The Valley of Eternal Darkness was a mere splinter, a dark speck on the map of the vast territory known as the Forest of Eternal Chaos. It was a primordial, wild expanse spanning over 7 million square kilometers, where the law of the strongest was the only prevailing rule. It was here, beyond the treacherous Canyon of Courage, that the goblin village ruled by old Graaz was located.
The leader stood before his makeshift tent, his wrinkled green face contorted in a grimace of pain and fury. He looked out over the depleted camp - over a third of the population, the strongest warriors and the young, hopeful men, had departed with Korgath.
"That cursed fool..." Graaz rasped, clutching his gnarled wooden staff. "He didn't know his place. He thought his strength made him a god, but he only exposed us all to annihilation. So many lives... wasted on daydreams of power."
Beside him stood the other village elders, trying to soothe him, though their voices carried only resignation.
"There is nothing to be done now, Graaz," one murmured, casting his gaze down. "We must think of those who remain. Have you heard the news? The Green Fang village was trampled by Minotaurs last week. Almost nothing is left of them."
Graaz stomped his foot furiously, kicking up dust. "Those vile beasts!" he roared, his voice trembling with helplessness. "They have raided us for years, stealing our winter supplies and treating us like trash! And us? We are just goblins... at the very bottom of the food chain. We don't have the strength to face Minotaurs, and now that madman Korgath has taken the rest of our defenders!"
The elders nodded sadly. In the world of the Forest of Eternal Chaos, goblins were merely food or cheap labor. Graaz breathed heavily, trying to master his emotions. "This year... we must focus on farming. We will hide deeper in the ferns, maybe they won't notice us..."
Suddenly, the air around them froze. Literally. The night moisture turned to frost on the leaves, and the silence was torn by a cold, velvety voice that carried the authority of death itself:
"So, this is where you are hiding..."
Graaz felt an icy shiver race down his spine. In a single second, the entire village was flooded by a terrifying, dense aura - the [Origin Aura]. The old goblin felt as if he had suddenly become an ant under a giant's boot. Every muscle in his body screamed at him to fall on his face. He felt like worthless dust, whose only purpose was to kneel and beg for forgiveness for the mere fact of existing.
He scrambled out of his tent with terror etched across his face. The elders followed behind, tripping over their own feet. The entire village - over a hundred goblins - poured out of their huts and shacks like startled insects. Every single one of them craned their necks upward, their eyes widening to their limits.
Against the backdrop of the silvery moon, hovering majestically over the village, were two female demonic silhouettes.
To the left drifted Lysandra - her wings lazily beating the air. She emanated the cool professionalism of an executioner. However, it was the figure in the center that stole their breath and curdled their blood.
Lilith, in her full, primordial Succubus form, looked like a goddess of destruction. Her gargantuan, purple wings blotted out the stars, and her amaranth scale armor shimmered with an unnatural luster. Black, curved horns lent her face a predatory majesty, and her scarlet eyes burned with a hatred and power that seemed to crush the roofs of their wretched dwellings.
Graaz didn't wait for an invitation. As soon as the massive purple wings rippled above his head, the old goblin collapsed to his knees, slamming his forehead against the hard, dry earth. His entire body shook in uncontrollable convulsions, and a shrill, pleading voice escaped his throat.
"What... what have w-we done... to d-deserve the w-wrath of the Firstborn?!" he blurted out, stuttering so hard he nearly bit his tongue. "I beg for mercy, Great Lady! We... we are but lowly worms in this forest!"
Lilith, hovering several meters above him, snorted with pure contempt. Her scarlet eyes narrowed, and the aura around her thickened, causing the roofs of the shacks to creak.
"You dared to attack my territory, and now you have the gall to play the idiot?" her voice cut through the air like an icy blade.
Graaz froze. His mind raced at top speed, paralyzed by fear. Attack? Who from his village would be suicidal enough to raise a hand against a being emanating such power? Suddenly, the image of Korgath appeared in his mind - the proud, arrogant goblin blinded by his own strength. He felt like weeping.
He tentatively raised his face, though keeping his chest pressed to the ground, and looked at Lilith through tears of terror. "Did... did one of those g-goblins... c-carry a giant wolf bone?" he choked out.
"I see your memory has suddenly returned," Lilith cut him off.
With a powerful gust of her wings, Lilith landed heavily right in front of him, with Lysandra settling just behind her. Both demonesses, standing over two meters tall in their combat forms, towered over the cowering old man like mythical deities. Lilith leaned over him, her black horns casting a long, ominous shadow across him.
"Was it your village that dared to violate my borders?" she asked coldly.
"Y-yes... Korgath belonged to us, but..." Graaz didn't get to finish.
Lilith, furious at the mere memory of the lost gold, pumped even more mana into the [Origin Aura]. The weight of the energy physically pinned Graaz to the earth; the old goblin spread his arms, pressed to the soil by an invisible press, unable to make even the slightest movement.
"Then we have nothing to talk about," Lilith stated, turning her head to her commander. "Lysandra, dispose of all the inhabitants of this village. We will burn this problem out, root and branch."
Lysandra smiled bloodthirstily. Before her palms, with the quiet hiss of freezing air, dozens of razor-sharp ice spears began to materialize.
"With pleasure, Lilith," the succubus murmured.
"WAIT! I BEG YOU!" Graaz roared, fighting against the pressure of the aura just to lift his head a fraction. "Let me explain! It's not like that!"
"There is nothing to explain," Lilith snapped, her talons sliding out from her fingers. "Your people attacked me, so now I am attacking you. As they say: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. I'd rather wipe you all out than risk another group coming to me with clubs tomorrow."
Lysandra raised her hand, ready to send the first projectile toward the crowd of goblins who - terrorized by Lilith's aura - were wallowing on the ground in total helplessness. Seeing death staring him in the face, Graaz screamed with the last of his strength:
"Korgath no longer belonged to our village! He betrayed us! He stole our warriors by force!"
Lilith stayed Lysandra's gesture, though her face still expressed disbelief and coldness. She looked at the old man writhing in the dust, waiting for him to speak faster to save what remained of his pathetic people.
Graaz, feeling the icy breath of death on his neck, began to pour out words with the speed of a machine gun. He explained how Korgath - blinded by his new power - had terrorized the elders, how he had pulled the young warriors to his side by force, and how he had declared himself the sole master of their fate, despising the village's long-standing laws.
Lilith listened with a predatory, motionless smile on her lips. In reality, she knew this version of events perfectly well - the interrogation of the three surviving goblins before their execution had provided her with all the necessary facts. However, this was all part of the psychological game Lysandra had planned. They had to break Graaz completely before getting to the point.
When the old goblin finished, panting heavily and staring at the ground, Lilith snorted with such contempt that Graaz cowered even further.
"And that is supposed to be your excuse?" she asked, her voice vibrating with a threat. "What you say doesn't change the fact that the goblins from your village spilled the blood of my servants and violated my peace. You are simply a pathetic ruler if you cannot keep your own subordinates in check. You allowed a pup with an oversized ego to steal your army and lead it to slaughter."
Graaz remained silent, feeling a stinging shame mingle with paralyzing fear. He knew she was right. He was weak, and in the Forest of Eternal Chaos, weakness was the cardinal sin.
"Since you have nothing more to say in your defense..." Lilith slowly raised her hand and looked pointedly at Lysandra.
The succubus, waiting only for that signal, grinned wide, revealing white fangs. With a quiet whistle, the first ice spear shot from her palm, hurtling with momentum toward the head of one of the cowering village elders.
"WAIT! I BEG YOU, WAIT!"