9

It was Lucas. The same eyes. The same sharp jawline. The same unreadable expression. Lilith’s vision blurred. That wasn’t possible. Photography existed back then, yes it did. But still, no one had ever lived that long. Her fingers trembled as she touched the photograph.

“Looking for answers, Lilith?” The voice came from behind her.

Lilith gasped and turned. Noah was already there. He leaned casually against the doorway, hands in his coat pockets, watching her for a while. Lilith didn’t say anything; her mind felt scattered with all the questions flooding in.

“You came,” he said softly. “I thought you were still too afraid to find out the answers you wanted.”

“This isn’t funny,” she whispered. Lilith pointed at the photo. “What is this?”

Noah tilted his head, looking at Lilith as if she were amusing. “That is your answer,” he replied so calmly, it almost sounded eerie.

“Answer to what? That doesn’t answer anything!”

“The answer and also proof that Lucas Estevan Luigi was alive in 1865.”

Lilith shook her head immediately, her expression hardening. “That’s fake.”

“Oh? Is it, Lilith?” Noah stepped closer to her, unhurried.

“You’ve seen the paintings,” he continued. “You’ve seen how he watches you. Did you ever think that was just a silly obsession?”

Her breathing grew uneven. “You’re trying to mess with my mind. Lucas never lived in 1865. You’re trying to pull a sneaky trick by making a fake photo, Noah. You’re trying to play me.”

Noah smiled faintly. “Why would I do anything underhanded, if Lucas has already managed to lure you into his own devious game, Lilith?”

Noah stopped right in front of Lilith, who was clutching the flashlight tightly in her hand. “And yes, what did he tell you earlier, hm? About, ‘you deserve the truth, but not like this’?” The corner of Noah’s mouth lifted slightly.

Silence. Lilith stared at Noah in disbelief. “How did you know that?”

“Of course I did. I know everything my brother told you.” Noah raised his right hand and tried to stroke the side of Lilith’s face, but she flinched, causing his hand to hover in midair.

“But are you still going to just believe everything Lucas says?” Noah lowered his hand again and slipped it into his pocket.

Lilith didn’t answer, because she truly didn’t know what to say now.

“Lucas… he’s not an ordinary human, Lilith,” Noah said gently.

Her stomach dropped. The words echoed inside her skull. Not human. “You’re lying.” Lilith shook her head slowly again, looking slightly dazed.

“Am I? Or are you the one trying to deceive yourself, even after seeing all the evidence pointing to the truth itself, Lilith? Lucas is still alive even years after that photo was taken.” Noah’s gaze darkened slightly as he looked at her.

Lilith’s grip tightened on her flashlight. “That’s impossible.”

Noah chuckled softly. “Not for us, Lilith.”

Lilith lifted her gaze toward Noah, who was staring at her sharply and intently, his lips still curled into a crooked smile. “Us?” Her pulse thundered. “What are you?”

Noah took another step, this time closer to Lilith and the faint light there. Noah’s darkening gaze reminded Lilith of the look in Lucas’s eyes earlier. Both gazes shared a similarity in the darkness surrounding them. And for a brief second, Noah’s eyes flashed. Red. Not subtle. Not controlled. But predatory—and then gone just as quickly. Lilith stumbled back.

“It can’t be. Your eyes...” Sweat drenched Lilith’s trembling body.

“Yes.” Noah studied her face carefully, occasionally glancing at Lilith’s parted lips, trying to find more air as she began to feel suffocated.

“You deserve the truth, Lilith. But Lucas won’t give it to you because he’s afraid.”

“Afraid of what?” Lilith wasn’t sure if she should stay there, facing Noah, and asked, with no intention of running away. Oh yes, she was. It was just that Lilith’s legs seemed unwilling to move and run as far away from that place as possible right now.

“That you’ll remember everything.”

The words cut through her. “Remember what? What are you actually talking about? I don’t understand a thing! You and your brother are definitely trying to play some dirty trick on me, aren’t you?! But why?! Why me?!”

“That this isn’t the first time you’ve died in his arms.”

Her heart stopped. The entire room felt like it was shrinking. Too suffocating.

“You’re insane,” she whispered.

“Am I? Or are you just refusing to accept the truth about who you really are, Lilith?” Noah’s voice lowered.

“If you still don’t believe me, then just ask Lucas what happened in 1920. Will Lucas tell you, or will he still avoid your questions, Lilith?”

Lilith’s breath faltered. She knew full well that Lucas would never say anything about all the questions she’d been holding onto for the past few days. Lilith felt as though the world was playing a crazy game with her right now. As if these two brothers, Lucas and Noah, were playing some sort of game with her, and she still knew nothing about this crazy game.

“You were different back then, Lilith,” Noah continued softly. “But still the same. Still naive. Still innocent. Still unaware of what you’re going through.”

Her head was spinning. “No, you’re lying,” she repeated, but the conviction was gone.

Crash

Suddenly, a violent crash echoed from somewhere outside. The entire mansion seemed to vibrate. Noah’s expression changed instantly. From calm to alert.

“Oh... he’s here already,” he murmured.

Lilith’s heart leapt to her throat. Then another crash happened. Much closer. The front door splintered. Wood cracking under force. Lilith immediately turned and looked toward the shattered mansion door, accompanied by dust swirling around her. Lilith covered her nose and mouth, coughing slightly.

Noah looked at her one last time. “You see, Lilith? Lucas doesn’t like losing what he thinks belongs to him,” he whispered.

Heavy footsteps approached through the hallway. Slow, deliberate, and furious. The temperature in the room dropped sharply. Lilith blinked, and saw Lucas striding toward her, passing through the shattered mansion door. His eyes were no longer dark. They looked scorched. Crimson, ancient, and absolutely lethal.

“Get the fuck away from her!” Lucas’s voice didn’t echo. It vibrated. Like something not meant for human ears. For the first time, Lilith realized that this was all real. And whatever stood between the two brothers was older than her lifetime.

“You’re late, brother,” Noah said casually, as if mocking Lucas’s late arrival.

“I told you to stay away from her!” Lucas’s gaze never left Noah.

“And I told you, she deserves the truth,” Noah replied smoothly.

Lilith stood frozen between them. Her mind struggled to process what she was seeing. Their eyes. The unnatural stillness in their bodies. The way the air seemed to bend around them. Their power, which felt increasingly irrational.

“You brought her here,” Lucas said, his voice low and vibrating with restrained fury.

“She came on her own.” Noah’s expression looked as though he knew nothing, but behind it all, a mocking smile still played on his face.

Lucas’s jaw tightened. “You manipulated her.”

Noah shrugged lightly. “I offered clarity, and she accepted it until she came here.”

In a blur of movement, Lucas crossed the room in less than a second and slammed Noah against the wall. The impact cracked the wall. Lilith gasped. It was too fast. Lucas’s hand clenched around Noah’s collar, lifting him slightly off the ground.

“Manipulate her again, and I’ll finish you off,” Lucas hissed.

Noah didn’t put up a fight at all. Instead, he laughed softly. “You’ve already finished me off once.”

The words struck a different chord, causing Lucas’s grip to tighten even more. The wall splintered further. As Lucas’s expression hardened, he struggled hard not to actually crush his own brother’s body right then and there.

“You should thank me,” Noah continued calmly. “If it weren’t for me, she’d still be naive and unaware of who she truly is. She’d still be ignorant.”

Lilith’s head spun. “What are you talking about?” she demanded weakly.

Lucas glanced at her briefly. That momentary distraction was enough to give Noah an opening to move. He struck Lucas hard across the jaw. The sound echoed sharply. Lucas staggered half a step, but didn’t fall. In the next instant, they were facing each other again. Like predators trying to hold onto their prey. Equals.

“Stop it!” Lilith shouted, but neither of them listened.

“You think she’ll choose you when she knows about everything?” Noah taunted.

Lucas’s eyes darkened further. “She isn’t something to choose between, Noah!”

“She is the only key!” Noah snapped suddenly, the warmth vanishing from his voice.

Silence fell. The word echoed in Lilith’s skull. Key.

“She isn’t a cure, Noah. Get a grip!” Lucas’s voice dropped dangerously low.

“Have you forgotten our mission all these years?! Or are you starting to get stupid again because of this damn girl?!” Noah glared sharply at the silent Lilith.

“You’re always like this, Lucas. Always falling for and being foolish over this girl.”

“Don’t you dare talk about that, Noah!” Lucas shouted, issuing a warning.

“Why?! Are you scared?! You’re always afraid to face yourself, Lucas!” Noah taunted, while Lucas struggled to restrain himself from charging at Noah right there.

“She is the last of the bloodline, Lucas! The last chance we have to break this fucking curse!” Noah shot back, looking so furious his face had hardened.