"Oblivion."
Lilith repeated the name slowly while staring at the fragment of black metal on the table. She expected the name to trigger another memory, perhaps an image that would explain the black towers she had seen in the forest, but nothing happened.
Only that uncomfortable sense of familiarity remained, something she could not turn into useful information. Claire did not seem to understand it either. She had stopped smiling and was now looking at the officer, waiting for an explanation.
"What is Oblivion?" Claire asked.
The veteran took his time before answering. He picked up the fragment and placed it inside one of the drawers of his desk before locking it. "A story soldiers have been telling for longer than any of us can remember. It's not something you need to worry about."
Lilith raised an eyebrow. That was probably the worst answer he could give someone who had just found the symbol in the middle of the forest. "We found a dead monster, a camp that was used this very morning, and a trail that disappeared at the edge of a cliff. I think we're already pretty involved."
"Princess, we don't know if those things are connected."
"But you know where the symbol comes from."
The man placed both hands on the desk and let out a sigh. He seemed torn between continuing to avoid the conversation and telling them something just to make them leave. Eventually, he chose the second option. "Oblivion is the name of a supposed walking fortress. Reports about it have existed for centuries. A black structure seen between storms, behind mountains, or crossing regions where no city should exist."
Lilith immediately felt her curiosity grow. "Another fortress like the Eternal Bastion?"
"That's what the stories say."
"And no one knows if it actually exists?"
"There are testimonies. Never enough proof."
Claire pointed toward the drawer where the fragment had disappeared. "Now we have some."
"We have a piece of metal with a symbol."
"One you recognized immediately."
The veteran gave Claire an unfriendly look, but she did not back down. Lilith had to suppress a smile. She was beginning to understand why the two of them knew each other. Claire seemed to have a special talent for insisting whenever someone wanted to end a conversation.
"Listen," the man continued. "Every few years, someone appears claiming to have seen Oblivion. The stories never completely match. Some say it's larger than the Eternal Bastion. Others say it's abandoned. There are even stories claiming there is no one inside and the fortress simply keeps walking. Until we have something more than rumors, that's all it remains: a story."
Lilith remembered the vision she had received when touching the fragment. Black towers in the mist. An enormous shadow. The old Lilith had seen something connected to it, she was certain.
"Where was it last seen?"
The officer shook his head. "The expedition is over. Submit your report and get some rest."
The conversation was over.
Claire looked like she wanted to protest, but Lilith lightly touched her arm and shook her head. They were not going to get anything else out of him. They left the room and began walking through one of the Eternal Bastion's lower corridors. For a while, neither of them spoke.
Eventually, Claire broke the silence. "That was suspicious."
"Very."
"So I'm not the only one planning to keep investigating."
Lilith looked at her. "When did I say that?"
"You didn't have to."
Lilith smiled. Claire was learning how to read her far too quickly.
As they climbed toward the residential sectors, activity inside the fortress had increased. Workers carried metal parts toward the lower levels, and groups of scouts returned through different gates.
Only a couple of days remained before the Eternal Bastion resumed its journey, and everyone seemed to have something to prepare. Lilith, however, had a much more immediate problem: if the officer refused to tell her anything about Oblivion, she would have to search for answers somewhere else.
"Had you ever heard that name before?" she asked.
Claire took a moment before answering. "Once. When I was a child."
Lilith waited.
"My father was a knight too. One night, he was drinking with some other soldiers, and one of them said he had seen lights moving behind some mountains. He claimed they were the windows of a massive city. My father laughed at him, and someone mentioned Oblivion." Claire shrugged. "I thought it was a story meant to scare recruits."
"And now?"
"Now we found its symbol in a place where something capable of knocking down trees had passed."
That was enough of an answer.
They separated shortly afterward. Claire had to return part of the equipment used during the expedition, and Lilith decided to head back to her chambers. This time, she managed to arrive without getting lost, a small victory that no one else would appreciate as much as she did.
As soon as she closed the door, she went straight to the desk.
She had gone through many of the documents the day before, but only superficially. Now she knew exactly what she was looking for.
Oblivion.
She started with the letters. Then she checked notebooks, diplomatic documents, and several books. Almost forty minutes passed without any results. Lilith was beginning to think she was wasting her time when she found a small red-covered book hidden behind several larger volumes.
It had no title.
When she opened it, she discovered that it was not a book, but a collection of handwritten notes. She immediately recognized the handwriting.
It belonged to Lilith.
The real Lilith.
She flipped through several pages. There were notes about meetings, names she did not recognize, and comments related to the Vampire Kingdom. Nothing seemed important until she reached almost the end.
Then she stopped.
A single word was written in the middle of the page.
Oblivion.
Lilith brought the notebook closer.
Below it was a date from several months earlier and a short sentence.
It appeared in the north again. This time I'm sure it was her.
Lilith read the sentence twice.
It did not say "it."
It said her.
She kept searching, but the next page had been torn out.
"Great."
She ran a finger along the uneven edge of the paper. The old Lilith had not only known about Oblivion. Apparently, she had known someone connected to the fortress.
A loud sound echoed through the Eternal Bastion. It was not an alarm, but one of the enormous bells announcing the progress of the repairs. Lilith barely paid attention to it.
She read the sentence again.
This time I'm sure it was her.
A new stab of pain appeared behind her eyes.
For an instant, she saw a female silhouette standing on a black wall. Silver hair moving in the wind. Two red eyes watching her from the distance.
The image disappeared.
Lilith slowly closed the notebook.
Oblivion was no longer simply another fortress.
There was a woman connected to it.
And the old Lilith knew her.