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His voice hit me like a ton of bricks - very hard, very fast. My knees buckled from the sheer power of his voice, as I realized somewhat belatedly that he was definitely much stronger than Lord Nightblade.

Seeing my state, he apologized, in a muffled and much more restrained tone that was completely bearable for me. I waved off his words, much more concerned about what he had meant by that statement. 

Once he received my affirmation, he nodded, seemingly to himself, before starting to speak in my mind. "Firstly, I want to thank you for saving me - if you had not been there to help the Greater Dark Elementals, I would have suffered permanent injury or died from my wounds. Moreover, my companions would have fallen to their injuries as well. Although they do get somewhat annoying at times, like just now, I still care for them and they are excellent Elementals, just a little overenthusiastic,"

"With all due respect, Lord Nightshade, I do not believe I played much of a role. The Greater Dark Elementals would have survived and joined Lord Nightblade in healing you with or without my presence. Moreover, you have also saved me multiple times just with your presence - if you had not been here to defend the outpost, my friends and I would have died long ago," I replied truthfully. 

He nodded. "I know that some of them would have lived even without your help, but they would have in all likelihood abandoned their comrades to focus on healing me - which would have led to all the others dying. On the other hand, Shadowlight was to focus on healing his comrades because he knew that two of them were already healing me. It would have affected me greatly if I knew that my friends succumbed to their injuries so that mine could be healed. For that, I thank you," he stated seriously.

I bowed mutely. His words made sense, and further arguing would have just been disrespectful if he was so insistent. 

After he saw my agreement, he continued, "I am sorry to say that your companions died from the aftermath of the battle. They were infected with excessive darkness, similarly to how you were, and due to the disparity between their strength and our strength, they perished before my companions even realized that they were in danger. I must apologize for the lack of attention paid and I hope you can forgive them," he asked respectfully.

"Thank you for your consideration, but in truth I hardly knew my companions. I completely understand how two dying humans could have easily been missed when all these powerful beings were on the verge of death or had just been brought back from the brink and I would hardly blame you all for this," I replied calmly.

"There is no need to mask your emotions. I would entirely understand if you were angry that your friends had perished due to our inattention," he said gently. 

"I speak honestly, Lord Nightshade. Although they had accompanied me through multiple trials, their mindsets were inherently different from mine. We were barely friends, in truth, more like forced companions than comrades in arms. Nevertheless, I thank you for your consideration."

He seemed to breathe a sigh of relief at my words, despite the fact that my companions' death had nothing to do with him at all. However, a moment later, he was all business.

"Finally, we need to discuss your ghostlight."