"What are your wishes then?" Lysandra asked softly.
Lilith looked down at the cursed sword in her hand and exhaled deeply. For a moment, she seemed lost in thought, staring at the ceiling above.
Then, closing her eyes, she spoke,
"Mmm... The first wish is to make sure that Narxuia and its people will always endure. No matter the wars, no matter the suffering, no matter the pain. Let these people be free. Truly free."
"From oppression, interference, or fear. Let it stand tall even when the world around it crumbles. Let every race, every family, every child grow up without a blade to their throat or a boot on their neck. They will continue to grow and prosper regardless of the situation."
"We have bled enough. The future generations deserve peace and more."
Lysandra nodded slowly, "I understand. The people of Narxuia will find resilience beyond measure. Their spirit will never falter, not by conquest, nor famine, nor despair. They will remain sovereign, masters of their fate."
A flicker of satisfaction crossed Lilith's face. She nodded and continued,
"My second wish…" She hesitated for abit, "...is to allow me to see my family again and to see what Narxuia become. If I cannot return to them as I am condemned to Hell, at least let me watch over them."
"Grant me this mercy: let me see how the world unfolds without me. Let me see how my children and my people grow."
It wasn't just another wish. It was a mother's desperate hope and a ruler's final request to witness the legacy she had fought so fiercely to protect.
Lysandra sighed as she considered the weight of Lilith's demand. Finally, she spoke.
"You shall have this. From the depths of Hell, you will bear witness to the growth of Narxuia and your loved ones. You will bear witness to their triumphs and struggles alike. But know this: such visions may bring you solace but it could also torment you."
"Are you prepared for that burden?"
"Yes. Whatever it takes."
There was a long pause.
Lilith looked relieved that Lysandra granted both of her wishes. Even in her fucked up mental state, she was making the best use of her wishes.
"And my last wish… Tell me honestly: Is Meredith in a better place? Is she truly at peace? Or did I doom her soul alongside mine? Especially...when I made this sword?"
"Meredith is in Heaven. Her soul ascended long ago, untouched by the darkness that consumed her body and mind. She carries no hatred, no regret."
"Only love. Love for her family, for you, for those she protected, for the life she lived.
"She is happy, Lilith. Truly."
Tears welled in Lilith's eyes, spilling silently down her cheeks. She gripped the sword tighter, as though trying to hold onto Meredith one last time.
"She's…happy?"
"She is. And she forgives you, Lilith. She forgives everything."
The admission hit Lilith like a truck, shattering the walls she'd built around her heart. She sank to her knees, overwhelmed by a mixture of relief and anguish.
"Aaah...aahhhh..."
For centuries, she had carried the guilt of Meredith's death, convinced that she had failed her dearest friend.
"AAHHH!! AHHHHH!"
To hear that Meredith was at peace and that she harboured no resentment towards her was the grace she so desperately needed.
"AAAAAHH! HAAAHH!"
She cried for a good 5 minutes.
"Hik...Thank you." Lilith whispered hoarsely, "Thank you…"
Lysandra watched her with a look of realisation,
"I...suppose..." Lysandra began, her tone heavy with remorse, "I should apologize for all those years I ignored your prayers. I will admit... I was too much of a coward to break laws that might have changed some things."
She paused as regret came in. As a God, she was bound by strict laws of the universe that couldn't be broken under any circumstances. Even years ago when she had interfered the war and gave a fraction of her powers, she was judged by the council of Gods and would have been exiled if not for the Being.
Wanting to not be isolated for centuries again, she had watched from afar as Lilith spiraled deeper into madness, consumed by grief and rage. She had seen the countless nights Lilith spent kneeling before altars, begging for answers, for forgiveness, for something, anything, to ease the burden of Meredith's loss.
And yet, Lysandra had remained silent, bound by her own fears of disrupting the balance.
"Perhaps if I had told you long ago that Meredith forgave you...perhaps none of this would have happened. You wouldn't be here and I wouldn't need to send you to Hell. Maybe Narxuia wouldn't bear the scars of your vengeance."
"Maybe your family wouldn't carry the weight of what you've become."
Lilith raised her head slowly with tears still dropping,
"But you didn't. You're a coward since before and now. You're the same God who let her own people die until you couldn't take it anymore. And maybe that's why we're here now."
She wiped away her tears, "But still…thank you. Even if I will never forgive you for being a coward, thank you for telling me about Meredith. I am...truly relieved."
Then, Lysandra raised her hand and started to seal Lilith,
"I'm...sorry, Lilith. I wish things didn't have to be this way."
As the cage sealed shut, Lilith said one last thing,
"Don't be a coward then. Do what is right."
*************************************************************************
From the depths of Hell, Lilith watched. Through visions granted by Lysandra's promise, she bore witness to the rise and fall of civilizations in Narxuia. At first, she found solace in seeing her people thrive with their resilience, laughter and growth.
For centuries, she clung to these glimpses like a lifeline, finding meaning even in her torment. Her son would become the Demon King after his father, and her daughter would become an advisor to the elves.
Lilith's bloodline continued to prosper until the War of Narxuia. Where 300 years ago, a cataclysmic conflict that tore the world apart once again. Dragons from another world invaded Narxuia. They burned cities, the rivers ran red with blood, and thousands perished.
It was chaos on a scale Lilith hadn't seen since the First Cataclysm. And through it all, Lysandra did something Lilith could never forgive.
She reached into other worlds forcefully, plucking humans from their realm and thrusting them into Narxuia. These humans were given powers beyond comprehension.
Lysandra named them heroes, gifting them angelic powers to fight the dragons. But… most of these so-called "heroes" treated the war like some video game. They didn't understand the weight of what they carried. They couldn't grasp the cost of the power thrust upon them.
To Lilith, watching from her prison, it was an insult. She viewed them as parasites—just like the angels before them.
Yet amidst the chaos, one human stood apart: Levi. Unlike the others, he took the war seriously. He fought with everything he had, bleeding and breaking for a cause he barely understood.
He would later be known as the Hero of Narxuia. He wielded creation magic and rallied the elves, orcs, demons, dwarves, and humans to fight the dragons properly. He equipped them with legendary weapons like Flameberge, Dainsleif, and Tizona, turning an unwinnable war into a hard-fought victory.
For that, Lilith begrudgingly respected him even if his presence only served as a reminder of humanity's inadequacy.
But Levi died in the final hour of the war alongside 80% of the world's population. Only the very young and survivors lived to tell the tale. And because the destruction resembled the First Cataclysm, nearly every history book and record was lost.
The younger generation never got to learn the actual story of Narxuia, as the war had nearly wiped everyone out. So, one day, they all gathered in the Royal City and decided to write their own history.
The demons and dwarves opposed this, but the elves and orcs wanted to get it over with, knowing that rebuilding would take centuries. Humans, being the weakest among the races, needed to do something to avoid being cast aside and so, they offered to lead Narxuia.
Since Levi had been a human and led them to victory, everyone saw the potential for a greater Narxuia and agreed.
But in doing so, the humans rewrote history. Not right away of course, they all maintained the same stories...until the new generation. At first, it was subtle. Little bit of this, little bit of that.
But over the time, they began to re-edit and change it until the story no longer included the other races. The races protested against this but the humans and the new generation, stood on their ground and told them to just take it or leave it.
Not wanting another fight when the world was still at a delicate balance, every race leader decided to distance themselves from the humans. The dwarves, orcs, and demons created their own history books based on the original meeting records. Only the elves maintained a good relationship with the humans albeit for monetary gain.
Narxuia did prosper, yes but at the cost of segregation. The dwarves, orcs, and demons refused to do business with the humans, and to some extent, even began to hate the elves for speaking with them.
To Lilith, watching from Hell, it felt like a betrayal. Her sacrifices, Meredith's death, her grandchildrens, the blood of everyone who fought meant nothing now. The humans had taken everything she had died to protect and twisted it into something unrecognizable.
Lilith festered in this hatred for centuries just like she did with the angels. She hated these humans with a passion for changing the world she loved so much and making everyone divided.
They didn't deserve the world she had died to protect.
So when Nathaniel offered Lilith a chance to be reborn in exchange for killing humans especially Aric and Evelyn—she accepted. Because in her mind, when she finally succeeds, she would wipe out the humans and reunite the races like the golden days of Narxuia.
She would be their saviour once again.
********************************************************************
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The sword of Meredith not only siphoned mana, it disrupt the soul as well.
Aric with his anti magic knuckle brass, was finding it really hard to fight against someone who was clearly a master swordsman. His knuckle brass was the only reason why he isn't dead yet.
Seraphina grabbed Aric and yanked him upwards to her as Lilith tried to use dark tendrils from the sword to grab Aric.
"Hey! Come back down you pussy!" Lilith mimicked Aric to mock him.
"Why are you scared now, Vayne?"
Aric on a floating platform with Seraphina looked at each other,
"Okay I had a plan but it looks like I should've learned some swordsm—"
Seraphina leaped from the platform, cradling Aric in her arms like a bride.
"AHHH!" as Aric held onto Seraphina's neck as they landed gently.
Seraphina realising what she had just done, quickly put down Aric while trying not to be flustered.
"Ahem. Anyways, tell me your plan."
Aric trying to regroup himself and trying not to be distracted by the fact that a woman carried him like some bride,
"Yeah um. I need you to fight that demon with this."
Using matter manipulation, he changed the anti magic brass knuckle into an anti magic sword. He gave it to Seraphina,
"This is my plan. Since I don't know swordsmanship well, you will need to fight her with this. This is our best shot, Seraphina. Ever since that demon summoned that sword, she has been siphoning mana from the surroundings and trying to get mine.
"My weapons will nullify her attempts and you're the best one here to wield it."
Seraphina took the weapon and felt a strange sensation. This weapon felt hollow and empty magically. The material, Nullstone, neutralized magical energy on contact.
The perfect counter to Lilith's draining abilities.
"This...sword is strange."
"Yes cause it's anti magic. Don't worry, it won't affect you magically."
Lilith appeared in a blink and swung the Meredith sword that had extended to a long sword but Seraphina parried that.
CLANG!
Seraphina blocked Lilith's attack with the sword and finally felt no absorption from it,
"Huh. This is quite nice. HUMPH!"
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Although Lilith couldn't absorb Seraphina's mana, it was absorbing mana from nature and it was slowly becoming evident to see. The tree were starting to wilt and the ground were drying up.
Evelyn saw this and run back at full speed to warn the people of Ashwick to go further away,
"PENELOPE! BORIN! GET OUT FROM HERE! EVERYONE OUT HERE!"
Penelope who was busy comforting a little boy, looked confused, "What? Why?"
"That demon is absorbing mana from everywhere! It'll drain your life force next! Run!"
Everyone was running for their life with Evelyn controlling the flow.
"GO GO! COME ON! CHILDREN FIRST!"