Chapter 3403: Imperfect Beings (Part 2)

“Undeath makes people equal. It allows a pipsqueak like Ilthin who weighs 65 kilograms (143 pounds) soaking wet to fight against dozens of tons heavy Divine Beasts.

“It gives talent and power to those who were born poor and helpless. If you don’t see it or agree with me, I don’t care.” Baba Yaga took a few furious strides forward until she was alone.

Despite her age, wisdom, and power, she hated it when someone put her life work into question, especially if it came from someone she considered a friend.

It took the Mother a few deep breaths and a little introspection to calm down and walk back to Solus’ side.

“As for your question about Night, you deserve an answer, Solus, and so does Lith.” She turned to look him in the eyes. “I want you to understand me, even if you might end up considering me a monster. I want you to know there’s a reason I do what I do.”

“You owe me no explanation.” Lith shook his head. “Believe me, I know all too well that things are rarely black and white. Sometimes life gets so grey that everything is a blur and when you finally meet someone really good, her light blinds you.”

He held Solus’ shoulder, making Ripha brim with motherly pride.

“On top of that, I don’t think you are a monster. Were you one, the Guardians wouldn’t have taken you as their apprentice. Ripha and Silverwing wouldn’t be your friends. I mean, Elphyn Menadion knew who you were and what you did and she considered you her best friend.”

That remark made Solus feel guilty for doubting Baba Yaga.

“You’ve saved my friends more than once.” Lith continued. “You’ve helped me and Solus every time you could. If you are a monster, then welcome to the club.”

“Thanks.” The Mother giggled. “But still, allow me to explain. You know that I created my Horsemen after I failed to find a solution for the unintended flaws in my children’s blood cores, correct?” She asked, and Lith nodded for her to continue.

“My three Horsemen are not just three living legacies. They are my flesh and blood no less than my Firstborns. I infused each one of them with a fraction of my essence and power to better suit their task.

“They are my assistants, my apprentices, a spark of my genius that has grown into its own person. I made them dependent on a host because just like for the undead, I didn’t want to create a master race.

“The weaknesses of my Horsemen served not only to preserve the balance but also to give them struggles and limits. They are living beings and as such they needed to overcome challenges to grow or they would have learned nothing, no matter how long they lived.

“Did my Horsemen commit atrocities? As always, in history, the answer depends on who you ask the question. Some consider my Horsemen heroes, others monsters, and a few sages. Bluntly, yes, they did bad things, mostly Dawn and Night, but no more than a tyrant or an Elder Awakened would.

“In a world where people live up to ten thousand here if not forever and can extinguish countless lives with a single spell or a royal decree, my Horsemen are just a drop in the ocean of blood that life is.

“Dusk, Dawn, and Night, all of them changed their behavior multiple times based on the nature of the host they inhabited. Sometimes they would be better, others they would get worse, but they would always learn something from their other half.

“Dusk is a pure researcher. He spilled much less blood than his sisters and is the only one who never needed my help before that stupid war between the Undead Courts and the Kingdom.

“Dawn is just more active and outgoing than him.” Baba Yaga raised her hand to stop the objections she knew would be raised. “I know you are about to remind me of the Rezars and how you met her, but so what?

“I never claimed she and Dusk never spilled blood, but they always did it with purpose. I won’t justify Dawn’s actions but I will ask you this. Back when you fought against her, would you have ever thought one day you would have fought side by side?

“That she and Dusk would have taught Solus how to defend herself from telepathic domination? That they would have joined you in your fight against Thrud to save the Kingdom?”

Lith and Solus both shook their heads in reply.

“If my Horsemen were just evil creatures, they would have done no such thing. Dawn wouldn’t have put herself on the line to fight Windfell and the World Tree for you, Solus. Dusk wouldn’t have nurtured an orphan into a young woman, he would have just enslaved her.

“My children, all of them, grow and learn from their mistakes. They are still imperfect beings and I’m aware they sometimes cause a lot of damage, but that’s only because the more powerful one is, the greater the consequences of their actions.

“Believe me or not, less than a century ago Night was no different. She was more reckless than her siblings but that was just her personality. Night was still focused on the task I had assigned her: removing my children’s weakness to the darkness element.

“Sure, she would sometimes get in trouble and force me to intervene to save her, but she would always make up for her blunders and follow my instructions. It’s one of the reasons I never got angry with her when one of her crazy schemes brought entire undead bloodlines to extinction.

“Night didn’t force them to follow her, it was their choice and they knew the risks. Sooner or later, their overconfidence and greed would have caused their downfall, Night just accelerated the process.

“I considered her part of the natural selection of my children. The instrument to weed out those who in the long run would upset the balance by focusing more on immortality and power than on fixing what had turned them into undead in the first place.

“I’m not perfect. I can make mistakes like anyone else and some of my children I should have never raised from the dead. Night took care of that for me and spared me the pain of raising my hand against my own blood.

“The problems with her started after the Master’s hybrids forced me to put a restriction on her but not when you think.”

“Yeah, I’m not going to lie. I’ve always wondered why you didn’t put her down when Night chose Meln as her host.” Lith nodded. “Didn’t that count as going against your directives and put you into danger?

“I mean, she knew you couldn’t win against all the monster-Eldritch hybrids and that if they caught wind of her intentions, you would have been involved in her mess.”

“That wasn’t the turning point in her madness.” Baba Yaga shook her head. “Back then, Meln was too weak to be a threat to anyone. I let her fuse with him because I thought that by spending time with someone crazier, darker, and pettier than her, Night would take a long look at herself in the mirror.”