Karnage: Here you go! Please don't forget to comment and sorry for the errors that may pop up!

Chapter 23 & 24:

A concentrated stream of fire from the stalactite burning like a heart-sized pillar of fire shot into Sol's chest and pushed him downwards into the mana well! An explosion rung out and the entire cave collapsed-

**

Sol knew he would die and closed his eyes, all of a sudden his short lived life flashed before his eyes. An intense will to live sprouted in his heart as he was consumed by the devious flames and blood poured incessantly out of his chest. Thought for sure he would die from the explosion and if not then surely the fire, he thought he would lose consciousness and soon after die...that was not the case.

(It burns!...It burns so much!!!)

Sol wailed and screamed as the fires burned into his body and gave him indescribable pain, he gritted his teeth and decided he could only endure. Whether he dies or not, he still has to endure this pain. The strong will to live began to squeeze out all manners of hormones from his body. Adrenaline as well as others rushed into his bloodstream making it so that he could not pass out and experience everything.

All of a sudden blue streaks of liquid started emerging from every inch of his body, from his muscles, his tissue and even his bones! This was the X Factor within Sol's blood striving to keep him alive, It quickly made it's way all over Sol's body before finalizing it's position inside of his chest where the hole had been pierced.

This blue liquid was none other than the effects of the Eternity Pill, the purified and refined mana within the well as well as the flames started converging with the this blue liquid at an incredible pace! This process...was not painless. Sol's screams were blocked out as he was submerged within the mana well and was unable to open his mouth.

The blue liquid started drawing the refined and purified mana along with the flames into Sol's body! The mana well swirled and made Sol it's focal point , the flames erupted even higher and became even hotter! Sol could feel something forming inside of his chest but it was much too hot and painful to even guess what it was, he could only grit his teeth and endure.

Sol felt as though hot oil were being poured inside his veins and his body was being boiled. A light explosion happened in Sol's chest and his body started absorbing the mana and flames greedily! If one looked at Sol's eyes they would be shocked because those golden pupils now had a red smoldering fire inside them and they looked like a genuine sun.

Sol felt a light stab in the palm of his hands, the Fanged Blades in his hand began spitting out impurities through the hollowed hole in it's Fang. The handle of the Blades had grew a spike and had pierced Sol's hand to help with the refinement. A panicked hiss could be heard among the steam pouring out from Sol's hands.

Sol's body did not stop absorbing the mana, and if anything it got several folds faster. The typhoon of refined mana and flames directly covered Sol in an orb and his screams were not heard amongst the raging fires. The blue liquid within Sol's body fused and merged successfully with the rain of fire and purified mana and started becoming a single entity.

As the pain intensified, so did his will to live.

(My parents gave me life!! They saved that life with their own!! The Queen gave me her children to protect!! I CANNOT FAIL!!!!) -Sol

Sol's thoughts invaded his brain he let out a terrifying howl and it was a howl of that refused to die! Sol rejected death with all of his will and all of his might-

[Ahh!!! Ahh!!!] -Sol

He struggled and struggled and finally was able to move a small portion of his body, he used the both runic rings in his possession and randomly took out medicinal herbs and shoved them into his mouth without even looking. Sol had separated his poisons and medicines from beforehand and didn't need to verify anything so he just wildly grabbed whatever herb or pill he could get his hands on and consumed it.

All the while, the refined and purified mana along with the flames dove and fused within his chest. His body greedily absorbed the refined mana along with his chest. The Fanged Blades incessantly let out steam and impurities from it's blade, the blade had become red hot and Sol knew the Queen herself was probably feeling pain and that made him grit his teeth to hold on even more.

The baby basilisk wailed and cried within Sol's body as they could tell he was under great amounts of pain but Sol had forced them into his soul to remain safe and they could only watch from inside as Sol burned alive.

All of a sudden, the tornado of refined mana and flames began shining and taking form in Sol's chest-

*BANG*

A loud bang rung out, as Sol felt his entire body violently tremble and his chest started regenerating at an incredible rate, Sol could have sworn he saw an object in his chest right before it healed but was much too dizzy to see clearly. Sol's complex DNA had awakened and started to directly force his body into evolution!

The medicinal nutrients within the herbs and pills helped a great deal with healing the wound as well as supplying Sol with energy and so he had a bit of strength to hold on to. The blue liquid directly grabbed those healing nutrients within Sol's bloodstream and forced it to the parts needed most.

As the hole in Sol's chest became healed, the purified mana and flames had absolutely no where else to go and was absorbed by Sol's body who was under it's absorption effect! Sol felt his body compressing the refined mana and the Fanged Blades also helped Sol to purify his body.

All of a sudden, the place the inferno that was as hot as hell started feeling much cooler and Sol's pain greatly eased. Weirdly enough the fire had not dissipated one bit, and Sol had no idea why the temperature changed, but he noticed he was feeling much more comfortable than before.

What he did not expect, was that there was something in his chest making the purification go much more smoothly than ever before. There was no difficulties or sick feelings like when he had practiced before, it was actually the opposite and it felt started feeling quite enjoyable. As his senses cleared up more Sol could feel a sense of power welling up inside his body, more precisely his chest.

He had never felt this feeling before, the intense refined mana that entered his body which made him curse it to death became like a gold mine instead and became fuel that would increase his cultivation.

(Could it be...? A Dantian?) -Sol

A look of utter excitement appeared in his eyes as he felt that this was indeed correct. He could feel two external sources of power, yet he did not touch them. Right now what he needed to do was focus on consuming these valuable resources quickly and then investigate himself later down if he survives, thinking about it now wouldn't help in any way and decided to help his body refine it.

He closed his eyes exhaling impurities every second, as he struck a meditative position amidst the swirling vortex of refined mana and flames. The refined enflamed mana along with blue liquid, merged into his skin and increased it's toughess, it increased the sturdiness of his organs as well as increased the density in his bones! The power kept rising and Sol's body shuddered-

*BANG*

Third Order warrior .....yet his body kept on refining with the help of Sol's Bhuddist meditation, his Dantian and the Both Fanged Blades....his bones grew stronger and more dense, his muscles grew more slender but the power within them grew ever more powerful, his organs became thicker and denser and a bit more rough. The sensation of increasing power within his body still kept on rising higher and higher -

*BANG*

Fourth Order warrior...Sol felt his body violently tremble and felt incredible power soaring through his limbs. He felt as though his fist could rip apart steel and his body could digest iron. Sol then noticed something strange...he could direct the refined mana to another part in his body and after sending a strand of refined mana to it and probing it, he understood.

(This is surely a Dantian I can't be wrong...the way it refines mana and this feeling of control of mana..I can't be wrong!!) -Sol

What Sol didn't know was that, he didn't have a Dantian. He had something much much different.

It was said that a regular Dantian was created over the hundreds of thousands of years of human evolution, the same way humans were created from prime-apes. After the human body encountered mana for so many years it had developed a way to refine mana generation by generation it had grew stronger until finally the Dantian was created within the body. The same with all other wildlife within Magnolia.

A Dantian is a mana network capable of issuing commands using mana, as well as a filter of sorts that refines this mana. That was the purpose of a Dantian, and it was the work of millions of years of evolution. However, those millions of years of evolution proved futile in the face of Sol's physique which carried with it an even longer history and science of world-breaking proportions.

Millions of years of evolution and nature, was overwritten in a single hour by science.

If Sol's body is an advanced version of the base body of a human hundreds of thousands of years ago before the evolution of a Dantian, then how could his Dantian be simple and lose out to the outdated version? If the inferior human base body of hundreds of thousands of years ago could develop what is called a Dantian. Then what can a supreme base body of an advanced human create?

It is only natural than the advanced biology of Sol be equipped with a higher grade Dantian, otherwise it would ignore the inviolable laws of nature and his body would become imbalanced. What made Sol's physique terrifying, wasn't its adaptability but it's way of integration.

It literally integrated things on the molecular level and made it so that whatever Sol's body integrated would become a part of him on the natural level as if he were born with it in the first place. In other words, Sol possessed the most powerful Dantian among humans and it was something that could be inherited. If others possessed a Dantian, then Sol had a Divine Dantian.

After probing his Dantian with the refined and purified mana, Sol immediately sent half of the incoming resources towards his Dantian and half towards his body....

(So I can condense mana within my body, and also within my Dantian...Haha..Good, Good!) -Sol

After absorbing gleefully for a while, Sol noticed the well drying up and this Dantian of his seemed like a void as the rest of the purified mana within the well evaporated like a fog.

His Dantian was only at the First Rank and absorbed so much refined mana and still had not broken through, however he was not worried in the slightest. Sol didn't mind, he knew his power was obviously much greater than a First Order Warrior and this was just like a sweet desert after a delicious meal.

It wouldn't be wrong to say Sol's physique was rather closer to a mutated beast than a human in terms of durability and physical power.

As opposed to before Sol had a smile on his face as he gratefully accepted this enflamed purified mana. Shortly afterward, the intensity of the mana well died down and all that remained inside was a minor fog, Sol closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

The earth beneath him crumbled, revealing a hole which seemed to be a water way connected to a running body of water. Sol's body fell through the floor and  became submerged in the water following it's currents to it's unknown destination.

**

Whilst all this was going, somewhere deep inside of a forest. A silver-haired young girl sat on a tree wearing beast skins and stared at the moon, her eyes reflecting the same beautiful angelic light as the moon as she looked at it longingly. If anyone saw this sight they would lose their breathes at it's glamour, the girl's eyes looked exactly like the moon as it gave off a silvery white light and her long silver hair fluttered in the wind.

Her hands rested on the pendant around her neck and fiddled with it gently, suddenly a hologram begun to play. Judging by the girls' expression, she had seen the hologram quite a few times already and it wasn't a surprise.

Judging by the warm smile on her face and her reactions, the hologram was of her two parents, she paused it for a moment and looked at their faces longingly. She then fast forwarded towards the ending-

[You must find him no matter what! He will definitely be close to you! The pods were designed that way!!] -male silhouette

[He's your only family remaining, I left a few memories inside the pendant and you should know how to unlock it my darling. When you see them, then you'll know you're not married to a stranger] -female silhouette

The girl had placed the pendant near her head and instantly memories begun to play, she had no look of surprise because the memories were already inside her head but she still played it like this because it was much more clean when seen with the pendant. Even though she wasn't surprised the longing in her eyes was surely present.

In these few memories that she were given by her parents she was young girl about five years old and she played with a young black-haired boy about the same age who always tried to impress her with stupid stuff. She giggled cutely as she watched the recording of the only person who she remembered and laughed at his antics.

She watched his prideful arrogant demeanor as a child and couldn't help but laugh out loud, however slowly tears formed at the corner of her eyes as she watched the recording. She didn't have any other memories but these and she greatly cherished them. Her hair fluttered in the wind, taking her tears away with it. A stubborn resolve was then born in heart -

[...Arin....where are you? I'll find you no matter where you are...Are you looking for me too?] -silver haired beauty

As the silver-haired girl thought these things, she looked down at her hands and clenched them.

[I may not be able to fight, but I can still condense mana and make myself stronger. I also have things that only I can do and I will use these to the best of my ability and one day I will find you...Please....be alive] -silver haired beauty

Suddenly a friendly feminine voice interrupted her thoughts calling out to her -

[Luna! It's time to go, they found the thing you were looking for!!] -???

[I got it! I'm coming!] -Luna

The girl got up and dusted her beast skin skirt, she looked towards the moon once more and whispered something as she looked at the hologram of the youth once more and tried to touch his face....her pretty slender fingers slipped passed the hologram on his face...she took it off and hopped off the tree chasing after the silhouette.

**

Kingdom of Earthernvale -

Inside of the courtyard of the Royal Family, four figures were moving at a rapid pace as the moonlight bathe them in it's alluring silvery light. The man in front was an elderly man with gray hair, he wore silver full body armor and his face was quite pleasant to look at and gave off a sense of reliability. This man was Nightmaster Duke, although the current circumstances were quite grim he kept a solid face and moved forward.

Beside him, A woman with blue hair hidden underneath a hood moved behind him steadily and one could not see her features except for the blue hair swinging loosely under her hood. If anyone saw her eyes then they would know the lady was quite sad. This was naturally the 2nd Queen, Lieren Ironspine.

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The other was a brown-haired middle aged man who gave off an aura of dignity, this man was robust and had iron like shoulders and his eyes gave off a fierce light. The ring on his finger showed he had the qualifications to enter the inner palace and in his hands was an unconscious veiled young girl who wore a similar ring.

[Nightmaster Duke!] -Guards

The party hastily made their way towards the Royal Palace, As the guards noticed Nightmaster Duke they quickly saluted and dared not stop him as they could sense he wasn't in a good mood. The guards paid no mind to the visitors either as a form of respect and stood like statues.

After entering the palace they quickly made their way towards the Palace Dining Hall where the King and Former King would be at this time. The guards all saluted and did nothing more as they could sense the grave aura exuded by the party.

[Nightmaster Duke and company has arrived!] -Dorian

The doors opened and they quickly made their way in.

[Nightmaster you've returned] -King Ironspine

Within the dining hall, the entire royal family was present and seemed to be having their dinner. Dorian stood at the door like usual and was the one who opened it for Nightmaster Duke from the inside.

The four figures finally entered and they were all able to see one another. All manners of emotions were mixed in the air, but most of all was confusion.

[Yes your majesty..this servant has returned!] -Nightmaster Duke

Nightmaster Duke made a deep bow and then rose up, the King could see the mixed emotions in the man's eyes and shifted his gaze to the people Nightmaster Duke had brought with him. It was the the hooded blue haired female took off her hood with tears in her eyes she stared at the King and then at the Liore and broke out in even more tears.

[L-Lieren? Is it really you...Lieren!] -King Ironspine

The King lost his composure and flew across the room and brought his wife into a deep embrace, his arms wrapped around her slender back and could feel her body shivering.

[M-Mom...MOM!] -Liore

[I'm...back *sob* I missed you all so much..*sob*] -Lieren

The girl who was as cold as ice, melted in an instant and rushed over and squeezed herself in between the embrace. The rest of the Royal Family had joy plastered over their face as they ran over and hugged the 2nd Queen. The 1st and 3rd Queen hugged her and sobbed loudly, to them Lieren was like the youngest sister of all the 3 Queens  because of her soft nature and kind ways, she was heavily doted upon by the 1st and 3rd Queen.

The only person who's face became dejected was none other than the Former King, from start to finish Nightmaster Duke's grim appearance hadn't changed and didn't fit his usual demeanor. By now he would have been crying bucket loads of tears and the floor would have been covered with his snot, but he just remained here staring at the ground with a hardened expression.

[That's right! Hahaha! I have to thank Sol, Nightmaster Duke where is he? Don't tell me that kid already went back to the Medical Ward to see Maria...I've been hearing a few things from the guards! Hahaha!......Y-You..] -King

The King had lost himself in his joy and had not noticed the dejected expressions of the party. Only when he had looked at the Nightmaster did he feel something was terribly wrong and couldn't help but look at him dumbfoundedly.

[I'm sorry your majesty!! This servant has failed!!] -Nightmaster Duke

*BANG*

The old man fell on his knees and bowed to the floor, his forehead pressed to the floor and a crack appeared on the floor beneath his head.

[Sol'ixus Hyperius... has fallen in battle!] -Nightmaster Duke

[W-What? Lieren is here...how could he have died?] -King Ironspine

The entire room became silent, a voice then interrupted them.

[He had to change his original plans for the sake of me and my daughter...and he lost his life in return...I am truly sorry and that young man is probably the most outstanding person I have ever seen] -Aereis

Even though Aereis said this, deep in his heart he felt like Sol was alive. When he had first seen Sol, those eyes of his made Aereis feel insignificant. The beast like eyes of Sol had left a burning impression deep inside his heart and he felt that sort of fire couldn't be extinguished. He believed Sol was still alive and the only reason he came here to see the King was to ask for aid and gather a few earth mages.

[Who are you?] -King Ironspine

The King subconsciously spoke coldly and released his aura as he heard those words and already didn't have a good impression of Aereis. The rest of the gazes fell upon him as the King asked the question they all wanted to know. Aereis didn't back down towards the King's aura and spoke to him calmly.

[Please forgive my rudeness King Ironspine, My name is Aereis Valdyr Vulcanis, King of Infernal Blaze Mountains and Lord Ruler over the Kingsblood Alliance] -Aereis

Aereis spoke calmly and as his aura released it suppressed the entire room and the aura surpassed the King and was comparable to the aura released by the Former King. If Sol felt this released aura he would be absolutely shocked, he knew Aereis was powerful he just didn't know how much so. King Aereis had already long recuperated on the ride to Earthernvale.

[I thought you looked familiar. No wonder, No wonder] -Former King

[Y-You are the "Lost King"..? How is this possible? Didn't you die 10 years ago in a Mutated Beast raid?] -King Ironspine

[No, I was captured by Bloodmana Wasps and was saved along with my daughter by your friend Sol] -Aereis

[I see....] -King Ironspine

The King seemed to be lost in thought and he couldn't help but rub his temples as his expression hardened. Aereis seemed quite impatient and said what he came here for

[Well...Can you lend me a few Earth mages to go save him?] -Aereis

[What? Did he not die?] -King Ironspine

[There are many people that die Lord Ironspine, He is not one of them. You should know more about him than me, I don't think he would die from something like that in my short time of knowing him. Therefore, I'd like you to lend me a few Earth mages to find him. The hive is destroyed and there is no danger there] -Aereis

The King Aereis spoke in a complete contradiction which stunned the room, but this was his true analysis of Sol. He could tell Sol had a great will to live that maybe even surpassed his own and he was quite sure how terrifying that sort of thing can be.

[Then let us depart at once! Nightmaster rally the Earth mages..All of them] -King Ironspine

[Yes Milord!] -Nightmaster Duke

The old man turned around and left swiftly through the doors. After about fifteen minutes he returned with a group of people dressed in black robes patterned similarly to the under armor Sol wore before. They waited outside the Royal Palace with fresh horses and shortly afterward they were joined by the Royal Family.

The King, Former King, Nightmaster Duke and Aereis climbed up on top of fresh horses, behind them the Earth Mages similarly prepared themselves. Aereis handed his daughter over to Renissa to take care of her as he wanted to go find Sol and she was in no condition to travel around.

Surprisingly enough Liore climbed on top of a horse but said nothing, she was going to go regardless of who told her not too. Sol entered a Bloodmana Wasp hive to save her mother and had not returned, how could she just sit there? To her the Bloodmana Wasp hive was a terrible fear and everyone present knew such, even though it was terribly demolished she still feared it.

The King gave her a slight gaze but said nothing, he knew she wanted to face her fears especially for Sol and before you know it, the entire royal family had climbed on top of a horse and their gazes were steeled showing their resolve. As they were about to leave a weak and exhausted voice join in -

[*cough* Father...I'm coming too...] -???

[Mina....Fine but stay behind me and if you feel ill, I will have someone escort you back here] -Aereis

[Okay] -Mina

The veiled girl said nothing more and after being helped to a horse by a female knight  she quietly sat on the horse and gently guided it toward her father. Liore shot her a quick glance but then ignored it and maintained her indifferent appearance.

The group then took off and made haste to the city gates! The Royal Family leaving the city caused quite a commotion and the people were wondering what would cause such an occasion.

[Oye! Isn't that the King?] -Curious citizen

[Well I'll be damned...it really is the King!] -Obvious citizen

[Not just the King...look at the people being shielded behind him by the knights] -Observant citizen

[Oye! Isn't that the Royal Family?] -Curious citizen

[Well I'll be damned...it really is the Royal Family!] - Obvious citizen

[Not just the Royal family...look at the cute babes in the knight platoon!] -Observant citizen

[Oye! Isn't that the cute babe from--] -Curious citizen

**

Sol's unconscious body flowed along the single water cave with the current in a single direction. Who knows how long had passed until Sol's body fell out of the water way and with a splash ended up in a river amongst the forest. Several Beasts raised their heads out of the water and looked coldly at Sol's direction.

Some immediately kicked off and went after his unmoving body.

*BOOM*

A powerful shockwave rung out underwater creating a huge splash. All the beasts were completely blown into pieces and destroyed, along with the splash of water raining body parts of all kinds fell into the water around Sol's body but not a single one touched him.

A woman's arm wrapped around Sol's body and after sniffing him for a while, she immediately pulled him underwater and with an incredible speed she carried him off underwater.

The strangest thing about this woman, was that her lower body was serpent-like and her eyes had slits like a serpent. She had Dark Red hair and red eyes and her fingernails were incredibly sharp, and she was incredibly beautiful. Her curvaceous body and ample breasts were above any beauty Sol had ever encountered before, but her cold face showed she barely had any compassion  or none at all.

This woman was a Lamia, or Serpent-woman. One of the secret races that live amongst beasts and humans, hated by both these hidden races despise both humans and beasts and deem them inferior.

Strangely enough for hidden races, the only exception for their hatred besides their own kind, seemed to be their relative species. For example, Lamias had no enmity towards serpent-race beasts and were on rather good terms.

Wolven-men or Werewolves seemed to have some sort of kinship towards the wolf or canine species of any kind. Sometimes there would be blood battles between the two because of individual reasons, like stealing one's prey, crossing territorial boundaries or offending one.

Still, these cases were considered rare but normal as no matter what race their would always be fights among families, it's the same reason why some humans can kill other humans.

**

After a few hours Sol had finally awoken, he was surprised to notice he wasn't in the hive. Then he placed his hand on his head as if he had finally remembered something and recalled falling through a water way of some sort. As he regained his senses, he noticed he was in a cave of some sort and from where he was positioned he was obviously placed here by someone-

*Hiss* *Hiss*

His thoughts were interrupted by the twin basilisks in his arms that seemed to be enraged for some reason, their heads were already out of Sol's arms and stared at a figure hidden in the shadows. His Fanged Blades in his runic ring seemed to be enraged as well as it hissed uncontrollably and he could feel the agitation of the Queen Basilisk.

He didn't draw his Fanged Blades as he wasn't impulsive and knew he could have been killed long ago, he stood on his feet staring at the slit red-eyed silhouette who stared back at him. The red-eyes reminded him of the Queen and he let out a laugh which stumped the silhouette, however her eyes didn't flicker in the slightest and calmly stared at Sol.

(This feeling is quite familiar...feels like back when I met the Queen Basilisk for the first time) -Sol

[Whoever you are, thank you for saving my life...but if you hide in the shadows how can I repay you?] -Sol

[What are you?] -Lamia

A cold and detached voice asked indifferently, a tinge of curiosity could be heard but it's overall frostiness hid any desire.

[What...am I? I'm a human of course] -Sol

Sol didn't know what to make of this weird question, the woman hissed in a low tone every now and then and seem to pondering his words.

[No...you are not. Speak the truth or die] -Lamia

Sol could tell she was not joking, the coldness and detachness of that voice was evidence of her ruthless nature.

[...I am speaking the truth. Can you not see it yourself?] -Sol

The Lamia still coldly watched him as she seemed to think of something, it seemed she expected Sol to answer like that again as if she could tell if he was lying.

[Where did you come from?] -Lamia

Sol wanted to see if she could detect lies and spoke calmly and without a single change in heart beat.

[A place city called Mount Earthenvale] -Sol

*BANG*

Sol was instantly hit across the room, when he looked at his chest there were 5 needle like holes inside of his chest. Sol stood up as a bit of blood leaked from his mouth and stared at the Lamia calmly.

The Lamia showed an astonished expression as if it expected him to die from the blow. Sol's wound lit up with a golden light and it repaired itself after about a minute, Sol looked at the wounds astonished and the Lamia did not miss that.

(This thing, what is he? He doesn't even know what he is..) -Lamia

[Next time you lie, you will die] -Lamia

[Where did you come from?] -Lamia

[Outer Space] -Sol

*BANG*

Sol was once more sent flying to the back of the room, this time there were no holes inside his chest. As Sol scrambled to get up he spat out a mouthful of blood.

[I..wasn't..lying] -Sol

A bit of blood leaked from his mouth as he got up.

[...I know, that's why I retracted my claws] -Lamia

[....But you still hit me?] -Sol

[....You humans focus on the small things in life] -Lamia

(...Is she embarrassed?) -Sol

Sol noticed the Lamia had turned her head away and it was the first time they broke eye contact. But he couldn't tell as her face was hidden in darkness. Naturally she didn't believe the words when it left his mouth but she knew for a fact he wasn't lying...after she hit him.

[I saved your life, you owe me one in return. Next year come to this place or I will kill you] -Lamia

(Master, she's not joking. She's a Lamia, Lamia's are very vengeful. If you do not keep your promise she will hunt you down no matter where you are and kill you in a sort of way a male shouldn't be killed) -Mitra

Mitra's voice was very serious, as he spoke both paws blocked between his legs and Sol took note of it.

[I owe you one?...how exactly do I give you one in return?] -Sol

As Sol asked these questions, he realized she had long left.