CHAPTER TEN: QUEST AND SOURCERY

The rain fell heavily as Lilith transitioned. She walked into the living room, where she found Damien sitting on the couch, dressed in his clothes and resting comfortably. He stared at her, pondering where she was coming from. He knew her to be mysterious, and the thought of asking raced through his mind. Lilith knew he was curious about her location, but she didn't want to share.

Damien stood up, holding her wrist closely. "I meant what I said about getting to know you. There is so much to you that makes me very perplexed. You're like a maze I find hard to get through... '" he continued. "a reality I have found myself deeply sunk into..". Lilith sighed. "then remove yourself from it! You're glaring at fire, my dear friend, and you have no idea what you're calling upon for yourself." She tried to let her wrist out of his grasp, but he grabbed on firmly.

"I am aware you're a wildfire; believe me, I have seen that... But what I cannot do is remove myself from this intoxicating situation you've driven me into. I have tasted passion.. but none of these". His voice breaks. "I burn for you, Lilith, more than you realize."

Lilith stared into his eyes, convinced he wouldn't let go of her until she understood his desire. He sat on a broken boat, searching for light in the darkness of love.

"Very well then, you asked for the flames." "I will let you see for yourself." She released herself from his grasp. Lilith stood, staring into his eyes, and in a flash, she turned into a different version of herself. A once fragile beauty turning into a voracious, angry demon. Her wing sprouted out with force, the edges covered in sharp-edged blades.

Her eyes depicted flames of fire, the intense glow brewing with a devilish beauty. Damien's eyes widened in fright at the woman before him. A complete abstract of the lady he thought he knew. He couldn't move from his position, unable to say anything as fear gripped his heart. He had seen images of demons but never imagined witnessing the sight of one standing right before him.

His knees gave way as he tried to comport himself, failing miserably. "Do you feel differently about me now?" unable to comprehend a human being the same after the sight. His expression proved affirmative. She took pity on his frightened self, turning back to her human form. "You do not belong here." She turned her back.

Her words pierced right through his heart, but he couldn't find the courage to speak. He strolled out of her house, his lips mute as he couldn't look back. Desperately to tell her he wasn't afraid and that he still wanted to be by her side, but he couldn't. His feeble mind couldn't assure him otherwise yet the thought of losing her creeped into his mind like a sore wound, hurting to its core. He walked out the door, unable to explain the emotions he felt as her words contended in his heart.

Lilith knew her words would hurt him, but she was in no mood to succumb to such lowly emotions. She did what had to be done, and there was no turning back. Her mission wasn't to be accomplished by some human. She had some artifacts to procure.

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When the evening came, precisely at the time the sun set on the horizon, Lilith walked out of her home in quest for the things she sought. She walked through the city, walking into a gold jewelry store. A middle-aged woman dressed in black with a long silver amulet resting on her neck walked around the store. To the outside world, she was a successful businesswoman who specialized in jewelry artifacts, but on the inside, she was a seer, the descendant of a witch clan.

Her heart froze as her eyes met with Lilith. She could discern in an instant who she was, which frightened her more. She ushered Lilith into her office, which had an inner chamber. Lilith walked into a room with paintings of witch symbols and gods. In the center of the room stood a marble altar.

On it sat a big transparent pearl, which emitted a beam of light from the inside. Lilith walked towards the altar, tracing her fingers along its sides. She turned towards the woman. "There seems no need for an introduction." I have come here for an answer. I seek the ancient, the crown of thorns."

The seer buried her head in reverence to the unholy sun right before her. "The answer you seek lies not in the dark artifact you desire, but within yourself. If you do not mind, stretch out your hands". Lilith frowned, stretching out her palms before the seer. The woman placed her hands under Lilith's, closing her eyes as visions before her mind. "I see fire!" She prophesied. "A heated war of survival.. tied by the heavy price of your ultimate desire..."

Lilith withdrew her palms in anger. "My ultimate desire, which is the throne, will be mine alone. "If it takes war… well, let's get hell warmed up!"

The seer stared fiercely into her eyes. "It is much more than you imagine, queen! It comes like a war; terror lurks around the corner, waiting for its moment to strike! But know that destiny always has a twist at its end." She warned.

Lilith groaned. "Where can I find what I seek?". The seer walked towards the pearl, moving her hands around it as it brewed up clouds inside. "The treasure you seek may not be of significance in the journey that sets before you, but as you have wished, so let it be... In the forest of dawn, right under the blood oak tree, lies the moist soil of Cain.

The earth that swallowed the blood of Abel is beneath your hands; underneath lies the secret you wish to uncover. But know that it shall not be a simple task, as they might request your blood as an offering for the unholy crown you seek. "

Lilith challenged, "If I need protection, entreat the gods that I might find support in spite of the forces of the underworld trying to restrain me."

The seer nodded and turned the altar. She took the sacred knife, cutting right through Lilith's palms as dark blood flowed out. Placing the sacred bowl, collecting the drop of blood on the alter she dipped her finger into the bowl, coating it in Lilith's blood for the sacrifice. With her finger, she drew the eye of providence in reverence to the unholy sun that hovers around the earth.

A cloud of smoke brewed up as she summoned, stretching her hands forward to placate the gods. " Hecate! Maiden, Mother, and Crone, I summon you! That you may guide the path of the unholy sun. As the smoke brews up to the sky, see to it that her desires are acquired! I call upon Vesta, goddess of protection. Let your infinite flame rise for her cause! Go before her as a mother, sister, and protector. I entreat you, mothers of the earth…"

An ominous flame rose above, drying out the blood on the altar. The seer bowed and turned to Lilith, saying, "Let the gods go with you. You earned their favor!" . She drew an inverted cross on Lilith's forehead as a sign of protection before she left the chambers.

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