kweenjaded

For as long as the stars have burned, she has existed. She has been called many names—Gaia, Lilith, the First, the Eternal Witness—but time has eroded meaning, leaving only silence. When the sun finally devoured itself and Earth drifted into the abyss, she closed her eyes, expecting oblivion.

But she did not die.

Eons passed, and Earth—no longer Earth—was reborn in a distant galaxy, reshaped by her unconscious will. Now a training ground for civilizations across the cosmos, the planet teems with life once more. And she, no longer Lilith yet not fully something else, awakens in a body that is hers but unfamiliar. She knows everything yet feels nothing. Memories exist as echoes, not experiences.

When a young explorer, Tilana, stumbles upon her, she is given a name—Lily—a word tied to a flower that no longer exists. As Lily navigates a world both familiar and alien, she must relearn what it means to feel, to connect, and to exist. But something lingers in the depths of this reborn world, something that calls to the remnants of who she was.

To see tomorrow, one must kill yesterday. But what if yesterday refuses to die?.

Lily: The last lily of a forgotten world.

"You wear a mask for so long, you forget who you were beneath it."

Zane had learned a long time ago that some people just couldn't be saved.

And some—like Lily—never needed saving in the first place.

He arrived just in time to see her standing in the middle of a crowded outpost, surrounded by a group of people who clearly thought they had just found their next easy target.

One of them was already trying to pocket what little currency she had laid out. Another was grinning like he had just scammed a child out of their lunch.

"Hey," he called, slipping into his usual lazy, easy-going drawl. "You planning on paying her back, or are we gonna have a problem?"

The men barely spared him a glance.

Zane frowned. "You're not even gonna pretend to be shocked?"

"Why would I be?" she asked, as if the very concept was foreign to her.

Zane scoffed, exasperated. "I don't know, maybe because I just traveled half the damn planet to find you?"

Lily blinked. "Of course you came. You are Alekzander."

Like there had never been another option.

Zane stared at her for a long moment. Then let out a sharp breath and ran a hand through his hair.

"Yeah, okay, sure. Whatever," he muttered, slipping back into his jovial, easy-going mask.

He turned back to the men, flashing his signature careless grin.

"See, fellas, you made a mistake. This one?" He nodded toward Lily. "Not exactly someone you wanna piss off."

One of them sneered. "She's just some quiet little thing—"

He didn't get to finish that sentence.

Because Lily turned her head and looked at him.

And whatever he saw in her expression—or maybe whatever he didn't see—made him go quiet real fast.

The group dispersed almost immediately.

They walked in silence for a while.

Zane kept up his usual act. Talking. Joking. Filling the space.

Something about the way she said it made him stop.

She took a step forward, her expression unreadable.

Then, slowly, she raised a hand and touched his face.

Her fingertips brushed over his cheek, her gaze flickering over his features, as if memorizing something invisible.

Then, in a voice far too soft, far too steady—

Her fingers barely ghosted over his skin.

Zane felt something in his chest twist.

Because it wasn't like she knew him. Not really.

She didn't know the weight he carried.

She didn't know why he had to act this way.

She didn't know that if he ever dropped the act for too long, he wasn't sure if there would be anything left underneath.

Like she could see something he didn't want to see himself.

"Well, that's rude," he said lightly, stepping back, breaking the moment before it could become something else.

Lily watched him for a long moment.

As if she had expected that answer.

As if she had already known he would run.

Zane didn't know why that bothered him.

Arc 2 Chapter 11 : An Ugly Mask