CHAPTER 137: YOUNG LILITH IX

*~Young Lilith’s POV~*

I stood up, my entire body numb, my thoughts like shards of glass slicing through a haze of pain. I couldn’t feel anything—not fear, not sorrow, not even the lingering burn of my skin...only one emotion pulsed through me like venom: vengeance.

The door creaked open, and I stepped outside, my bare feet sinking into the cold floor. My mother was standing there, wide-eyed, her face pale as though she had just seen death.

"Lith," she whispered, voice trembling. "Go put on something. Why are you here... naked?"

I tilted my head, an eerie calm overtaking my voice. "You did this to me. You ruined me. You shattered my life."

I started walking toward her. Each step felt heavier, darker, as if the ground itself trembled beneath me. She kept stepping back, her hands trembling, eyes darting toward the stairs where she knew my father would be.

"Lith... what are you doing?" she asked, but her voice was breaking.

Then Father appeared, his commanding presence filling the corridor, but even he faltered when he saw me naked, my veins pulsing with unnatural darkness. He covered his eyes quickly, muttering, "Lilith... control yourself. Go put on some clothes."

"No." My voice was sharp, cutting, dripping with venom. "It is you who should put on some shame. Doing this to your own daughter. Turning me into... this."

His jaw tightened. "It was for your own benefit.."

"Benefit?!" I snapped, my tone rising like a growl. "You destroyed me. You faked my death. You made me something... unnatural."

"You’re stronger now," he said, his voice cold yet trying to sound rational.

"No. I am not stronger. I am a monster."

A silence fell, sharp and suffocating. I could see it in his face—the dawning realization of what I had become.

"I will become a monster," I said slowly, stepping closer, "and you will be my first victims."

Father’s eyes widened, but he didn’t move. Instead, he spoke with a strange calmness, "You don’t want to do this, Lilith. Control yourself—"

"Control myself? After what you did?" My laughter was hollow, almost inhuman. "You made me this way. You ripped away my life, my innocence, my chance to choose. And you," I turned to my mother, my words sharp as daggers, "you could not even stand up for me. You couldn’t even save me. You let him do this to me!"

Her lips trembled, her hands clutched to her chest as if holding back her own guilt.

"Why me?" I demanded, my voice trembling now—not with fear, but rage. "Why pick me? Why turn me into this?"

"Because you are special," Father replied firmly, his voice laced with pride. "You rolled out before you were eighteen. You have potential. And I’ve made you... more special."

My head tilted back, a laugh tearing from my throat—harsh and broken. "Special? I am not special. I am cursed. Stop calling me special."

"You are special," he said again, taking one step closer.

The word Dahlia had whispered during the ritual echoed in my mind like a dark incantation. Versa.

I raised my hand instinctively. "Versa!"

A shockwave surged from me, sending Father crashing backward onto the floor.

Mother gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. "Lilith... stop! Please, stop!"

But I kept walking toward him, my breathing heavy, my body trembling with dark energy.

Mother screamed. In desperation, she grabbed a mug from the hallway table, smashed it against the floor, and pointed the jagged edge toward me.

"You’re protecting him?" I hissed. "After everything he’s done? You’re still his puppet?"

"He made you special!" she cried, her voice breaking.

"Versa!" I roared.

She flew back, her head striking the wall with a sickening thud. She crumpled beside him, blood streaking the floor.

I stared down at them, my body pulsing with power, my voice cold as death.

"Well," I murmured, lips curling into a bitter smile, "my special needs... require blood."

The word left my lips one last time, sharp and venomous. "Versa."

A strange heat surged through me, and suddenly I could feel their necks—my parents’ necks—beneath my invisible grip, even though they stood several feet away. Their bodies jerked upward, lifted clean off the floor, their feet dangling helplessly as if the air itself had become my claws.

"Lilith! Lilith, please—please!" My mother’s voice cracked, trembling, as her fingers clawed desperately at her throat.

Blood trickled down my father’s hands as he tried to pry away something that wasn’t even there. "Stop, please, I—"

But there was no stopping now. No more pity. No more hesitation.

"You want to beg?" I hissed, my voice hollow, shaking from rage. "No. You don’t get to beg. You are the real monsters. Not me."

The air thickened, whirling around us like a storm raging inside the room. Curtains snapped violently, glass rattled in the windows, and the floorboards groaned.

My mother sobbed, "Lilith’s darling, please...don’t do this!"

"No." My voice cracked like lightning, slicing through the chaos. "You made me this way."

With a scream, I flung my hands outward. Their bodies slammed against the wall with a sickening crack, yet still hovered, suspended mid-air, groaning faintly as their strength gave out.

Then I released them....They fell....Lifeless.

The silence that followed was deafening—so heavy it felt like my own heart had stopped beating.

I stood frozen, staring at them sprawled on the floor. My chest rose and fell in jagged breaths, until realization crashed over me like icy water.

I killed them.

"Oh my God... what have I done?" My voice broke as my knees buckled. I crawled forward, clutching my mother’s limp hand. "Mom... Mom, wake up. Please wake up!" I shook her, then turned to my father. "Dad! Please—oh God, I’m sorry, I didn’t—I didn’t mean to—"

But their bodies didn’t stir. They would never stir again.

A scream ripped from my throat, raw and agonized, shaking the room. It wasn’t just a sound—it was a force. Vases shattered, shelves toppled, glass exploded into glittering shards across the floor.

Then...A soft sound. Behind me.

I turned, trembling, to find Alice standing there—wide-eyed, pale, frozen in shock.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" I asked, my voice trembling, barely above a whisper.

She rushed to me, arms wrapping around me before I could stop her. Her embrace was warm, grounding, even as my body shook violently. "I—I followed your dad’s carriage. I didn’t want to go home. I had nowhere else to go..."

But then her gaze shifted past me—to the bodies on the floor.

I quickly covered her eyes. "Don’t. Don’t look. Alice... I—I killed them. I’m a monster."

Her small hands gripped my arms tightly. "No, Lilith. You’re not a monster. They are the monsters... for making you this."

I could barely breathe, but she didn’t let go.

"There’s no time to fall apart now," she whispered urgently. "They know. Everyone knows. They also know you are part ... they’re hunting down every experiment they ever made. They’re coming here. Now."

"What?" My voice cracked.

"Go put on some clothes. We need to run!"

Heart pounding, I scrambled to my room, snatching a gown and pulling it over my trembling body. Before leaving, I turned back... staring one last time at my parents’ lifeless forms.

Then Alice grabbed my hand. And we ran.