The night did not end with silence.
Even as the last human corpse sagged open on the mud, the forest still breathed with unease. I could feel it—something else watching. Something moving. Lilith's chest heaved as she held me close, her blood-stained lips curved into that same sweet, broken smile. Her crimson eyes glimmered as if the slaughter had not drained her but filled her.
I pulsed inside her grip, faint at first, then stronger, a vibration that made her tremble. My system awakened with hunger.
[System Awakening: Core Energy stable.]
[Energy: 17/100]
[Skill Node Available: Unlock 1 Passive.]
Her fingers tightened around me as the glow from my blade seeped into her pale skin. She gasped softly, eyes widening. "What… what is this feeling, Asmodius?"
"It is the beginning," I whispered into her thoughts. "You have pleased me. Through blood, I grow. Through despair, I evolve. And now you will evolve with me."
The system voice rang inside me, mechanical and cold.
[Choose Passive Unlock.]
→ Bloodlust Synchronization – Each kill restores stamina and sharpens senses.
→ Soul Siphon – Absorb fragments of life force to feed the core faster.
→ Cruel Precision – Attacks grow deadlier with each consecutive strike.
I tasted each option like venom on the tongue. I already knew the one she would crave.
"Lilith," I murmured, "do you want to feel endless strength? To kill and never tire? To sink deeper into the madness until the world itself fears your shadow?"
Her lips parted, trembling. "Yes give it to me. All of it. Everything."
I surged with heat, choosing for her.
[Passive Unlocked: Bloodlust Synchronization.]
A low hum filled the air, invisible but thick, as if the forest itself had bowed. Lilith moaned softly, her knees almost buckling, as crimson threads of energy seeped from the corpses into me, then into her veins. Her skin glowed faintly, her muscles tightening, her breath steadier despite the exhaustion clawing at her.
She laughed—high, trembling, beautiful in its ruin. "I feel it. Their blood is still inside me. It's singing."
Her madness was mine. I had chosen well.
The forest stirred. Branches cracked, heavy footfalls crushing undergrowth. Lilith's head snapped toward the sound, her crimson eyes alight with hunger.
A hunting party. Five men, armored in rusted steel and carrying spears of their own, stumbled into the clearing. Their leader froze when his torch revealed the scene—the mud painted red, the corpses torn apart, and Lilith standing barefoot among them with me dripping blood.
"What in God's name—" he choked, voice breaking.
The others followed his gaze. Horror spread across their faces. One retched immediately, dropping his weapon. Another whispered a prayer, trembling as he clutched a charm at his throat.
Lilith giggled. "Oh, more toys."
She raised me slowly, letting the blood drip in deliberate arcs. I pulsed in her grasp, eager. "Yes. Break them. Tear them. Let me drink their screams."
The leader raised his weapon with shaking hands. "Demon! Hold your ground!"
Lilith didn't hold. She lunged forward with a shriek that split the night.
Her body moved faster now, sharpened by the bloodlust I had given her. Each step slammed into the earth, each swing of my blade heavy with hunger. I guided her arms, the point of my body finding the gaps in armor like an instinct.
The first soldier barely had time to lift his shield. I pierced through it, wood splintering, metal bending. The blade sank into his chest. The crunch of ribs, the tearing of lungs—it all rushed through me. He coughed blood directly onto Lilith's face before I dragged free, ripping half his chest open.
[+2 Soul Fragments.]
[Energy: 19/100]
Lilith laughed as the warm spray coated her skin. "More! More!"
Another man screamed and charged from the side. I twisted her wrist, guiding her spin. My edge caught his throat. Flesh split. The scream cut short into a wet gurgle as blood fountained. His body staggered forward before collapsing, painting the mud with fresh crimson.
[+2 Soul Fragments.]
[Energy: 21/100]
I pulsed harder. "Yes. Feed me."
The others broke. One ran instantly, dropping his spear and bolting into the darkness. Another fell to his knees, begging, his words spilling in broken sobs. The leader remained frozen, his torch trembling as he raised it like a shield against the inevitable.
Lilith's steps slowed as she approached the kneeling one. She tilted her head, hair falling across her face as she smiled with something almost tender. She lifted me, the point hovering just before his eye.
"Pray louder," she whispered.
He did. His voice cracked, tears streaming down his cheeks, as he begged some distant god to save him. Lilith drove me forward.
The tip pierced through his eye, sinking deep into his skull. His prayer ended in a high-pitched squeal before his body convulsed. His hands clawed weakly at me, then fell limp. His brain spilled in hot pulp as I withdrew, the socket collapsing into a hollow ruin.
[+3 Soul Fragments.]
[Energy: 24/100]
Lilith shivered with delight, licking the blood spattered across her lips. "I love it when they beg."
The leader stumbled backward, torch falling into the mud, sputtering out. Darkness swallowed the clearing, leaving only moonlight and the stench of gore. He tripped over a corpse, scrambling desperately.
Lilith stalked him slowly, dragging me across the ground, carving lines in the mud.
He turned to her, tears streaking his dirty face. "Please," he whispered. "I—I have a family—"
Lilith's expression softened. For a moment, she almost looked gentle. "A family?" She tilted her head, her voice breaking into a giggle. "Then let them join you in hell."
She rammed me into his stomach. He screamed, blood spraying over her as she twisted me upward, splitting him open from belly to throat. His insides spilled out in a steaming cascade, ropes of intestine, half-digested food, a stench so thick it made the air itself choke.
He fell backward, gurgling, his body torn wide, staring up at the night sky as though he still begged the stars to save him. They didn't.
[+4 Soul Fragments.]
[Energy: 28/100]
Lilith pulled me free, laughing, spinning in the gore-slick mud. Her crimson eyes glowed with ecstasy.
The one who ran had vanished into the forest. But his scent lingered, thick with fear. I pulsed in her grip, pulling her gaze toward the trail. "Hunt him. Do not let him warn the others. Tear out his voice before it reaches another ear."
She nodded eagerly, like a lover obeying her master. "Yes, Asmodius. I'll bring you his fear."
We followed. Branches snapped under her feet, the forest whipping by as she darted between trees. The man's gasps echoed ahead, ragged and desperate.
Lilith moved faster, fueled by the bloodlust I had given her. The trees blurred, the night air cold against her face. She caught him within moments.
He stumbled, fell, rolled across the dirt. He turned, scrambling backward, his face pale, eyes wide with the purest terror I had tasted yet.
"No!" he screamed. "Stay away! Demon, stay away!"
Lilith stepped closer, her shadow falling over him. She pressed my blood-soaked blade against his throat, the edge biting into flesh, drawing a thin red line.
"Sing for us," she whispered, voice soft, intimate.
I surged. My edge split his throat wide. Blood sprayed, hot and wild, splattering across her face. His scream choked instantly, turning into a bubbling gurgle. He writhed, clutching at his ruined neck, kicking helplessly as life drained out.
[+5 Soul Fragments.]
[Energy: 33/100]
Lilith tilted her head back, laughing into the night as the man twitched at her feet. "They're so beautiful when they die."
I hummed inside her, satisfied, though my hunger remained. "You please me, Lilith. Continue, and the world will kneel in blood. With every soul, I will grow. With every kill, you will never break."