Re: Timeless Apocalypse-Chapter 149: Seraphine and Lilith(II): Deranged

The sudden somberness laced within Seraphine’s voice shook Lilith and, inwardly, she began to panic.

Had she... not been thankful enough? Had she been overbearing? Had she overstepped?

Without Seraphine, she was finished. The lady had somehow been able to battle and tear apart monsters and beasts alike, from the G-Rank all the way up to the S-Rank, as a mere E-Ranker.

The only reason Seraphine was even this injured in the first place was because a couple of humans, one who was somehow just as powerful as her, had attacked them.

Had she not found her, she would have been dead already.

And beyond that, she didn’t want to be abandoned, not before she could at least repay the woman for all the times she had saved her life.

Her hands became slick with sweat and she swallowed hard, the flames of her crimson gaze waning beneath the panic consuming her.

"Y-yes! Of course!"

Seraphine noticed Lilith’s panic, but didn’t try to comfort her.

The girl was rather... deranged.

Such a comment may have seemed strange and even entirely out of place considering the validity of Lilith’s thoughts, but Seraphine had spent much more time than needed with the girl to understand how her mind worked.

She was... something.

"..."

Silence lingered for a beat.

Seraphine exhaled once more, then pushed herself up, sitting cross-legged. With her back hunched, she only stared at the fire.

Then, slowly, she straightened.

"Why do you smile?" she suddenly asked, her gaze still entranced by the flickering flames.

Lilith was completely taken aback by the question.

"Wh-what? Why?"

Seraphine nodded. "Mm. Why? Surely there’s a reason."

From the side, Seraphine took hold of a random branch, coating it with her aether before she began to play with their campfire’s coals.

This only confused Lilith more.

"I..." She took a breath and her confusion melted away, her mind falling into deep thought.

The sudden shift in her expressions didn’t surprise Seraphine in the least. She continued to stir the coals.

"I like to smile. I think I’m generally just happy."

She awkwardly scratched her cheek. "Which sounds counterintuitive considering we’re so close to death every day but, I’ve been through worse."

"Where... I come from, we’re kind of raised to face and accept death. You know, knights of old often said they were taught how to die from their first breaths, that they were taught to deal with loss from the very beginning."

She paused.

"It was a bit the same for me and my family. We were taught how to die, how to kill, and how to endure pain."

She sighed. "We were also taught the agony of loss."

"..."

Seraphine threw Lilith a furtive glance, noticing the sudden silence.

"But I digress." Lilith chuckled. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Why do I smile? It’s because I am happy. Not only am I alive, but so are my brothers and sisters, so is my mother and so are you!"

"I like to live waiting for glory rather than death. It helps me cope with it all, I think."

Seraphine nodded. "That’s a beautiful answer."

She twirled her branch amidst the glowing coals, the flames bending to her will and flickering around the wood in an entrancing dance.

She looked at her. "You said you’ve seen worse than what we’re going through."

"You’ve seen death, you’ve given it, and you’ve been a bystander to its horror." She shook her head. "To have seen it all and remain as pure as you are is... something I wasn’t able to do."

"I guess I envy you, a bit. I envy the sturdiness of your heart."

Their gazes interlocked, gold and crimson reflecting across one another.

But while Seraphine’s smile grew, Lilith’s own dimmed.

The sudden change, this time, inwardly shook Seraphine.

And so did Lilith’s next words.

"Then why aren’t you dead? Why haven’t you killed yourself?"

Seraphine faintly jerked back at the words being uttered, her eyes widening and mouth left slightly agape as her lips quivered.

Lilith looked at her all the same, the flames in her eyes burning just the same.

SHAH!

Lilith waved her hand and, from her abode mark, a long, dark dagger appeared, reeking of poison potent enough to shred apart hordes of A-Rankers.

She slowly pointed the blade at Seraphine and the latter jolted back even more, her heart hammering against her ribcage.

"Hm? If your heart is so weak, then die. Here, take the blade and slit your throat. Or pierce your heart, core, or brain, whatever suits you."

"It’ll be painless. In a blink, you’ll join the Heavens of the Gods above."

She twirled the blade in her grasp, letting go of the grip and then grabbing the dagger by the blade, pointing the handle at Seraphine as if to offer her the weapon.

"Kill yourself."

Lilith smiled, her ruby-colored eyes burning brightly at the sight of Seraphine’s shock.

"...?!"

Silence settled.

WHOOOSH!

A strong gust of wind swept by their floating island, the flames flickering alongside their fluttering hair, the breeze fresh and soothing.

In the distance, the sun dipped into its nest, and darkness swallowed the horizon before, suddenly, light returned, the radiant stars dotting the stretching expanse of dark blue, radiating brilliant light.

The night sky seemed particularly beautiful today.

"Haha!"

Lilith laughed and, with a wave of her hand, stored the blade away. With a radiant grin, she pointed a finger at Seraphine.

"See? Clearly you have a heart of steel."

Seraphine’s body shuddered and she finally breathed once more, not even having realized she’d been holding her breath.

Her body relaxed and she closed her eyes, letting herself fall onto her back as the cool breeze cooled her steaming body and its howls soothed her heart.

Lying there, eyes closed and confused by what had just happened, she suddenly chuckled, a chuckle that rapidly turned into booming laughter.

The island shook as she let herself go and laughed without any restraint, her bell-like laughter echoing like heavenly chimes across the skies.

Eventually, though, her laughter came to an end, and she reopened her eyes.

Just as the last of her giggles faded away, Lilith’s voice reached her ears.

"You couldn’t kill yourself because there are still things holding you back here, and you stand here strong and mighty because to fall is to let them down."

Her voice oozed passion.

"There’s still much to do, so cheer up!"