Limits

I didn't bother visiting Lazar. Instead, I went straight to his house and knocked on the doors. There were no lights inside, which wasn't that weird. Suly spent her time inside the basement, therefore I was sure someone was home. I waited for a while, but no one opened. I knocked again, yet the result was the same. 'Did they move houses?' I asked myself. I was about to leave, when I heard a quiet "What do you want?".

It was Suly's voice, but the doors remained locked. I said, "Open the doors Suly". I was greeted with silence again. 'No other choice' I thought and pressed the handle hard, while pushing the doors in. "Booom!", I was suddenly blasted away a few metres. I managed to land, and stabilise myself but the surprise on my was must've been evident. Some sort of force smashed into me the moment I tried to open the doors, I wasn't wounded though. "Open the doors, Suly" I said once more. This time, I got a reply. "Leave, you are not welcomed here".

'Lazar will need new doors then' I thought, and extended my right hand. A ball of mist condensed atop my palm. I didn't condense it too much, but it would be more than enough to freeze the doors. I threw the ball, and approached slowly as well. What happened next, was out of my expectations. Instead of freezing the doors, the ball bounced back and flew at me. I had little time to react, but fortunately managed to evade it. The ball of mist landed behind me, freezing the area while producing an ice pillar. 'This is getting annoying already' I thought, and walked up to the doors again.

"Let me in Suly, you don't want to make me mad". Some sort of force tried to push me away again, but this time I released my Auras. "Booom", the force was stopped dead in tracks. A screeching sound emanated throughout the area, as the force and my Auras clashed. I extended my right hand, and punched. "Boom!". The doors rattled, but didn't give way. A panicked voice sounded from within the house, "Leave us alone! I won't let you hurt her again!".

'Hurt her? Is she talking about Fox?' I asked myself. The commotion was getting louder and louder, soon Lizards would arrive to investigate. Not that it mattered much, yet I didn't want to deal with that as well. I replied, "I'm not here to hurt anyone. You think I would save her, if I wanted to kill her?". The force pushing against me stopped suddenly, and the doors opened. I went inside quickly, and closed them behind me.

I made my way downstairs into the basement. Suly stood at the entrance, with her arms crossed. She obviously demanded an explanation. Slate was there too, he stood behind Suly, as if protecting her. I sighed while asking, "What do you want me to tell you?". She replied, "The truth would be the best". I walked down the stair, and stood in front of Suly. Slate was already growling at me, ready to attack at any time. I said, "I will tell you, after I see her. Let's go".

Suly gave up, and asked Slate to calm down. He backed up while keeping his eyes on me. No doubt he wanted me dead, but controlled himself rather well. We walked towards the room at the other side of the basement, while Slate lead the way. Inside, a few bookshelves stood here and there, as well as one bed. That was precisely where Fox laid. She was asleep, but alive. I walked up to the bed, while Slate eyed my every movement.

I said, "I'm not here to hurt her, or you", then sat next to her. I just stared, but no words left my mouth. Suly asked, "So?". I stared for a while longer, then asked "Where do I start?". She replied, "How about from the beginning?". I nodded slightly, and told Suly what happened. Why Fox was in such a state, what happened before that and the feelings I had for her. It was difficult in the beginning, but once I said one thing, I said another and so on. I narrated the events to Suly, while looking at Fox all the time.

When I finally took my eyes off of her, I looked at Suly. She was shocked, perhaps too shocked. My gaze travelled to the nearby Slate, who stared at me just as intently as before. Perhaps even more intently. I said, "I'm not asking for your forgiveness. What I did to you and your people, I myself would never forgive that. The hate in your eyes is well deserved". He stared, but didn't do anything. I turned towards Suly again, "Suly, I need to find Alicia… No, I need to find Grey Lizards".

She finally snapped out of it, then asked. "Why? What sort of hideous things do you want to do now?". I shook my head, "I did what needed to be done… Perhaps I'm evil, perhaps I'm the bad guy here. That doesn't change the war. This war will engulf everything the longer it lasts. You haven't seen the war through my or other people's eyes. You are still a kid".

She got worked up while replying, "So what!? What right do you have to choose who lives and who dies? You destroyed a whole race, now you want to destroy more! I will never tell you anything!". I sighed and stood up. Slate stood up as well, he was prepared to attack any time. I said, "I told you, I will not harm you. Suly might hate me now, but that doesn't mean I will harm her. If I wanted you dead, you would be dead". Slate made some growling sounds, while Suly exclaimed. "See! That is exactly what I am talking about! You are not some master of life and death!".

I looked back at Fox, and then back at Suly. When I started walking towards her, she became scared. I smiled and extended my hand to patted her head. Slate finally attacked, but I didn't retaliate. I let him bite my arm, just like he did during the Sedon Battle. "Bam!" Slates stony mouth bit down on my right arm, while blood dripped to the floor. Suly stopped crying, and looked at me shocked. I said to Slate, "This is the most I can allow you to do. If you want revenge, find me after the war is over".

Slate let go of my hand, and retreated. I smiled at Suly while saying, "You are a good kid Suly. Whether the world hates me, or loves me… I'm not interested in that. You also assumed wrong. I didn't exterminate all Golems, there are Golems who survived. The Golem race still exists, although weakened by a lot. The same was with Avians. I didn't kill them all, but I did destroy most of them. Life can always persist, so long there is a way".

When she looked at my right arm, I could see the tears swelling up in her eyes again. I extended my arm, while a layer of frost appeared on it, freezing the blood. I patted her head, then said. "You are a bright kid… Take care of Fox for me. I have a war to end".

Before Suly could say anything, I disappeared from the basement and left the house. Outside, I noticed a few Lizards investigating the commotion I caused, as well as the ice pillar that was left behind. I also saw Lazar running toward the house, and made myself visible again. He spotted me, and order his people to return. "I have everything under control guys, you can leave now". They agreed, and left.

Lazar walked up to me, and asked "So you returned... It seems you already went inside". I replied, "You don't have to be so on edge. I wouldn't hurt Suly, no matter how much she hated me". He asked, "If you came here for Alicia, she is not here. If you came here to see Fox, well I guess you already did. If there is nothing else, I'm not going to take your time". I said, "Being mad will not solve this war". He shrugged, "Blame yourself for that. You going around destroying others, as if life meant nothing to you. Is there anything else?".

I replied, "I'm looking for Grey Lizards". He snorted, "Good luck I guess. Why should that concern me?". I looked at his house, and then back at him. He laughed while asking, "You think I know where they hide? Sure, Suly's mother was a Grey Lizard, but that doesn't mean she revealed anything to me. Besides, I never cared. If that's all, I have my own thing to take care of".

He turned around, and started walking away. I didn't doubt what he said, he had no clue where to find them, and he really didn't care about that. Before he left, I said. "Whatever you think of me, it's up to you. I do what's necessary. Doesn't matter anymore. Whether I'm a monster, or not… Everyone can decide for themselves".

I knew Lizards had narrow views, that much was already proved to me many times. I didn't stay around to hear his reply, or the lack of it. I left Olrad, and the Obsidian Mountains. Grey Lizards were the priority now, they could help end this war. The problem was finding them. I knew the general area, but I couldn't just dig everywhere hoping to find their hideout. 'They specialise in Formations. This might make the entrance even more hidden. I might have a way to locate Formations, but it will take time' I thought. I had no other clues. Lizards had nothing useful, Voltars refused to show me the proper records, while Atols only had the design and approximate area.

'If my guess is correct, they should be closer to the Land of Sands, rather than Obsidian Mountains. Well, I need to start somewhere' I thought, and headed south east. I would start from there, and make my way north.