Lazarus remained across from me, unmoving.Fingers steepled, gaze intent.Expectant.
Waiting.
“Thank you,” I said, my voice rough from disuse.“For...everything.”
Gratitude did not come quickly to a man such as myself.But Lazarus had pulled me from the brink, from the clutches of something far worse than death.
He inclined his head in acknowledgment, the gesture deliberate.“It is not often one gets to cheat death so brazenly, Amir.You carry a heavy burden—a warrior’s heart and a destiny unfulfilled.”
His words struck true.I felt the weight of my duty settle over me once more, as real as the pain that had racked my body.There was still much to be done—societies to dismantle, vengeance to be wrought.
I was Amir Hassan, the man who had walked through fire and shadow and emerged unbroken.
“Tell me what comes next,” I said, my commitment hardening like steel tempered in the forge.“For I am ready to face whatever darkness this path holds.”
Lazarus smiled then—a slow, knowing curve of his lips, an omen of secrets yet to unfold, of battles yet to be waged.
I leaned back into the cushioned chair, my fingers tracing the fine silks beneath me as I gathered my thoughts.
“Tell me everything.How did this happen?”Lazarus asked, his voice low—demanding answers.
The memories crashed over me like an obstinate tide, suffocating and inescapable.
“When we arrived at Le Manoir de la Rivière, it was chaos,” I began, the images still seared into my mind.“People lay paralyzed, their bodies contorted in agony.Their faces...marred with red boils, grotesque and swollen.”I swallowed hard, bile rising in my throat.“Their limbs were twisted beyond recognition—far worse than what I endured.I’ve never seen anything so gruesome.”
Lazarus’ expression darkened, his gaze clouding as if he were staring into some distant horror only he could see.
“The poison is from Solaris,” he murmured, almost to himself.“The noxious flower that creates it only grows there.”
A frown creased my brow.“I know.But how is it here?”
“That,” Lazarus said, his gaze narrowing with focus, “is what we must find out.”His fingers worked absentmindedly along his jaw, tracing the tension there.“Whoever has the flower holds a weapon unlike any other.My power vanished when it was near me, so I had to use the snake to heal you.”
His eyes flickered toward the ceiling, calculating.
“If they had the full-strength flower, you would not be here now.The one who created this poison isn’t skilled enough to wield its true power.”
A thought flickered through my mind, and I voiced it aloud.“Maybe it was Mathias and Salvatore who created the poison.”
Lazarus shook his head slowly.“No.It’s someone else.Someone who despises the Timehunters.Someone cast out, perhaps.A quest for revenge?”
He leaned forward, his hands clasped together, his expression grave.“We need to find out how they got it.The flower is eternal—someone knows where it is.And whoever holds it must have found it somewhere.That place is near one of the four portals to Solaris.”
His voice dropped, weighted with certainty.“No one knows where those portals are.But if we find the flower, we find the portal.”
His words settled between us like an unsolved riddle, a puzzle with pieces scattered across realms and time itself.I nodded, the weight of our next endeavor pressing down upon me, yet within that weight, there was purpose.
The hunt for the flower was no mere quest—it was a chance to strike at the heart of those who dared wield the toxic bloom of Solaris for their perverse ends.
Silence stretched between us, thick with the gravity of Lazarus’ revelations.I shifted slightly in my chair, the newly healed muscle fibers in my thigh throbbing in protest.
“But that quest will take time,” Lazarus said at last.“I must consider our next move.For now, your strength has returned—and your mission remains unchanged.You must continue your pursuit of the Timehunter societies.”
I nodded.“Who’s next?”My voice was steadier than I felt.
Lazarus’ gaze darkened, a predator’s gleam flickering in his eyes.“The English society,” he said, his tone thick with contempt.“They have become monstrous in their methods.They skinned Timebornes and Timebounds alive.Tortured them.Took their vile pleasures from their suffering before granting them death.”
His voice was ice and fury, each word spat like venom.
