The throne room of Eldross no longer belonged to its people.
Dark banners hung where royal insignias once stood. Torches burned with unnatural violet flames, casting long, twisted shadows across black marble floors. The air itself felt heavy—thick with demonic mana that pulsed like a slow, corrupted heartbeat.
At the center of it all, reclining lazily upon a stolen throne, sat Lilith.
Her posture was elegant, almost bored. One leg crossed over the other. A crystal goblet rested between slender fingers, deep crimson liquid swirling inside as she tilted it idly back and forth. Her horns curved delicately from her temples, and faint translucent wings flickered behind her in lazy pulses of shadow.
Across from her, looming like a living siege engine, stood Kraggor.
Massive. Broad-shouldered. Muscles coiled beneath thick, dark armor etched with infernal runes. His arms were crossed tightly over his chest as he stared down at a large war table covered in maps of Eldross.
His lip curled.
"This kingdom is pathetic," Kraggor growled, voice like grinding stone. "Their so-called resistance is laughable. We should burn it down and be done with it."
Lilith smirked without looking at him.
"Tsk tsk, Kraggor," she murmured smoothly. "You always think with your fists."
She lifted the goblet to her lips and took a slow sip.
"We're not here to destroy. We're here to rule."
Kraggor's eyes narrowed.
"And yet we let their Queen live. A mistake, if you ask me."
Lilith tilted her head slightly, amusement flickering in her eyes.
"Oh, Eleanor?" she purred. "She's far more useful alive. She keeps the people hoping."
Her smile sharpened.
"And hope makes it easier to break them."
Kraggor grunted and slammed his fist onto the war table.
The thick wood cracked under the impact.
"Then why not turn her into one of us?" he demanded. "Force her to obey."
Lilith leaned forward slowly, resting her chin in her palm.
"Tempting," she admitted.
Her voice dropped into something softer—almost intimate.
"But not yet."
She smiled again.
"Breaking her will takes time. And time makes suffering delicious."
Kraggor scoffed.
"I don't have patience for your games, succubus."
Lilith's fangs glinted as she grinned at him.
"And yet you love watching, don't you?"
Kraggor huffed and looked away.
He didn't deny it.
"Do what you want," he muttered. "But if she steps out of line… I'll rip her apart myself."
Lilith waved a hand dismissively.
"Oh please. She's just a little songbird in a cage."
Her eyes gleamed darkly.
"Her spirit will break soon enough."
Kraggor's gaze sharpened.
"And if it doesn't?"
For a moment, Lilith's smirk faded.
Her eyes darkened, becoming colder—less playful.
"Then," she said quietly, "I suppose we clip her wings for good."
Kraggor nodded once.
"Finally. Some sense."
Lilith rose from the throne in one fluid motion. Her wings flickered fully into view for just a second before fading again into shadow.
"But first," she said, stretching lazily, "let's have some fun."
Her heels clicked against stone as she descended from the dais.
"I think it's time we tighten our grip on this city."
Kraggor cracked his knuckles, a wicked grin spreading across his face.
"Now that's something I can get behind."
The heavy doors of the chamber creaked open.
A demon guard entered, kneeling immediately.
"My lords," the guard said, bowing deeply. "The resistance has been spotted in the eastern quarter."
Kraggor's eyes flared.
"Finally. Something to crush."
He turned to leave—
"Not yet."
Lilith raised a single finger.
Kraggor stopped, visibly irritated.
"Why wait? We know where they are!"
Lilith's eyes gleamed.
"Because, dear Kraggor…"
She stepped closer to him, voice lowering.
"When hope is at its highest…"
Her smile widened.
"The fall hurts so much more."
Kraggor snarled softly but didn't argue.
"Fine. But if we wait too long, they'll slip through our fingers."
Lilith sighed dramatically.
"Oh, you brute. You really don't know how to savor things, do you?"
Kraggor glared.
"And you don't know when to stop playing with your food."
Lilith stepped past him, brushing a hand across his armored shoulder.
"That's where you're wrong," she whispered. "I always know when to take the last bite."
Her expression shifted subtly—serious now.
"Prepare the city," she ordered. "Seal the gates quietly. Increase patrols."
Her gaze hardened.
"Let's make sure no help arrives for poor little Eldross."
Kraggor nodded.
"It will be done."
He left the chamber, footsteps heavy and echoing.
Lilith watched him go.
Then turned toward a darker corridor.
She walked slowly, unhurried, until she reached a reinforced iron door.
The cell.
Inside, Queen Eleanor sat chained against cold stone.
Her posture was composed despite the shackles binding her wrists. Her silver hair fell loosely around her shoulders, slightly disheveled—but her eyes remained sharp.
Unbroken.
Lilith crouched gracefully in front of the bars.
"How much longer do you think you can hold out, your majesty?"
Eleanor slowly lifted her head.
Their gazes locked.
"Long enough for your downfall."
Lilith laughed lightly.
"Hope," she said softly, "is such a pretty little lie."
Eleanor's hands clenched into fists, chains rattling faintly.
"Hope," she replied calmly, "is the only thing keeping your head attached to your shoulders."
For a split second—
Lilith's smile faltered.
Then it returned, sharper than before.
"Enjoy your chains while you still have them."
She stood.
Her heels clicked against stone as she turned.
"Because soon…"
She glanced back over her shoulder.
"You won't even have those."
The door closed.
Darkness returned to the cell.
Eleanor exhaled slowly.
Her eyes burned with quiet determination.
Leona… please hurry.
Across the city, in a dimly lit hideout concealed behind false walls and shifting illusions, Leona stood by a narrow window overlooking demon-occupied streets.
Her tail flicked faintly behind her, betraying the tension in her body.
Zera sat nearby, one leg crossed over the other, sharpening a dagger with slow, steady strokes.
Leona's voice broke the silence.
"I've spent my whole life training for the moment I'd protect my people…"
Her jaw tightened.
"And I failed."
Zera stopped sharpening and looked at her.
"Failed?" she repeated dryly. "You're still standing, aren't you?"
Leona clenched her fists.
"My sister is a prisoner. My people are suffering. Our kingdom is under demon rule."
Zera leaned back in her chair, resting her arms behind her head.
"So what?" she said bluntly. "You gonna sit here and mope? Or are you gonna do something about it?"
Leona turned sharply to face her.
Her eyes burned.
"I will fight," she said firmly. "I must fight."
Zera smirked faintly.
"Good. Because if you hesitated, I was gonna knock some sense into you."
Leona chuckled despite herself.
"You're awfully direct, aren't you?"
Zera shrugged.
"It's a waste of time dancing around the truth."
She stood and flipped the dagger once in her hand.
"You care about your people. You care about Eleanor."
Her gaze sharpened.
"That's enough."
Leona looked back out the window.
"I keep thinking… if I had been stronger… smarter… maybe none of this would have happened."
Zera caught the dagger cleanly as she flipped it.
"Maybe," she said. "Maybe not."
She slid it back into its sheath.
"Regret won't change the past. Action can change the future."
Leona nodded slowly.
Then gripped the windowsill tightly.
"Then I'll take action."
Her voice steadied.
"I won't run. I won't stop until my sister is free… and our kingdom is ours again."
Zera watched her for a moment.
Then grinned.
"Now that's more like it."
She stepped toward the door.
"Reider's gonna have a plan, I'm sure."
She glanced back.
"Try to keep up, Princess."
Leona rolled her eyes.
"Please. I'll lead the charge."
They stepped into the hallway—
And found Eryndra leaning casually against the wall, arms crossed.
"Good to see you're done sulking, Princess."
Leona narrowed her eyes.
"I wasn't sulking."
Eryndra raised a brow.
"Sure. And I'm a saint."
Zera shook her head lightly.
"Come on. We've got work to do."
The three of them moved down the corridor together.
The mood had shifted.
No more hesitation.
Only preparation.
In the central room of the hideout, Reider stood over a table covered in maps.
Markers. Notes. Pathways. Demon patrol routes.
His crimson eyes scanned every detail.
Calculating.
Time to put everything in motion.
Behind him, footsteps echoed as the others entered.
Eryndra leaned against a wall.
Zera took position near the weapons rack.
Leona stepped forward, posture straight.
Reider didn't look up.
"We move soon," he said quietly.
"Lilith is tightening control. Kraggor will push for brute suppression."
He traced a path beneath the capital district.
"They're protecting something underground."
Leona's eyes sharpened.
"The ruins."
"Yes."
Zera crossed her arms.
"So what's the plan?"
Reider's gaze lifted.
Steady.
"Divide attention. Disrupt supply routes. Draw patrols outward."
He tapped the map's lower sector.
"Then we go beneath the city."
Eryndra smirked.
"Straight into the demon nest. I like it."
Leona nodded firmly.
"I'm ready."
Reider studied her for a brief moment.
Then nodded once.
"Good."
Around them, preparation began in earnest.
Weapons were sharpened.
Armor adjusted.
Supplies packed carefully.
Maps memorized.
The air felt charged—like the moments before a storm breaks.
No one spoke about fear.
No one needed to.
They all felt it.
And chose to move anyway.
Outside, thunder rolled faintly across distant skies.
Within the castle, Lilith smiled to herself.
Within the cell, Eleanor waited.
Within the city, hope flickered quietly.
And beneath Eldross—
Something ancient stirred.
The storm was coming.
And this time—
It would not be subtle.