What a foul man. What a wretched and terrible man.
A man could give up a crown for a mont of genuine and true love.
And when that love was betrayed and that heart was broken, his fury could build empires, for a man who has lost everything is unstoppable because there are no deeper depths left to fall into.
Then why was Damon still so unbridled and mad?
He still had things that were precious. Too much to lose.
Sylvia knew that.
But she also knew that in his mind, he was used to having nothing. And because of that, he beca loyal to the one thing that could never betray him.
"Damon’s greatest loyalty is to defiance."
What else did he have that could never turn on him but his own rebellion? This was his way of life. Even dying, even death itself, was a form of rebellion. He was spitting in the face of a god.
Lilith knew that.
She had seen it.
He was laughing crazily as he gazed at the heavens, his chest impaled by a black spear. Blood poured freely, yet his laughter only grew louder.
He mocked the heavens for believing his small, ager screams amounted to nothing. He laughed and cried at the sa ti, because he had defied them.
If she had not loved him, she might have found its macabre beauty breathtaking. Instead, it shattered her heart.
The only sound she rembered was not Lazarak’s battle with Seraph Null, but her own scream, raw and broken, drowning out everything else.
"Love cannot override his philosophy," Lilith finally said, her voice low.
He does not cling to love because love can leave.
He does not cling to people because people can die.
He does not cling to gods because gods can lie.
He clings to defiance, because defiance only ends when he ends and even then, he treats death as a final insult.
Sylvia tilted her head slightly, her gaze drifting back to the final line in the book.
"Do you think this is a riddle?" she asked.
"The unknown god seems to have a fondness for riddles, especially when the answers are in plain sight."
Lilith lifted her head as Sylvia read the last line aloud again.
"Ti is linear, simultaneous, and unbreakable. We are all imprisoned by ti."
Sylvia smiled faintly, clearly pleased with herself.
"It’s a funny thing, coming from a god who has authority over ti itself."
Lilith frowned, her expression tightening.
"Are you suggesting the last line is a riddle of sorts?"
Sylvia shook her head.
"No. I’m just pointing out sothing that could be a clue."
She glanced sideways at Lilith.
"Besides, our problem isn’t the unknown god. It’s Damon."
She pointed at Lilith, her white hair lifting slightly despite the still air.
"Tell what happens."
Lilith nodded, then hesitated.
"I can’t rember every detail," she said.
"Only the major ones. And this flower changes things, so it’s linear but unpredictable at the sa ti."
Sylvia crossed her arms and nodded thoughtfully.
"Hmm. Like how I can sense this world has changed. As ti passes, there are those who beco slightly aware. Feelings of déjà vu and the like."
Lilith nodded. She was about to speak when Sylvia raised a hand, stopping her.
"In that case, I don’t think it will make much of a difference. Just tell if sothing unusual happens."
Lilith glared at her.
"This is unusual," she said sharply.
"You and I working together. We’re usually at each other’s throats."
Sylvia glanced at the flower, its petals wilted and dim.
"This thing is actually a weapon, if you think about it objectively."
Lilith narrowed her eyes, but Sylvia raised a hand again.
"Hear out. Every ti you go back, you create a whole new world and destroy the original. That ans this little flower is a mass extinction weapon."
She leaned back slightly in her chair.
"Think about what the final line says."
Lilith slowly repeated the words under her breath.
"Ti is linear, simultaneous, and unbreakable. We are all imprisoned by ti."
Sylvia nodded.
"This contradicts typical regression. In theory, regression doesn’t break ti. It only cheats it temporarily. Butterfly effects and all that."
Sylvia Moonveil was a walking encyclopedia. More than that, she was a learned woman who understood rules far better than she understood people.
This was right up her alley.
"The rules are simple," she said calmly.
"And we must know our limitations and play by them."
She raised three fingers.
"Three, for now."
"Lilith is not free."
"Sylvia is not omniscient."
"And finally, Damon is not immortal. These are our limitations."
Lilith took a deep, shaky breath, her fingers brushing the flower in her hair.
"I’ve been destroying everything all this ti."
Sylvia let her sit with that realization for a mont before speaking again.
"We might have to fight Damon," she said evenly.
"But that won’t be enough to win. I’ll assu you already tried that before."
Lilith closed her eyes.
"He’s powerful. Far more than I anticipated. But the real problem is the elixir that can cure Luna. The mont he got his hands on it, he had no reason to go on."
Sylvia stood up abruptly, a frown creasing her face as her armor equipped itself piece by piece.
"That’s too bad," she said.
"Then we’ll have to steal the elixir before he gets it."
Lilith scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"Easier said than done. Even Damon had to start a whole war to get his hands on it."
Sylvia smiled faintly as she looked at Lilith.
"Then we’ll just take it now, won’t we?" she said softly.
"No one can stop from getting what I want."
She echoed Lilith’s own words from the academy, spoken long ago.
She tilted her head and repeated the next part, word for word.
"I’m prepared to take on the world and watch it burn. Are you?"
Lilith was taken aback. Then she laughed, the sound brittle and self-directed.
"When did I beco so pathetic?"
She shook her head.
"Ha... ha ha ha..."
She straightened, erald eyes regaining their familiar confidence.
"There are still two petals left," she said firmly.
"And I’m ending this now."
"I’ve been ready to burn the world for years."
Sylvia scoffed, turning away from Lilith. Then she smiled.
No rival of hers was allowed to be weak.
"Good," she said.
"Then let’s go. I’ve made preparations."
She walked toward the altar carved with countless runes.
"When it cos to rune magic, no one in my party cos close to ," she added.
"Not even Damon."
She stepped onto the altar, runes igniting beneath her feet.
"Let’s go stop that suicidal bastard," Sylvia said quietly.
"He still has a promise to keep."
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