{[Never underestimate a pawn.]}
An era before worlds, before space, and before time.
“Hold them tightly.” His voice was raspy, and his soul was fading. A gold and silver dagger had pierced his chest, corrupting his life, erasing his power. “The First was killed, and my wounds will take me soon…”
The boy held both girls in his arms. In his eyes, the stars of galaxies twinkled.
“It’s just you three now… Adam… You’re the new First… Please don’t commit our sins… Violence ended our era… For the sake of life, you three need to live.”
His body faded into a white light.
And now only three God’s remained. Orphans from a war fought between divinity.
A senseless war that left the First, the Innovative, and the Dead. Three children in the eyes of God’s. With an entire universe to create.
The First held them tightly, and so began Genesis.
“Adam!” The Goddess paced towards her friend. “What are you doing?”
Adam’s hand molted fire, water, and light.
“Eve, I’m creating something.” Eve’s blonde hair tilted to her side. Her eyes were blue and shifted like the waves in a sea. “Every Greater God died… We’re all that’s left.”
“Every Greater God murdered each other.” Another girl, this one with jet black hair and deep red eyes, studied the thing Adam was creating. Her eyes waved and moved like an inferno. “It’s so quiet… And peaceful.”
“Peaceful?” Eve raised her eyebrow. “Lilith, it’s been eons. Why do you keep your distance?”
“I’m allowed to mourn however I see fit.” The girl grazed her black hair. “We’re the last God’s… It’s peaceful… No more arguing, no more fear… Even if we lost our families.”
“We all lost something,” Adam added. “I’m tired of sitting down and letting time pass… We have no one stopping us from using our powers… No one to enforce the rules we should follow… That’s what caused the war… And left just us.”
Adam ripped his power into the galaxy. Once he moved his hands away. A star gained life.
“Why waste your power on those?” Lilith studied the star. “It’ll burn for billions of years then die… Why make this?”
“Why?” Adam smiled. “They’re similar to your eyes… So I want to put them everywhere.”
Lilith’s face blushed. She glanced away, mad. “Idiot.”
“Are you blushing?” Eve paced around her friend, poking her cheeks and teasing her. “It’s okay. I love Adam too.”
Eve’s eyebrow twitched. “Two Goddesses and one God… It’s obvious he’s going to have children with us… But our kin will not be able to produce their own… Our children will be the last Gods…”
“I want to prevent that.” Adam used his power again, this time willing it into a planet. His power rushed into the world. “It’ll take eons, but I will do what I can to prevent that…”
“You’re powerful, Adam. But compared to the God’s who died in the war, you’re still powerless.” Lilith sighed. “At this point, you’re just continuing the work our forefathers killed each other for.”
“It’s better than doing nothing…” Adam continued.
Lilith rolled her eyes and walked off, stepping over the emptiness of space until she found her home, a pillar surrounded by purple flames. A place where her family would gather… Now it was just her. The Goddess knelt down and cried.
And the eons passed.
*******
Lilith slowly spent more and more time with the other two God’s. Adam and Eve were inseparable. Their bodies had changed. Now they were adults. With more defined desires and with the power to create whatever they desired at their fingertips.
“What is this?” Lilith knelt down and cuddled a kitten. The creature studied her curiously. “It’s adorable.”
“It’s a little project I’m working on,” Adam admitted. “Our forefathers wanted us to create life, but they never agreed on what kind. It’s tricky creating a world that survives without our assistance.”
“You want worlds to grow without us stepping in and helping?” Lilith picked up the kitten and stroked her fur.
“Yes, life will compete to survive. They’ll live, multiply, die and change… The planets will have everything they need to survive… But it’s a challenge. Everything needs to be perfect for life to not just survive but for it to thrive… Our forefathers never realized that since they never agreed on anything.”
“I haven’t agreed on anything you’ve created up until now… You’re just doing whatever you want.”
Adam smirked. “That’s true, but you’ve been away from us…”
Adam stepped closer to her. As he did, her power pulsed, and she sensed something deep inside her.
“I know you cry when you’re alone… Please forget about the past… We’re all that’s left… Stop shutting yourself away…”
Lilith shook from embarrassment. “Okay… Just don’t tell Eve that I cry…”
“She already knows.” He teased.
Lilith sighed. “Can you show me the things you created?”
“Gladly.” His hands moved across the galaxy, across gas, frozen, and burning planets until he stopped in one. “This is a new world… One where that cat can survive.”
The world moved quickly, and in seconds Lilith studied every bug, every plant, every drop of water, every grain of sand.
“You… Created all this?” The fire in her eyes burned hotter. “This is amazing… You managed to create souls that live off of instinct.”
“Yes, souls provide us power… But these are my souls… So when they die, they return to me… All their experiences, fears, desires, and regrets come to me… In turn, it’ll make me stronger… But these are lesser souls… So I don’t gain much power from them… Why not create your own?”
“I’ve never been good at creating anything worthwhile…” She studied Adam’s face, his eyes, and his body… He was perfect… She blushed and got closer to him. Their arms rubbed against each other, and her body burned. “Okay… With you, by my side, I think we can do it.”
“With us.” Eve poked her head out. She had been eavesdropping. “How come you never visit me?”
“Well… That’s because I like Adam more than you.”
“That’s so mean!” She cuddled Lilith. “We’re the only females left… So we should become friends.”
“… Alright… Then the three of us can create life… Together…”
Adam hugged them both, Eve smiled happily, and Lilith fought back her own desires. She may be a Goddess, but she also desired more. She wanted to mate, to create a new God with Adam.
Eve kissed Adam’s cheek.
A new pain struck Lilith like a storm ripped a part of her divinity away. She turned her head quickly.
Eve studied her confused.
“Are you okay?” She asked.
“Yes… I just didn’t know you and Adam were that close.”
“It’s just us… It was bound to happen… I love Adam very much…”
“You do?” Lilith glanced down and to her left.
“I love you too.” Eve cuddled her friend once she suspected that she hurt her emotions. “The three of us will spawn the next generation of Gods… So we need to get along.”
“Can you give me some more time?” Lilith paced away from the two… Unaware of her own emotions. She wanted to escape her situation. Before Eve argued, she disappeared, away into the darkest parts of the universe, a place where Adam hadn’t had time to work… Empty, no stars, no planets, just darkness.
Lilith sighed and found peace in her solitude. But in her own way, she focused on her power. Creating her first creature… A slime.
*******
Billions of years passed.
“I want to show you something I created.” Adam had an uneasy expression. “Follow me to my domain.”
The two shifted across the galaxy until they arrived at a world.
One filled with humans.
“Lilith!” Eve hugged her friend. “You’re here!”
“Yes, I am…” She studied the galaxy. It was filled with so much light. The stars and planets were like gems, compared to her own domain that was just darkness. Her eyes focused on a world Adam had guided her to.
“These… Why did you make something so similar to our own appearance?” Lilith raised her eyebrow. Then her eyes focused on something else… They were creating homes, farming, having families, and adapting to the world they were in. “What did you do? They have intellect.”
“Yes.” Adam smiled. “After creating a world, it ends up becoming a battle of the fittest animal… No passion… No desire… No adventure… It’s boring… So I decided to create a creature that would rule over every other animal… I gave them a gift that only God’s have… Intellect.”
“Not just that.” Eve showed her another world. Demi’s were growing. Living and creating lives for themselves. “I’m not as creative as Adam… But I love the animals he made… So I kind of cheated and changed a few things…”
“Why?” Lilith took a step back. “Intellect is the reason our forefathers slaughtered each other… It’s why your father and mother… Why my father… It’s why they killed each other… Are you still going to do it? After all that death?”
Adam and Eve studied the Goddess. They weren’t conflicted with their decision at all.
Adam spoke first.
“We are the only God’s… Lilith, their rules don’t apply to us… Plus, a human soul returns to me when they die… And I obtain ten times more power than any animal… If I continue, I’ll find a solution to save our race.”
“Same with me.” Eve smiled. “We even decided to create a paradise and a hell for them. Depending on how they live their lives, they’ll find eternal peace or eternal suffering.”
Lilith gritted her teeth. She glared at the two. But even if she didn’t want to admit it, Adam was perfect to her… She desired him… Even if Eve was always with him.
“Why save it!” Lilith shook. “Intellect is a gift only God’s should have… You saw what it did to our families! It’ll happen to demi’s and humans. They’ll kill one another, hate one another… And they’ll end up like us… Alone…. Why continue the cycle of bloodshed?”
“Because they’re not God’s.” Adam palmed her cheek, removing a teardrop that had run down her face. “We govern the universe… Please work with us… Help us create a world that was forbidden to us…”
“I don’t know if I can.”
Adam kissed her, catching her off guard. Her heart raced, and her body overflowed with one desire. She wanted lust.
Stepping away, he smiled. “It’s just us… We write the rules… If it’s just us three, then let’s make it a world we can all agree on… Without bloodshed.”
She blushed and nodded slowly…
*******
“This is a dragon.” Lilith smiled at Adam, who was extremely impressed with her work.
“Why not create a sentient being?” He asked.
“I don’t know about that… You two already made your own versions, and I’m not so sure if I can…”
“You’re not truly a God until you create a creature that can hate you…”
“I don’t want to be hated…” She sighed and fell on her back. Adam put his head on her legs. “What are you doing?”
“Can’t I rest my head on you?” He teased her. “You are softer than Eve.”
“Please don’t compare us…” She glanced up into the sky where the remains of the God’s great houses sat. “Should we go explore what our forefathers left behind?”
“You mean weapons that can kill Gods? Broken ideals that led them to murder one another? And revisit the shame they would have for us if they knew what we created?” Adam’s tone changed. “That’s a relic of the past… It should stay there as a monument of what our ancestors feared… That’s not a place any of us should ever visit.”
“You’re the most curious out of us three… I’m surprised you didn’t go there.”
“That’s where our parents died… I’d rather avoid that place…” Adam stood up and walked away. “Stay away from that place… You’ll only open up healed wounds.”
She nodded and glanced at him as he walked away.
“Next time… I’ll tell him to marry me… I can have his child… We can create the last God’s…”
She studied her world. Lilith created monstrous and dangerous creatures. When they died, she ensured to leave a coin behind. The currency of the Gods. Not that they had any need for it anymore…
Lilith stood up, and curiosity got the better of her. She wanted to spy on Adam. What did he do when he was alone? She questioned. He was the First God, so his rules were the law. “Some rules are meant to be broken.” She smirked.
Moving past galaxies and planets, she stopped when she found him. She smiled. This was the first time she had gone on her own to chase after him… Lilith found him, sleeping with Eve.
She stopped, and her soul cracked. The man she loved and the woman that she cherished. Together in bed.
Them being together didn’t bother her… The fact that they were doing it without her did…
“What am I to them?” She flew across the galaxy, far away from them. When she stopped, she fell to her knees. “What about me? Why did they push me away?”
She punched a planet, shattering it to pieces. “Once again… I’m alone…”
Lilith glanced up at the old world… “Some rules are meant to be broken.”
*******
A broken world even God’s can’t fix everything.
Lilith paced across an abandoned kingdom. It was empty, abandoned, and destroyed. She paced forward while tears ran down her face.
“What’s wrong with me?” She shook her head. “He’s going to be with me eventually… But why am I upset? What is this emotion?”
She ripped her power and destroyed a portion of a home. Shaking from rage, she frisked her face.
“I want him… No, I need him… But Eve… She’s… She’s just in the way…”
Laying on the ground, untouched by time, lay a gold and silver weapon. Her fingers handled it. And she grasped why the God’s killed one another.
“He only needs me…”
Her power surged, pulsing her towards Adam and Eve. She revealed herself while he was inside her.
“Lilith?” Adam’s eyes widened. “You’re not supposed to be here.”
“Why not?” She tilted her head up. “Rules are made to be broken.”
Eve smiled. “Did you finally decide to join us?”
“Join?” Eve raised her eyebrow.
“Yes, didn’t Adam ask you?”
Lilith’s eyes sharpened. “No… He never once asked me.”
Adam glanced away.
“Why not?” Eve pulled away from Adam. “Don’t you want her?”
“… No… I only want one of you that way…”
Lilith’s eyes watered. Behind her, she gripped the weapon tightly.
“But we need more God’s to survive…” Eve stood. “Don’t you want two women? I don’t mind.”
“No… I only want one of you…” He glared at Lilith. “I know how you feel about me… But I can’t be with you…”
“Why not?” Lilith’s tears ran down her face. “Why her and not me?”
“Because my heart only loves her… I’m sorry…”
“What was I to you?”
“Just a nuisance… A girl obsessed with the past will never create a better future…”
“Is that why you didn’t let me bring any of my creations to your worlds?”
“Part of it… Everything you create only desires destruction… You never created a single thing capable of love… Just monsters that kill…”
“I love you…” Lilith finally expressed herself.
“I don’t.” Adam glanced away.
“It’s her, isn’t it?” Lilith studied Eve, who was conflicted. “If we had never created life, then it would’ve just been the three of us… But even then, you would’ve chosen her.”
“I needed to create, and I’m trying to save our race… You want us to die out? Without us, then nothing will exist.”
“So what if it’s empty! So what if nothing lives or grows… What you two created will only bring more pain to creatures that never desired life! Intellect should’ve never been given to mankind! It’s a gift exclusive to Gods!”
“Calm down.” Eve grabbed Lilith’s arms.
“If only… You were never here.”
Lilith stabbed Eve’s stomach. Light emerged from her wound.
Adam’s eyes widened.
“Without you… Adam would’ve been all mine!” She pulled the knife out and stabbed again, but Adam stepped in, allowing himself to take the hit instead.
Light emerged from his chest.
“No!” Lilith pulled the weapon out of him. “Why!”
Adam sighed heavily. His power was corrupting, and sure enough, he grasped that he was dying.
“Do you really love me?” Adam forced his words out. “Or do you just want what you can’t have? Because you went eons without visiting me… What you feel isn’t, and never will be… Love”
“I do love you… I’ve always loved you…” Lilith tapped Adam’s wound, stealing his power. With it, she allowed her monsters to grow in the latest world Adam and Eve had created together. “I have to stop what you set in motion… Before I take my own life… I’ll erase everything you two created… That way, no one will ever suffer… Intelligent life should be eradicated… I’m sorry… This is what has to be done.”
Ashner stabbed Lilith’s chest with another dagger. One he kept hidden. The power corrupted Lilith’s soul. She studied the blade for a second then tumbled on top of the two.
“You knew I would try this?” Lilith sighed.
“Yes… I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this…”
“Then all three of us will die here… Together?” Lilith smiled.
“No…” Adam shook his head… “Humans will ultimately become new Gods… The three of us will be reborn in them once our souls are restored…”
Lilith smiled.
“Then I’ll have a chance to have you all to myself?” She studied Eve, who was confused.
“Why Lilith?” She asked.
“I don’t share… Deep down, I’ve always hated you… I don’t care what it takes… When I return, I’ll create a world I want… You two won’t be able to stop me… I’ll become the God that kills everything… The Dead God.”
Her body faded into nothingness.
“Adam?” Eve caressed her lover. “We have to stop her… How will we find each other?”
Adam’s wound mixed with Eve’s. Their powers blended together. “We’re bound to one another… My power will take a long time to manifest inside a human…”
“Will you love me again?” She reached for his face.
“Yes… The host I choose will never sleep with a woman until I meet you… It’ll be a curse I give him…”
She cuddled him as their power faded and their essence scattered across the universe they had spent eons creating.
“I’ll save myself for you as well…” Eve smiled. “Even death won’t keep us apart… Adam, you truly are the greatest God. You found a way to ensure we live forever…”
“We’ll have our happy ending… I promise.”
The two faded into nothingness…
*******
Iris tapped her head against the door wall of her parent’s room. Once again, they were arguing. Her father was cruel to her mother, often belittling her and slapping her.
“You wanted to marry a man with money and power, and you expected him to give you everything just because you put out and got knocked up,” Iris spoke to herself and stepped away from their door. “I won’t ever make your mistakes… I’ll ensure no man ever looks down on me.”
She went back to her room, found her school uniform, and quickly put it on. Instead of posters around her walls, she had rare artifacts from forgotten cities, college books, and a few pictures of her three friends.
Ashner, Jorge, and Anna. The three escaped their homes from time to time. Enjoying their company and time wasted together.
Her finger grazed Ashner’s face. “You’re the one I’ll be forced to marry… Not that I love you, or anyone for that matter…” She glanced at her bed. The night before, she lit candles and imagined the most attractive man in her mind, a minor celebrity. She imagined him embracing and f****** her… But like the previous nights, her body didn’t react. Everything bored her.
“What’s wrong with me?” She sighed and recalled what her doctor told her. “It’s psychological, not physical…”
*******
“Iris!” Jorge, Ashner, and Anna rushed towards her, Jorge carrying a skateboard and Ashner with his nose in a book. “We’re going to watch a movie tonight. Are you down?”
Iris bit her nail. “It’s a weekend, sure. I’ll drive myself there…” She studied Ashner, who at one point was nothing but skin and bones. But something had changed. He was toner.
“You’ve been getting fitter.” Iris studied his arms.
“I’ve been working out.” Ashner put his book in his pocket. “But I’m glad it’s showing.”
“Take more pride in your appearance. I’m surprised your father didn’t teach you that.”
“He’s been busy. Currently, he’s in India.” Anna clung to Ashner’s arm. Trying to steal his book. “Hey, stop that.”
She snatched it and took a step back. “Finders keepers!”
“I was on a good part too.” Ashner glanced away while Anna teased her.
Iris got into her convertible and turned the key. Waving goodbye to her friends, she gave herself a comment. “Those two will make a good couple… If only Ashner wasn’t so dense, and Anna confessed… Maybe that way, my dad will stop pestering me to marry him… He just wants more money and unlike my mom… I’m not his tool…”
The young girl scanned her key card and passed her hotel’s hosts.
A life of luxury.
Just a veil for the troubles she had at home. At least she lived in one of the highest rooms, in a way that brought her serenity.
Opening the door to her home, she found her mom passed out on the couch, with a bag of ice on her black eye.
“Just leave him.” She whispered to herself and found her father, drunk and watching sports.
She ignored him and went to her room. That’s where she dropped her backpack and removed her top. Despite everything, her mother was the reason she got her good looks.
Her head tilted towards a mirror. “When will it get better?”
The door to her bathroom shifted slowly. It turned a chocolate color and shifted with designs of dragons and clouds. Iris turned her head quickly, catching it as it finished changing.
“A door?” Iris stood up cautiously and gripped the doorknob, still half-naked, but she smiled. “Finally.”
Once she entered the room, she raised her eyebrow. It was a dark purple room with black candles and a single bed with a dresser.
On the dresser, something caught her eye. She moved towards it.
“A key?”
A purple key, so dark it was almost black. Her delicate fingers grasped it.
Traveler Role Accepted.
“Traveler?” She dropped the key as a menu appeared before her. Purple and it clung there magically.
“This is interesting…”
“I found you.” A tone echoed, Iris turned around, but she was alone in the room.
“That was odd.” She turned around and closed the door. The candles continued to flicker as the outline of a woman with jet black hair molded slowly.
“Adam… This time we’ll be together for all eternity…”
*******
Iris fiddled with her new power after school. She sat in her car waiting for the boys to get out of class.
“So this menu allows me to change aspects of myself. The possibilities are endless… But I don’t know what this LP is.”
The menu spun.
Loath Points, obtain them by killing or causing pain to others.
“Why would I do that?” She swiped her finger, moving the menu away. “But this is amazing. Maybe I can fix what’s wrong with me…”
“It won’t.”
Iris jerked her head down towards her passenger side. In the distance, a black mist formed. The outline of a woman was barely visible. It had jet black hair and eyes as red as fire.
“What?”
The shadow faded.
“I’m seeing things.” She rubbed her eyes as soon as her friends got in the car. Each eager for the fair.
After a few hours, the sun started setting.
“Haunted house!” Anna rushed ahead of the three with a wide smile. “Let’s go inside!”
“How does she have that much energy?” Jorge asked, but she smiled as she grabbed Ashner’s arm and urged him to go with her. Iris and Jorge stayed together. “What’s wrong, Iris?”
“Nothing is wrong.” She studied Jorge. He was strong for his age. “I’m just wondering when those two will start dating.”
“Ashner and Anna? I really don’t know. She’s really into him, but he’s so dense he’ll never figure it out without a push… Plus…”
“Plus what?”
“You’re the one he likes… I heard your father and his father are trying to get you two to start dating.”
“Yes, but he’s not my type… He’s too quiet, too isolated. I need someone strong, open-minded, and dedicated.”
“Good luck with that.” Jorge skipped ahead. “Come on!”
Iris shook her head then went after him. Inside a mirror room. She studied the group as they rushed through, but she wasn’t interested in keeping up with them. Which, in turn, left her alone.
“Don’t ignore my gift.”
Iris stopped. “Who are you?” She studied the mirrors.
“I’ve been called many names in different worlds… Abomination, Envy, The Dead God… But my real name is Lilith… Our souls are bound. In time they’ll merge together.”
Lilith’s voice was all too real. No matter where Iris turned her head. Something hit her hard… The voice was inside her head.
“I’m losing my mind.”
“No, you’re not.” Lilith’s body started manifesting in one of the mirrors. This time Iris was able to determine that she was a female. Lilith smiled. “I offer you my power… In return, kill and corrupt… It’ll bring some purpose to your boring life…”
Iris shook. She took a step back, bumping into a mirror. She turned around and ran, crashing into another section. Everywhere her eyes glanced, Lilith was there, staring back.
“Go away!” Iris roared, and in that second, Lilith’s ghost disappeared.
“Iris?” Ashner stood over her, his face covered in sweat. She studied him.
“Did you run here to look for me?”
“Yeah.” He gasped. “You were taking a little too long, so I got worried.”
“Oh…” She grabbed his hand. “Thank you, Ashner.”
*******
Iris wore headphones and used a toy against her clit… She wouldn’t deny that the vibration was delightful… But her body refused to give in. She wasn’t excited, nor was she wet.
“This is a waste of time.” She tossed her headphones aside. The screams of her mother caught her attention. She sighed and put her underwear and pajamas on. “Again?”
Her mother screamed dreadfully. This time Iris stood and opened her door slowly.
“F****** bitch.” Her father stood over a corpse… His hand held a bloody kitchen knife. The dark moonlight did nothing to erase the aroma of blood. “No one cheats on me…”
“Dad?” Iris took a step back. “What did you do?”
“You’re no different than her… A worthless, money-sucking bitch…” He fiddled with the kitchen knife, taking a step towards her. “You knew! You two were in this together!”
“What are you saying?” Iris took a step back. She shook from fear.
“You aren’t my biological daughter! You’re just the spawn of some f***-boy!” The knife dripped blood. “But it’s okay… I know you masturbate every night… And for a while, I’ve imagined you…Instead of her.”
“Dad? I didn’t know… And what are you saying? You’re sick.”
“Am I? We’re not blood-related, and you’ve grown into a beautiful woman… Unlike your bitch of a mother, you’re not an idiot! So how about you become my personal plaything… And I don’t kick your lying ass out of MY HOUSE!”
Iris’ back tapped against her dad’s room. She reached for the door handle, but it was locked.
“No… I don’t want that…”
“I do!” He paced towards her. “This world only has kings and pawns… It’s about time you learned your place.”
Lilith manifested herself next to Iris. Her father kept pace towards the helpless girl.
Lilith’s cold, black, and ghostly hand gripped Iris.
“You are far from a pawn.”
Mana surged through Iris’ body, and a gust of wind slammed into her father, pushing him against the giant glass window. The impact destroyed the glazing holding the glass in place, and he fell.
LP:500
Iris collapsed to her knees. Both from the mana overuse and the fact that her father had fallen to his death.
Wind rushed into her apartment, knocking over random oddities.
“You are a King… Act like it.”
Lilith disappeared into a black mist.
“He’s dead… He’s really dead?” Iris giggled. “I did it? I’m the one who killed him? I should feel bad… But I don’t… I… I… I…”
The brunette’s hand went down her pants, and she smiled delightfully.
She was wet.
Iris’s fingers slid inside, and after a few seconds, her body spasmed as she came… Next to her dead mother. After a few seconds, guilt overtook her… She turned around and threw up…
“What’s wrong with me?”
*******
“That’s here.” A student gossiped. “I heard her father killed her mother, then committed suicide.”
Iris was fifty feet away, but every conversation around her was clear, and her mind was able to distinguish them all perfectly.
“This power is amazing… But it’s hard to get LP for it.” She studied the world around her. “I have to kill or hurt… What ridiculous conditions…”
“Obey, and we’ll become one.”
Lilith stood next to Iris. Lately, she had manifested herself more and more… Iris wasn’t scared of her anymore.
“I can’t just kill… But hurting someone is another story… LP, show me manipulation and influence.”
The menu popped up, but it quickly disappeared when Iris’ friends rushed towards her.
“Late night scary movie!” Anna sat next to her friend. Ashner and Jorge were behind her. That’s when Lilith did something different. She floated around Ashner, who emitted a white light… Iris rubbed her eyes, but it was there.
“I found you, Adam… Manifest yourself inside that mortal… We’ll be together soon…”
“Adam?” Iris asked, but the group gave her odd body responses. “Never mind…”
She moved her stick shift and they drove away.
In her backseat, Lilith’s ghostly hands grazed Ashner’s jaw.
The light around Ashner faded slowly.
“No! His soul will not corrupt yours! You were perfect then… And you’ll be perfect now… My love…”
*******
After the movie, Iris dropped off the boys first but ended up stopping on top of a bridge. That’s where Anna and Iris sat.
Glancing down at the rushing river.
Lilith manifested herself around the girls.
“Today was fun,” Anna admitted. “And you don’t seem as sad lately.”
“Sad?” Iris lifted her eyebrow.
“You lost your family not too long ago… You’re a strong woman, so I know if you cry… You do it when you’re alone.”
Iris turned her head away.
She hadn’t shed a single tear.
“I’m going to tell Ashner how I feel about him.” Anna smiled.
Iris raised his eyebrow.
“But if you like him… I’ll back off.”
“I don’t like him that way… Do whatever you want.”
Anna hugged her tightly. That was something Iris was not accustomed to. “Thank you!”
The sensation wasn’t something she despised.
“No… He is MINE!”
Lilith grabbed Iris’s arm.
Iris tried fighting back, but it was useless. Mana surged from her fingertips, and wind ripped Anna apart. Her limbs flew away from her body.
Blood stained the bridge. A few splashes echoed in the distance.
LP:750
“No… You… Bitch!” Iris swung, hitting Lilith’s face. Oddly enough, the blow connected. “YOU KILLED MY FRIEND!”
Lilith’s body solidified, and she smiled.
“Kings have no friends… Our souls are merging… Parts of you will remain… It’ll mostly be you… But I won’t allow anyone to have Adam!”
“Leave me… Take your power… I don’t care anymore…”
“Then jump off the bridge… If you die before our souls merge, then the connection will shatter… And I’ll need to wait for a new suitable host to appear… Or… You can embrace the gifts I have given you…”
“You’re not going to kill anyone else…”
“You’re making demands? Very well… We will soon become one… But before that happens, I will give you a new option… Shatter Ashner… Make him hate his very existence… Destroy his worth as a man… As a human… I will grant you more LP than you can ever gain with just killing…”
“Why him?”
“Adam hasn’t manifested physically… When he does, I want him to consume a soul so broken. It’ll prevent his soul from changing… Instead, he’ll take over an empty husk… His soul will remain perfect… And he will be mine and only mine… But Ashner… I loathe him… That’s someone I delight in destroying.”
“But he’s my friend.”
“King’s don’t have friends… Only pawns that serve.”
“I won’t…”
“You will… It’s the only thing that gets you off… We’re so alike… You’re already soaking wet after what happened to Anna.”
Sure enough, Iris was.
*******
Iris wore a black dress suit with a black skirt. She studied her hands.
They weren’t covered in blood anymore.
“Why don’t I feel any guilt?” She questioned. “Lilith may have pulled the trigger, but in a way, I was the gun.”
“They say a serial killer did this.” A tone whispered behind her. “It’s so sad… She was so young…”
Ashner and Jorge entered the funeral home… They were both a mess.
Iris waved them down, and the two sat with her.
They didn’t speak for a few minutes.
“I should’ve asked her out,” Ashner spoke meekly. “I knew how she felt… But I was scared to take that extra step…”
“I’m sorry, dude.” Jorge rubbed his shoulder.
“Now… I’ll never get another chance… It hurts… So badly…”
LP:1750
Iris stood up and walked away. The boys didn’t stop her. If anything, she was closer to Anna than the boys.
Iris rushed home. It was a new apartment, with more or less the same view. She quickly stripped herself, revealing that she was soaked. Then she slid on her bed and grabbed her sex toy.
“Why am I like this? Why is this the only thing that excites me? Maybe I’m insane, or maybe I’m just broken inside…”
Her fingers weren’t enough. She pressed the vibrator against her clit, and Ashner’s tear-filled eyes sent a jolt across her body… She moaned and climaxed…
“This feeling… It’s too amazing to ignore… But it comes with a cost… Ashner… I’m sorry… From today onward… You’ll be my pawn… My source of power…”
