"Lillian..."
Robert called her name.
He could barely see her, his body bleeding, a gaping hole in his chest.
"Robert!"
Lillian dashed to him, holding his hand like she was trying to stop his life from slipping away.
"Robert, stay with me! I'll call a doctor!"
She stood to run for help
but Robert grabbed her wrist, pulling her back to him.
"Why?" she asked, confused.
Robert shook his head.
"No... do you see up there?"
A dark cloud loomed, almost covering the entire town.
"That's Nemorak. He won't stop until he devours everything this town, you, me...
All of it. We're just entertainment to him."
Lillian stared at him, shaken.
"Then... isn't there anything we can do?"
Robert lowered his gaze.
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"Yes. You can."
"Me? What can I do?"
Robert's hand cupped her face.
"Change. You're one of us."
His thumb brushed her lips.
"You have to awaken it... by consuming human blood.
Lillian... eat me."
Her eyes widened.
"No..."
She stepped back, trembling.
"I can't do that. There has to be another way—"
"No, Lillian."
Robert's voice was soft but unyielding.
"Your father... he was one of us too. And he fell in love with your mother.
He built this town for you. The Beast has always been in your blood."
His gaze locked on hers.
"And now, it's your turn to save it."
She shook her head, tears burning her eyes.
"I can't... I don't want to—"
"It's alright. I'll help you."
Then
Robert bit into his own arm.
Tore the flesh open.
Blood dripped down his hand and from his mouth.
Lillian froze, horrified, a tear sliding down her cheek.
Even through the pain, Robert's expression was calm... determined.
He leaned in.
Kissed her.
And through that kiss—he fed her.
'Trust me...'
The words echoed in her mind.
She could hear him inside her head, like a whisper only for her.
His blood touched her lips.
She tried to pull away
but his hand cradled the back of her neck, holding her close.
Her eyes fluttered.
And then...
They began to glow gold.
'Robert... I'm scared...'
'Don't be... I'm right here.'
Her vision sharpened.
She saw them—Nemorak's shadows, clearer than ever.
The same beast she'd seen once before.
Her own shadow began to grow, wrapping around her like living smoke.
Her body changed.
Robert stepped back slowly, watching.
"Lillian... welcome to our world."
He wiped the blood from her lips with his thumb.
"Your eyes... they're even more beautiful when they glow."
Her hand caught his, guiding his finger to her mouth.
She licked it.
And suddenly.
She could feel everything.
His emotions. His love. All of it rushing into her.
Her golden eyes shimmered with both hunger and tears.
Hunger for him.
Robert smiled faintly.
'I know...'
'You can have it.'
And slowly
She devoured him.
His emotions poured into her: love, longing... and then something darker.
Hate.
The hate he held for Nemorak.
The rage of betrayal.
The agony of losing the one thing he cared about—his heart, given to Lillian.
Her eyes darkened.
The gold shifted, glowing like molten orange.
Her shadow spread, covering her body.
Smoke-like wings unfurled from her back.
She looked toward the sky.
'I'll make you pay... Nemorak.'
With one powerful leap, she launched upward, leaving Robert lying in the grass, recovering.
"NEMORAK!"
Her voice cut through the storm.
"Time to pay for what you've done!"
Nemorak turned, surprised but not shocked.
He smiled.
"Ah... Lillian Corvin Wilson. Finally, you've learned how to use the power of the Raven.
Just like your father."
Her frown deepened.
"What do you know about my father?"
Nemorak's smile curled with amusement.
"Your father... was a friend of mine. We played a game once to win the heart of a girl. Your mother.
We both came to propose to her."
"But she chose your father.
And your father... never loved her.
He never loved you. He only played the game.
And for the final victory... he took your mother on a boat."
"To confess what he really was. A beast."
Nemorak's eyes glinted cruelly.
"Then, unfortunately for her... he killed her. And consumed everyone on that ship.
And I might have helped him achieve it..."
Lillian's breath caught.
"You... you killed him?"
Nemorak's grin widened.
"Yes. I killed them all."
Her rage boiled over.
"You monster!"
"You should have seen her face, Lillian,"
he continued, his voice dripping with mockery.
"When she realized she'd been played...
when she saw how I killed your father her heart shattered.
And the taste of that heartbreak..." He licked his lips slowly.
"It was rich."
He leaned closer, eyes burning.
"Now, Lillian... I hope you taste the same."
Lillian's glare was sharp enough to cut.
"You're sick! I will never let you taste my blood—and I will kill you!"
"YES! YES!" Nemorak's laugh was wild, echoing in the air.
"That hatred... that is exactly what I want!"
In anger She lunged at him.
They tore into each other bird and beast shredding the air with wings and claws.
At the clock tower, Reana was narrating every move.
"Now it's a bird... fighting the beast."
Wesley stepped closer.
"Who is that bird?"
"I'm not sure... but that bird is angry."
The townsfolk shifted uneasily.
"Then what can we do?" someone asked.
Suddenly, thin smoke curled around Reana.
A voice whispered in her ear familiar, faint.
It was Robert.
'Burn the clock tower.'