The silence that followed Lilith's sealing was suffocating—thick, almost alive. The forest exhaled the residue of the immortal witch's energy; every twisted tree and every darkened root pulsed with the memory of battle. Even weakened, Lilith was far from defeated. She had simply withdrawn, granting the group a brief, fragile moment to breathe.
Yuta hovered above the ground, eyes scanning the misty expanse below for any trace of movement. Ravenna knelt beside the charred soil, panting, her body still trembling from the aftershock of corrupted flames. Kaelen wiped the sweat from his brow, his expression balanced between exhaustion and focus. Seraphina stood with both hands extended, maintaining a shimmering barrier of violet threads that deflected the stray remnants of Lilith's chaotic magic.
No one spoke at first. The tension was so dense that even the air trembled. Every one of them knew the truth—this wasn't the end. It was the beginning.
> "Is… she done for?" Kaelen asked, his voice uncertain.
"For now," Yuta replied, calm and detached, his tone razor-sharp. "But don't fool yourselves. She wasn't defeated. Only… contained. And that gives us no reason to rest."
At the center of the valley, Lilith remained motionless, encased within a ring of luminous sigils that pulsed like a heartbeat. Her violet eyes gleamed with ancient knowledge—calm, calculating. Even restrained, Yuta could feel her gaze dissecting them, memorizing each spell, each breath, each hesitation.
> "Yuta…" Ravenna murmured, forcing herself to stand. "How did you know that would work?"
Yuta's faint smile broke the tension. His eyes burned with quiet, violet brilliance.
> "It wasn't brute force. It was observation. She divides her focus between analyzing and attacking—it leaves gaps in her defenses. Gaps only someone who understands ancient magic could see. I simply used the right moment."
Seraphina blinked, visibly impressed.
> "You don't act human… it's like you don't even feel fear."
> "I do," Yuta answered, voice steady. "But fear doesn't decide who wins. Understanding patterns does. Anticipation. Precision."
As his words faded, the world around them began to change. The trees straightened. The black leaves dulled. The residual darkness slowly thinned into faint, violet sparks. Yet the air still vibrated with her essence—Lilith's presence lingered like a shadow that refused to die.
Then… a whisper. Ancient. Intimate. Inside Yuta's mind.
> "You carry the mark… you are the link… the key to Lyra."
Yuta froze, eyes closing briefly. Only he could hear her. The witch had left him a fragment of truth buried in her curse. Lyra. The true Queen of Witches—the one destined to rise beyond Lilith herself. The weight of that revelation pressed against his chest, heavy but undeniable.
> "What did she say?" Ravenna asked, sensing the change in his aura.
> "Nothing you need to know… yet," Yuta replied, eyes glowing faintly. "But this isn't over."
Kaelen and Seraphina exchanged worried glances. Even sealed, Lilith's magic pulsed through the ground like a heartbeat beneath their feet. Small tendrils of shadow coiled upward, only to burn against the barrier imprisoning her.
Yuta landed softly, his boots sinking into the scorched soil.
> "We move. Lilith's not done. And if she breaks free, we need to be ready."
As they walked deeper into the woods, Yuta could feel it—the earth itself reacting to his presence. Lilith's magic clung to the forest, her essence infused into bark, stone, even the air. It was a curse, but also a source of power.
> "She spoke of Lyra," Yuta said quietly, voice low and certain. "And of me. Which means this is only a fraction of what's coming."
> "If Lyra's worse than Lilith…" Ravenna began.
> "She is," Yuta interrupted firmly. "Far worse. And we'll have to be ready before she awakens."
They continued forward, but the forest had changed. The silence was alive again—this time with movement. Shadows slipped between the trees, glowing eyes following them from the dark. Yuta recognized the rhythm of their steps—testing, circling, learning.
> "They're studying us," he murmured. His aura flared, rippling like purple fire. "Don't lower your guard."
The first attack came fast. Seraphina's spectral blades sliced through the dark. Kaelen's explosive barriers ignited, scattering the shadows. Ravenna's energy flared with precision, forming shields around Yuta as they advanced.
But Yuta barely moved—his gaze fixed forward, beyond the skirmish. Something larger loomed behind it all, a greater pulse of energy whispering in the distance. Lyra's presence—faint, but unmistakable.
> "The seal won't last," Yuta muttered under his breath. "And when it breaks… everything changes."
The ground split. A violent surge of black energy erupted ahead, tearing through the trees. The shockwave rippled through the valley. Lilith had partially broken her bonds—her power unstable, but enough to wreak havoc.
> "Incoming!" Kaelen shouted, forming another rune wall.
"Watch the tentacles!" Ravenna warned, dodging the lash of a shadowed appendage.
Yuta rose into the air again, portals spiraling open around him like orbiting moons. Each flickered with violet flame, creating illusions and decoys to divide Lilith's focus. His every movement was precise, measured.
Then Lilith's voice echoed through the chaos—soft and eternal.
> "Clever boy… but you still don't see. Lyra, the true queen… she surpasses me. She transcends magic, time… and the love you carry will be the key to her rebirth."
Her words struck deeper than her magic ever could.
The group faltered briefly, all eyes on Yuta. He didn't flinch. He simply lowered his head, acknowledging what he already knew. Lyra wasn't just a threat—she was fate itself.
Lilith attacked again. Waves of cursed power collided with the team's defenses. Ravenna's runes shimmered like starlight. Seraphina's blades sang. Kaelen's shockwaves split the ground. And Yuta—he moved like a ghost within the storm, manipulating energy, redirecting destruction, playing chess with reality itself.
But then, the horizon darkened.
A new shadow rose beyond the treeline—massive, ancient, pulsing with the same violet hue as Lilith's essence, yet colder, purer. A warning. A prelude.
Yuta's eyes widened slightly.
> "This… is only the beginning," he whispered. "Lyra is near. And when she arrives… everything will change."
The forest trembled beneath the weight of his words. The seal still held, but barely. Magic throbbed through the air like thunder before a storm.
Rain began to fall, thin and luminous—drops of violet light mixing with the residue of Lilith's curse. The group pressed forward, step by step, their silhouettes fading into the mist. They didn't look back. None of them did.
Because they all understood:
Lilith was just the prologue.
The true awakening had yet to come.
And Yuta—more than anyone—knew the truth.
He wasn't just another sorcerer in this war.
He was the key to everything.