Lilith remained leaning against the wall for several minutes, watching the landscape slowly move before her. It was still difficult to accept that the entire city was actually moving.
From that height, she could see the treetops many meters below, swaying every time one of the Eternal Bastion's enormous legs struck the ground. In the distance, the mountains seemed motionless, but the forests, rivers, and ancient ruins constantly changed position as the fortress advanced.
Ethan had spent nineteen years living in a world where traveling meant getting into a car, a train, or a plane. Now his home was the vehicle. The idea was so absurd that a smile appeared on his face again.
"Lady Lilith."
The voice behind her made her turn around. A young woman with brown hair, dressed in a simple black uniform, stood a few meters away with both hands clasped in front of her waist. Lilith took a moment to recognize her. She did not know her name, but one of those strange memories told her that she was one of the maids assigned to take care of her chambers.
"Breakfast started several minutes ago," the young woman said. "I thought perhaps you were feeling unwell again."
"I'm fine. I was just looking."
The maid followed her gaze toward the enormous forest and seemed slightly confused. To her, there was probably nothing extraordinary about watching the scenery from a walking fortress. Lilith, on the other hand, still wanted to stay there for hours. However, her stomach had other plans. She had not thought about food since waking up, but the moment she heard the word breakfast, she felt hungry.
"Then I'll go to the dining hall."
"Of course, milady."
Lilith stepped away from the wall and began walking with as much confidence as she could gather. The maid remained behind her. She passed through the large doorway she had come from and followed the stone corridor until she reached an intersection. She turned left without stopping. She walked for almost a minute, descended a staircase, and ended up in front of a huge metal door marked with a symbol she did not recognize.
She opened it.
There were boxes inside.
Hundreds of boxes.
Lilith stared at the storage room for a few seconds before slowly closing the door.
"Milady," the maid said behind her, making a rather obvious effort to keep a serious expression. "The dining hall is in the opposite direction."
"I know."
There was a brief silence.
"I just wanted to... check something."
"Of course."
Lilith glanced at her from the corner of her eye. The young woman clearly did not believe her, but she had the courtesy not to say anything. Ethan decided at that moment that pretending to know his way around a gigantic city using memories that appeared whenever they felt like it was a terrible strategy.
"Guide me."
The maid lowered her head slightly and began walking. Lilith followed, trying to preserve some of her dignity.
The journey allowed her to see much more of the Eternal Bastion. The interior corridors soon gave way to open streets where hundreds of people walked between buildings made of stone and wood. There were food stalls, small shops, and workshops from which came the constant sound of hammers striking metal.
Above the houses, enormous pipes stretched across the streets, occasionally releasing small clouds of steam. Farther away, she could make out several towers connected by elevated bridges, while gigantic gears slowly turned beneath platforms protected by thick railings.
The most surprising thing was the people. Lilith saw humans, long-eared elves, dwarves carrying tools, and even several people with animal-like features that she could not identify. They all walked together as if it were completely normal. Some stopped when they recognized her and gave a small bow.
"Good morning, Lady Lilith."
"Princess."
She responded with a slight nod before continuing. Each greeting caused small fragments of information to appear in her mind. They were not enough to remember conversations or faces, but little by little, she was beginning to reconstruct who she was.
Lilith Bloodrose. Third princess of the Vampire Kingdom. A royal-blooded vampire. Representative of her kingdom aboard the Eternal Bastion.
That explained the greetings.
What it did not explain was why a vampire princess lived there.
She tried searching through the memories for an answer, but all she found was a brief image of a black carriage leaving an enormous castle. After that, nothing.
"I guess I'll have to figure it out little by little," she murmured.
"Did you say something, milady?"
"Nothing."
Eventually, they arrived at a building far more elegant than the previous ones. The maid led her into a quiet room with several separate tables. Some were occupied by people wearing military uniforms, although none of them paid much attention to her arrival.
Lilith was internally grateful that she did not yet have to face a crowd of nobles asking questions she could not answer.
She sat down beside a window. From there, she could see part of the city and, behind the buildings, the mountains that slowly seemed to move in the opposite direction.
An employee placed a plate in front of her with freshly baked bread, fruit, eggs, and meat. Then she set down an elegant crystal glass filled with a dark red liquid.
Lilith stopped looking at the food.
She stared at the glass.
Then she looked at the employee.
Then she looked back at the glass.
She did not need any memory to understand what it was.
"Blood..."
The word came out almost as a whisper.
Ah, right.
She was a vampire.
For some reason, until that moment, she had managed to forget that small detail.
She picked up the glass and slowly brought it closer to her nose. She expected to feel disgust, but exactly the opposite happened. The scent triggered an immediate reaction in her body. Her fangs seemed to become more sensitive, and an intense thirst appeared in her throat.
"Well... I've already come too far to turn back now."
She took a small sip.
Her eyes widened.
It was delicious.
She did not know how to describe the taste. It was unlike anything she had ever tried on Earth, but her new body reacted as if she had just discovered the greatest drink in existence. She took another sip, and before she realized it, she had emptied the entire glass.
The maid watched her from the side.
"Would you like another one, milady?"
Lilith looked at the empty glass and immediately recovered a dignified posture.
"Yes."
"Two?"
Lilith hesitated.
"...One will be fine."
The maid smiled slightly before walking away.
Ethan was beginning to suspect that getting used to being Lilith Bloodrose might not be as difficult as he had imagined.
Then a bell rang throughout the entire city.
The sound was so deep that it made the windows tremble slightly. A moment later, Lilith felt something even stranger. The constant movement beneath her feet began to slow down. The gears she had heard ever since leaving her room reduced their pace and, after several minutes, the Eternal Bastion came to a complete stop.
The maid returned with another glass.
"We've arrived."
Lilith accepted it while looking out the window. Throughout the city, soldiers and workers were beginning to mobilize.
"Where?"
"At the final resting point."
Lilith frowned slightly.
"Final before what?"
The maid stared at her for a moment, clearly surprised by the question. Lilith was already preparing some excuse when the young woman answered.
"Before entering the Demon Continent, milady."
Lilith slowly turned her gaze toward the enormous black mountains dominating the horizon.
And for the first time since she had awakened, the world before her seemed even larger.