You need not fear a villain who has seen the light, nor snow that has melted into warm water—
but you should fear a demon that has lived in the darkness, and then broken free from it.
I have never known the meaning of tenderness since the day I was born.
From the moment I entered this world, I was nothing more than a tool—used, and then discarded after every task.
I never knew that love had a taste, nor did I ever feel its warmth.
While I was fleeing from the red imps, careful not to break the rules, the air suddenly trembled without warning.
The trees bent low, as if bowing in reverence.
The shadows parted, clearing a path to welcome him, and even the winds began to dance at his arrival—
as though nature itself revered him, as though he ruled over everything beneath the sky.
I lifted my head toward him without realizing it.
He was a young man in the prime of his life, a beauty unlike any I had ever seen.
His silky white hair cascaded over his shoulders, and his strong, balanced frame radiated a silent power.
His eyes held an uncanny steadiness—yet within them, I sensed a boundless sea of mystery.
Time seemed to stop the moment I looked at him.
My heartbeat quickened until it felt like it might tear through my chest, and I could not understand what had come over me.
He wielded his sword with breathtaking grace, as if even the wind itself obeyed his command.
In the blink of an eye, he cleaved one of the imps in two, then struck down the rest with movements too swift to follow.
His speed was like a spring breeze dancing over dim light.
With his arrival, everything changed—the air grew pure, the pressure around me eased, as if the very earth bowed at his feet.
In that moment, I felt as though I had been born anew—as if my past life had been nothing but ashes after a fire.
He approached me with a solemn calm, bowed with a reassuring smile, and spoke in a voice that dripped with warmth:
"Lilithia… I have been waiting for you. I knew you would come."
He reached out his hand, gently brushing a strand of hair away from my eyes, then wiped the blood from my cheek.
In that touch, something within me broke—as if my heart had split in two from the sheer tenderness.
It was the first time in my life that anyone had treated me with true kindness.
I had always believed myself to be worthless—trash unworthy of life—but when I saw him, everything changed.
I fell in love with life itself. For the first time, I wanted to live.
I cared for nothing but looking at him, and admiring his features, sculpted from light.
I couldn't speak—I couldn't even move my tongue—until I murmured unconsciously:
"Th…ey… fro…m… ha… ha…"
He smiled again, and leaned closer until his face nearly touched mine.
Then, holding my hand gently, he whispered:
"The stone… it has chosen you.
The Black Dragon desires you as the heir to the Black Stone.
You won't understand it now, but time will show you.
From this day forth, you are free… Lilithia."
I didn't understand his words, but his voice poured an inexplicable comfort into my soul, and his touch set alight a warmth I had never known.
I cared for nothing but staying near him…
Yet I did not realize that the moment would fade—that everything would soon dissolve like water, and I would return to my darkness once more.
After those tender words, he vanished as he had come—without a sound, without a trace, as if the air itself had swallowed him whole.
His scent lingered in the air, and his beautiful face remained carved into my memory—
as if he had never belonged to this world at all...
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-To be continued...-