Chapter 51: Chapter 51: His Role
Inside a secret, heavily guarded chamber within the White Lotus Sanctuary, the atmosphere was thick with tension and displeasure.
"This is so disappointing, Vireon. How could you let that boy get kidnapped under your watch?" Patriarch Dimidium’s voice rose to a high pitch, disappointment written all over his face.
The handsome young man with heroic features, Vireon, lowered his head in shame.
"I am deeply ashamed, Patriarch. But it was Lilith who personally came to kidnap him. I was powerless to do anything against the Saintess of Darkness."
A Supreme Elder, a man with centuries of authority, shrugged off the panic.
"Dimidium, there is no need for you to be so hard on him. I am sure she will obediently bring him back before the Seven Saintesses Competition. Her mother, Matriarch Arachne, wouldn’t dare to break the treaty so easily."
Dimidium looked unconvinced.
"But elder what if it’s a secret plot of Matriarch Arachne to keep the boy for themselves and use him for their evil purpose? It’s not like this kind of things are something new to her. We shouldn’t forget who she was."
Supreme Elder Steiner, the old man of great intellect, nodded slowly.
"You could be right as well, Dimidium. But if she really intends to do that, she is waging war against six other Holy Lands. And I don’t think she can handle that. Let’s just wait for a few days, but of course, do not stop searching for them. Who knows, they might be just wandering somewhere close?"
Vireon added immediately,
"Supreme One, If your guess is correct, I shall take on the task. I shall embark on my journey to find them at once. I must make amends for my mistake,"
"Very good, Vireon. We still have faith in you," Supreme Elder Steiner said with a reassuring smile.
Vireon bowed deeply before heading off with purposeful strides, his face looking determined.
The remaining elders looked at each other before immediately returning to their earlier, more pressing discussion. They had just received some fragmented, unusual news regarding Vahn’s unnaturally rapid progress in the outer sect, which they now needed to take seriously in light of his kidnapping.
Something wasn’t adding up.
---
Meanwhile, In a Far-away Place.
Vahn slowly opened his eyes, bracing himself for the soft lap of Seraphina that had greeted him the last time he had lost consciousness.
However, to his disappointment, his back felt a rock solid ground.
The sky above was still lit with daylight, but his surroundings had entirely changed. All around him stood enormous trees that looked as though they had been overgrown for centuries, their dense canopy creating perpetual twilight on the forest floor.
Instantly, everything snapped into place. That’s right, he had been kidnapped by the Saintess of Darkness.
As he slowly pushed himself up to a sitting position, there she was, standing silently before him, looking down at him.
"Vahn Necrotis, you’re awake?" Lilith echoed.
Though he couldn’t discern her expression beneath her veiled face, Vahn could sense absolutely no hostility emanating from her.
"Where am I?" he asked calmly. "Why did you kidnap me?"
In response, Lilith turned her back on him and spoke in her usual emotionless tone:
"Are you angry? Even after I saved you from their prying eyes?"
Vahn realized there was some truth to her words, yet he knew she was still hiding her true purpose.
He stood up, brushing the dirt from his clothes.
He looked at her alluring back while replying,
"No, I am not angry. You saved me from Gareth in White Lotus and now from their secret observers. I am genuinely grateful for that."
But I still can’t understand you. Why did you help me, especially after rejecting me so coldly in our first meet? I am truly curious."
Instead of answering directly, Lilith’s voice softened, carrying a hint of melancholy.
"Tell me, Vahn Necrotis... have you ever heard the legend of the Three-Eyed Arachnid Empress? The woman who paved her path to supremacy by following a single belief—emotionlessness?"
Vahn nodded. "Yes. I’ve heard of her from my grandfather," Vahn confirmed, recounting the somber legend. "It’s said she even killed her own husband, claiming he was emotionally holding her back from achieving the breakthrough to the Tribulation Realm. So, in the end, she murdered the very man who loved her."
"However, she did become a Tribulation Realm expert and contributed greatly to the righteous faction during the last Great War two hundred years ago."
He had learned that gruesome legend from his late grandfather.
But he couldn’t fathom where Lilith was going with this story. Was that terrifying woman connected to her somehow? If so, then it was truly bad news.
And just as he feared, Lilith confirmed his worst suspicion.
"That woman is my mother."
The words struck him like a hammer.
Her mother? Damn it... she wouldn’t kill me the same way her mother killed her husband, would she?
"So, now you should understand why I rejected you. If I had accepted you as my husband back then, you would have become nothing more than a sacrifice... or a mindless slave."
Lilith’s voice echoed through the towering woods, cold and merciless.
Vahn forced himself to calm down. He couldn’t cower away at this moment.
"I understand. But what do you want from me now?"
She turned around and answered,
"In our first meeting, I sensed the dormant darkness inside you. In that way, you and I are similar. And yet, you have no visible traits of a demonic lineage. That made me deeply curious about your origin. But I found nothing about your background."
Her voice lowered slightly.
"So I turned to the secret texts about Fate’s Child in my mother’s diary. As I read through it, I understood everything.
Why you are connected to us Seven. What your role is in the Destiny of the Seven Saintesses. Everything."
Her eyes gleamed faintly from behind the veil.
"Do you want to know?"
Vahn nodded, his heart beating faster for reasons he couldn’t name.
She leaned closer, her breath cold against his ear, and whispered,
"Then let me tell you... You’re the—"