Twisted Hope

Chapter 1: Why?

DISCLAIMER: Some parts of the following written work depicts violent and bloody scenes.

(If you find any grammar or spelling mistakes kindly point it out, and I'll quickly fix it.)

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Luz, King, and Lilith cautiously walked through the dark hall underneath the stage where the petrification is being held. Dozens of large statues all wielding different weapons stood near the pathway they're using, flesh like materials clings all over them like some sort of grotesque veil. Luz didn't heed much mind to it though, she already had seen a lot of strange and scary things in the Boiling Isles, and had gotten used to most of its more peculiar aspects for a while now.

"You can take this up to the stage where they're holding Edalyn." Lilith said, gesturing towards a wide stone disk on the floor.

"Thank you, Lilith, what will you do now?" Luz asked while giving Lilith a concerned look.

Lilith tightly clenched her fist and released a deep sigh before slowly turning towards Luz and King. A look of disappointment could clearly be seen on her face as she snapped her fingers.

"Remain as the leader of the emperor's coven and protect the Boiling Isles." Lilith coldly said while staring at Luz's eyes.

Dozens of guards suddenly rushed out from behind the statues and then surrounded the three of them. The guards quickly pointed their spears at Luz and King after making a small opening, where two guards used to help escort Lilith out of their formation.

"Wai-What!? What are doing this! thought you want to save your sister!?" Luz said with venom in each word.

Luz tightly gripped Owlbert as she prepared herself to fight back, however, hesitated as she felt king hug her leg while hiding behind it. She knows she might also hit King if she use any powerful glyphs, so she tried thinking of another strategy, but her thoughts was interrupted when Lilith begin speaking again.

"I've given everything for this coven, it's only natural that I chose them over Edalyn." Lilith summoned her staff in her right hand, elegantly spinning it around before slamming its end on the ground. "Betraying the Emperor Belos would mean the abandoning all of the time, power, and resources I have used to reach this position."

As much as Luz wanted to attack Lilith, she knows that the regret and guilt she showed to her back in the human world was true. She also noticed that there was pain in her eyes and her hands was slightly trembling, she was clearly trying to control her emotions. Before Luz could convince Lilith to help them, King was suddenly pulled away from her by a grotesque tendril that came out of nowhere. A pair of similar looking claws suddenly came out from the ground near Luz, one of which forced her to kneel while the other dragged Owlbert down.

Flames suddenly burst into life at the very back of the dark hall, revealing an ominous figure sitting on a throne made out of a jaw of an unknown beast and wielding a mechanical staff. It was the Emperor, he appears to had been silently observing the events unfolds from the shadow since the very beginning.

"I'm impressed, Lilith. You've proven your loyalty to me once again. Not only had you given me your sister, the Owl lady." Belos stood up from his throne and began walking towards Luz, "You've also brought me the portal to the Human realm." Belos said in a cold and serious tone.