The Day Catherine Made Her Resolve
That day was the day Catherine had made up her mind. A deep dawn shrouded only in darkness. Catherine suddenly opened her eyes. The house was silent, but the wind whistling outside the window felt ominous. The sky rumbled as if a typhoon were approaching.
Leaving Yaong, who slept oblivious to the world, Catherine stepped outside. She moved slowly down to the basement. The magic circle greeted her with its vivid red glow.
"The one who possesses me shall dominate the world."
No one could be as steadfast as you. Catherine glanced around quietly before finally speaking her first words after a long pause.
"The background in that family photo was this basement. Does that mean I came here before?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about. I've never said such a thing."
"Yaong picked up a photo fragment from Abyssland, and it happened to be my face. When I pieced it together, this space appeared. It's too inevitable to call it coincidence."
"Those are mere conditions. The minimum requirements the former owner demands of her successor."
That meant heading to Panya was the first condition her mother had desired.
Did she want me to leave Orleans? Or did she hope I'd climb all the way to Panya searching for traces of her?
Catherine crouched in the corner, tracing the floor patterns as she asked, "What exactly are you?"
"If a woman accepts me, I shall serve that woman as my liege."
"You don't look all that useful."
"You know nothing, woman. When my liege appears, many things will change. In this universe, only the Void Dominator can truly possess me."
"Didn't you say possessing you means dominating the world?"
"Foolish woman. That was mere bait to lure prey."
Well, damn. Was it okay to call a potential successor a fool?
"But right now, Chezare is your liege."
"That is my liege's mercy. Originally, I was meant to lose control and rampage until a new Void Dominator was born. A new nightmare was destined to descend upon this land. But my benevolent liege took me in to prevent such a tragedy, allowing me to await the new Void Dominator under his shadow."
The magic circle's voice was calm and slow, devoid of inflection.
"That is you."
Catherine stood up. She'd heard enough. The magic circle asked,
"Woman. Have you chosen?"
"Yeah."
Her answer came without hesitation. The magic circle's red light shattered into white, and the world began to flip upside down.
"I hope it's a wise choice."
When she opened her eyes again, Dantalion stood before her. The rat-headed demon smirked mysteriously and bowed deeply.
"We meet again, Lady Catherine."
This guy's exhausting. "Why do you keep showing up in front of me?"
Dantalion lifted his head and winked lightly.
"Condition one: discover the rift. Here, the rift refers to the background in the Orleans family photo. It was the hint to reach the demon summoning circle."
She slowly looked around. A dark, eerie forest enclosed her. The ground beneath her feet and the trees swaying in the wind felt like living creatures writhing with souls of their own. It was as ominous as Abyssland.
"Condition two: return to the past and encounter Lilith. Finally, three: choose. I, Dantalion, stand here to hear your choice."
That must have been what he meant by calling him when needed.
"Have you decided?"
"Yeah."
Dantalion's eyes glowed purple. A voice deep as a swamp and dark as the ocean depths questioned her.
"Then allow me to ask. Will you become the great Void Dominator? Or will you live a fleeting life as a mere nephilim?"
Catherine's answer was set.
"I won't inherit the Void. I'll live like this."
The moment Chezare had defined her existence as "special," Catherine had decided in her heart. To stay with Chezare. That was what she wanted most.
"Ah! You've chosen the path of mortality."
She'd expected a negative reaction, but Dantalion was surprisingly calm. Instead, he leaned in with a friendly smile and whispered,
"Ahem. If I may offer my personal opinion?"
"No."
"A very wise judgment."
...Wise?
"But whether the former liege will accept your choice is questionable."
"Mom left the choice to me."
Dantalion said nothing more. With another blink, the sinister rat head vanished from before her eyes. In its place stood a familiar-faced woman.
"Mom."
Catherine rushed forward with a stunned expression. "You're not dead?"
Lilith slowly shook her head. "What stands here now is but a tiny fragment of my dissipated soul. Before dying, I left it solely for this moment. For the moment you would choose."
With a gentle face, she asked in return, "Are you afraid?"
The question was clear. "I'd be lying if I said no."
"What frightens you so? The Catherine I know isn't a timid child."
"Living eternity is exhausting just to imagine. The title of Void Dominator alone makes my legs shake. I don't have the confidence to live as such a grand existence."
Catherine laid out her honest feelings plainly. She thought her mother might be disappointed. But that was a consequence she'd have to bear.
"And above all, I'm satisfied with now."
"Living now as the contractor of Leviathan?"
"Yes."
Becoming Lilith would let her see him longer. But not as closely as now. Chezare had said so himself—it was undeniable truth. Thus, Catherine's answer was inevitable.
"Right now, Chezare is most precious to me."
Plus Yaong, Roze, and the rest. There was no better choice for her. Even if everyone mocked it as ignorant.
Lilith smiled softly. Like gazing at a grown child, it was tender and warm. At last, she let out a sigh.
"Ahh... Catherine! Your body's grown, but your heart's still a child's."
Her voice was laced with sorrow, yet her face held a smile. "I didn't raise you that way. It's all my failure as a mother—such a lamentable thing."
...Huh? Catherine's hairs stood on end. An unprecedented wave of extreme unease washed over her.
"Then, as a final lesson, learn this. What path you must take."
With those short words, Lilith vanished. Soon, a cold voice echoed from the distant void.
"You must choose."
At the same time, her father's voice, long dormant deep in her memories, revived in her mind.
'You, me, and this whole family—we're all just tools for that woman's family game.'
Family game.
"You have the right to do so."
Was it really just a game?
"The right to become Lilith."
Darkness fell before her eyes. Alone in the void, Catherine felt a wave of futility crash over her.
Her mother had rejected her choice. Seen it as the whim of a child not yet mature. In short, the outcome was decided from the start.
Catherine would inherit the Void.
Surprisingly, there was no sense of betrayal. Instead...
'Ah, this pisses me off.'
She felt insulted. What insulted her more was that there was nothing she could do about it. Family game? Mother's love? What did it matter now? Time spent seriously agonizing over it felt wasted.
People lived alone anyway. If she'd known, she wouldn't have bothered searching for her mother! She could've spent that time solving puzzles with Chezare for a fun day!
It was regret far too late.
"Our queen."
"Our queen."
The voices came from the deepest abyss. Catherine lost her balance. The ground caved in, the world spinning dizzily. Something unknown seized her limbs. She plummeted underground like sinking into a quagmire.
At its end...
"Our queen."
A colossal tree embracing the galaxy gazed at Catherine.
Yggdrasil.
"Our queen has arrived."
"Our queen has arrived."
Darkness enveloped her body. Ah, no turning back now. Letting go of everything, her eyes closed naturally.
In that instant, one worry dominated Catherine's mind.
'What if I lose Chezare?' She didn't want to be apart from him.
'Roze too, Demian, Fontpado Madam, Magi...'
Before her eyes unfolded the cosmic truth she never wished to see—a great history and destiny mortals dared not glimpse.
"Worship our queen."
From that day, Catherine became the archdemon Lilith.
Inside the Papal Court. The priests seated around the round table all turned their heads in one direction. Tension rippled through the once-silent chamber.
The first to rise approached the window where night had fallen. "The north?"
"Northwest, I think."
"That's where Abyssland is."
"It's been ages since we felt such intense energy."
"What's happening?"
The cardinal, voice hoarse as if he'd swallowed ice water, rasped, "If everyone here senses it, that's all there is to say. A new archdemon has set foot in Eden."
A heavy silence descended.
"A summoning?"
"Unclear. But if the energy's source is truly Abyssland, it's more likely they opened the door themselves than being summoned."
All demons could manifest in Eden through summoning. There was one exception: manifesting via a demon summoning circle. This had plagued the Papal Court for generations.
The seven demon summoning circles in Eden all belonged to archdemons. They vanished as soon as locations were pinpointed, making eradication impossible. Only one had a confirmed site: Abyssland. But with free access impossible, it was as good as untouchable.
Though annihilating the circles was the Papal Court's long-standing goal, centuries had passed without erasing even one. And to achieve that wish, the Church was preparing... a massive wave unlike any before.
"Where has Bellacups Cardinal gone at a time like this?"
"Who knows what he's thinking. He's been absent a while."
Someone let out a heavy sigh. "The seventh demon king appearing now will give us headaches."
"How many years has it been?"
"600."
"Too much time has passed. It's not strange for one to appear suddenly now."
The listening cardinal shook his head with a cold laugh. "That won't be much of a problem."
His gaze, sweeping the table, stopped at one spot. "We have a sharper sword, after all. Isn't that right, Sir Benedict?"
Thud. Thud. The table-tapping echoed loudly. In that instant, the priests' frozen tension melted into firm conviction and relief. Their eyes gathered on one man.
The man murmured like a whisper, "The seventh demon king..."
His body reclined against the chair back. Rude legs claiming space on the round table. Neat hands resting atop them. His languid voice carried faint mockery.
"A dearly missed mark we failed to guard."
The man—Percival Benedict Parhenrine—opened his eyes as if awakening from a long dream. The time had come. Promises from 600 years ago, dormant deep in his soul, began to stir.
His vivid rose-red eyes, tinged with longing, turned to the thunderous sky.
"What gift shall I bring to this reunion?"