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.

"It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend."

The storm over the abandoned research facility churned, thick clouds rolling like something restless. Unsettled.

Like the planet itself knew what was coming.

Didn't trust that they had made it this far without resistance.

And most of all—he didn't trust Tilana.

"You're really not going to question any of this?"

"That's not an answer. That's blind faith."

That was the moment he should have known.

"This isn't a prison," Zane muttered, scanning the dim hallways. "It's a damn tomb."

They stepped into the main research chamber.

The second they crossed the threshold—

Zane barely had time to react before—the ground disappeared beneath him.

The impact knocked the breath from his lungs.

Above, he could hear Lily's voice calling his name.

But before he could answer—hands seized him.

And as the lights flickered back on—

His pulse slammed against his ribs.

Like she wasn't just betraying them.

Like she had never been on their side to begin with.

"Lily," he hissed, looking toward her. "Tell me you didn't see this coming."

Lily stood at the top of the pit, staring down.

Like she was trying to piece together something that didn't fit.

Like she was trying to reconcile what she thought she knew with what was happening in front of her.

Because of course she would say that.

Of course Lily, in all her infinite knowledge, was still this naïve.

"She never told you the truth either."

It was a split-second too long of silence.

But she had never—not once—told her the truth.

Like she had been waiting for Lily to catch up.

Like she had been waiting for this moment.

And for the first time since waking up in this world,

Arc 2 Chapter 15: A Lie by Omission