Chapter 81: Twilight veil : Chronicles of Konquerors and night walkers
A year passed, and Lilith was introduced to the humans within the six tribes as a night walker. Despite initial shock, the two enlightened explained their presence, and gradually, acceptance settled among the people. As feasts and cultural exchanges unfolded, an observant tribe leader noticed Lilith's reluctance to eat. With concern, he inquired, "Why are you not eating with us? Do you not like the food we have prepared for you?"
Lilith shook her head, explaining that night walkers rarely ate; their bodies required a substantial amount of soul essence and mana to function. They primarily sustained themselves by hunting beasts, absorbing their soul essence and mana. Without these vital elements, their bodies would deteriorate over time, turning them into marble statues, forfeiting their immortality. Lilith dropped a bombshell revelation — her mother was human and didn't belong to any of the tribes. Hailing from Ke'si, the islands of Pangu on the other side of the Nir Su Sea, Lilith's mother embarked on a voyage that took an unfortunate turn. Most of her crew perished, leaving her as the sole survivor. Unwittingly entering the spirit glades, home to the night walkers, Lilith's father, a young night walker, discovered the sleeping human. He brought her to his home, using potions to conceal her scent from the others. They fell in love, and despite Lilith's mother being human, they had a child together. Tragically, her mother succumbed during childbirth.
With their conversation concluded, the two enlightened departed with Lilith. Upon reaching the spirit glades, they noticed the absence of castles or houses. Perplexed, they inquired, "Where is your home?"
Lilith giggled and gestured toward a nearby stone altar. "We are here, gentlemen." As they approached, Lilith's hand transformed into a claw, and she scraped her index finger, allowing blood to flow. She drew a circle with an upside-down cross on the altar. The stone structure began to glow with an ominous red light, drawing them in. From the portal in the sky, Lilith transformed into a massive swarm of bats. The two enlightened calmly channeled their breath, flying down alongside the swarm. They landed on top of a dark and mysterious castle surrounded by a vast forest.
The atmosphere was dark, gloomy, with uncertain landscapes and Gothic-style architecture, creating an aura of suspense and mystery. The sky, covered in dark clouds, revealed other smaller castles and numerous Gothic buildings in the distance. Lilith, back in her original form, smiled at the two and said, "Welcome to the Menda Dynasty, home of mystical beings. Right now, we are standing on top of my castle. Let us wait here for the royal guards to come fetch us; they have surely felt the portal opening." Within a few minutes, the roof was flooded with nightwalkers in armor.
The minute they saw the empress, they all knelt, and she took the time to introduce the two enlightened. They made their way to the throne room where Lilith's husband, Vlad, stood speaking to a few servants. She introduced her husband to the two humans, and in the evening, there was a royal banquet where many creatures of the night appeared. The two enlightened learned that the Menda Dynasty was home to all the known mystical beings of their world, with Lilith, the Blood Empress, at the top. The two humans were taught the ways of the mystical beings and discovered that, unlike them, these beings were innately born with the ability to sense mana.
The night walkers were the most peculiar among the mystical beings, feeding on the mana and soul essence of other creatures. To reach godhood, they had to create a soul from all the soul essence they gathered. Lilith, being half night walker, had half a soul, meaning she was halfway to becoming a true god – currently akin to an angel. This revelation didn't scare the two enlightened, being demigods, but they could never break through that threshold for the rest of their immortal lives.
The relationship between the humans of the six founding tribes and the mystical beings of the Menda Dynasty remained healthy for centuries until the two enlightened disappeared with their respective tribes, leaving the other four tribes to fend for themselves. The remaining tribes, known as Konquerors, expanded their territories, conquering other lands with their supernatural abilities. War broke out between the Konquerors and the mysticals, lasting two centuries. The two enlightened eventually returned, and a peace treaty was established, but trust between the two factions was irreparably damaged.
Lilith, focused on investigating the prophesied war, encountered a god during her journeys. The god offered to help her create the other half of her soul in exchange for the death of the two enlightened, claiming they schemed against the heavens. Enticed by the prospect of becoming a god, Lilith agreed and sought out her former allies.
Found at their former home where the six tribes once dwelled, Zhou Li questioned Lilith's motives, suspecting she was sent by Sega. Lilith, eyes turned black with dark veins, calmly approached, explaining her actions were for the greater good. She attacked, and a nine-month battle ensued, neither side gaining the upper hand until Vlad and the councilmen of Menda intervened. Using binding magic against their empress, Lilith felt betrayed by her own people and her husband of two hundred years, questioning Vlad with tears in her eyes.
Vlad approached her, touching her face and kissing her for the last time. He revealed that the god who approached Lilith had deceived her; the only deity capable of helping her create a soul was the Moon Goddess, also known as the Mother of Souls. The entity inside her was not half a soul but a pseudo-soul, and it was intended to corrupt her. Vlad, expressing regret, couldn't let her be turned against them. With those words, he pierced her heart with his sword, Blood's Dusk.
As Lilith was dying, the Mesa enlightened appeared before her, whispering that despite having only half a soul, she was divine and could enter reincarnation. He bid farewell, promising to meet again in her next life. Lilith, turning to Vlad, smiled and said, "See you next time." Her body slowly turned to marble, and Vlad released a heartbroken scream.
Mourning her, Vlad took her body and left with it. The group agreed it was best to hide the events that transpired. They decided to alter the history of the world, erasing any account of Konquerors and Mysticals, passing them off as legends and stories. The legend of Lilith Mendabich became known only to a few.
In the library, they listened as Lilith revealed details about her past life.
"That pseudo-soul has been stuck with me for about 35 lives until I managed to separate it in my previous life," Lilith explained.
The entire room fell into a hushed silence, filled with a mix of admiration and, for some, fear. Finn stood up and bowed, expressing, "It is an honor to be in the presence of the Blood Empress." The others followed suit.
Lilith giggled, shaking her head. "I'm not the person I was anymore. I only know all of this because somehow, whenever I reach the adolescent stage, all of my previous memories return. Right now, I'm inhabiting the body of a human, and I have already become a Soul Seed Konqueror. The potential you humans have is frightening, to say the least," Lilith spoke before turning her gaze to Timothy and Jake.
"You two must be descendants of the two enlightened. I'm glad to see that their bloodline still runs strong. Though I wonder what those two are up to now," she continued. The others in the room cast envious glances toward the boys. Timothy shook his head, but Jake seemed a little disturbed and excused himself from the meeting.
The entire meeting room was now deadly silent as they all processed the weight of what they had just heard.