Book 1: The Chaos Keys

Chapter Ten: Lilith 🌊

The large castle was eerily silent. It wasn't a peaceful silence, it was tense, uncomfortable, as if everyone and everything in the castle was holding it's breath.

Lilith noiselessly glided through the hallways, as silent as the wind. However, she was thoroughly lost. It did not help that it was so early that the castle was still blanketed in darkness.

"Aren't you a bit early?" A soft voice pierced the silence, causing Lilith to visibly jump.

She turned around sharply, letting out a shaky exhale when she did not see the sandy blonde hair she had expected to. Instead, it was a figure, barely visible in the darkness because he was dressed in all black.

She hesitated, not sure if she should bother to sign because of how dark it was. However, she tried anyway.

"I need to check something at the school."

"Why? Did you find something?" He asked, leaning against the wall. His night vision must have been excellent.

Lilith hesitated, before she answered.

"I'm not sure." She admitted, fiddling with her ring, as she seemed to do when she was anxious.

He was silent for a moment. The absence of his voice made it almost like he wasn't there. The longer he stood in the darkness, the more he seemed to melt into it. It was like the opposite of one's eyes adjusting.

"What happened yesterday?" He asked.

"I don't know."

"Do you know what stole your energy?"

She shook her head, fiddling with her ring a bit more aggressively.

He exhaled sharply and gestured his head forward, walking in a direction. Aku, who was in her pocket, quickly jumped onto Onyx, clambering up onto his shoulder. He payed no mind, but Aku chattered fondly into his ear.

Lilith walked after him hesitantly, following him down the twisting hallways, until at last they reached the castle door. He pulled a large, old metal key from his jacket, unlocking one of the doors and pushing it open slightly. He slipped outside, and Lilith followed.

"Did you find anything?" He asked. It was so similar to his prior question that Lilith was temporarily confused. However, she realised he seemed to be talking to Aku.

The creature chattered a response into his ear eagerly. Clearly, Aku was very attached to this person, though the feeling did not seem mutual.

"Hm." He said thoughtfully when Aku stopped chattering. It was as if he'd really understood what had been said. A bit strange, but Lilith was not particularly surprised. Onyx had done stranger.

He reached the gate, where a fully armoured guard was standing. Their eyes drooped, and they were clearly very tired. It was likely they'd been standing there all night. However, the moment they spotted Lilith and her current companion, the guard stood straight at attention. They seemed very nervous, maybe even afraid.

The impact the shadowy character had on the people that worked here was so... strange. They all feared him so thoroughly.

The guard hurriedly took a large set of keys from their side, sifting through them until they found the right one. They unlocked a large lock, and unbolted the bolts on the huge gate. Finally, they pushed it open, quickly stepping out of the way of them both, standing stiffly at attention by the side of the gate.