"Lucius von Snow."
A man of honor and valor, once I believed we'd become good friends, but in the pursuit of victory, I'd personally severed all of our friendly connections. Although he may have agreed to help me, I knew that our peace wouldn't last long.
Despite my earlier feelings, I truly didn't feel much for Lucius. It was his decision to accept my proposal or not; every man has the freewill to accept or refuse.
Even though I speak words of indifference, my heart still aches, wishing to find another path to sway Lucius to my side. But that feeling was now redundant; I'd made my decision.
One born out of control and malice.
Lucius would have never accepted fighting against Ickni; his opinions on Order only confirmed my suspicions. Angels are merely scared creatures doing anything to prevent infighting, even if that means forsaking their heavenly nature.
I'd understood their true nature since I walked the streets of Grandheart, but I chose to ignore my feelings; I'd no longer ignore the corruption infecting this land. I couldn't call myself human if I just turned a blind eye.
I still thought of myself as a human despite Seraphina's divinity swirling within my veins. There was one thing I couldn't lose, and that was my mind.
Even if I had to commit acts of cruelty to save the masses of this land, then I'd do it over and over again until I personally founded my vision of everlasting peace.
My footsteps finally stopped outside Liliana's door, my gentle knocking echoing throughout the barren corridors. I heard a small grumble before the lock unlatched.
"Come in."
Walking into the room, my gaze locked onto Liliana, causing my movements to stop. It took all I had to contain my laughter.
Liliana was seated on an armchair, her legs lazily draped over another armchair, and a book tucked firmly in her palms. Although it was odd to see Liliana of all people reading, there was something else about her appearance.
She wore lensless glasses, her hair tied into a bun, trying her best to look sophisticated, but in reality, she just looked stupid.
"Why are your cheeks so puffed up? Are you making fun of me in your mind!?" shouted Liliana, her own cheeks puffing, a flurry of grumbles escaping her mouth.
"What..? Of course not, I'm just taken aback by your ever so graceful look."
Liliana's room wasn't the most refined; it was littered with all sorts of garbage and stray clothes. It was also smaller than my own room, although that was to be expected since she was a Third String. Despite that it didn't fit the definition of small, it was still spacious, but it didn't seem like she cared much for it. The only clean part is her little study. And by study, I mean a collection of armchairs.
"Your eyes tell a different story. How can you not bow in respect in the face of my dignified appearance?"
"Do you even know what dignified means?"
"What!? How dare you question my intelligence! Of course I do, it means cool and collected."
Although she wasn't directly on the mark, it wasn't worth the lengthy argument that would only end in my own defeat. Liliana wasn't one who admitted that she was wrong, as she didn't know the word.
It first appeared to me as cute, but now it's just annoying.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, where did you even get those armchairs from? My room only has one."
"I temporarily borrowed them from the others on this floor."
My mouth involuntarily opened slightly. I was surprised but more impressed at how she even managed such a feat.
"How exactly did you, a wingless, manage that?"
"Hehe, you'll be impressed, I promise. Once they left their room, I slipped behind them and used a pen to keep the door open, and dragged the armchair out. Don't worry, though, I left a note."
"Ugh, I thought it'd be something like that. Little thief, what exactly did this note say?"
"Hey! I'm not a thief; I had every intention of giving them back in a couple of years. What's wrong with that? Anyway, the note said, 'I'm taking your armchair, sorry for the trouble.' Quite the fine note if you ask me."
"You didn't even sign it?"
"Of course not, how would I keep the armchairs if they knew who sto— took them? See how smart I am, Evernight. Praise me!"
"I'm not going to praise a thief, but you are quite impressive in your lack of smarts."
"Aha! Thank you. Wait! That wasn't a compliment, you're such a meanie!" screamed Liliana, kicking her feet back and forth knocking over one of the armchairs. "Look what you've done! Fix this right away!"
"You're such an idiot. Who even wears lensless glasses?"
I picked up the armchair, and she swiftly draped her legs over it once again. Not even stopped once to thank me, only grumbling more about insolence, inconveniences, and many more stupid reasons for her behaviour.
My conversation with Lucius didn't even take a sliver of my energy, but Liliana had managed to sap me dry despite being here for less than ten minutes. I threw myself on her bed, spreading my arms and legs wide, messing it up.
"Hey! It takes me ages to do that bed, and what do you think you're doing? If someone walked in, it would be disgraceful to be caught with a man in my bed."
"Oh, shut up. No one's going to walk in. Every servant in this palace detests the wingless. I doubt they even clean your room after you've left."
Liliana's eyes snapped to me on the bed, her face scrunching.
"What? Is that why my room is always untidy? How dare those insolent pests treat me in such a way? How rude!"
"No… Your room is always messy because you're a total slob."
"Ha! Sounds like something a privileged person would say. You're a Divine String, I bet all the servants in this palace work day in and day out to ensure your room is clean."
My eyebrow twitched.
"For your information, they don't even clean my room! I have to do it myself, and I don't whine about it like you. Just because I'm a Divine String doesn't mean I'm not a wingless mutt in the eyes of everyone in this palace."
"Hm! I don't get why angels hate wingless so much. Most devils don't even care if you are wingless or not; they judge you by strength. A wingless can still be respected if they are smart or stronger than the average devil."
"Really?"
"Hehe. Of course not, my words are only half of the truth. Wingless are naturally weak, and devils are creatures of pride and destruction. We detest weakness, and most wingless are weak, but those who rise above expectation can escape the discrimination."
I briefly got interested in the ways of devils, but it was swiftly stamped out. Liliana is truly an annoying pest.
"Ugh. I can't tolerate any more whining, so I'll just get to the point. Tell me about the Horsemen, and any other threats to angels."
Liliana stopped moving, the book in her hands falling silent. She didn't look at me, but I could tell something was wrong; her usual witty remark didn't come.
"Why would I do that? I don't like talking about Faravos or the Blutdämmerreich. Why should I spill my country's secrets to you?"
Her attitude towards her country always irritated me. I didn't understand why she could be so dismissive and rude towards the person who saved her from that hell.
"I'm not asking for you to tell me, I'm demanding it. I need your knowledge if I'm going to defeat Ickni. I had a conversation with Lilia, she says that someone claimed to be the Horsemen of Mysteries and forced her to go along with their plan."
"No such person exists; there are only four Horsemen. Are you sure she was in her right mind?"
"It doesn't matter if she was in her right mind or not. The fact is that there is a Horseman or a powerful devil like another Herald in the city."
"Ugh. Are you really sure that you can defeat Ickni if I tell you what you want to know? There will be a cost for this information. Are you willing to accept the price?" said Liliana, her crimson eyes locking onto mine.
"What is this price?"
"I don't know yet. Time will tell."
"So be it. I accept your terms."
The cost of the information didn't bother me; I needed to know more about devils, especially the Horsemen. That would be the only way to stop the curse of war on Lilia's parents.
"Hehe. Very good, I'll start with Lilia's little sighting. Heralds aren't allowed to act on their own, nor can they just run off to do their own thing. And it is high treason to call yourself a Horseman even if you call yourself the Horsemen of Mysteries. No one would dare to speak such blasphemy."
"So the Horsemen of Mysteries is actually one of the other four Horsemen?"
"Not necessarily. It's either one of three routes, one of the Horsemen is here, it's a bold and daring devil, or Lilia just went lucid and crazy."
Liliana was really trying to stress that Lilia is going crazy, how odd. Is Liliana really that scared of the Horsemen that she absolutely shuns their presence?
"No. Lilia isn't crazy, she said that the Horsemen led her to where her parents were held hostage."
"Not possible. It doesn't make sense. Why would a Horseman use Lilia of all people as a pawn instead of a Divine String? And if she was really led to where her parents were, then why wasn't something guarding it?"
"What do you mean by something guarding it?"
"Horsemen are never alone. They may stand at the top of the food chain, but that doesn't mean they would attack angels without their Heralds or creations."
"Creations?"
"You remember Morgrave, the Sixth Primordial Terror. Yes?"
"So all the Horsemen command one of the Primordial Terrors?"
"What? No."
"Huh? Then what?"
"Ugh. The Primordial Terrors, like Morgrave, are the creations of the Horsemen of War; all nine Primordial Terrors are her devoted followers and will only follow War's commands. No one else can give them commands; it's simply not possible."
"But… Morgrave was something else, a being holding immense power. What do you mean, there are others stronger than it?"
"Morgrave isn't worth all your praise. It's just a dog with a special trick. Once you find its trick, it's helpless."
"But its flashsteps are relentless, I certainly don't think it's weak."
Liliana's face downturned with slight annoyance, her canines biting down on her bottom lip.
"I didn't say the doggy was weak, and its flashsteps are faster than normal, but its power is based on its dueling trick. If you attack it all at once, it'll die."
"How do you know this? And why did you just call it a doggy?"
"That question doesn't align with our agreement."
I rolled my eyes at her. It was within her nature to call a Primordial Terror a doggy, but it still didn't stick right with me. Something was missing in this puzzle, but I doubted I'd be able to find out what exactly was missing any time soon.
"Ugh, fine. Continue the lesson then."
"Hey! You need to be nicer to me. I'm dutifully teaching you here. I expected bowing and praises by the end of this."
"Yeah, just shut up and continue."
"So rude. Anyway, the Primordial Terrors are the Horsemen of War's creations. The Horsemen of Pestilence have the Five Vile Plagues of Decay, and Famine has the Three Voidborn."
"Hm? What about death?"
"The Aspects of Death died out 5000 years ago; they haven't been recreated since. From what I hear, the Horsemen of Death isn't exactly a people's person anymore."
"Can Horsemen recreate their creations?"
"Yep. Although it takes staggering amounts of energy, it usually causes a Horseman to go into a deep slumber for a couple of centuries. Still, there is no excuse for why Death hasn't recreated her aspects."
"She just doesn't want to, then?"
"I guess so. Any more questions for me?"
"What is the Curse of War and how do you cure it?" I asked.
As soon as I stopped speaking, Liliana burst out laughing, clutching her stomach, kicking her feet out like a little girl. She eventually controlled herself, a trail of saliva rolling down her chin.
It was safe to say that I was swiftly reaching my limit on how much Liliana I could tolerate today.
"The Curse of War. I haven't heard that in a while; it's a sick joke, really. The Curse of War doesn't exist; it's just a saying for someone slain by the costs of war."
"But Lilia said the Horsemen of Mysteries placed the curse of war on her parents, and when she saw them, they were impaled by a mountain of blades, but still breathing."
"So? Doesn't mean they were cursed by war if someone were to impale every section of someone's body where vital organs weren't present. They could possibly still be breathing if certain medicines were used, but I doubt they would ever be the same. If Lilia's poor parents aren't already dead from shock, their minds will be shattered beyond repair."
"Who would do such a thing?"
"The Horsemen of Mysteries, apparently. What a cruel person to use such barbaric methods to sway someone to their side, all that effort for a first-string who was caught immediately. What a foolish person," said Liliana, sighing dramatically.
"So they can't be saved by any medicine? But I made a promise to save her family, how can I look her in the eyes knowing I failed?"
"Ugh, Evernight. You couldn't have made a promise in the first place, but I didn't say they couldn't be saved, just that they would never be the same. Although medicine strong enough to bring someone back from the dead doesn't exist in Kathoros. Pestilence is the only one who makes such medicine, and her methods are less than satisfactory."
"I can't ask Pestilence for medicine."
"Obivously. It would take too long, and she wouldn't give it to you anyway. Her medicine has certain nasty side effects, she only makes one pure medicine, and I've heard she doesn't even remember which ones are which. The amount of grumbling and pleas I've heard just to be answered with 'Umm, I think this one's safe.' Only for it to revive a person, then cause them to explode in front of their loved one's eyes."
Something about her story confused me more than anything she'd said since.
"How would you know that? You're wingless, how would you be allowed to be in proximity to a Horseman?" I asked.
"Hehe. You got me, I lied. Those were just a story I heard from one of my old friends who was a six-winged, and he was much like Lucius. I wanted to appear cool in front of you, so I bent the truth."
"If you say so."
I had no reason to mistrust Liliana, so I went with her excuse, although something still rang out as odd in my mind.
"I suppose I've gotten all the information I wanted. It's a shame that Lilia's parents are lost. I really wished to save them, but it can't be helped. The last thing I want is Lilia going through such pain again."
"Yes. I truly sympathise with the poor girl, I hope she finds some peace."
"Goodbye, Liliana. I'll see you later, thanks for the chat."
Liliana turned her gaze back towards the book, throwing her body over the armchairs and fixing the glasses on her face. She briefly waved her hand at me, multiple strands of pink hair flowing loose.
"See ya, Evernight. I'll always chat with you, but just remember that once the bell tolls, you must answer my request. That is the terms of our agreement."
"I know."
With my last words, I stepped out of Liliana's room satisfied with the information I had collected. Although Lilia's parents' fate still hung heavy on my shoulders, I didn't want to believe that they were forsaken to death, but unfortunately, it was the grim reality.
I had moved my legs more than I had in a few days. It was convenient that I no longer required daily sleep, so I could investigate to my heart's content. However, I had to be careful with my movements; Ickni was always watching, even if I didn't have a band.
One slip-up could spill my secrets without me even knowing.