Records of Rebirth

Chapter 264 - A Harmonious Pit

I was more than taken aback by his yell.

There were several Veladrys present, each one continuing to kneel, and I was glad for one that there was a language barrier between us, as It appeared they didn't hear his outburst.

Rather, I detected a strange eagerness in the way they looked at me, which made me glance at Typhon. His words sounded quite severe, and I wondered why he had such a visceral reaction.

[Why?] I questioned him with [Thought Transference].

[Did they do something you don't agree with?]

I didn't think he would refuse them without a good reason.

However, Typhon simply shook his head with a look of discomfort, like he was struggling to say something but couldn't find the right words.

[I don't trust them as allies..] He finally replied. [Their Queen Mother is too presumptuous. She dares to covet something that doesn't belong to her.]

Ah? Did he mean the forest?

It made sense that he would be concerned by how rapidly they commandeered the space around us, but still I was reassured, because I saw them as little more than decorations.

[It's okay.] I confessed to Typhon. [I don't like it either. But I'll tell her to take it easy on me from now on.]

Instead of being reassured, Typhon's face became even more dark, his aura spiking like a storm.

[Tell them you can't do it.] He insisted.

I had no idea what they were truly thinking, but he seemed extremely concerned for my safety.

I stared at the Veladrys, was it possible they did something, and he just wasn't telling me?

Yet, the fact remained that I couldn't exactly refuse them outright – unless I wanted to make more enemies.

[I can't do that, I'm sorry.] I told him.

[Then don't go alone.] Typhon insisted, and I sighed. What was going on?

The Veladrys present stared at both of us, their faces bright and eager, and devoid of suspicion. 

Their attractive appearances brought to mind another otherworldly creature. If I had to guess, this 'Queen Mother' and the Nymph were one and the same – It was only her that could be this demanding.

Still, it felt uncomfortable.

From the eagerness of their gazes and how their eyes seemed to plead with me to agree, I could imagine there was a lot riding on my answer. Was there a reason the Nymph was so eager to see me?

I was slightly worried.

Yet, the intensity behind Typhon's gaze applied far more pressure than theirs, and I found it difficult to refuse him because he seemed so concerned, and I eventually gave in.

[Okay…but I can only take two nestlings.]

This answer made Typhon frown even more.

When I glanced around, I saw Morgana and Arsinoe were still restrained, both in pretty bad shape and seemingly forgotten.

[You should also release them.] I reminded him, hoping he would leave.

It was only then that Typhon relaxed enough to back away from me.

Arsinoe was eventually freed, and so was Morgana, although she was still largely muddled headed, when Ophelia tried to help her, but she didn't even look up at all, remaining with her head down like she was lifeless.

And I began to wonder if she had given up completely.

Yet, Typhon was far too strict.

He commanded the two serpents not to move from their current spot, not even caring that Morgana was severely injured, or that Arsinoe looked extremely wronged.

I was starting to feel a little sympathetic for Morgana, but I steeled my resolve.

Since she was going to deal with the scorpion Queen, It was a good idea to send her other traitorous pair - Apollo, after the Queen Mother, if she ever became my enemy.

Apollo was still with the nestlings, largely unsuspecting of my evil intentions and I made up my mind which two nestlings I was going to take - Apollo and Morgana.

With Typhon gone, I addressed the Veladrys, informing them I would attend soon.

If I was concerned before, my concern increased even more when I saw the relief in their faces – they didn't even react to the scathing glare Typhon threw at them.

Rather, the Veladrys were quite eager to retreat now that their goal was achieved, leaving me to address the nestlings.

As I glanced at them, their faces remained composed, it was quite suspicious.

But then, Ophelia approached me to ask if Lyra could heal Morgana and I hesitated.

While I wanted to punish Morgana, I didn't want Ophelia to feel estranged from the Pit because of her. More so, when Morgana died.

I would hate for Ophelia to feel like she had nowhere to belong to. She already seemed wary of me, which made me unhappy, so I immediately agreed.

However, there was a small problem.

The Veladrys were still present, with each one looking either at me, or at my nestlings.

Lyra's healing abilities were too good to be true. They were akin to watching a miracle occur before my eyes, which made it clear just how important she was to the Pit, and I would hate for anyone to try and steal her away.

"Should I be worried about them?" I asked Sensei.

«Caution is advised.» He replied. «They may be part of your Pit, but the Nymph still governs their loyalty.»

Although they didn't seem to hate me as much now, this was still true.

I was better safe than sorry.

So, before Lyra began to heal Morgana's injuries, I generated enough darkness to form a solid barrier around them, much to the dismay of the Veladrys who could not see inside.

And once again Lyra's [Cure] did not fail to amaze me.

Her abilities were under control, not spreading beyond her body and stopping just as Morgana's wounds closed. I was amazed to see how much she had improved.

Soon, all of the cuts faded away until not even her old scars remained.

Ophelia was elated to see this – the only drawback was that Lyra collapsed in exhaustion soon after.

It seemed not even a great skill could counteract her terrible stamina.

By this time, my shroud was removed, and to my surprise, Ophelia rushed over to me, seemingly overjoyed.

[I will make sure Morgana lives up to your expectations!] she cheerfully announced.

What expectations?

I simply nodded, refusing to burst her bubble. But then I heard an even worse claim.

[The scorpion Queen will die by my fangs.] Morgana bitterly announced, her bright yellow eyes sending shivers down my spine. [I will bring you her head, even if it's the last thing I do.]

Her bold words shocked me, and Ophelia cheering her on from beside me, made me frown.

Weren't they misunderstanding something?

Yet, Morgana's bold statement evoked a very different reaction from the nestlings.

Rather than cheer for her, many stared at me with eyes filled with fear and sadness.

It was quite clear to them that she would not return.

This firm resolve she showed was simply an empty gesture, a dying ember on its last spark before it was put out completely, and I glanced at Apollo to see his reaction.

He had the same troubled look as the others, Morgana's plight had clearly impacted him.

And I wondered if seeing her fate had quashed all of his wayward thoughts.

"He doesn't seem to suspect I know about him." I told Sensei.

«Morgana's death should be severe enough to deter him from trying anything else.» Sensei replied. «But you shouldn't let your guard down. All you've done is made him desperate by cornering him.»

"Maybe, but I doubt he'll try to harm Ophelia again." I replied.

I still couldn't understand why he would try to do so – Morgana's motivations I could understand, but not his. But in the end, it didn't really matter because their petty arguments were trivial in comparison to the larger picture.

My nestlings couldn't afford to fight anymore, because all their motivations were practically the same – in one way or another they all wanted to get stronger, each one just had different ways of getting there, and their personalities clashed because of this.

However, if they all started to listen to each other, they would start to see their similarities, and I hoped that would start now.

Typhon had organised everyone into their original teams, and I decided to name them, starting from 'Ana'.

It wasn't a bad name, but it wasn't hers but an offshoot of Morgana's, so I renamed her to ?Aquilegia?or ?Aquila?for short.

It sounded quite noble for a loyal serpent, and she was more than happy to receive it, so I took this as encouragement to name the rest, starting from Aquila's team and moving on to Cygnus's.

There, I was quick to locate the serpent with Dark Magic, naming her ?Delphinium?or ?Delphine?

The mood of the cave quickly improved from dowdy to cheerful as more nestlings were named.

However, I noticed there was a rather sour snake in their midst. 

Arsinoe did not seem very happy for some reason, and I wanted to ask why, but Typhon was quick to tell her off, causing her to sulk even more.

[You should reconsider.] Typhon said. [Having only two nestlings accompany you is too little.]

I sighed. What exactly did he have against the Nymph?

Surprisingly, Ophelia also agreed with him. [I don't trust her. You should let us come.]

As much as I wanted to agree, I didn't trust the Nymph enough to bring so many of my nestlings around her, which was why I settled on Apollo and Morgana, because I couldn't afford to take my eyes off them, else they did something terrible, or escaped.

Besides, I needed Typhon and Ophelia to watch over the others.

But Ophelia insisted I take Artemis with me, because he had cultivated a good relationship with the Veladrys during the battle. Typhon also insisted I take Cygnus, because he was a strong fighter. Both of them seemed reluctant to let me go anywhere without at least five nestlings for support.

In the end, I settled on taking Artemis, Apollo, Morgana, Cygnus, and Delphine.

Apollo was surprised to see he was coming along, as was Morgana.

«It's not a good idea to make such an obvious move.» Sensei warned me. «This is the second time you're placing Apollo somewhere he wouldn't normally be. He's bound to notice.»

Ah...Maybe I didn't really think it through.

Fortunately, Apollo didn't seem to mind, he'd joined Artemis to chat, and was not even paying attention to me when I left the cave.

I was convinced Sensei was overthinking things. Moreover, I had another ace up my scales in the form of a crucial weakness.

I quickly went off to find Sylrin to let him know where I was going, to have him wait on standby.

I was fully prepared if the Nymph tried anything, because if we weren't out of her forest by a certain time, Sylrin was more than happy to burn it down to find me.