"Are you sure about this?"
Naberiax asked as he stood beside Lilith, his fiery gaze fixed on the darkness of the Pit.
Its eerie gravity slightly tugged faintly at the edges of his tattered cape, not enough to pull him down into the pit, but enough to remind him of the unnatural power of the Pit.
The Daemon Queen, meanwhile, sat perched at the edge of the immense hole, playfully dangling her delicate feet over the void. She kicked them back and forth idly, like a playful child sitting on the edge of a well.
Genisix stood on the other side of the pit, his chains hovering loosely around him as his massive claws outstretched as if testing the air of the black abyss.
The three of them were the only ones standing in the vast central courtyard, a decision Lilith made when she sensed that Phoebe was freed.
"It was a wise decision," Genisix rasped, his distorted voice like knives scraping across stone.
"The only ones who have a chance against the Incarnus are Her Majesty… and you, High Commander." His claws twitched as if detecting something.
"I, and the rest of our troops, would just get erased by a single wave of her hand."
Naberiax's fist clenched at his side. "I should summon the remaining commanders."
Genisix's fiery eyes flickered from between the black flames that made up his head. "There is a reason why those insane creatures were deployed beyond the horizon. They were too uncontrollable. Too drunk on Her Majesty's blessings."
"While it took your persuasion for me, Zygaxis, and Elariax to turn traitors. For those creatures?" A contemptuous scoff escaped him. "It didn't take much for those bastards to switch sides."
"And that's why I like them," Lilith chimed in cheerfully, resting her chin on her palms. "It was a shame you sent them away, Naberiax."
"And I told you many times that it was for your safety," Naberiax sighed. "They were just too unpredictable."
"There is no guarantee that they would even answer the summons."
"Let's not worry about that," Lilith said lightly.
She paused and then pouted. "Still… I am a bit heartbroken about Zygaxis's death. He was a fine idiot."
Something caught her attention, and her purple eyes flickered toward the Pit.
A small point of bright light appeared in the middle of the abyssal darkness.
It was no larger than a distant star, but it shone steadily against the black void.
"Hm?" She tilted her head, watching as the light swelled, growing brighter until the darkness around it recoiled.
Her scarlet lips curled into a smile as the blinding light illuminated her pale face.
"She's here."
Lilith leaned back as the light exploded upward.
A comet of pure light tore out of the Pit at blinding speed, ripping through the air and streaking toward the sky. A shockwave spread outward, cracking the inner walls surrounding the courtyard.
The comet continued to move upwards, way up in the sky, and then, like a flower bud, blossomed.
A white sun ignited in the crimson sky of a world bereft of one.
The sir screamed as an immense presence pressed down on the world, causing the ground to fracture and the massive palace to start crumbling.
Cracks of pure light spread across the crimson sky as the world itself struggled to contain the presence of the divine being.
Genisix was flat on the ground, pressed down by the immense aura, while Naberiax was on his knees, struggling to get up.
Lilith, however, was relatively unfazed as she stared up at the radiant sphere, her face filled with absolute delight.
Lifting her hands in the sky, she laughed and declared.
"Children who follow and revere the light, rejoice! For your sun has returned!"
"Traitors who abandoned betrayed the light, tremble in fear and despair!"
She paused and said in a sweet voice.
"For your annihilation has come."
Her words echoed all around, resonating throughout the landscape.
And as if they had an effect, the immense pressure lessened and the ground stopped shaking.
A silence descended, as if the land itself was holding its breath.
A soft voice broke it. Calm but layered with immeasurable power.
"Lilith."
Reality rippled from that single word. The air glitched like a torn frame of existence.
Lilith gazed upwards, her lips parting into a delighted smile. "Hello, sister."
Two streaks fell from the white sun.
One descended, wreathed in crimson-black flames, and the other was wrapped in pure darkness.
Like stars falling from the heavens, they descended to the massive courtyard, slowing down just before impact. They touched down on the pure white tiles.
Lilith tilted her head. "You guys could've gone straight to the Tear."
"Not with you standing there," Mordred Pendragon replied calmly.
He stepped forward, his right arm forged of blood, glowing eerily, and his white sword wreathed in the crimson-black flames of Bloodfire.
Alisax stood tall beside him, her slim, armored body surrounded by shifting darkness, and the light within her shone brighter than ever.
Her eyeless gaze behind the fathomless darkness of her hood was not on Lilith, but on Naberiax.
"There is some unfinished business left."
Lilith chuckled, her eyes filled with twisted love, never leaving Mordred. "Very well. I would adore to dance with you, my love."
Mordred smiled faintly. "Sorry, love. I'm going to leave that dance for my weapon."
"Oh?" Lilith glanced at the bright stellar orb illuminating the crimson sky.
"She wants to have a conversation with me?"
Mordred's smile turned into a smirk. "She asked for ten minutes. As her master, how can I deny her wishes?"
Lilith narrowed her eyes, her smile widening.
"Her master," she repeated softly. "This is a rather interesting development."
"But just in case," black liquid flowed down her pale arm, coalescing and taking the shape of a dagger without a grip.
Just a smooth black blade with its sharp edge held in her grip.
"I guess this is how the Haema Incarnus makes her weapons?" She mused, studying the black blade digging into her skin.
Flicking her gaze back to Mordred, she said. "I'll be right back."
She rose from the ground with an eerie grace, ascending toward the white sun high up in the sky.
Naberiax watched as his queen's form slowly faded amidst the brilliant luminosity.
"I can take on the boy," Genisix growled as he appeared beside him. "What are your orders, High Commander?"
Naberiax lowered his gaze, resting it on Alisax and Mordred. After a brief moment, as if analyzing them, he spoke.
"Genisix. You will lead the army crossing the Tear."
His gaze locked onto Mordred.
"Find the humans he holds dear," he continued, his regal voice filled with a cold calculation. "And slaughter them."
"Now wait a minute!" Sparks flew as a white blade enveloped in Bloodfire collided against Naberiax's quickly drawn black blade.
"That…" Mordred Pendragon snapped, his glowing crimson eyes staring into his own. "... is a terrible idea!"
"Get going, Genisix," the High Commander ordered calmly, pushing against the unusually heavy force behind the young prince's sword.
As Genisix immediately turned, a sleek, black longsword carved towards his torso.
"You're not going anywhere," Alisax hissed.
Naberiax moved instantly.
A brutal kick slammed into Mordred's stomach, launching him away.
In the same motion, Naberiax thrusts his blade between Genisix and Alisax, catching the latter's strike and wrenching it aside.
He adjusted his grip and drove her back with overwhelming force.
"I will handle them."
The two daemons shared a glance before Genisix slipped into one of the portals he uses for his chains.
Naberiax watched as the remnants of the portal closed. He felt two spikes in ardor converging on him.
In an instant, he blocked Alisax's sword with his with a shriek of metal.
In that same moment, he caught Mordred's sword, the crimson-black flames licking his armored hand.
"Mordred, you go after Genisix," Alisax said, pressing against the High Commander's blade.
"Let's not do that," Naberiax replied calmly.
Tightening his grip around Mordred's blade, he flung the young man bodily into Alisax, slamming them together.
As they staggered backward, he faced them, calm and unshaken.
Mordred stood up, shaking the daze off him and grumbling. "Looks like we're stuck with him."
"This is your final lesson, Mordred Pendragon." Naberiax's fiery eyes flared.
"Do your best not to die."
*******
"Sister!"
Lilith felt an unnatural delight as the light parted to reveal Phoebe.
"Oh, my!" She placed a hand over her mouth, in awe of the goddess before her.
Her fair skin glowed from within, with faint golden markings running across like blood vessels carrying liquid gold, and her forearms were of pure white brilliance, flickering like static.
The light just existed, absolute and unquestioning.
Her crystalline eyes glittered like light passing through diamonds. However, they were utterly devoid of any emotion.
They merely registered what was happening before them.
It was as if Lilith was looking into the eyes of a machine.
"I see that you even upgraded your wardrobe!" she noted, looking at the new battledress and helical halo of stars.
She laughed, trying to get a reaction from Phoebe's face.
It never came.
Phoebe didn't respond. She was silent.
She tilted her head, as if examining Lilith mechanically, clinically.
"Lilith," her voice monotonous and empty. "You look… unhappy."
A cold diagnosis that came from the embodiment of light.
Lilith's smile froze. Her grip on the dagger faltered, and the glimmer in her purple eyes flickered.
"Unhappy?" she asked in an innocent, sickeningly sweet voice.
"How can I be unhappy?" Spreading out her arms, she laughed. It sounded artificial.
"I am a queen on par with the Incarni, commanding one of the largest armies of perfect soldiers in existence."
She reached out to Phoebe, as if wanting to embrace her. "And now, my dear sister, whom I imprisoned for millennia, is finally free!"
Lilith shook her head, tears running down her face as she smiled. "How can you say that I am unhappy?"
Phoebe looked at Lilith's outstretched arms and then at her tear-streaked face, as if contemplating their meaning. She did not move to meet her.
Then a faint flicker passed across her face, the faint flicker of an emotion long forgotten.
Lilith saw the flicker, but she was unable to discern the emotion it conveyed.
Their gazes locked, and Phoebe spoke. "What have I done?"
Four words.
They pierced deep into Lilith's heart, numbing her.
Her smile twitched, and the world became silent.
"What have you done?" She asked back, lowering her head, her voice barely a whisper.
She repeated the words, filling the air with her whispered mutterings.
Her grip on the dagger tightened, and her arms trembled.
The air crackled, and darkness, like smoke, seeped out of Lilith's body.
The sky darkened, but the encroaching dark didn't dare to touch Phoebe's brilliant light.
An immense aura, similar to Phoebe's, descended upon the world, darker and colder than the Incarnus'.
Phoebe observed these changes, remaining calm as ever.
Her eyes finally rested on Lilith, who became completely still.
The Darkling exhaled, an action that made the air flicker and glitch, much like the world did in the presence of Phoebe.
When she lifted her head, Phoebe narrowed her eyes.
Lilith's tears had turned black, and they ran down her face like blackened dew.
Her purple eyes glowed eerily, and a twisted, pained smile adorned her face.
With a chuckle, Lilith asked.
"What have I done?"