Lilith woke with a start, her

  heart racing. Images of last night’s bath lingered vividly in her

  mind—the way Sera had arched beneath her touch, the unexpected rush of

  feeding on another’s essence. For a moment, she wondered if she’d

  dreamed the entire encounter.

  She sat up, running her fingers

  through her purple hair. The sheets beside her were empty. Frowning,

  Lilith rose and wrapped herself in a silk robe before padding across her

  bedchamber to the door.

  “Sera?” she called, stepping into the corridor.

  No answer came. Concern

  flickered through her as she made her way to the guest chamber. The door

  stood slightly ajar, and Lilith pushed it open to find Sera still fast

  asleep, her chest rising and falling in deep, steady breaths.

  Lilith approached the bed

  quietly. Sera’s face looked peaceful, her small horns peeking through

  her tousled hair. After their intimate encounter, Lilith had helped the

  exhausted half-demon to this bed before returning to her own chamber to

  sort through her conflicted feelings.

  That had been fourteen hours ago.

  “Is this normal?” Lilith

  whispered to herself, studying Sera’s sleeping form. She’d never fed on

  someone’s essence before. Had she taken too much? The thought sent a

  chill through her.

  Deciding to let Sera rest,

  Lilith retreated from the room and made her way to the dining hall. With

  a gesture, she summoned several shadow servants who materialised from

  the darkness.

  “Prepare breakfast for two,”

  she instructed. “Something substantial and nourishing. And tea—something

  with restorative properties.”

  The servants bowed silently and

  glided away to fulfil her commands. Lilith settled at the head of the

  long obsidian table, absently tracing patterns on its polished surface

  as platters of food began to appear.

  Just as she was about to begin

  eating alone, movement at the doorway caught her attention. Sera stood

  there, dressed in a simple blue tunic. Her hair was dishevelled, and a

  slight flush coloured her cheeks when her eyes met Lilith’s.

  Lilith coughed lightly, composing herself. “Good morning. Have a seat.”

  Sera nodded and moved to sit

  across the table, her eyes darting to Lilith’s face before focusing

  intently on the food before her. She began eating without ceremony,

  though Lilith noticed her movements were more deliberate than usual.

  The silence stretched between

  them, filled only by the soft clink of silverware against plates. Lilith

  found herself uncharacteristically at a loss for words. It was Sera who

  always filled their silences with questions or observations, yet now

  she seemed equally tongue-tied.

  “Did you sleep well?” Lilith

  finally asked, breaking the tension. “You’ve been asleep for fourteen

  hours. I was beginning to worry.”

  Sera looked up, surprise

  evident on her face. “Fourteen hours? I had no idea.” She paused,

  considering. “I feel very rested, though. Better than I have in years,

  actually.”

  Lilith sighed with relief. “Good. That’s… good.”

  Another awkward silence descended. Lilith took a sip of tea, searching for a safer topic.

  “The storm has passed,” she said finally. “We should be ready to continue our journey after breakfast.”

  This seemed to ease Sera back

  into familiar territory. “Passing through the Wasteland border unnoticed

  won’t be easy, even if we fly,” she said, her expression growing more

  animated. “The Solarians maintain constant patrols along the entire

  boundary.”

  “Will they try to stop us?” Lilith asked.

  Sera shook her head. “Probably

  not, even if they notice us. They’re more concerned with things getting

  out than going in.” A wry smile touched her lips. “Their policy is

  essentially ‘good riddance’ to anyone or anything foolish enough to

  enter the Wastelands voluntarily.”

  Lilith nodded appreciatively. “You know your stuff.”

  “It’s something one learns when

  their entire life revolves around it,” Sera replied with a shrug,

  though Lilith detected a hint of pride in her voice.

  The tension between them

  gradually dissolved as they finished their meal, conversation shifting

  to lighter topics—the strange foods available in different regions,

  peculiar customs Sera had encountered in her travels, and Lilith’s

  observations about the differences between the world she remembered and

  what she’d seen since her return.

  Neither mentioned the bath.

  After breakfast, they dressed

  for travel—Lilith in her demonic armour that left little to the

  imagination yet offered surprising protection, Sera in sturdy leather

  gear supplemented by few items from Lilith’s dimensional inventory.

  Standing before the gate that would take them out of the Infernal Sanctum, Lilith glanced at Sera. “Ready?”

  Sera nodded, her expression determined. “Ready.”

  With a wave of her hand, Lilith

  dismissed the Sanctum, and the opulent dining hall dissolved around

  them, replaced by the forest clearing where they’d taken shelter from

  yesterday’s storm. The morning sun filtered through the leaves above,

  dappling the ground with golden light.

  Their journey to the Wastelands—and whatever awaited Lilith there—was about to begin in earnest.

  * * *

  Lilith stood in the clearing,

  violet eyes scanning the sky. Perfect flying conditions—clear visibility

  with just enough cloud cover to provide occasional concealment if

  needed.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “Ready for another flight?” she asked, turning to Sera.

  “Absolutely,” Sera replied, excitement evident in her voice despite their earlier awkwardness.

  Lilith reached out, her fingers weaving complex patterns in the air as she whispered the incantation. “Síirvéel áahaara.”

  Blue-white energy swirled

  around Sera, coalescing into translucent wings that shimmered with

  arcane power. The half-demon woman gasped as her body became noticeably

  lighter, surrounded by a subtle aura of gravitational manipulation.

  “Still feels incredible,” Sera murmured, flexing her magical appendages experimentally.

  Lilith smiled, then unfurled

  her own demonic wings. The leathery membranes stretched wide, their

  purple hue catching the morning light. With a powerful downstroke, she

  launched herself skyward, feeling the rush of air against her face.

  Sera followed, her movements

  more confident than yesterday. They ascended in spirals, climbing higher

  until the forest below resembled a green carpet dotted with patches of

  shadow.

  “This way,” Sera called, banking eastward. “We’ll approach from the north-eastern sector—fewer patrols.”

  Lilith nodded and adjusted her

  course, following Sera’s lead. For nearly an hour, they flew in relative

  silence, the landscape changing beneath them from dense forest to

  rolling farmland, then to increasingly barren scrubland as they

  approached the border.

  As they soared over the

  desolate terrain, something nagged at Lilith’s mind. Certain formations

  in the landscape—a particular bend in a river, the silhouette of a

  distant mountain range—stirred vague memories.

  “I know this place,” she murmured, almost to herself.

  “My Lady?” Sera asked, gliding closer.

  “These landmarks,” Lilith

  explained, gesturing to the terrain below. “They’re familiar, but…

  different. Like seeing a place you visited as a child, now changed by

  time.”

  Indeed, the geography bore

  similarities to what she remembered from Infinity, but the scale felt

  off—distances stretched further, mountains taller, valleys deeper than

  in the game. Yet the fundamental patterns remained recognisable, like

  faded echoes of her virtual memories.

  “There,” Sera pointed ahead, where the scrubland abruptly ended. “The border.”

  The transition was startling. A

  jagged line stretched across the landscape where green-brown scrubland

  met ashen grey wasteland. No wall marked the boundary—none was needed.

  The corruption of the land itself created a natural barrier more

  effective than any human construction.

  They crossed over, and Lilith

  felt the change immediately. The air grew heavier, thicker somehow,

  carrying a metallic tang that coated her tongue. Yet paradoxically,

  energy surged through her body—a tingling, electric sensation that made

  her feel more alive, more powerful.

  “Home,” she whispered, the word escaping unbidden.

  Beside her, Sera shuddered visibly but maintained her flight. “Are you alright?” Lilith asked.

  “I’m fine,” Sera replied,

  though her voice sounded strained. “Half-demons can tolerate the

  Wastelands better than humans, but it’s still… a bit uncomfortable.”

  Lilith nodded, scanning the

  horizon. The desolation stretched in all directions—blackened earth,

  twisted vegetation, and occasional ruins jutting from the ground like

  broken teeth. In the distance, violet lightning crackled between

  ash-coloured clouds, illuminating the landscape in brief, eerie flashes.

  Something prickled at the back

  of Lilith’s neck—a sensation of being watched. She turned sharply, eyes

  narrowing as she searched the skies and ground below. Nothing moved

  except dust devils swirling across the barren plain.

  “Is something wrong?” Sera asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Lilith replied, still scanning their surroundings. “I feel like we’re being observed.”

  Sera tensed, her own gaze

  sweeping the area. “I don’t see anything, but that doesn’t mean much.

  The Wastelands have ways of hiding things that don’t want to be seen.”

  After another moment of vigilance revealed nothing, Lilith reluctantly turned forward again. “Let’s continue, but stay alert.”

  “From here on, I’m afraid my

  knowledge becomes limited,” Sera admitted. “I’ve never ventured deep

  into the Wastelands—only along the borders where I guided refugees.”

  “You’ve done more than enough,” Lilith assured her. “I can take it from here.”

  Lilith reoriented herself using

  the landmarks she recognised, calculating where Umbra—the capital of

  Nocturne—should lie. If her memories from Infinity translated correctly

  to this world, they needed to head northwest, toward where a mountain

  range rose in the distance, its peaks shrouded in perpetual storm

  clouds.

  “This way,” she said with newfound determination, adjusting their course.

  As they flew deeper into the

  corrupted lands, Lilith couldn’t shake the feeling of unseen eyes

  tracking their movement. Whatever—or whoever—was watching remained

  hidden, biding their time.

  * * *

  The sensation of being watched

  intensified with each mile they flew deeper into the Wastelands.

  Lilith’s wings cut through the corrupted air with practiced ease, but

  her mind remained unsettled.

  “Enough of this,” she muttered under her breath.

  Lilith closed her eyes

  mid-flight, her fingers tracing arcane patterns as she focused her will.

  Amber light flickered beneath her eyelids as she invoked the Sixth

  Sense spell. The magic spread through her consciousness like warm honey,

  heightening her awareness of potential threats.

  But the results were

  frustratingly vague—a muddy impression of pursuit, nothing more. Too

  many competing dangers in the Wastelands created a cacophony of warnings

  that blurred together. Her spell detected dozens of potential

  threats—venomous plants that could spray acidic pollen, territorial

  wyverns nesting in distant crags, carnivorous fog that hunted in the

  valleys below—all creating magical static that obscured the specific

  presence stalking them.

  “Dammit,” she hissed, opening her eyes.

  “What’s wrong?” Sera asked, adjusting her magical wings to glide closer.

  “Someone’s following us. I can feel it, but I can’t pinpoint them.” Lilith scanned the horizon again.

  Sera’s expression tightened with concern. “Should we change course?”

  “No,” Lilith replied, frustration edging her voice. “I’d need to get closer to identify whatever’s tracking us, but…”

  She glanced at Sera, suddenly

  aware of her companion’s vulnerability. In the game, decisions had been

  simple—risk meant potential reward or, at worst, respawning after death.

  But this was reality now. Sera wasn’t an NPC or a disposable ally; she

  was a living person who could be permanently harmed or killed.

  The thought stirred

  uncomfortable questions in Lilith’s mind. What were the true power

  dynamics of this world? In Infinity, her character had been among the

  strongest players on the European server—a level 200 demon empress with

  legendary gear and maxed skills. But did that translate here? What if

  something in these Wastelands outclassed her?

  She could probably escape

  almost anything with her teleportation magic if threatened, but Sera

  lacked such options. The protective spells Lilith had cast on her

  companion would only do so much against a truly powerful enemy.

  “My Lady?” Sera’s voice pulled Lilith from her thoughts.

  “We continue to Umbra,” Lilith decided. “With luck, whatever’s following us will lose interest before we reach the mountains.”

  They adjusted their altitude,

  flying lower to use the twisted terrain for partial cover. Lilith kept

  her senses alert, occasionally casting glances behind them. The

  corrupted landscape beneath them grew increasingly bizarre—pools of

  liquid that defied gravity, flowing upward in spiralling columns;

  forests of crystallised trees that chimed discordantly in the wind; and

  vast fields where the ground itself seemed to breathe, rising and

  falling in slow, hypnotic rhythms.

  In the distance, the jagged

  silhouette of the mountain range grew more distinct. Somewhere among

  those peaks lay Umbra—or what remained of it. Lilith’s heart quickened

  at the thought of seeing her capital, even as she reminded herself it

  wouldn’t be the magnificent city she remembered from the game.

  “We should reach the foothills before nightfall,” she called to Sera.

  As they pressed onward, Lilith

  couldn’t shake the feeling that their unseen watcher was growing bolder,

  drawing closer with each passing mile. Whatever it was, it showed no

  signs of turning back—and Lilith feared a confrontation might be

  inevitable before they reached the ancient seat of her power.