The light of the pact had barely faded when the room finally fell silent again. Alex exhaled and stared at the faint glowing mark on his hand, a proof of their new bond.
Lilith watched him with a soft smile that reached her crimson eyes. She seemed almost human now, her presence warm, and alive, unlike the cold steel she once was.
"Go back to your original form," Alex said quietly, still trying to grasp everything that had just happened.
Her smile vanished. A shadow crossed her face, and she turned away slightly.
"Why is that?" he asked, curious.
For a long moment, Lilith didn't respond. When she finally did, her voice trembled. "It's lonely there," she said. "When I'm inside that blade, it's like being locked in a dark abyss… I can't move, can't see, can't even think clearly. I don't want to go back there again."
