Omen blinked at her words, his mind running on life support.
"I'm…a ghoul," she said.
For a second, his heartbeat stopped. Then he exhaled sharply, shoulders falling as an unexpected wave of disbelief washed over him.
A shaky laugh escaped his lips. "Oh, what's that again?" The boy asked her shakily, worried that he had actually come across some evil spirit or something.
When he looked back at the girl, she was still watching him quietly. Her red eyes didn't glow as fiercely anymore, they were softer now, almost friendly.
"I thought you'd know…aren't you a Reverse cultivator as well? I smell the scent of one from you atleast…" Omen couldn't believe his ears.
When Agnus had chewed the book like its life depended on it, Omen had thought he had lost it.
He never would have thought that it would be mentioned here again.
Realizing that he had been silent for too long, he said, "actually, I've yet to start reverse cultivating yet…"
Omen expected the girl to ask more questions but she simply made an "O" from her mouth and became silent again.
"What's your name?" Omen asked, sighing at her antics.
"…Lilith." The girl's voice was small, and quiet and she didn't look up when she said it.
"Lilith," Omen repeated. "Alright, Lilith. How the hell did you end up here?"
The girl hesitated for a moment, then said in a trembling tone, "I…don't remember much. My family abandoned me. Sold me off, I think. That's all I remember before…before I woke up here, chained and assaulted for as long as I remember."
The white haired guy frowned, feeling his skin crawl with disbelief. He wanted to ask more, but before he could, she suddenly went still.
Her eyes dimmed slightly, and her body began to glow.
"Hey, what's…" He stopped mid-sentence as the grime, the blood, and the filth coating her skin and clothes started to disappear.
Dust melted off her like water washing away dirt. The torn rags vanished, replaced by something entirely different.
It was like magic had brushed her clean.
A black choker formed around her neck, its edges sharp and gleaming.
Two small, darkened cups appeared over her chest, like a top made of smoke and silk, covering her plump breasts.
Her right arm was wrapped in a tight, lace-like sleeve while the left bore a single glove that reached her wrist.
The boy blinked as more of the outfit became visible to him, netted black leggings, sleek and royal-looking, a faint blue gem glowing faintly near her abdomen.
It pulsed slowly, as though alive.
"What the…" Omen whispered, his voice fading off as she looked down at herself, eyes wide.
"I…didn't do this," Lilith said quietly. "It just…happened on its own."
"Guess it's some sort of a ghoul thing," the boy muttered, scratching the back of his head, still wondering if this ghouls she mentioned and reverse cultivators was the same thing or not. "So you said you don't remember much else?" The boy asked randomly.
Lilith shook her head slowly. "No. Only…pain and darkness. I was here for a long time.
But I know what I am now and I also know what this ring does." She held up her hand, showing the bone-like ring again.
"It's called the Ring of Mourning. It binds my existence to whoever frees me while giving me lots of other benefits.
…this was the only thing left by my parents before they left me here to rot…and be defiled by those humans as much as they..." Her voice dropped down to a whisper. "That also means…now that you saved me, I owe you my life."
The 18 year old boy's brain almost short circuited, "what does that mean exactly?" He asked, still confused about the whole owing her life thing.
Then, without any warning, the half nude girl lowered herself to the ground. She knelt to Omen on both her hands and knees, her head bowed, voice trembling but firm.
"In return for saving me, I will become your slave. It is the old code of the ours.
Until my life ends, I shall serve you, master."
Omen's eyes went wide. "Whoa, whoa, hold up! That's way too much!"
He stepped forward quickly, waving his hands. "No slaves! Seriously, that's not happening. Look, I just helped you out, that's all. You don't owe me anything."
Lilith raised her head slowly, confusion moving in her red eyes. "But…the code-"
"Screw the code," He said bluntly. "You're not a slave. If you want to repay me, then be my friend. At least until we figure out what's going on here."
Her lips parted slightly, as if she didn't understand his words at first. Then she nodded softly. "As you wish..."
the boy sighed, smiling faintly. "Good. That's better."
The two stood there in silence for a while, the heavy air pressing against them. Then Omen turned towards the staircase.
"Alright, Lilith. Let's get out of here before something else decides to scream at us."
They climbed the old steps carefully. The chains still swung faintly from the ceiling, making small, eerie sounds that echoed in the ruins.
When they finally stepped back into the hall, Omen glanced towards the throne again when something caught his eye again.
A book.
It was sitting right on the throne's armrest, as if waiting for someone to find it.
Its cover was dark, nearly black, with a faint eye-shaped engraving that shone when the light hit it.
Omen frowned. "What's this?"
He walked over and picked it up carefully. The title was faint but readable.
'Reverse Cultivation Sutra: Volume I.'
Another wave of surprise overcome Omen as he scrambled through the book, realizing that it was fully understandable to him. 'Was that what Agnus did for me? Chew that book and made it readable for me?' He found it hard to believe but with all the things happening around him. The boy had decided to trust the unknown more than usual.
"Sounds creepy to me, though." The boy muttered.
Lilith stayed behind him, silent but watchful as
Omen brushed off the dust from the cover and flipped it open.
***