In this world, if I were to die, would there be anyone to cry for me?

If I were to fall from the highest peak of the world, would there be anyone to catch me?

If I were given a chance to be born again, I would wish to be born as a bird. Yes. Let me be a bird so that I can soar high above the vast, limitless sky. I won't have to belong to anyone or anywhere. With my wings, I will fly and fly, touching the clouds as I go, exploring new horizons with happiness brimming in my heart as I glide carelessly in the wind without any fear of falling. Because I wish to be free, free from all the shackles and chains that are confining me to this life I never wished to have.

.・✫・.🌸Lilith🌸

●○●○●○●○

With arduous footsteps, Lilith dragged her heavy feet on the ground, looking up at the darkening sky as she went. The sky was overcast with tumultuous, dark, and ragged clouds signaling the onset of heavy rainfall. A flash of lightning split the sky in two, followed immediately by a loud clap of thunder. She flinched slightly at the sound but ignored it and trailed down her path.

Her body wouldn't stop trembling after the event with Serephius. The images she saw from that point on would forever be engraved into her memory. She could never wipe off the brutal image of him when he pulled out his sword and stabbed her. She could never forget having experienced the feeling of death. Even so, there was still a small part of her that still wanted to confront him once again.

She was stupid. Lilith scolded her pathetic self. Even after Serephius had made it very clear, her heart still reached out to him. But he had abandoned her. The person who was once her happiness abandoned her on a whim, the same person who lifted her spirits high up in the air and then let it fall so ruthlessly, shattering every bit of her conscience, the person who ignited the flames of love in her heart and then heartlessly betrayed her, that person was now gone.

Where was she supposed to go now? Her home where she was not welcome or back to the person who wanted to kill her?

"I can't promise that I can give you a carefree happy life but now that you're with me, all I can give you is protection. I know this life with me can never replace the life you had before you married me but I'm willing to listen to you if you would just tell me." Lilith recalled the words Serephius had once said to her.

Lies...

Lies Lies Lies! Her mind screamed, eyes clouding with unshed tears. He didn't protect her, he killed her. He never listened to her. He never asked her how she felt. He was selfish and cared only for himself. He would do anything to get his way even at the expense of her life, just like he had discarded her when he felt he didn't need her anymore.

Lilith looked up at the dull, grey sky once again and heard the sounds of marching thunder from afar. The sounds increased as they traveled closer and closer to where she was. A storm was already brewing a few miles ahead. But Lilith fixed her gaze upwards into the sky and refused to look down, afraid the tears might spill down uncontrollably if she did so.

A strong gust of wind swept the nearby trees and branches with a force so strong it almost made her stagger in her steps. Like a troublesome mischievious child, it kept bothering her, provoking her, making her hair blow wildly all over her face. Soon enough, the storm began to unleash it's fury. Bringing her arms together in a tight fold, Lilith miserably tried to shield herself from the biting cold downpour that was pricking on her skin as she continued to take valiant steps forward. Her dress swayed violently in the direction of the wind as it continued to pick up its force.

Was the sky weeping for her or weeping with her? She couldn't guess.

It wouldn't matter if she cried now, would it? Because the rainfall would wipe away her tears anyway. Feeling a false sense of assurance, she finally let the tears spill from her eyes without holding back. She helplessly cried alone, gripping her chest tightly as if to soothe that aching heart of hers, hoping she would feel better that way, hoping she could lighten the heaviness even just a little bit.

Lightning and thunder raged with fury. The pelting rain continued to crash down violently on the ground, persistent and unceasing. Her body struggled to keep up with its unrelenting force. Nighttime approached and she was out there all alone, but nobody would come to look for her. It was exactly like that day in the Phantom forest when she saw him for the very first time. Serephius had come for her then. But this time, it was different. He was not coming...

"Lilith!" A voice shouted at her from within the blinding storm and her heart jumped in surprise; she desperately wished it was Serephius. "What are you doing here?" The voice said to her and immediately covered her body with a huge cloak as if to give her a little bit of shelter from the tempestuous rain. But sooner or later, it would still soak them both completely. "Are you okay?"

"Jin!" cried Lilith. Overcome with emotions, she immediately latched onto him, hugging him tightly and began sobbing uncontrollably on his chest.

A lone figure watched them from the shadows, concealed from view. Frustrated at his inability to do anything, he furiously hit the bark of the tree with his angry fists, leaving a trail of blood in it's wake which got quickly washed away by the rain. Eating his feelings of shame and regret, the shadowy figure took off and disappeared into the storm after taking one final glance at the wife that he had abandoned.

Taking in Lilith's broken and disheveled appearance, no matter how badly he wanted to console her, Jin could do nothing but put a comforting hand on her shoulder, wishing it would alleviate some of her pain and sorrow. Then with his other arm encircling her waistline, he teleported them to a safe shelter nearby.

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇　

"Where is it again? The Stygian Arcanum?"

"Yes, my King."

"Ahh, why so troublesome?...Okay. Let's get this over with. This time I'm going alone. I don't want you guys dragging me down."

"But my King, it could be dangerous. We can't afford to lose y-"

"Shut up, will ya? Just like bees buzzing in my ears." He motioned his little finger on his ear and continued, "Who do you think I am?"

Sitting on the high and elevated throne, the Demon King licked his lips in anticipation. His red eyes gleamed from the shadows of his dark throne room, emancipating an aura of dominance and authority.

'Very soon, the stone fragment will be mine.'

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇　

The rising sun cast a rosy hue across the morning sky, illuminating the entire world with its first display of light, and gracing the earth with its warmth. Serephius was in a small clearing near the hillside. From the point where he stood, he could see the jagged peaks of the mist-covered mountains coupled with the glimmering rays of sunshine, emitting a picturesque view of the early morning. Automatically raising his hand above his head to block the golden shimmer of sunshine that was peeking through the place and settling down on his face, his eyes scanned the surrounding place, engraving them into his memory.

This was his last moment. This was the last time he was ever going to come there. The times he spent, the memories he made with Lilith, it was time to forget them all. Drawing his hands back, he took one final glance at the place, the kingdom where Lilith was born, and as if saying his final goodbyes, he turned his head away and spun on his heel, his large black cloak swaying coolly behind him.

"Wait!" The sudden voice made him waver in his footsteps. It was a voice he recognized all too well.

"Lilith?"

"I'm not letting you leave before I hear an explanation," Lilith said to him, trying to sound strong but her voice almost broke in the end and Serephius pretended not to have noticed.

"Oh," Serephius slowly turned to face her. "If you're here to talk about the agreement we had about the war, then you don't have to worry about a thing. I am the one who ended this relationship with you and I don't think this will give enough reason for the demons to declare war again but if in case, a war broke out following our split, I'll be there to lend a helping hand though I highly doubt that would be the case. But that's the least I can do for you. I will bear responsibility for breaking my word with the Heavenly Lord but that doesn't concern you."

"I'm not talking about that." Lilith clenched her fists, her body slightly shivered from her overwhelming emotions. "I'm talking about what happened yesterday."

"I think I've made myself quite clear about that yesterday."

"No...Tell me. Why didn't you kill me yesterday? You could have killed me for real but you didn't? So tell me why. You can't kill me, can you?"

"This again..."

"Then tell me, what am I to you? All those days we spent together, do they not mean anything to you?"

"No. They don't. You are nothing to me, Lilith. I kept you around because I liked having to be followed around by a pet. Now I'm bored and have no use for you." He coldly glared at his, biting out every word scornfully.

Lilith became speechless. She felt like someone was stabbing her heart repeatedly with a sharp knife. Her throat started to tighten as she felt hot tears swarm her eyelids. She was almost on the verge of breaking down into sobs again.

"...lies." Lilith managed to squeak out. "I know you don't mean any of what you said." She was trying to convince him, but it was more like she was trying to convince herself instead, that Serephius was not who he was turning out to be. "You can't kill me so I don't believe a word you just said."

"Good then. I'll just have to make you believe them...Perfect timing. Do you like the weather?"

"What are y-"

"It's a perfect day...to kill someone."

Not a second later, Lilith found herself pinned on the bark of a tree. Serephius loomed over her like a towering structure. His right hand gripped her neck, his fingers curling with force around the area, his palm pressing tightly against her throat. Lilith cried out, gasping for air. She frantically started hitting his hands in the hopes that he would let her go but his hand only tightened his grip and mercilessly squeezed her neck as if strangling his prey.

Her eyes brimmed with burning tears as she struggled to wriggle free from his grip. Suddenly, without warning, a single drop of tear slid down her face and touched his thumb. He could feel his chest tightening in pain as soon as he caught sight of it but he ignored it. That was not his motive.

Lilith could feel herself slowly losing consciousness as she gasped for breath. She felt her life slipping away and in her hazy vision, all she could see was his cold and distant, emotionless eyes and she watched him with her eyes ladened with fear as he continued to squeeze the life out of her. If the situation kept up, she was surely going to die in a couple of seconds.

"Okay. That's enough, Serephius." Jin suddenly appeared at the scene. He immediately grabbed Serephius's hand, dislodging it from Lilith's neck, and with profound force, flung his body in the air, away from Lilith. Serephius did a backflip and landed gracefully on the ground. A look of relief crossed his face for a brief second before it was quickly replaced by indifference.

But Jin was no fool. He had caught it all. He knew Serephius didn't have the guts to kill Lilith. Regardless of whether he intervened or not, Serephius was not going to do it, kill her that is but he had to intervene before things really got out of control. He was irritated the the thought that Serephius had to resort to something like this but his childish efforts were not in vain for it seemed Lilith had fallen for his flawless act. Now she probably believed Serephius was indeed not serious about her at all.

Lilith plopped down on the ground, and gasped for breath, clutching her neck with her hands. Seeing that Jin had arrived, Serephius left the scene almost immediately, not even uttering a word of goodbye.

It was over.

It was finally over. He was not coming back.

"Don't worry, Lilith. I'll go and talk to him." Jin told Lilith. He bent his leg and kneeled with one leg in front of Lilith. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm alright," smiled Lilith, but her expression was pained. Jin gave her a reassuring smile in return and after checking if she was okay, he quickly got up and disappeared in a mist of smoke, probably going to go find Serephius.

Unbeknownst to them, a shadowy figure had been secretly watching them from the shady bushes and it had witnessed the whole situation.

●○●○●○●○

"Lilith, where have you been? I've been looking all over for you."

Lilith was in no mood to meet with her sister, Kira. She had just come back from her confrontation with Serephius and she was in no mood to play silly games with her sister.

"Do you need something?" Lilith asked Kira.

"Actually, I have a favour."

"What is it?"

"First, you need to come with me."

...

"Kira. We aren't allowed here. You do know that, don't you?" Lilith told Kira.

"Yes. I know, my dear sister. But this is something really really serious. And I need your immediate attention."

Lilith felt uneasy hearing Kira's words. It was strange that the sister who hated her so much was suddenly being very kind to her. She couldn't help but feel uneasy.

"Okay. Tell me. Achooo." Lilith sneezed.

"Are you okay, Lilith?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. It's nothing." Lilith felt a bit sick. It was probably from the rain last night, she thought.

"We need to go to the other side of the palace and enter that room."

"You know we can't go to that room. It's forbidden. Besides, it's heavily guarded."

"First, let me explain. This morning, I heard a faint sound of a cat meowing this morning. I didn't know where it came from so I followed the sound and found myself here. And it seems father had sent the guards away on some errands so I took the chance and went in."

"Father sent the guards away? That can't be. Isn't it nearing the time for the sacrifice? Shouldn't the place be more heavily guarded?" said Lilith, raising a questioning brow at Kira.

"Lilith, I'm positive father sent the guards away on an errand. You have to trust me. There's a small injured kitten inside. I found it lying there so helplessly. I don't even know how it got in there. I tried to carry it away from the room but it was so heavily injured and there was a lot of blood so I dared not pick it up. I thought it might die." Tearing up at the last words, Kira looked at Lilith expectantly. And Lilith knew exactly what she wanted.

"You want me to heal him?"

"Yes, sister! I could wish for nothing more. Please save the poor kitty. You know I love animals the most. I can't stand watching them die so please save the kitty," begged Kira, giving Lilith a hopeful look.

...

Lilith and Kira walked inside a fairly large room. It had a magnificent deep blue interior and its ceilings extended way beyond a hundred feet above their heads. The space inside was enormous but empty and the air inside was cold and still. Venturing further into the empty room, they saw a large circular structure situated on top of an elevated platform just a few steps ahead. The structure seemed to have been made up of some kind of precious metal and silver decorated with shiny amethyst stones. It looked like a huge circular transitional plane resembling one giant black hole and was emancipating a bluish violet aura of some type of magical essence from inside, making it look quite mysterious and ominous.

"Is that the portal?" Lilith asked.

"Yes. It is."

Lilith was starting to feel very unwell. She was getting feverish. All she wanted to do now was to go back to her room, crash on her bed, and sleep. She just wanted to get this over with. "Where is the kitten?" she asked.

"Next to the portal, on the right side," Kira replied.

"Are you sure?" Lilith gave her a wary look.

"I'm positive."

Lilith ignored the uneasiness that was building up her gut and moved forward. "Be careful Kira, it seems the portal is activated."

"Slowly. We need to walk up the few stairs ahead. The kitten is lying above there." Saying this, Kira led Lilith by the hand and they both carefully climbed up a few steps to reach the elevated platform.

On the final step, however, Kira took one step behind, letting Lilith reach the platform before her. She smirked evilly and without warning, she gave a mighty, forceful push on Lilith's back, sending her straight into the portal's mouth.

"Say hi to the Stygian Arcanum. But you'll soon be dead anyway." Kira smiled devilishly, after she watched Lilith get sucked inside the portal.

●○●○●○●○

"You idiot. Don't you think you're taking this too far?" Jin asked Serephius.

"Jin. Just...take care of her. I'm counting on you."

"What if I say I don't want to?"

"Jin." Serephius looked at him seriously. "Please."

"..."

Jin sighed in defeat. Serephius had never begged for anything or to anyone but this time he was genuinely requesting him to take care of Lilith. He didn't know what to do now, everything seemed to be in puzzle pieces. "Hey hey, so you're just gonna leave? Just like that?" he asked, seeing Serephius turn his back to him and walk off.

"..."

"You bastard. At least say someth-" Jin stated but he suddenly stopped in the middle. "Serephius...I..can't sense Lilith." he said, his expression horrified.

"What do you mean?" Sensing something was wrong, Serephius stopped in his tracks. He turned back and focussed his full attention on Jin.

"Her scent is gone...I can't feel her presence."

"Jin. Stop playing around. I'm not buying it."

"I'm not. It doesn't make sense, she was right next to me just some minutes ago. I should be able to sense her unless she's..." Dead. Jin dare not say the last word.

Serephius was doubtful but he had to trust Jin. After all, Jin was a fox and in situations like this, he definitely knew what he was saying. "No. That can't be. She must be concealing it."

"Really? You think? After that situation? What do you think would give her any reason to-?" Jin rambled on but Serephius was not listening to him.

"Shinha!" Serephius called. His giant falcon instantly appeared, soaring above the sky, and making a loud high-pitched cry.

"Find her!" Serephius ordered and not a second later, the gigantic bird flew off.

"We need to move too," said Jin.

To be continued...

»»--⍟--««

Finally done! Thank you guys for your patience and for reading through the whole chapters. I hope you liked it. Yup. Things are heating up now. Stay tuned to see what happens in the next chapter!🥰🥰

A lot of trees in this chapter😅😅 I hope you got the whole imagery of what I was trying to portray here, my dear readers. If you liked this chapter, please vote, comment, and share too. Thanks for your support guys. Until next update! Bye!