat contrasted with Draken's simmering rage, her glance urging him to stand down.

"And you?" Abigail pressed, her gaze boring into Draken, her body coiled like a predator ready to strike.

"Fine," Draken growled after a tense pause, his voice grudging. "But we'll swear a mana oath to make it stick." He doubted his chances against Abigail alone, especially with Lyrith opting out, his mind calculating the slim odds of survival.

"Deal," Abigail said, her voice firm as they prepared the ritual, the air shimmering with the weight of their vow.

"Wait—one demand," Draken cut in, his tone sharp, halting the ritual's prelude.

"What's that?" Abigail asked, her eyes narrowing, suspicion flaring like a spark.

"My pawn, Geralt," Draken said. "You support and protect him when you can."

"Why the hell would I do that?" Abigail shot back, her voice laced with defiance, her mind racing to unravel his game.

"He'll be my reach in this world while I'm bound by the oath," Draken explained, his words a calculated move in their deadly chess match.

"All the more reason to say no," Abigail snapped, her protective instincts bristling at the thought of aiding his schemes.

"If you agree, I'll sweeten the deal," Draken offered, his tone softening but sharp with intent. "I'll swear to leave Liam's kids alone, if he has any, unless they provoke me. I'll seal any loopholes to touch them."

Abigail weighed his words, her mind a battlefield of strategy and sacrifice. Her strength was fading, the core's corruption limiting her actions. Supporting Geralt was a vague obligation she could twist to her advantage, offering little real commitment. Securing Liam's future family, though, was a concrete win, a shield for the legacy she'd vowed to protect. After a tense moment, she nodded.

"Alright," she said, her voice steady as she joined Draken and Lyrith in the mana oath, their words weaving a binding spell that pulsed in the air, sealing their pact to step back from the world's affairs.

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