The Rise of Queen Lilith vol.1

Chapter 17: The Ancient Tomb (Journey III)

I didn't know how much time had passed since I had fallen unconscious. The first thing I did was to check on Fenrir. He was lying on the floor, still breathing heavily, as if he was asleep. I checked to see if he had a fever, he did, but luckily it was only mild. I went to take a Golden Tear from my backpack, but found that it was badly damaged from the previous fight. Most of the contents were still there, but most of it was crumpled. I took out what I wanted and tried to wake Fenrir up. He only gave a small reaction, but obediently opened his mouth, picked up the Golden Tear, chewed it and then swallowed it.

"I'm sorry I can't process them..."

His eyes looked at me as if to comfort me.

"Go back to sleep, my little puppy. Once my Mana is replenished, I will give you more."

I stroked him back to sleep and then looked around the catacomb.

It was a small room, with grey stone on all four sides. The sarcophagus in the middle was marble and bore an inscription. But even more impressive was the huge statue that stood behind it. It was a demon woman with long straight hair, two large bat like wings on her back, rather small breasts and an athletic body. The statue was about 2 meters tall. It's face was quite magnificent, a small pointed nose and a mouth with full lips. It's eyes emitted a bright light that illuminated the whole room.

"This is the final resting place of Lilith, the 'Queen of Demons' and 'Empress of the Night'. May her descendants rule our world forever."

*Lilith's tomb?...wow...so she did exist...*

My coin began to vibrate in my pocket. I took it out and the symbol it displayed was the sarcophagus.

*There is a slit for the coin again...but last time there was a monster...but that could have had nothing to do with opening the entrance.*

If there was an even stronger monster here, we would be doomed. But after some time of indecision, I made up my mind.

As I inserted the coin, a loud click was heard. Then the statue closed its eyes. Everything around me went dark, and even I could no longer see anything.

"Welcome to my realm, child."

It was a rather eerie voice. Goosebumps immediately formed on my arms, and an urge to flee arose in my mind.

*But I can't escape...I'm fucking locked in...*.

"Hel...hello..."

"You may be confused. Don't worry child, I'm not going to hurt you. But I advise you to just listen and not say a word. I won't answer your questions."

*Well...at least she won't attack me...*

"My name is Lilith, you may have heard of me. In my life i did conquer half of this world, so my kin could have a safe place again. And you, my child, must be a beacon of hope for all demonic beings, seeing as you carry the 'Coin of Styx'.

*So the coin my brother found was some sort of artifact from ancient times?...yeah right what comes next...*

"Sadly, there is no direct way I can attend to the matters of this world anymore, so i decided to grant my powers to the one, who is worthy. You seem to be the one."

*And what have i done to deserve this?...*

"It may even confuse you, but there was a reason the coin found it's way into your hands, even if you cant fathom why. So please, take this power of mine, and rise to the top."

*Power does sound nice...but where is the catch?*

"But don't think it will come freely to you. In order to receive all my gifts, you shall travel the world and find all of my resting places. You may have reached this one, but some of these places will be guarded. So stay sharp and never, you hear me, never, be intimidated by the challenge."

*Ok...so my head is definitely NOT spinning at the moment...*

"I wish you good luck in the years to come."

With that, the statue's eyes opened again, and light began to flood the room once more.

*I have absolutely no idea what just happened.*

Then in a single moment, I felt Mana entering my body. More precisely my eyes. It burnt, but I didn't feel any pain. It was as if my mind was afloat. This lasted a few seconds, only to stop as suddenly as it began.

*I can sense...change?...evolution?...*

My eyes had changed, this was for sure. I could see some veins floating through the statue. They had a bright blue glow from where it's heart would be to it's eyes. The rest of the veins were blue as well, but darker.

*Could this be...Mana?...Can i see foreign Mana now?...This will be helpful...*

I tested my new eyesight on Fenrir. His veins weren't as bright as the ones from the statue, but I still clearly saw his Mana circulating. At the moment most of it was flowing in the direction of his stomach.

*It is purging the poison...*

I could already feel that using this new power was rather taxing. It seemed to be using my own Mana, so it wasn't like my night vision.

*The book from Griselda is a Grimoire, so it should be filled with Mana...*

Taking it out of my battered backpack, I opened it and.

*I can read it!*

The Latin letters remained unreadable for me, but above them, letters in the 'Worlds Tongue' floated and shone in many different colors.

"The Shadows"

That was the book's title, and skipping through it, I could already see that it could be used to learn magic that harbors the users shadow.

*Cool...*

But right now I had other concerns. Curing Fenrir, getting out of here and killing this stupid hag.

I searched around the room and found a small leaver.

*So just pull it and get out?...I hope so...*

So I transferred my Mana to Fenrir again, so we could tackle the next task ahead.