Chapter 4390: Hidden Threat (Part 2)

Baba Yaga’s undead Harmonizer, however, could. It absorbed the world energy coming from the mana geyser beneath Lightkeep and used that power to reshape Vladion’s life force.

His fingers grew longer, and his nails turned into claws. His ears extended and became pointed, halfway between man and wolf. The membranous wings typical of a Vampire’s Chiropteran form appeared, connecting his arms to his hips.

Yet it lasted only for a second. The large membranes detached from Vladion’s skin as a new bone structure that supported his wings popped out of his back, leaving him free to use his arms in an aerial fight.

Vladion exhaled, not to pretend to breathe, but because something inside of him forced its way out through his lungs. A thin, black mist erupted from his mouth and seeped out of his skin, blurring his figure even to the Awakened’s keen senses.

"I... I don’t feel the need to slumber." Vladion stuttered. "It’s the middle of the day and the sun is shining on the world above, but it doesn’t burden me anymore. I’m as strong as during the night, if not even more!"

"Fangs and claws like in our wolf form, extra wings like a Chiropteran, and a mist body?" Nyka said in excitement. "I was right. We can evolve!"

"Gods, no!" Baba Yaga moved faster than thought, grabbing and dismantling Vladion’s Harmonizer before the young Vampire could complete the sentence.

The artifact lost its imprint and clicked open. Without its enchantments and the enormous amounts of world energy they carried, Vladion’s body reverted to its normal state before completing its transformation.

"Why did you do that, Mother?" He asked in ill-concealed annoyance. "There was much we could have learned about my condition. I-"

"You’ll shut up and listen to me, young fool!" The Crone cut him short, the white light of rage and mana in her eyes brooked no argument. "And so will you, Nyka. You’re even younger and more foolish than Vladion, but that’s no excuse!"

"Why? I didn’t do-"

"I said shut up." Baba Yaga snarled, her voice sending shivers down the two undead’s spines. "Cursed be your stupidity, Nyka, and my uncanny talent. We narrowly escaped a disaster, and you didn’t even notice it."

This time the two undead kept their mouths shut and waited for Baba Yaga to calm down.

"Did you listen to a word I said earlier, you reckless idiots?" She sighed heavily, shaking her head. "Undeath is not supposed to be another form of life. It’s a haven for my children to grow and heal until they are ready to start over.

"I made undeath an evolutionary dead branch on purpose, and for a good reason." She sat on a padded chair and gestured the two Vampires to do the same. "To prolong your existence, you need to regularly consume fresh life force.

"The way an undead does it depends on their species, but all of my children have one thing in common. To sustain and strengthen their bodies, the stolen life force must come from a member of the same species they belonged to in life.

"If undead could evolve, they might become the first of their species. Yet while for a living being like Lith it would be reason to rejoice, for an undead it would be a catastrophe.

"Answer me this: from whom would you draw nourishment now that you’ve evolved? You couldn’t feed on the members of your previous race more than an undead Dragon can feed upon a Drake.

"Their life essence would be disgusting for you, and so would anything else. You would need to kill hundreds just to stay alive, yet you’d always be hungry. There would be no one like you.

"An undead’s fertility rate is so low that having children is almost impossible, and even if you could live long enough to turn another living being, feeding on an undead is poison.

"You would become a plague for the rest of Mogar and yourself. Your pain and hunger would know no end. Even if the powers you gain allow you to escape those who will inevitably try to kill you, soon you’d offer your neck and beg to be put down."

She paused, letting her words sink in.

"You are right. I’m sorry, Mother. I should have thought this more thoroughly." Vladion gave her an apologetic nod.

"I too am sorry, yet I still think you overreacted, Grandma." Nyka said. "Uncle Vlad’s status was temporary. He would have gone back to normal as soon as he took the Harmonizer off."

"Silly child." The Crone shook her head.

"She didn’t overreact, Nyka." Vladion replied. "Do you remember what happened to the Hydras who underwent the bloodline awakening experiments before Ajatar?"

"Oh, gods!" The young Vampire’s eyes widened in understanding. "They took their own lives just like Grandma said. After tasting the power of their evolved forms, even for just a few days, they became so addicted to it that they couldn’t live as Hydras anymore."

"And that might have happened to Vladion as well." Baba Yaga nodded. "That’s why I interrupted the transformation. He can’t miss what he never experienced."

"Thank you, Mother." He said. "From your words, I guess you never expected for Lith’s blood to trigger my transformation."

"No, I didn’t." She replied. "I crafted the undead Harmonizers to give the members of the Undead Courts an edge over the Upyrs. I never considered its possible interactions with the life essence of a higher being on the evolutionary scale."

"But, Grandma, Meln had an undead side, and it evolved." Nyka’s words scared her, but she couldn’t stop herself. "He has spawned many Upyrs, and he’s still alive. He can probably have children like anyone else.

"Doesn’t it contradict everything you just said?"

"Yes." Baba Yaga nodded. "As I said before, I hope to have contributed to Night’s failure. If I’m wrong, however, she has created a nightmare the likes Mogar has never seen before. And believe me, she’s seen a lot."

***

Griffon Kingdom, Vastor Household, at the same time.

Several contact runes disappeared from one of the communication amulets that the Organization used to keep in touch with its subordinates scattered across three continents.

"We are under attack!" Elxis Gorhom, the leader of the Blood Minotaurs cartel, yelled. "Those damned undead are back, and they are slaughtering us like pigs. You need to do something."

Vastor devoted his nights and evenings to his family, leaving Xenagrosh to deal with any non-catastrophe level issues.

"Reinforcements are on their way." The Shadow Dragon said. "Evacuate the base. Your life and those of your men come first. We can always make more money and collect more resources, but only if you’re still alive to do it."

Gorhom sighed in relief, and his lackeys cheered even though their predicament was still as dire as it had been a second ago. They had no hope of victory, but Xenagrosh’s permission to escape gave them a chance of survival.

"Abthot, Orulm, the headquarters of our affiliates in Batara is under attack. Undead." She said into a much more complex and secure communication amulet that didn’t need a network of containment arrays to work.

"Now?" The Ogre-Eldritch said as she Chaos Warped towards the Gorgon Empire. "It’s the middle of the day there."

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