《The Devil's Parcel》Chapter 11: The tree that floats
Advertisement
Lilith was putting her flowing purple hair into pigtail buns, getting ready for the inevitable war wondering how things ended up this way. She never liked the thought of war; the idea of taking the lives of people was bad enough but taking them for land and power was even more taboo in her eyes.
Lilith finished with her hair, looked into her mirror, and realized she had changed. She couldn't figure out what had changed, but every time she looked into the mirror, she couldn't recognize the face in it.
Lilith was trying to distinguish if the face in the mirrors was hers, but she jumped when the sound of knocking cut through the audible silence. "Yes," Lilith said, responding to whoever was at the door.
"Lilith, it's me, Lillia."
"Hold on a moment. I need to get dressed." Lilith put on her armor with the engraving of a dragon on the chest piece and Sol's crest on the back (A tree basking in the sun).
Once Lilith opened the door for Lillia, Lillia ran into the room and jumped onto Lilith's bed, kicking her feet up in the air. Now confused, Lilith asked what had happened.
"I think I'm in love, Lilith."
This came as a surprise because Lillia never really liked anyone romantically throughout their friendship, mostly because she was too focused on school, and she was already happy with her friends, from what she was told. Although this was a surprise, it doesn't mean it wasn't a welcome one.
Lilith sat next to Lillia, and for the first time in a while, the two started acting like girls. "With who?"
Lillia was blushing hard, but she was visibly excited, and after a short time, she blurted, "Abel."
The two started squealing with excitement. "Really? Why did you fall in love with him!" Lilith wanted the details, and Lillia was giving them.
"It started when I was following him around the city, making sure he wasn't going to cause any trouble. Eventually, though, I lost sight of him, and out of nowhere, he gave me a parfait and asked why I was following him the whole time without his permission. I tell him why and he ends up taking me on a date so I can 'Relax while I can'; while we were on our date, I started falling for him, and now I can't stop thinking about him."
Advertisement
"Are you going to tell him?"
"I don't know yet. This is the first time I have felt like this about anyone."
"Well, you should tell him before we go."
"Should I?" Lillia was nervous, and the thought of telling the man she loves that she loves him made her heart beat faster.
Lilith put a hand on her shoulder, which calmed Lillia down, and said, "You only live once. What if one of you doesn't make it out of this war? Then you'll regret the fact that you didn't.
Lilith's encouraging words gave Lillia the courage to go and tell him.
With Lillia gone, Lilith was all alone in her room once more. Or at least she would be if it wasn't for the egg beside her on the nightstand. Lilith picked up her egg and hugged it closely while praying, "Alastor, I don't know if you can hear me, but please grant me the courage and strength to lead my men and friends into battle."
"He has already granted you that"
Lilith looks up to see Abel. He had put his long hair in a ponytail and was wearing a matte black suit of armor that had Sol's crest on the back and an engraving of a cloaked skeleton holding a scythe. He was holding a helmet with two slits across for eye holes and holes shaped into a star for the mouthpiece.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Cerberus was the power you asked for, and you gained the courage yourself. You did declare war; it takes guts to do that." Abel was right; the amount of courage someone needs to declare war is, without a doubt, astronomical.
Lilith looked into Abel's brown eyes and saw something in there, she couldn't figure it out, but it was similar to Lillias. Lilith cleared her throat, and in the nicest way possible, she asked what he was doing at her door.
"You see, I came here to talk to you about Lillia." This surprised Lilith, but she allowed him to enter the room and talk to her.
"What about Lillia?"
Abel was trying to get comfortable in the chair he was sitting on before responding. "I think I'm in love with Lillia."
Advertisement
Lilith was definitely surprised by this point. "What makes you say that?"
"We went on a date earlier. My heart was pounding fast the whole time, and when I held her hand, I felt someway" Lilith could see Abel was genuine about how he felt.
"Why don't you tell her?"
Abel's eyes shot open like he realized he had left a baby outside in the sun. "That's a good idea" Abel walked up and left the room.
Lilith finished getting ready by putting on the rest of her armor. Once she was done, she went to the nearest military camp to see how much longer until the carriages would be ready.
With her business concluded at the camp Lilith went for a stroll. She didn't know where she was going, but she just went in any direction that looked good. Eventually, she found a small clearing with a lake in the center. The entire area was encompassed by willow trees, and in the middle of the lake was an enormous tree.
The tree was unlike any other Lilith had seen. The tree's trunk was twisted in on itself, giving the appearance of the tree being inside out and the top of the tree had a picture-perfect crown. The smell the tree gave off was unpleasant; it was the smell of death.
Lilith was so fixated on the tree that she hadn't noticed the sky turned an inky black. When she finally noticed, it was too late; the trees surrounding the lake had disappeared, replaced by old worn bookcases. The tree was still the same except it wasn't surrounded by water; it was floating.
Lilith looked around to see countless bookcases spanning in all directions. She was in a library.
Lilith walks around this library, looking for a way out. The smell of mildew and the sound of water dripping can be heard coming from an unknown direction.
"Hello. Anyone?!" She called out for anyone, but no one replied. Lilith reached the end of the library after what seemed like an eternity; her heart broke when she only saw a wall. She looked on either side to see the wall spanning for miles. The wall looked like it was made from sandstone, but the textures were all over the place. Lilith looked at the wall to determine why the textures were different, but she noticed something.
She backed up and noticed the wall had engravings on it; It was that of a dragon fighting a group of five people. Lilith felt familiarity coming from the engraving, but she couldn't find out why it was so familiar.
After a prolonged inspection, she noticed another engraving beside it. Five children were getting attention from a woman, and in the background were two smaller children wearing masks. The masks were that of animal and man. The child on the left had the mask of a dragon head and the child on the right had the mask of a man. The man's face was motionless almost dead.
Lilith was looking at the masks figuring
Lilith noticed an engraving beside the mask; it wasn't a picture but words. "Evil is asleep, but his friend is free; O brothers sleep beneath the lake waiting for day to break. The egg hatches, and hope is near, but that hope turns to fear." Beside it was another message "The man that slumbered awakes to a field to plant his seed; The seed blooms far ahead but only to quell the dread
Lilith repeats the words in her head, trying to decipher what it means but her train of thought ends when she hears a loud whoosh. Lilith looks up to see a black dragon. The dragon's face had scars on it, and its wings were darker than the nothingness behind it.
The dragon spoke with its strong voice, "WHO DARES ENTER THE LIBRARY."
Advertisement
- In Serial7 Chapters
The Oak; or, Between What Was and What Will Be
Two thousand years ago, a young woman is given a task by a goddess, known to her people as the Divine. The task is simple, to travel, see, and learn. The Divine bestows upon the woman gifts and a new name, Wander, so she never forgets her task. Bearing these gifts and her new name, she is sent off to see. In 2015, Patrick Oak is plagued by visions of a man on fire. Setting off to find this man will permanently change Patrick's life in ways he could never have known and set him into conflict with an ancient evil. Patrick, a mage with a rare connection to nature, must gather together a band of diverse mages to prevent this evil from undoing the work of the Divine and Wander, all the while keeping magic hidden from the world at large.
8 58 - In Serial82 Chapters
The World-ruling Dungeon
"Let me check real quick if I got what you said... Not only I'll be stuck forever in a cave because I'll become immortal, I won't have any contact with humans and if someone hits me hard enough I die for good? Are you mental?""Nah, that's pretty much it, good luck. See you again when you die.""You fucking assh-.." Yelp. Now I'm stuck in this dungeon forever, what the heck is there to do here?
8 91 - In Serial10 Chapters
The Tale Of A Golem Master
This is a Fanfiction of the Korean Novel 'Overgeared' The Cover is not mine, I will take it down if the owner ask me to do so. Synopsis: What if Grid wasn't the 5th miracle player of Satisfy, but rather, the 6th? What if Agnus wasn't fully insane? What if Agnus had an older brother? What ripples will this cause in the world of Satisfy? Find out next time on dra...... I mean, read the novel and find out! Author Note: i've been wanting to write this for a while since I couldn't for the life of me, fine a fanfiction of this novel and I wanted this idea to come to fruition. Feel free to let me know if there are any spelling errors, or if you have any suggestions on other things you want me to write a fanfiction of. I won't really have a release schedule but, I have a lot already written so I will post all of that overtime first, then I'll get a rhythem going since I have so much I want to write for this. Hit me up with reviews, comments, what have you. Just don't troll and everyone stays happy. Cool? Cool. Now put the gun down and untie me!
8 132 - In Serial17 Chapters
Reflection of Another World
In a world where humanity has destroyed itself in a world war, new human beings are emerging with the power to manipulate part of the world around them. Called Arcanists, these people are now in charge of war, politics and economy. In a context of cold war between the few remaining countries representing the human race, Sora Akane is a Japanese student sent to Fiji with the aim of strengthening the ties between the two nations.
8 203 - In Serial409 Chapters
Firebrand
Sing the story, bard, of the Firebrand. He, the youth who saved Morcaster from ruin. He, the warrior who defeated an empire. He, the archmage who crossed the Netherworld... The tale of Martel the mage, from his humble beginnings as a hapless novice at a magic school. Slow, character-focused and light-hearted progression fantasy. Updates Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Join the Lyceum on discord.
8 1596 - In Serial19 Chapters
Serendipity
What would you do for a wish? In the center of the world of Earthena lays the tower of Serendipity stretching high into the heavens where the goddess lays in deep slumber. It is said that whoever would climb the top and awaken the goddess would get any wish they desire granted. With a newfound power, young adventure Silica Hale and her Fairy partner Jil must venture to the tower and awaken the sleeping goddess. --------------------- Authors Notes: Inspired by more or less the game Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Serendipity is a large epic drawing a lot on the classic JRPG formula. An epic that will see the heroes travel the entire world of Earthena to reach their goal, with the intention of building upon a rich and dynamic world of mystery and war. NOTE: This is gonna be my first Draft of this story. Any feedback will be appreciated. Grammer hopefully won't be too much of an issue compared to Goddess Chosen given that this one is more recent, but... Just give you guys a heads up. This story is ongoing. Updates are slow as I publish when a chapter is ready. Expect my chapters to be on the long side, that's just my style. Only on Royal Road.com
8 138

