The battlefield had gone quiet.
Lucielle knelt in prayer beside the broken altar, her light dim and flickering, no longer divine—just human.
Lucius stood nearby, watching.
The others moved in silence. Velda conjured runes to cleanse the air. Zara and Claire argued over where to set up camp. Even Ariadne stood still, blade lowered.
But one person was missing.
Lilith.
---
Lucius found her alone at the edge of the ruins.
Sitting on a stone wall.
Staring into a small flame in her palm.
He stepped closer. "You're avoiding me."
Lilith didn't look up. "I'm protecting you."
Lucius frowned. "From what?"
She crushed the flame. Her voice turned cold.
"From me."
---
> [Emotion Surge Detected – Lilith]
Trait Unlocked: Sealed Memory – "Ashes of a Fallen Angel"
---
Lucius said nothing.
Lilith finally turned. And for once—
She wasn't seductive. She wasn't smug.
She was terrified.
"I wasn't just part of the betrayal," she whispered.
"I caused it."
---
She stood and raised her hand—
A black flame bloomed above it.
Velda sensed it immediately from afar and froze. "That magic…"
Claire gasped. "It's older than divine light."
Ariadne's blade pulsed. "That's primordial sin."
Lilith dropped the flame to the ground.
And the world shook.
---
FLASHBACK – Unknown Timeline
A younger Lilith. Wings white. Eyes bright.
She stood beside a weeping girl in a garden of fire.
The First Bond.
Lilith screamed, "We have to run!"
But the girl shook her head.
"I trust him. Even now."
And then the blade fell.
Lilith turned away.
She didn't save her.
She didn't try.
---
NOW
Lilith fell to her knees in front of Lucius.
"I could've stopped them," she whispered. "I could've saved her. Saved you. But I chose survival."
Tears fell.
"I wanted to live. So I let her die."
---
> [Hidden Flag Triggered – Redemption Path: Lilith]
[Bond Updated: "From Fear to Flame"]
[New Skill Available: Lucius may now ignite a Soul Reckoning – once per bond.]
---
Lucius didn't yell. He didn't walk away.
He knelt.
"Then help me make sure it doesn't happen again."
Lilith looked up. Eyes wide.
"You… still trust me?"
Lucius reached forward.
Took her hand.
"I need you to be the one who never looks away again."
---
The black flame she held faded.
Not because it was destroyed.
Because she let it go.
---
> [Lilith's Corruption: Reduced to 15%]
Trait Gained: Flame of Loyalty – If Lucius falls, Lilith will burn everything to bring him back.
---
In the distance, dark clouds gathered.
The Divine Council had felt the disturbance.
They would come next.
But for now?
The Tyrant's army had a fallen angel… who chose to rise again.