"Ahh!"
Lilith woke up suddenly, her heart beating loudly in her chest. Her hair was clinging to her forehead as she was sweating profusely. Terror gradually faded and she was able to focus on her surroundings.
She was in a poolry built wooden house, droplets of morning dew dropping on the dirty floor. Moldy growth spread through the coffin that was the walls of her home, as if veins in the stomach of a beast. The vile stench was unbearable for a normal person, but she had grown used to it because it had always been like this since she remembered walking.
Her resting place was just a dirty rug that dreamed of becoming a real bed, and a relatively clean cover tried to hide its shame.
Her chest was heaving, stress and residual adrenaline gradually receding. Eventually, she covered her face with her hands and groaned.
"The hell was that? Did I die in my dream? It felt too real..."
While she recovered from her inexplicable experience, something was moving under the cover.
Lilith flinched, expecting to fight the person who had stabbed her. But she quickly calmed down as she remembered where she was.
As she expected, a sleepy figure snuggled its way from under the cover. The figure was obviously her little sister, they resembled each other almost completely except for one feature: her sister's eyes were black.
Shoulder-length raven-black hair, sharp eyes, a myriad of beauty marks, pale skin...
She looked like the younger version of herself—when she had been seven years old.
Wait, isn't she supposed to have long ears as well? Never mind...
Her little sister rubbed her eyes and shook off the tiredness of sleep. She looked at her older sister and gave her a broad smile.
"Good morning, big sis..."
Lilith couldn't help but let a small curve of her lips crack her indifferent expression, her heavy heart and confused mind both eased more. She reached with her hand and ruffled her sister's hair gently.
"Un, good morning."
Her sister struggled to escape from her hand, resisting the violation her hair was subjected to.
"No! Don't do that! My hair will get worse!"
She finally snuggled herself from Lilith's grip, accusation and blame were written on her face as she covered her head with her hands protectively.
However, concern soon replaced that expression as she looked at her bigger sister.
"Hm? Big sis, you're very sweaty! Are you sick?"
Lilith sighed and shook her head.
"No, I'm not. It's just-"
Before she could continue, however, she was interrupted by the growling sound of a hungry stomach that echoed through the walls.
Her little sister looked down shyly, her face quickly turning red with embarrassment.
"Sorry about that..."
Lilith shook her head and stood up, ignoring the pain in her joints.
"It's fine, I really don't mind. Laira, I'm going out. How about you wait patiently here for me until I come back with something for you to eat?"
Lilith had always slept in her clothes—a simple gray dress—so she was ready to head out. Laira tried to get up.
"Wait! I'll come with yo-"
Before she could walk a single step, she collapsed forward. Lilith caught her before she could fall face-first on the floor. Laira yelped, feeling a painful shudder run through her being.
"Stop! Don't move!"
Lilith gently put Laira down on the rag, the latter held back tears that were threatening to spill as she bit her lip.
"You can't walk without pain, just stay here and I'll get you food..."
Laira nodded, looking down at the floor in shame.
Her big sister couldn't help but sigh when she felt an aching pain in her chest in return.
"Don't be sad... When I grow up, I'll get money and find a doctor who could heal your condition... How about this? I'll get you bread this time."
Hearing that, Laira's expression showed a hint of joy.
"Really?"
Lilith nodded and patted her head.
"Un, there's a good bakery that has just opened recently. I'll make sure that it's warm"
Her little sister smiled in happiness.
"Yay! I can't wait to eat it!"
Seeing that her mood had turned for the better, Lilith stood up again and started walking to the door.
"Good luck, Layla!"
Lilith's hand was just about to push the cracked door when she heard her sister's words. A suspicion gnawed at her mind. However, she quickly nodded silently and exited. The door was almost falling apart as she tried to close it slowly.
She looked at her surroundings.
Muddy roads, small ponds, relatively well-built wooden houses, carts, people going for their errands...
She chose to go right, stepping under the gray clouds and over the mud that threatened to break apart her cheap shoes further.
She made her way out of the village and headed to the nearby forest. Brown trees with thick trunks and large, protruding veins that covered the ground were what separated her from the other village.
Lilith had technically lied to her sister, a new bakery had indeed opened, but that was in the other village. And she was specifically going there because the chances of successfully stealing food without getting caught were much higher.
As she carefully walked on the slippery vines, Lilith thought back to her dream. It was way too real... I remember almost everything about Ms. Dvane, like I lived her life... She was also called a name, but they gave her another; my sister did the same today... Could it be...
However, before she could ponder more on the subject, a thunder reverberated through the forest.
Lilith cursed as she felt the subtle change in the air, nervousness built up in her chest.
She moved faster, but, unfortunately, rain began pouring down. She shuddered as she felt her hair, alongside her dress, hug her skin because of the heavy rain.
"Shit! You can't be serious! I'm already halfway through the forest!"
Lilith decisively turned around and began heading back as it was the most logical thing to do at the moment. Even if she managed to reach the other village, going back to her sister may not be possible because of the weather.
Her steps carried a hint of anger as she was weaving her way through the maze of trees. Stealing bread from the other village was out of the question for now, and stealing from her own village was a really dangerous option. She would have to consider other methods that she had always avoided to consider if she wanted to feed her sister today. How troublesome...
Lilith steeled her heart, choosing how to get the bread was a privilege. And she had been born alien to that concept. Her emotions and honor be damned, she can't go back empty-handed...
Her body suddenly stiffened, her eyes widened and her heart dropped as she looked at what was facing her.
A large wolf had come out from behind a towering tree, its predatory purple eyes glued to her. The dripping water slid and failed to stick to its dark fur that seemed to absorb all light, an ominous testament of how the creature devours life with undying gluttony.
It just stood there with its head lowered, waiting for the right moment. Its jaw was slightly open, revealing ivory knives that cut Lilith's hope of escape before even slaying her flesh. Hot breath was coming out of its throat, turning into steaming air that was taken by the winds of the storm.
Lilith maintained eye contact with the beast for moments that felt like forever. Without looking back, she turned around and sprinted as fast as she could—which wasn't much, considering that she was twelve. She knew that she couldn't outpace the creature, but she hoped for something to happen. Maybe it changed its mind? Maybe a better prey will show? Maybe, maybe, maybe...
"HELP!"
She shouted above her lungs, but her voice was drowned by the merciless thunder of the storm. It wasn't really a call for help, maybe some other beast would come and complicate the situation, giving her a chance to escape...
Although she couldn't hear the wolf, she was certain that its shadow was trailing behind her. Her skin crawled as she felt a non-existent pressure on her back—her instincts warning her.
"Shit!"
Suddenly, and almost expectantly, Lilith felt her world tilt as she slipped on one of the wet veins, falling forward. What else was supposed to happen, really? She was completely not surprised.
In fact, when she was being brought down by the uncaring gravity, she twisted her torso so that she would fall on her back, and covered her neck with crossed arms.
She felt a jolt of pain and the air being knocked out of her lungs as she fell on the veins. And exactly when she made contact with the ground...
"Ahh!"
Lilith screamed in pain as she felt a powerful bite close on her flesh, the sharp teeth of the wolf immediately drawing blood and sinking in. The beast's maw was wide enough to close in on her neck and her weak arms that tried to protect it.
Lilith resisted furiously, but it was to no avail. The wolf shook its head violently, tearing more of her arm's flesh and rattling her head.
Like that, only one arm separated the jagged knives from her neck, but that didn't matter.
...Although Lilith was panicking and trying her best to save her life, a strange calm was in a corner of her mind.
She couldn't explain why, but even when she thought in horror that her sister was going to starve to death, a part of her expected more...
Crack!
The wolf didn't need to cut her throat to kill her, it just bit with enough force that both her neck and arm broke.
Her vision went dark...
Lilith died.
***
Lilith woke up when she felt the familiar pull on her soul.
Like she had expected.
So this is how it is...
The apocalypse continued, the heavens above her shattered like a mirror, and wailed as horrifying rifts tore through the fabric of reality.
The countless stars and broken moon made a mesmerizing image that was tainted by the twisting space, as if even one last look at this world's sky was taken away from its inhabitants.
And Lilith?
Lilith just lay on the sand of a beach, in a pool of her own blood. Her black space bodysuit was torn in her abdomen, her intestines were out, already beginning to rot. The tide of the waves was trying to drag her offshore, but it only managed to reach her hips and clean some of her blood.
Lilith looked up emotionlessly with distant ghostly-blue eyes, her jet-black hair cascading like a halo around her head. Her pale mature face reflected the broken heaven with its own myriad beauty marks, though hers never yielded despite everything.
She didn't call for help, as she was the only person left on this planet. They had resisted the rule of those far stronger than they, and so, the conquerors brought them back to reality by erasing them from it. How fitting.
She felt an indescribable agony as she was on her deathbed, she had failed to save her planet, and now she is going to meet the same fate as its other inhabitants.
Though, her expression was just that, indifferent. She was tired, extremely tired. Living several lives wasn't easy. After getting murdered, after resulting in the death of her sister, after failing to save her planet...
Lilith felt the urge to kill herself from the pain in her chest.
And she actually had the feeling that once she did, she would die for real, no other life would be given to her.
She was left with two choices: killing herself or continuing to live other lives like this one...
...After what felt like ever, an ugly grin tore its way through her face. Then, gradually, her maddening laugh echoed through the empty shore.
"YOU THINK THAT'S ENOUGH TO GET RID OF ME?! YOU FUCKER?!"
Lilith straightened herself with a painful groan, she pushed back her intestines forcefully into her body with crazed eyes.
When she realized that her dreams were lives that she had experienced, her memories of her very first life returned as well.
She was Lilith Saira Etherea. A Nightmare Elf from Aetheria. She had been killed, and what was happening to her now must be tied to the Heavenly Ritual.
"YOU THINK THAT JUST PAIN IS GOING TO MAKE ME GIVE UP?! YOU'RE FUCKING DREAMING!"
She stood up, not caring that some of her intestines spilled back out and that the broken pieces of the moon were entering the atmosphere like shooting stars.
Though her logical side told her that it was futile, she still tried to resist her fate. It didn't matter how much she felt like she wanted to kill herself, another side of her rejected that idea completely.
Even when a blinding light flashed, and her body was torn apart from the shockwave, Lilith still resisted stubbornly. And like that...
Lilith died, again.