The fog descended like a shroud.
It was not natural.
It moved against the wind, crawling through the streets of Dreisburg like invisible fingers. Cold. Dense. Carrying a strange scent… sweet and rotten at once.
Like wilted flowers laid upon a grave.
Eldric stepped back instinctively.
—What is this…?
The soldiers around him began to murmur.
—I can't see…
—Where are the others?
—Captain, where are you?
The fog separated them. Not physically. But each man began to feel… alone.
Eldric activated his Aura of Clarity once more.
White light erupted outward.
The fog recoiled.
But only for a moment.
Then it returned. Thicker. More insistent.
As if the light were irrelevant.
—Damn it… —Eldric growled.
And then he heard it.
A voice.
Soft. Feminine. Beautiful.
Whispering.
—Rodrigo.
A soldier to his left froze.
—Matías.
Another dropped his spear.
—Gareth. Ioan. Lucien.
One by one, names drifted through the air like verdicts.
And each time a name was spoken—
The named soldier stopped.
His face went blank.
His hands trembled.
—Who… who am I? —one murmured.
—Why am I here…? —another whispered, voice breaking.
—I… I don't remember…
Eldric turned in a circle, searching for the source of the voice.
—Show yourself!
The fog parted.
And she appeared.
She walked barefoot.
Her pale feet touched the cobblestones without a sound, as if she were floating just above the ground.
The dress she wore was a contradiction.
Black as night, yet embroidered with golden threads forming religious symbols. Crosses. Chalices. Crowns of thorns.
All of them… inverted.
Distorted.
As if they had been blessed by something that was not divine.
Silver chains hung from her wrists, ankles, and neck.
Long. Heavy.
At the end of the longest chain, dragging along the ground with a metallic chime, hung a crucifix.
But it did not point upward.
It pointed down.
Her dark brown hair fell in perfect waves over her bare shoulders.
Her eyes… were golden.
Bright. Dead.
Like coins placed over the eyes of a corpse.
And her lips, painted a deep crimson, curved into a smile.
Not kind.
Not cruel.
Just… knowing.
As if she already knew everything about you.
Even what you yourself had forgotten.
She stopped ten meters from Eldric.
Inclined her head slightly.
—Good evening, hero.
Her voice was soft. Almost maternal.
But there was something beneath it.
Something poisonous.
Eldric tightened his grip on his sword.
—Who are you?
Her smile widened.
—Who am I…? —she repeated, amused—. How interesting. No one asks me that anymore.
She took a step forward.
The chains chimed.
—Allow me to introduce myself properly.
She made an elegant curtsy, lifting the edge of her dress like a lady of court.
—I am Lilith. Though in life… I bore many names.
She straightened.
—The Poisoner of Rome.
—The Confessor of Kings.
—The Queen Who Purified with Faith… and Arsenic.
Her golden eyes gleamed.
—But my favorite… is the one my commander has given me.
She raised one hand, and the fog swirled around her as if it were part of her body.
—The Queen of Forgotten Confessions.
Eldric took a step back.
This isn't combat magic.
It's something worse.
—Don't come any closer —he warned, drawing his sword.
The blade shone with sacred light.
Lilith did not flinch.
—Oh, what a beautiful sword —she said with genuine admiration—. Dawncleaver, isn't it? Forged by the gods to destroy darkness.
She placed a finger to her lips.
—Tell me, hero… have you ever wondered why gods need swords?
Eldric frowned.
—What…?
—If they are omnipotent —Lilith continued, approaching slowly— why summon humans to fight for them?
Another step.
—Why not simply… erase evil?
Chains dragging.
—Or could it be… that they too require disposable tools?
Eldric felt something strange.
Dizziness.
Light. Almost imperceptible.
—Shut up…
Lilith smiled.
—Three breaths, hero. That's all I need.
—What…?
Eldric clutched his throat.
The fog.
I breathed it.
When did I—?
Lilith stopped three meters away.
—My fog is not poisonous —she explained calmly—. At least… not to the body.
She raised her hand.
The fog condensed in her palm, forming a small white sphere.
—It is poison for the will. For memory. For purpose.
The sphere dissolved.
—And you… —she whispered, pointing at him— …are already infected.
Eldric dropped to his knees.
His mind… was clouded.
Images began to blur.
Why did I come here?
Who ordered me to?
Why did I obey without question?
—No… —he growled, driving his sword into the ground to keep himself upright—. I won't…!
Lilith knelt before him.
With infinite grace.
With the elegance of a queen.
She touched his cheek with one finger.
Cold. Like ice.
—Shh… —she whispered, her voice sliding like poisoned silk—. Don't fight it, dear one.
Her golden eyes locked onto his.
—Just… forget.
The voice echoed inside his head.
Not like a shout.
Like a whisper that had always been there.
Waiting.
—Forget why you fight.
—Forget whom you serve.
—Forget… who you are.
Eldric felt his name… his purpose… begin to fade.
Like ink beneath the rain.
—My… my name is… —he stammered.
Lilith smiled.
—Is it?
She leaned closer, her lips nearly brushing his ear.
—Eldric.
She spoke his name.
And something inside him… broke.
Memories turned hazy.
The face of the king who summoned him.
The words of the priest who blessed him.
The reason he accepted coming to this world.
All of it… fading.
—No… —he whispered, tears falling—. I can't… forget…
Lilith stroked his hair.
Like a mother soothing a child.
—It's all right —she murmured—. Forgetting hurts less than remembering.
Eldric looked up.
His eyes were empty.
—Who… am I…?
Lilith smiled.
—No one important.
She stood, leaving him kneeling on the ground.
She looked around.
The soldiers of Avernor were scattered across the square.
Some were crying.
Others stared into nothingness.
Others simply… had let their weapons fall.
—All of you —Lilith said, her voice echoing through every corner of Dreisburg—. You have forgotten.
The fog thickened.
—You forgot why you came.
—You forgot whom you serve.
—You forgot… why you ever believed this was just.
A soldier fell to his knees.
—I… I just wanted to… feed my family…
Another dropped his sword.
—Why am I here…? This isn't… this isn't my war…
Lilith walked among them like an apparition.
Chains dragging.
The crucifix carving marks into the stone.
—Go home —she whispered—. Or stay here. I don't care.
She stopped at the center of the square.
—But never… never forget this moment.
She raised both hands.
—The moment you realized that your lives… were never your own.
The fog exploded.
And the soldiers screamed.
From Crow Hill, Kaito watched in silence.
Adelheid lowered the spyglass, visibly shaken.
—Commander… she is…
—Terrifying —Kaito finished.
He looked at the card in his hand.
Lilith's face stared back at him from the parchment.
Beautiful. Lethal.
—Second Queen —he murmured—. Welcome.
Adelheid glanced at him.
—Doesn't it worry you… that she might be too dangerous?
Kaito smiled faintly.
—All of you are.
He slipped the card away.
—But as long as you follow me… the danger points in the right direction.
Adelheid said nothing.
She only watched Lilith.
And for the first time since she was summoned…
She felt something strange.
Not jealousy.
Not fear.
Curiosity.
What kind of woman can make an entire army forget its purpose?
The answer came as a whisper, carried by the wind.
Lilith's voice.
Soft. Beautiful. Poisonous.
—Adelheid.
The Führerin tensed.
Kaito looked at her, surprised.
—Did she call you?
Adelheid did not answer.
Because in that moment…
She understood.
Lilith had not merely whispered to the soldiers.
She had whispered the name of every person in Dreisburg.
Including hers.
And though Adelheid was strong…
Though her will was iron…
She felt something she had not felt in centuries.
The need to strike first.
In Dreisburg, Lilith turned toward Crow Hill.
Though she could not see them…
She knew they were there.
She smiled.
—Hello, Commander —she whispered, knowing Kaito would hear—. Thank you for freeing me.
The chains chimed.
—I hope… you don't regret it.
And with that, she turned back to the fallen soldiers.
—Now… —she said softly—. Who wishes to confess their sins?
No one answered.
Because they no longer remembered what they were.