At that Lilith gritted her teeth. The silence pressed heavy, but Nyx’s voice returned, low and deliberate.
" But you’re in luck. As I told you before... I only remember a boy with golden hair and golden eyes, reborn in this world as the Hero of Light. It could be him. Or... if not, I feel he will one day lead you to the one who placed the curse. But it is only a guess. "
Lilith’s hands curled into fists. Her scarlet eyes narrowed.
"And how will I know he’s the one?"
Nyx smiled faintly, her crimson gaze glinting with cruel amusement.
" Because you inherited your mother’s blood. Even if you are free from the curse, the moment you meet the one who placed it... you will know. The blood in your veins will react. It will be unlike anything else — the overwhelming, humiliating feeling of submission. "
Before Lilith could speak again, the shadows of Nyx’s domain folded in on themselves. The stars shattered, and her world spun upside down.
When she opened her eyes, she was standing once again before her mother and father.
Her lips trembled. She did not tell them everything. She left out the terrible truth about the curse. She only whispered that Nyx had denied their request.
The silence that followed was worse than fury. Damon and Catherine’s hope drained away before her very eyes. They did not strike her, did not scold her... but the warmth they had once given her no longer returned.
At first Lilith told herself, ’If I grow stronger, they’ll look at me the same way again. Strength is everything in the Bloodmoon Empire.’
But even as she soared past her peers, even as her name spread like wildfire, their gazes remained the same — touched by disappointment, hollow of warmth. She knew.
They no longer saw her as the one who would free them.
The only warmth that remained was from Isadora Vale — her maid, her confidant, her one true friend since childhood.
Isadora never wavered, never turned cold. To Lilith, she became more than a servant. She became family.
Over time, Lilith’s bitterness grew. That faceless figure who had cursed her mother’s clan... that was the true thief who had stolen her parents’ hope. She swore to herself, ’When I meet the golden-haired boy... if he is the one, I will kill him. If killing him fails, I will force him to undo the curse.’
So she walked proudly into the Zenith Academy entrance exams. There, she met the golden-haired boy. The Hero of Light. Ethan Williams.
But when she stood before him, the sensation Nyx described never came. There was no pull, no shiver of blood recognizing its bane.
’So it’s not him...?’ she thought, shaken.
Confusion clouded her certainty. And then... someone else appeared.
A boy with silver hair.
The first time she looked at him, she felt nothing. Just another handsome weakling, unworthy of her notice.
But days passed. And every time she saw him again and again, something inside her stirred. The cells in her body screamed louder and louder everytime she saw him as he grew stri her with time. A strange, humiliating feeling of submission began to spread — the very feeling Nyx had warned her of.
Lilith was not weak. With Nyx’s aid, she forced the sensation down, burying it under pride and defiance. Yet curiosity clawed at her. She found opportunities to corner him, to force a moment alone, to peel back the mystery.
But every time she reached for him... the boy pushed her away.
Lilith clenched her teeth and swore, ’One day, he’ll come to me on his own. He will need something from me. And when that day comes... I’ll learn what he truly is.’
Just like she predictwd the day finally came.
--------
[ Present ]
The collapsing blood realm quaked harder as aura of darkness erupted from Lilith’s body, violent and consuming.
Obsidian-black armor formed around her, plates of pure night sealing over her figure. Edges gleamed with an unholy light, as if starlight had been trapped in stone. The armor curved to her form, making her appear both ethereal and terrifying — a war goddess draped in midnight dark steel.
Her hair whipped in the phantom winds of her own power, and her crimson eyes glowed like twin suns of blood.
She was beautiful, deadly, untouchable.
Nyx’s voice thundered in her mind, urgent and sharp.
[ Lilith, stop! You cannot handle the Umbra Form yet! Foolish girl — admit defeat before it kills you! ]
But Lilith did not answer.
Alex’s gaze locked onto her. His tone was cold, almost scolding as he saw the cracks forming on her body.
"Stop now, or you’ll kill yourself. That’s not a power you can handle yet."
Lilith raised her hand, ignoring him. Shadows condensed into beasts — wolves, serpents, ravens, and horrors without name — clawing their way into reality. First by tens, then hundreds, then thousands, all circling Alex like a tide of nightmares.
But Alex noticed the cracks. Thin, glowing fractures spreading across Lilith’s skin and armor as if her very body was shattering under the strain.
He groaned, running a hand through his hair. "Seriously... she’ll kill herself at this rate. And she’s still needed to support the hero in the future."
The beasts lunged.
Alex twirled his aura blade once, sighed, and drove it into the ground.
A ripple of death energy expanded outward. Silent. Absolute.
Every single beast shattered into dust, erased from existence before their fangs could even graze him.
Lilith’s Umbra Form faltered. The obsidian plates cracked, melted away into shadows. Her knees buckled, her body collapsing as the fractures across her form deepened, threatening to tear her apart.
Before she hit the ground, Alex caught her in his arms.
"Unbelievable," he muttered, exasperation dripping from his voice. "I only meant to teach her a lesson... and she had to go full mad and pull this stunt."
’Partner,’ he said inwardly, ’what’s her condition?’
The reply came sharp and grim.
[ She used her life force to draw out the last of her powers. To save her, we must use life energy. But remember, host—doing so will consume all of your Cosmic Essence. Recovery will take time. ]
Alex groaned aloud. "Of course. Figures."
He glared upward, voice rising. "Hey, Nyx! Your bitchy avatar is about to die. Do something!"
No answer came.
A vein bulged on his forehead. "That’s why I don’t trust bastard gods. They’ll abandon you the second it matters the most."
For a heartbeat, he considered letting her die. The silence in his chest was heavy. Then he thought of the future battles, of the countless dangers waiting.
’No,’ he decided. ’Without her, it’ll be harder. I can’t be everywhere And now the people I have to protect has increased in number too.’
He cursed under his breath. "Damn it... oh, fuck it. Partner, let’s do this."
[ Using Cosmic Essence To Create Life Energy. ]
Cracks still spider-webbed across Lilith’s body, glowing faintly like molten fractures. Her breathing was ragged, her crimson eyes half-lidded, and her aura flickered like a dying star.
Alex’s voice cut through the darkness, low but steady.
"Remember this. I repaid the favour I owed you when I didn’t kill you before. And now I’m saving your life. So now you owe me your life... and I’m going to work you to the bone."
A flood of white light ignited within Alex, bursting forth like a dawn breaking against endless night. Pure life energy — radiant, untainted, and absolute — spilled out of him, wrapping Lilith’s broken form in a cocoon of warmth. The darkness that had been tearing her apart shrieked in defiance, recoiling as the purity pressed in, shrinking back with every pulse of radiance.
Lilith gasped, her back arching as the cracks across her skin began to knit themselves closed. The obsidian shards of her armor dissolved into mist, leaving pale flawless skin beneath. Her breathing steadied; the deathly aura around her receded. In mere seconds, her broken body became whole again.
After a few more seconds of filling her body with life energy.
Alex exhaled harshly, beads of sweat rolling down his temple.
"Damn it It really took a huge toll on me..." he muttered.
Around them, the Blood Realm groaned. Mirror-like cracks spidered across the crimson sky, the edges of reality splintering. Alex grimaced as he realized, ’Oh yeah... I’m responsible for this too.’
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