Bloody vast.
Those are among the many words that come into my mind whenever I try to process the utter scale of Lilith's Palace.
How does something like this even exist?
A jagged palace of black stone, the size of a mountain, with massive spires that pierced the crimson sky like obsidian fangs.
The entire structure is a monolithic mass that looms over the desolate white landscape of the Abyss, like a massive landform arising from deep within the crust.
Even after staying in this absolute feat of architecture for over ten years, I haven't even explored half of it, not even after the weird tour arranged by Lilith.
Seeing Naberiax in a tour guide's outfit was something I never wanted to experience again.
I'm pretty sure the High Commander also shared my trauma.
But it isn't just the sheer scale of the palace that overwhelms me. T's the fact that it seems… eerily alive.
The surface of the walls seems to ripple like ink swirling on the surface of the water it dyed, shifting in ways it shouldn't.
A deep, periodic hum of energy pulses all over the palace. A slow, rhythmic thrum, like the breathing of an immense ancient beast.
Not pleasant. Not at all.
At the heart of the palace is an immense open courtyard, so vast that a whole city could fit inside.
But this open space was unlike any I had ever seen, in my old life and this. It was empty and the only place in the entirety of the palace where I saw the use of white stone for the floor.
Right in the center of it all was an immense gaping hole, spiraling down so deep into the darkness that it seemed bottomless.
An energy sickeningly similar to the eeriness of the Tear emanated from the hole, a constant gravity tugging at my soul.
But beneath that disgusting and familiar corruption, as if suppressed by the sickening dark energy, is something much more powerful, something ancient.
I just can't seem to figure out what it is, no matter how many times I studied the mysterious energy during my short respites in the cell.
As Asphodel carried me along a long verandah overlooking the hole, I couldn't help but be drawn to the massive gaping maw.
It is as if there is something in there, calling out to me from its bottomless depth.
"Hey, you rotten, pathetic excuse for a root vegetable," I addressed the Abnormal carrying me in its black tendrils.
"What the heck is up with that massive hole?" I sneered. "Is that your trash chute?"
The root enveloping me suddenly tightened. However, I was unaffected by it.
I smirked. "How cute. You're getting triggered."
"What lies in the Pit is something I am not qualified to even speak. Only Her Majesty can speak of it," Asphodel's deep, distorted voice echoed in my head.
I narrowed my eyes. That was the same thing Naberiax and Genisix told me.
Speaking of Genisix…
"How's your candle-flame-headed friend?" I asked, my eyes still on the pit as we rounded a corner.
"I'm pretty sure I snapped all of his limbs and gave him a good sear," I added with a satisfied grin.
Asphodel didn't react but I could feel the fluctuations in the ardor surrounding him to tell what he is feeling. He really wants to rip my spine out through my throat.
Yet he cannot do that right now. Naberiax wants to see me, which meant Asphodel couldn't do shit.
"He's recovering and will soon be back on his feet," The daemon's reply was simple and curt.
My grin widened as I continued to taunt him. "Wait. So you guys don't get the one-snap healing from Lilith? I must be really special!"
"Of course. After all, a dog is special to its owner," Asphodel replied and twisted his head around to flash that disgusting grin at me.
I must say. This guy can come up with a solid comeback.
Silence settled between us as I was taken to the arena of black sand.
The black stone of the walls rippled like living ink, and the eerie purple flames rising from the braziers mounted in the walls cast not a single shadow.
Although they were quite eerie, they lit up the entire hallway in a purple hue.
For a moment, my skin looked bright purple under the light, and I found myself muttering,
"You guys really like the color purple, huh?"
Asphodel remained silent.
It didn't take long for us to reach our destination.
It's a place I would never forget, even in death.
Rows of black stone seats loomed over the battlefield for an audience that was never there, and an unobstructed shining light that always illuminated my broken and mutilated body lying on the arena floor as the black sand greedily absorbed my blood.
However, this time, the seats aren't empty.
A certain freak was sitting on one of the stone seats, grinning like she owned the place.
Which, to be fair, she did.
"What are you doing here?" I scowled as I got up, brushing the sand off my tattered uniform.
Asphodel had dropped me on the nose just as we reached the arena.
Lilith tilted her head with her obsessive smile. "I missed you."
A shiver ran across my body, and I instantly felt uncomfortable. "You last saw me a few hours ago."
Her delicate fingers caressed her face as she leaned forward, her eyes dancing with mad desire.
"That felt like years for me," she cooed.
Jeez. Somebody put this woman under a restraining order.
I ignored her obsession-filled gaze and turned to the other daemon in the arena.
"Why did you call for me?" I asked Naberiax, though I already had a suspicion about the answer.
The fiery purple eyes of the High Commander pierced into me. I noticed that his torn wings were missing. He can materialize and dematerialize them at will.
And he usually does the latter when he's about to engage in fierce combat.
Or when he was about to be a tour guide, which is equally terrifying.
"You have become what you humans call an S rank being, like us," his regal, distorted voice sounded almost impressed. "I want to see how much you've grown."
A slow grin spread across my face, and a blood tendril extended from my wrist, slipping into my bracelet and retrieving my white sword, its poisonous green edge glowing faintly.
"About bloody time," I muttered, looking between him, Asphodel, and Lilith.
"Who is my opponent?" I asked, my eyes settling on Naberiax. As much as I yearn to turn Asphodel into sliced noodles, I want to see whether I can now stand a chance against a fallen Malakh.
But it was Lilith who answered, her amused chuckle echoing all around.
"Oh, I've got the perfect opponent for you, my love."
Her words sent a chill down my spine, and an uneasy foreboding swept over me.
The sound of metal boots on stone echoed from beyond the dark arch on the other side of the arena.
A powerful aura swept over me, and I felt my body become cold as a horrifying realization came over me.
Not only was this aura terrifying, it was familiar to me.
A sickening feeling came over me as my mind raced.
No.
Please, no.
Out of the darkness of the arch stepped a familiar silhouette.
Tall. Jagged black armor, shifting like living shadows. Darkness billowed from her body like flames, and between the cracks in the armor, a faint white glow flickered.
The eyeless gaze from beyond the utter darkness underneath a flickering hood of shadows pierced into me.
The clawed hand holding the thin, black longsword tightened as soon as she entered the arena.
My heart pounded in my ears as I stared at the familiar daemon facing me. Memories of a long journey through the Abyss flashed into my mind.
My guide and my only friend in this empty, endless hell beyond the Tear.
Alisax.
It had been ten years since I last saw her. The scene of Genisix's chains piercing into her body still haunts me.
After becoming Lilith's prisoner, I received no news of her fate. Lilith and the commanders didn't speak a word about Alisax to me.
And in the endless cycle of torment, survival became my only priority.
I had forgotten.
Now, seeing her before my eyes after ten years, a myriad of emotions swept over me.
Relief at seeing her alive, guilt for forgetting about her amidst my torment, uncertainty over her current condition, and fear toward the terrifying aura she is releasing.
The sickening feeling increased in me, for something was wrong.
Horribly wrong.
Alisax felt… hollow.
I feel like I am facing an entity that is cold and mechanical, stripped of everything that made her Alisax.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lilith lounging with her face in her hands, a mischievous smile on her face.
Anger boiled in me, and my aura leaked out, clashing against Alisax's, and a growl escaped my throat.
"What did you do?"
Lilith's purple eyes glowed, and her giggles filled the arena as she leaned forward with delight.
"What did I do? Oh, so many things!" she said excitedly, her eyes filled with an insane delight.
"Alisax was a very tough one," she mused, tilting her head. "Her willpower is the strongest I have ever seen, perhaps even greater than yours."
She licked her lips. "She refused to break, even after all the sweet agonies I personally blessed her with."
The sand beneath my feet shifted violently, and the temperature plummeted as my bloodlust poured out of me, however, it had no effect on the Daemon Queen.
Instead, it looked like she was enjoying it.
"But do you know one interesting thing?" Lilith's eyes danced with a mad ecstasy.
"Alisax's will, mind, and soul are that of a Luminus…" Her smile turned sickly. "But her body is that of a daemon."
Her words prickled me like icy needles and a terrifying realization washed over me as I understood what her words meant.
"I created daemons. They are mine. They are my puppets," Lilith waved her hand.
"So what if Alisax's will was unbreakable? I don't need it. I only needed her body."
Her glowing eyes stayed on me as she spoke her next words plunged straight into my heart.
"It was a hassle, but I severed her connection to her body. Her mind is trapped in her body. She can hear everything, see everything, and feel everything."
"But she can't do anything about it, for she has no control over her body."I finally snapped and my body moved before I could think.
In the blink of an eye, I was before Lilith, my sword ready to plunge into her face.
I don't care if she activates the Agony Thorn, I'll make sure to at least carve out one of her eyes.
But that didn't happen. I felt no pain from the Thorn, nor did Lilith even flinch.
That's when I sensed it.
Instinctively, I shifted my sword to the right, and a powerful force reverberated throughout my body.
It was enough to launch me away from Lilith.
I landed on my feet, scattering black sand all around me. I straightened up and narrowed my eyes at the sight before me.
Alisax stood between me and Lilith, black wisps of shadow arising from her sword and mixing with the darkness coming out of her.
The Daemon Queen peeked her head from behind my friend and grinned sadistically.
"Now this is going to be interesting."