Lilith kept the metal fragment between her fingers as she tried to recover some part of the vision. She closed her eyes and focused on the images that had appeared when she touched it: the red sky, the black towers, and that enormous shadow hidden within the mist. However, the more she tried to remember, the farther away they seemed to become. It was frustrating. The old Lilith's memories appeared whenever they wanted and vanished before she could understand them, like pieces of a puzzle someone insisted on showing her for only a few seconds.
"Lilith?" Claire called to her again, this time walking closer. "You've been staring at that piece of metal for a while."
"It feels familiar."
Claire held out her hand. Lilith hesitated for a moment before handing it over. The knight examined the engraved symbol and then ran her thumb over the three lines crossing the circle. Her expression showed no sign of recognition.
"Do you know where it comes from?"
"Not exactly." Lilith chose her words carefully. Lying too much would eventually become more dangerous than admitting some ignorance. "I think I've seen it before, but I can't remember where."
"That doesn't sound very convincing."
"It's the best I've got."
Claire handed the fragment back to her. One of the scouts approached to examine it, but he did not recognize the mark either. After discussing it for several minutes, they decided to keep it and continue. The dead creature was already enough proof that someone else had passed through the area, and chasing an unknown person capable of killing such a monster with a single attack did not seem like a particularly intelligent idea.
The group resumed their journey along the original route. This time, Lilith paid less attention to the creatures and plants in the forest. Every now and then, she slipped a hand into her pocket to make sure the fragment was still there.
The fear she had felt along with the memory did not seem to belong to her. Ethan did not know that symbol. He had no reason to fear it. That meant the emotion had to come from the old Lilith, and for the first time since her reincarnation, she felt genuine curiosity about what kind of life the young woman whose body she now inhabited had lived.
"This way."
Claire's voice interrupted her thoughts.
A small stone structure appeared between the trees. Part of the roof had collapsed, and climbing plants almost completely covered one of the walls. It seemed too small to be a house and too isolated to have been part of a village. One of the scouts explained that it was an old watch post used decades ago, back when the region still had trade routes.
They entered with their weapons ready.
The interior was almost empty. There was a broken table, two shelves covered in dust, and the remains of several beds. Lilith was about to decide that they would not find anything interesting when she noticed a different smell.
Smoke.
She turned toward a side room.
"There's something in there."
Claire followed her. In the center of the small room, they found the remains of a campfire. It looked extinguished, but when Lilith brought her hand closer, she could still feel the heat.
Claire crouched beside the ashes. "This is recent."
"How recent?"
"A few hours."
The scouts immediately began searching the post. They found an empty bottle, scraps of food, and several footprints around the building. Someone had slept there. Maybe more than one person. The strange part was that they had made no attempt to hide their presence.
Lilith stepped outside and took a deep breath.
The scents of the forest reached her with an intensity she still had not fully grown accustomed to. Wet soil, plants, animals, the sweat of the scouts, and something else. A faint scent, metallic and slightly sweet.
Blood.
Her body recognized it before her mind did.
"I found something."
Claire appeared behind her. "Where?"
Lilith pointed toward the forest.
"That way."
"Do you see tracks?"
"No. I can smell it."
Claire stared at her for a second and then seemed to remember who she was talking to. "Right. Vampire."
"I'm glad you're paying attention."
The two of them moved forward accompanied by two scouts. The scent was faint, but Lilith could follow it with surprising ease. For the first time, she was deliberately using one of the advantages of her new race, and she could not help enjoying the experience a little. It was like possessing senses that Ethan would never even have considered possible.
The trail continued for several minutes until they reached a rocky slope. There, they found a few drops of dried blood on a stone.
Lilith kept going.
Ten meters.
Twenty.
Then she stopped.
A cliff opened before them.
Claire examined the edge before looking down. A river flowed along the bottom of the ravine, dozens of meters below.
"Did they jump?"
Lilith shook her head. "The scent ends here."
"That could mean they jumped."
"It would also mean I should be able to smell blood down there."
Claire fell silent.
The scouts searched for tracks around the cliff, but found nothing. There were no climbing marks and no signs that anyone had returned the way they came. It was as if the person who had reached that point had simply disappeared.
Lilith looked toward the forest on the other side of the ravine. For several seconds, she had the uncomfortable feeling that someone was watching her from between the trees.
She saw nothing.
"Let's go back," Claire decided. "We don't know who we're following, and we've already found more than we came here looking for."
Lilith did not argue. Being brave was one thing. Blindly chasing someone who could kill gigantic monsters with a single strike and apparently disappear at the edge of a cliff was something else entirely.
The journey back to the Eternal Bastion passed without any further incidents. When the enormous walls appeared between the trees once again, Lilith felt an unexpected sense of relief. She had only been there for a few days, and she was already beginning to think of that gigantic fortress as her home.
"I have to admit something," Claire said as they walked toward the gates.
"That sounds dangerous."
"I like this version of you more."
Lilith glanced at her.
"Was I really that unpleasant before?"
"Not unpleasant. Just..." Claire thought for a few seconds. "Distant."
Lilith did not immediately know how to respond.
"Maybe I needed to get sick more often."
Claire burst out laughing. "Don't overdo it."
Once inside the fortress, they went directly to deliver their report. A veteran officer received them in a small room near the lower gates. Claire explained the tracks, the corpse, the abandoned post, and the strange trail of blood.
Lilith remained silent until she remembered the object in her pocket.
"We also found this."
She placed the black fragment on the table.
The change in the officer's expression was immediate.
He picked up the metal and examined the symbol.
"Where did you find this?"
Claire pointed out the approximate location on a map.
The man remained silent for several seconds.
Lilith exchanged a glance with Claire.
"Do you know what it means?" she asked.
The officer slowly placed the fragment back on the table.
"This belongs to a fortress."
Lilith frowned.
"The Eternal Bastion?"
The man looked up at her.
"No."
The room fell silent.
Lilith looked at the black symbol again.
"Then which one?"
The veteran took several seconds to answer.
"Oblivion."