True, the body was that of her shard. However, it was still hers. Lilith stretched the fingers, accustoming herself with the limbs of the lithe Au Ra.
It was easy to fool her shard into accepting her. It was a stepping stone to annihilate the star, to destroy everything she hated about Amaurot in its ridiculousness for perfection. Hydaelyn shattering reality...well, that only gave Lilith more work.
Shuri was battling futilely within the recesses of her mind. Her strength will fade over time and Lilith will fully regain autonomy over herself and her shard. Day by day, the Xaela was becoming weaker.
That is just how I want it to be.
“Shuri?” That familiar voice, belonging to the shard of her beloved, called out the name of her own shard. That’s right; he didn’t know. He didn’t know that Lilith could erase the presence of the woman he loved.
Such heartbreak. It would tug at her heartstrings if she had any left.
Turning with the face he recognized, Lilith could see the shock in Estinien’s ice-blue eyes. “Your eyes...” he murmured. “They’re silver.”
“Yes. They are.” A smile curved Lilith’s lips, feeling the aether within her flowing. So this is what Amaurotines felt.
“You’re not Shuri.” Estinien’s voice was biting, his eyes narrowing as he reached for his lance. “You’re her, aren’t you? The part of her she merged with?”
“Very good, my dear.” Lilith turned fully, spreading her arms as though to encompass the world. Just like her predecessors, with the aether running through her veins, she was able to form a glyph over her face. Just like Lahabrea; just like Hades; just like...
Just like papa.
“I took back what is rightfully mine. This body is my shard. It did not belong to the woman you know as your wife, Estinien,” Lilith continued, beginning to walk toward him. “And I intend to tear everything at the seams. These worlds should not have existed, yet Hydaelyn’s power shattered the very fabric of reality. I was to be Her heart, however...something went terribly wrong. Or...horribly right.”
“You know she isn’t like that. You should allow her to be in control of her body,” Estinien retorted.
“It’s not her body.”
Estinien recoiled as Lilith approached, using Shuri’s body, the mania in etched on his wife’s face disconcerting. It didn’t fit, it wasn’t Shuri; it was her former self, conveying the madness she’s had within her, the madness she relished in.
It was swift, but he was able to perceive Kivera coming to his side, aiming her scythe toward Lilith, her eyes narrowed. Despite her stoicism, Estinien could perceive a tremor in her arm. Hesitation.
It was clear she wanted to excise Lilith from Shuri’s body; however, that would involve hurting Shuri--the last thing the reaper wanted to do.
There was sick amusement in those silver eyes, the mad grin stretching further. “Your hesitation is so sweet,” she mocked, pressing a hand to her chest. “You don’t want this little shard to die. You were there, Kivera, when Amaurot fell. You’ve seen my sundering. And yet here you are, so fond of this little shard when you should have just taken her soul away. She shouldn’t even exist, is that not what your creed follows?”
Kivera grit her teeth before feeling Estinien’s hand curl over her wrist. She could feel his own hand shaking with rage at witnessing this, at beholding a mad homunculus wearing Shuri’s body no differently than Elidibus used Ardbert’s body.
And there was no doubt Shuri was screaming from within.
Turning on her heel, Lilith walked away from the two. “I’ve become quite fond of you both. Estinien being the shard of my beloved...it’s as though I have Lucifer returned to me. I want to keep you hidden away while I destroy the fabric of these shards. And I will use this body to do it. Can you imagine the sheer look of betrayal on the Scions’ faces when they see their precious warrior of light stand as an enemy?”
Glancing back at them, Lilith’s eyes were swirling with her madness, her unyielding need to destroy. “It will be absolutely delightful. And I hope to see you both on the battlefield when the time comes!”
The pain within their hearts was to an overwhelming degree to watch Lilith walk away--to watch their beloved being used no differently than Ardbert’s body had been.
