CHAPTER 582: PEACEFUL DEVIL

Lilith rolled on the ground with laughter. Tears would’ve welled in her eyes, but her current form had none.

She usually wasn’t very emotional, or at least she hid her feelings well. However, the mix of relief and seeing Lucifer’s crippled, hopeless and hateful form brought immense joy to the Dreamweaver’s heart.

The Fallen Angel continued throwing curses at her, yet it only made Lilith laugh harder.

Eventually though, Lucifer fell into silence, and Lilith also stopped chuckling. A few more giggles resounded inside the arena before she fully regained her quiet, emotionless demeanor.

Lucifer, at some point, managed to crawl to a nearby tree, and use it to prop himself up. He looked paler than usual, and his eyelids kept trying to close. Yet, the pure rage emanating from his body kept him awake.

"I was such a fool," he mumbled while staring up at the foliage. "How did I fucking forget your name and powers! Of course, this is just a stupid dream..."

He trailed off and turned towards Lilith’s approaching form. She kneeled before the Fallen Angel, this time in her robed, human form. Her face twisted into a gentle smile as she spoke...

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, when I created this dream, I specifically made you forget my abilities and title. The moment you stepped into this dream, the battle was already over!"

Her words, in fact, didn’t make Lucifer feel better. It just transformed his rage, aiming at himself instead of Lilith.

After he cursed himself a few dozen times, using words Lilith hadn’t even heard of, eventually he sighed in despair.

With a newfound calm, he asked, "So you brought me into this dream, while I was blinded by my hatred... What I don’t understand is why haven’t you brought in the Shadow and the World Tree? You could’ve killed me with their help and didn’t need to wait until my Essence ran out!"

Lilith smirked and giggled, which nearly enraged Lucifer again, but she answered his question before any strange curse could’ve left his mouth.

"The simple answer is... I couldn’t. They never signed the Contract! This meant you couldn’t hurt them with any attacks, while I couldn’t bring their minds into this dream world. I also needed their help outside."

Lucifer nodded along in understanding, annoyance stretching his mouth into a deep frown. However, soon confusion entered his dark crimson gaze upon hearing Lilith’s last sentence...

"Why did you need their help outside? My entire consciousness resides in here, so what harm could I possibly cause to your actual body?"

For a moment, the Dreamweaver chuckled, then upon realizing Lucifer wasn’t joking, she raised a bewildered eyebrow.

"You... You really don’t know? Aren’t you a couple thousand years old?"

The Fallen Angel scoffed and glanced away, embarrassment tinging his pale face.

"Closer to a few million actually, but who’s counting..." he mumbled, but this time Lilith held her laughter. Instead, she grinned and explained...

"Well, then let me bring you in on a little secret... Every being with a soul has both a Conscious and Unconscious Mind. While your consciousness resided inside this dream, the unconscious part didn’t stay idle either...

"Every creature you summoned here, he summoned in the real world! Bea and Faith stayed behind to protect my body. It’s also why your Essence actually drained. You can’t actually expand Essence inside a dream."

"Does that mean you can keep this dream going forever?" he asked, while his eyelids only got heavier.

"No. It takes a lot of Essence to keep this dream going. However, Bea keeps supplying me with Essence, and her reserves are probably larger than even yours!"

Lucifer nodded in understanding, struggling to keep his eyes open. Without the rage fueling his blood, he couldn’t help but reach the precipice of unconsciousness.

"I wonder... Can I sleep inside a dream?... Can I dream inside a dream?... I wonder... What will I dream of..." he trailed as his eyes finally shut for the last time...

Lilith sighed. It would’ve been much easier to kill Lucifer while he was cursing her. However, she wasn’t so evil to send him on his way without at least a proper explanation or conversation...

While talking, she quickly realized, this creature... This fallen angel... He wasn’t the primordial evil many stories told...

Just another person seeking power and losing their morals while trying to reach their goal. He wasn’t worse nor better than most creatures on his Rank. In fact, in Lilith’s eyes he was pretty tame and normal...

She sighed again and pulled back the dark robe from her right hand. Her skin turned dark gray, and five long claws appeared in place of her fingers...

The Dreamweaver watched her prey sleep for another few seconds, then with one swift, clean swiped, she separated his head from his shoulders...

Lucifer made no sound in his last moments. Instead, a calm smiled grew on his bloodied face, as if he had finally found the peace life never gave him.

Lilith wasn’t happy about the kill. She stared down at her bloody hand. Many thoughts moved passed her mind as a strange feeling of melancholy settled on her shoulders.

The uncertainty grew within her heart, but soon a clear voice echoed inside her mind... The voice of her mentor... Her Goddess... The only mother she had ever known...

"...Yes, I feel uncertain all the time. I don’t spend a single minute with second guessing myself at least once... I don’t make perfect decisions and have many regrets, but... That’s life. We can’t be perfect. Nobody can... All we can do is live with our mistakes and strive for better...

"Also... If you ever need guidance, don’t be afraid to ask... If you ever feel uncertain, just remember... Listen to what you think is best, even if it goes against my will. You aren’t my slave and can disagree with me anytime... I’ll always love and appreciate you, regardless!"

These words... Sera told Lilith just before her wedding...

She felt uncertain about moving so fast and getting married before the tournament. However, Sera’s words brought a new perspective and greatly helped in revealing her actual issue.

Lilith wanted the wedding, she just simply felt if Adam might’ve regrets. Her worry and anxiety clouded her judgement, but after listening to her heart, Lilith didn’t back out, which was the best decision of her life!

After that day, every time she felt uncertain, she recalled Sera’s words. It always helped her decide, and today was no different...

With a heavy heart, Lilith reached down and touched Lucifer’s armored chest. The usual question appeared in her mind...

’Do you wish to evolve?’ asked the familiar voice.

"Yes." Answered Lilith firmly and with certainty.

Darkness consumed her vision as she fell into a deep slumber...

She woke up standing in a field of flowers. Each flower had seven-petals with distinct, beautiful colors. Some were gold, light blue or blood-red, others translucent, dark pink, black and finally white.

Lilith kneeled on the field of flowers, gently brushing her hand along the blossoms. A light chuckle echoed from her lips as a strange tranquility settled inside her.

It was impossible to tell the time. The sun shone from above, yet it didn’t move, and after maybe spending hours in pure joy, a strange hollowness began growing inside Lilith’s heart.

Her fogged up memories began clearing, and she realized how wrong the entire place was.

The flowers all looked exactly the same, with not a single differentiating factor between them. They also repeated growth patterns, making them seem like a single copy, pasted multiple times.

Nothing felt real. Not the field of flowers. Not the blue, cloudless sky. Not the warm sun nor the breeze grazing her skin. Even her own emotions and mental state felt foreign.

"What’s this place? Where am I?" she said while glancing around in confusion and a hint of fear.

"Isn’t it nice?" asked a young genderless voice behind Lilith.

She instantly snapped her body around, following the voice’s origin. What she saw only deepened her confusion and brought more questions to her mind.

Behind her, grasping a single golden flower, stood y small child. They had long hair, which changed color based on which angle one looked. Their face didn’t reveal their gender, and as a child their body had no telltale signs either.

They wore a long, flowing dress woven from different flower petals. However, somehow the dress didn’t suit the child, as if they only stole the design.

"I created this place... Beautiful and peaceful... Full of Life’s flowers... I thought it was pretty good, but you don’t seem to appreciate it... Just because it’s someone else’s dream?"

The young child glanced up at Lilith. They tossed away the golden flower, turning it into sparks of light.

"Who are you?" asked the Dreamweaver, causing the young child to giggle.

They began hopping around, their dress billowing in the gentle wind, their bare feet crushing the flowers in their path.

"A dream is nothing but someone’s hope and desire... A nightmare is nothing but someone’s fear and hate... A dreamless individual becomes a hollow person... A nightmareless individual becomes a dead person..."

The young child spoke in a cheery tone. They hummed while speaking, making the morbid words sound joyful.

"But where do these dreams come from? Do they come from within someone’s soul or maybe the individual’s mind... Could they have a different origin?... What if someone creates them? Would this dreamer have their own dreams?"

An annoyed sigh echoed from Lilith’s lips, causing the young child to stop hopping around. With innocent eyes, they glanced up at the robed woman.

"That didn’t answer my question!" she grumbled angrily, and a moment later the child burst into laughter.

"Oh, but it didn’t... You just hadn’t realized it yet... Anyway, it’s time to leave... Dreamers can’t dream, but maybe you’ll be different..." said the young child, a wide grin stretching across their not so innocent face.

Lilith’s eyes went wide, then she blinked and found herself inside a dark cocoon of roots and shadows...