Lilith wove her tale beneath

  the stars, her voice carrying the weight of centuries. She spoke of her

  origins—not as a queen, but as a lesser succubus in the demonic courts,

  using her beauty and cunning to survive while secretly studying the

  politics that swirled around her.

  “For centuries, I positioned

  myself within conflicts between greater demons,” Lilith explained,

  watching the firelight dance across Sera’s enraptured face. “I appeared

  to support all sides while secretly undermining them.”

  In fact, I was just a regular player for the first six months, Lilith thought with an inward smile. Just grinding levels and learning the game mechanics while roleplaying a scheming succubus.

  “Each confrontation left me with more resources and followers,” she continued. “My influence grew steadily in the shadows.”

  Sera nodded eagerly. “The Whisper Years,” she murmured. “My grandmother spoke of this time, when you gathered power unseen.”

  Lilith hid her surprise at hearing a term she’d never invented. The lore had truly taken on a life of its own.

  “Then came the War of Burning

  Crowns,” Lilith said, her voice dropping dramatically. “Seven demon

  lords exhausted themselves in a fifty-year conflict. I allowed them to

  weaken each other while I built my strength.”

  What she didn’t tell Sera was

  that the War of Burning Crowns had been her masterpiece of social

  engineering. She’d spent weeks sending private messages to rival

  player-kingdoms, stoking their conflicts, spreading misinformation, and

  making contradictory alliances. All while her small city-state expanded

  unnoticed in the game’s eastern territories.

  “When they were at their

  weakest,” Lilith continued, “I struck in a single night—the Crimson

  Feast. By dawn, I controlled territories never before united.”

  God, the forums exploded after that, Lilith remembered. Players

  were furious for weeks. Some even threatened to quit the game. But the

  developers loved the drama—it was free advertisement.

  “You founded Nocturne upon your enemies’ ashes,” Sera said with quiet reverence. “And your capital, Umbra, rose from the ruins.”

  “Yes,” Lilith nodded. “Though some of my defeated enemies became my most valuable allies.”

  She thought of players like

  SpeedBall96 and VoidQueen, who had acknowledged her victory with

  surprising grace. Instead of quitting, they’d offered their remaining

  territories as vassals, becoming her most trusted companions. Those

  unexpected friendships had been among Jacob’s most cherished gaming

  relationships.

  As Lilith described her ascension—the moment when she’d finally became an Ascended Succubus—she watched Sera’s eyes widen.

  “The Seven Days of Violet Light,” Sera whispered. “They say the skies above Umbra burned with your power for a week.”

  That was just a special effect the developers added after I was first to complete the Demonic Ascension quest line, Lilith thought with amusement. Cost me three months of grinding rare materials.

  “Within a century, I became not

  just a Demon Queen but Empress of Nocturne,” Lilith concluded,

  deliberately vague about the final years of her reign. “I established

  systems of governance that elevated my realm beyond typical demonic

  brutality.”

  In reality, I just wanted a stable player economy that wouldn’t crash every time we went to war, she mused silently.

  Throughout her story, Sera had

  listened with unwavering attention, occasionally muttering, “So that’s

  how it happened,” or nodding in confirmation of some detail she’d

  apparently heard before.

  Lilith fell silent for a

  moment, watching the flames dance between them. Then she added the

  final, crucial piece: “And then, four days ago, I simply… appeared here.

  There was no warning, no grand spell, nothing. One moment I wasn’t, and

  the next I was, standing in a golden plain beneath twin suns.”

  She met Sera’s gaze directly.

  “The world I knew is gone. My empire fallen. New countries have emerged,

  and I’ve barely begun to grasp what’s happening.”

  Sera’s expression shifted from wonder to sympathy. “The Shattering changed everything. The world was remade.”

  Lilith stood, brushing dust

  from her clothing. Her wings flexed unconsciously behind her, catching

  the firelight in iridescent patterns.

  “Now that you know my story—the

  truth, not the legends—do you still wish to accompany me?” Lilith

  asked, her voice gentle but serious. “As you’ve heard, I was ruthless

  and cruel to my enemies, and sometimes even to my allies. I am not the

  glorious saviour your grandmother’s stories painted me to be.”

  Sera remained seated, her eyes

  fixed on the fire. For a long moment, she said nothing, and Lilith

  wondered if she’d finally shattered the half-demon’s illusions.

  Then Sera looked up, and Lilith

  was surprised to see not disappointment but a deeper, more grounded

  admiration in her amber eyes.

  “My lady,” Sera said slowly, “I

  never expected you to be perfect. The fact that you built your empire

  from nothing, through cunning and determination rather than birthright

  or prophecy, only makes your achievements more remarkable.”

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  She rose to her feet, standing

  tall despite being several inches shorter than Lilith. “If anything,

  knowing you weren’t born to power but seized it through your own

  strength makes me more certain that you can do so again.”

  Lilith felt an unexpected

  warmth spread through her chest at Sera’s words. She’d expected the

  truth—or at least, the partial truth she’d shared—to diminish her in

  Sera’s eyes. Instead, it seemed to have transformed Sera’s mythical

  worship into something more substantial: respect.

  “Besides,” Sera added with a

  small smile, “I’ve spent my life helping others survive. If there’s even

  a chance you might create a place where half-breeds and other

  non-humans could live without fear again, I want to be part of that.”

  Lilith nodded, surprised by how

  much Sera’s continued faith meant to her. “Very well. We’ll leave for

  the border of the Wastelands in half an hour. Gather your things.”

  As Sera checked her belongings,

  Lilith found herself reflecting on the strange twist of fate that had

  brought her here. Jacob had spent years crafting Lilith’s backstory,

  building her empire in the game, never imagining that someday those

  virtual achievements would become historical events in a real world.

  The developers interviewed me after “The War of Burning Crowns”, she remembered. They

  loved the story so much they made it official lore, even created

  special quests around it. Other players contributed their perspectives

  too, and the whole thing grew beyond what any of us had originally

  created.

  Such was the nature of

  Infinity—a game where players actually shaped the world’s history. Where

  guilds could evolve into countries if they acquired territory, and

  countries could be reduced to guilds if they lost it. Where the balance

  of power shifted constantly between Empires, Kingdoms, and City-States,

  each tier having different resource requirements for development.

  Lilith glanced at Sera, who was

  gathering her supplies nearby. The half-demon woman had lived her

  entire life believing in legends that Jacob had helped create through

  gameplay and roleplay. It was surreal and humbling in equal measure.

  In the game, fifty years passed in just ten months of real time, Lilith thought. Events that took me weeks to orchestrate became centuries of history here.

  She looked toward the horizon,

  where the morning sun cast long shadows across the landscape. Soon they

  would journey to what remained of her empire—an empire she had built

  pixel by pixel, conquest by conquest, in another reality entirely. What

  would they find there? And more importantly, what would she do with

  whatever remained?

  For the first time since

  arriving in this world, Lilith felt not just confusion or fear, but a

  spark of purpose. If her fictional history had somehow become this

  world’s reality, perhaps she could rebuild what had been lost—not just

  for herself, but for people like Sera who needed a place to belong.

  * * *

  Lilith watched as Sera finished

  checking her equipment, adjusting the straps on her small pack and

  securing her daggers. The half-demon woman moved with practiced

  efficiency, each motion speaking to years spent on the road.

  “I’m ready,” Sera announced,

  slinging her pack over her shoulder. “If we maintain a good pace, we

  should reach the Solarian border within three days. There’s a small

  valley with minimal patrols that we can—”

  “We’re not going on foot,” Lilith interrupted, crossing her arms.

  Sera paused, her brow

  furrowing. “The main roads have checkpoints, especially near the

  borders. Even the smaller paths are watched.” She glanced at Lilith’s

  imposing figure. “Were you thinking of hiring a carriage? That might

  draw more attention, especially if the driver remembers us later.”

  Lilith’s lips curved into a smile. “We’re going to fly.”

  “Fly?” Sera blinked, her eyes

  drifting to Lilith’s magnificent wings, then down to her own back where

  only vestigial wing protruded from her shoulder blades. A faint blush

  coloured her cheeks. “My lady, are you going to carry me? I can’t

  exactly fly on my own.”

  The image flashed unbidden

  through Lilith’s mind: Sera’s body pressed against hers, arms wrapped

  around her neck, their forms locked in a close embrace as they soared

  through the sky. Heat bloomed in her chest, spreading outward in

  tingling waves. She shook her head, both to clear the thought and answer

  Sera’s question.

  “I have a better idea,” Lilith said, her voice slightly huskier than intended.

  She closed her eyes, focusing

  on the Flight spell. The knowledge unlocked in her brain just as it had

  with her other abilities—an instinctual understanding that seemed to

  rise from muscle memory rather than conscious thought. This time,

  however, Lilith deliberately slowed down, examining each component of

  the spell as it formed in her mind.

  Lilith noted how some aspects

  matched exactly what she remembered from the game’s spell descriptions,

  while others differed subtly. The duration remained the same—one hour of

  flight time—but the keyboard controls had transformed into intuitive

  mental commands. Perhaps this was how the VR update would have worked,

  had she ever experienced it properly instead of waking up in Lilith’s

  body.

  “What better idea?” Sera’s voice pulled Lilith from her analysis.

  “Oh, right.” Lilith focused on Sera, extending her hand toward the half-demon woman. “Síirvéel áahaara,” she intoned, channelling her magic.

  Blue-white energy swirled

  around Sera, coalescing behind her back into translucent, ethereal wings

  that shimmered with arcane power. Sera gasped as her body lightened,

  the gravitational pull on her diminishing as the spell took full effect.

  “The spell should last about an

  hour,” Lilith explained. “You’ll notice the wings starting to fade

  before it expires completely, so I’ll have time to either recast it or

  in worst case catch you before you fall.”

  Sera experimentally rose a few

  inches off the ground, her eyes widening with wonder. “By the old gods,”

  she whispered. “I’m flying!”

  “Not quite yet,” Lilith said

  with a small laugh. “You control direction and speed with your thoughts.

  Imagine yourself moving forward, upward, or turning, and your body will

  respond. It takes some practice, but it becomes natural quickly.”

  Lilith demonstrated by lifting

  gracefully into the air, her own wings barely needing to move thanks to

  her innate flight ability. Sera followed, wobbling slightly as she

  adjusted to the mental commands required to navigate.

  “My Queen! This is incredible!” Sera exclaimed as she stabilised herself about ten feet above the ground.

  “Sera,” Lilith reminded her with a raised eyebrow, “we agreed on ‘Lilith’ or at least ‘Lady Lilith,’ remember?”

  “Sorry, my la—I mean, Lady

  Lilith,” Sera corrected herself, looking both embarrassed and delighted

  as she executed a small turn in midair. “This is beyond anything I

  imagined possible. I’ve dreamed of flying since I was a child.”

  Lilith felt an unexpected surge

  of pleasure at Sera’s joy. The half-demon woman’s face was transformed

  by wonder, her amber eyes bright with excitement. Something about that

  expression made Lilith want to show her more wonders, to see that look

  again and again.

  “Come,” Lilith said, gesturing toward the horizon. “We have a long journey ahead, and this is just the beginning.”

  Together they ascended, leaving the forest clearing behind as they soared into the open sky.