Before Malus could even whisper his plan, the air ahead of Lilith curved.
Grandmaster Theron and the three Elite Mages—among them Master Kaelus, the youngest councilor—materialized in a silent burst of silver light, blocking the only passage. They wore floating Aether discs and looked like statues of pure order and wrath.
Lilith stopped abruptly, her human heart pounding in her chest, while the Black Mark pulsed in anticipation.
"Where do you think you're going, demon?" Theron's voice was a dry thunder, his white robe radiating a blinding light.
Hearing that word aimed at her—demon—struck Lilith like a whip. It wasn't Malus; it was her. The anger Malus had expected her to use to fight focused on those men.
"This is all your fault," Lilith replied, her voice raw with Rancor. "You trapped us here! You cursed me!"
Grandmaster Theron curled his lips into a cruel, disdainful smile.
"Ours? Oh, don't be silly. The Council only omitted the truth. The ones who put that demon in you were your parents."
Lilith's world froze.
Parents? The word was an empty concept, one she'd read only in fairy-tale books. She had never known them. Elara had always soothed her with the easy story: her parents died in a war against the demons.
The shock hit her harder than any Aether fist. Her parents had died heroically. So why… why would they put such a curse on an innocent child?
Theron saw the moment of her confusion. He was hunting not just the girl, but the truth that would destroy her.
"Seems the priest didn't tell you much, did he, girl," Theron said, his smile widening and growing colder. "Well, if you surrender now, perhaps we'll spare you for the Stasis Rite. It's the only chance you have to silence this General."
The choice was made. Theron had given Lilith a reason to fight that was stronger than mere survival: the truth.
But suddenly, all the rage drained away. The pain of the revelation was too great to sustain. Lilith looked up at the sky, at the luminous Aether that bathed the Floating Continent. The light, usually cold, felt, in that moment, welcoming.
Perhaps that's for the best. The idea of surrender came like immense relief. I am a threat that must be extinguished. My death would be for the greater good.
Melancholy washed over her, supplanting the Rancor. The notion of peace, of silence, was tempting.
"Don't be stupid, girl," Malus's voice burst forth, no longer scornful but with a cold, pure urgency. "Are you going to let your life be taken by people you don't even know? Why? Because of the guilt they put on you?"
The War General continued, his voice like steel scraping stone, expertly probing Lilith's new wound. "Will you die without learning the truth? Will you die without seeing the world beyond?"
Lilith knew Malus spoke out of pure selfishness. If she died there, he would die with her—sealed forever. Yet somehow the demon's words gave her a sliver of perseverance that her Luminary side could not provide.
Pure hatred was no longer her engine; it was brutal curiosity. Her parents had cursed her. Elara had used her. Theron despised her. She did not owe them redemption—she owed them the vengeance of truth.
Lilith lifted her chin. Her red eyes met Theron's fury. She would not surrender.