My SS-Rank Witcher System-Chapter 68: Revelation

"So tell me Felix, do you think Zemira is worthy of the title of holiness she holds? Do you think she deserves to live?" Felix slowly looked up from the floor and only now did he realize the rage laced in her voice, and for the first time, Lilith looked like the demoness—the Queen of Death—she was.

Felix stared at her speechlessly. He's never seen Lilith display so much emotion, talk less of the deep-seated rage written deep in her eyes, written all over her face, evident in her body language.

He never once thought she'd resent Goddess Zemira for the death of the Witch Master, though now that he knew the full lore and story, it was completely valid.

The Witch Master has indeed initiated the Great War, but if you look at it from the perspective of the villain himself—or even a spectator—Goddess Zemira was a villain too in her own right. Both sides had their flaws.

But then, if Lilith hated the Goddess this much from her reaction, over the little to no reaction she had when she told him about the Dark Lord, why was it the Dark Lord he was to destroy instead of avenging his Primordial's unjust death? And now he was on that topic, the Dark Lord who Lilith had revealed was the Witch Master's close friend before his death, who decided to take over the mantle of leadership by force after his friend's death to re-enact the war against the faction—and God—that killed his friend… could that be considered betrayal? Or am I overthinking it?

"Then why am I after Dark Lord… instead of the Goddess?" Felix couldn't help but ask.

"As much as I want to kill Zemira right now, it is against the will of our Lord. He instructed us to wait on his return and that we, Generals, should ensure the safety and peace of the underworld until his return. But the moment he was put to rest, Dark Lord rebelled and used the backing of the underworld army to force everyone to bow, and anyone who refused this was subjected to death. But our lord already saw this coming; long before the final clash between factions, his authority was starting to be questioned. They said he was too weak to rule—too soft—unlike General Dark Lord who was just as bloodthirsty as they all were and the beast they deemed fit to rule the underworld, forgetting who created it in the first place and the purpose of its creation. They slowly began pitching him in and taking orders from Dark Lord over the Witch Master—even before he was injured. And before his rest, he called me by his side and made me promise that I'll keep the order of things in the underworld and ensure his return.

"Do you understand now why the Dark Lord is the immediate enemy?" Lilith asked coldly.

Felix fell silent now as his heart picked up the pace. Was it due to his natural instincts in deciphering hidden things or was it due to his high Mental TPA, but he always picked up the odd detail in someone's words that usually led him to have more insight into whatever it is they said. And once again, Felix picked up that odd detail but pressed his lips tightly. He tried as much as possible to not think it—as Lilith could read his memories to some extent he wasn't quite aware of—nor say it.

"I guess," He mumbled absentmindedly and forced a smile. Beads of sweat glistening on his forehead. "So, how do I accept this invitation from Goddess Zemira?" He swiftly asked.

Like the class system was reacting to his question, the invitation interface appeared on his vision:

[Private Request]:

You have been invited to the domain of Goddess Zemira. Do you wish to honour the invitation? Y/N

He stole a glance at Lilith who nodded subtly. He stared at her for a moment longer, before slowly nodding back and raising a finger to tap the Y/ tab.

A beautiful ribbon materialized before him as the prompt disappeared from his vision, part looking like a talisman and part looking like an ancient heirloom, floating before him with his full name engraved on it horizontally, as it slowly disintegrated from down to the top in a soft flicker of flame.

Felix knew it was a timer before he was transported to the Goddess's domain, and returned his gaze to Lilith who beamed a soft smile at him. But as much as Felix wanted to smile back, he could only stare with an impassive expression, till the ribbon burnt out and he flickered and disappeared from the spot.

Lilith was left in the throne room, but she wasn't alone. She turned to stare at Felix's very first Shadow Soldier he forgot to store in his shadows like she'd told him, and returned her gaze to the spot he stood with a complicated expression. She tried recalling if she'd mentioned something wrong to him as she noticed his strange behavior after she'd mentioned the Dark Lord. It wasn't like her to care, but for some reasons she felt troubled from Felix not returning her smile and staring at her like she was a stranger.

"Did I do something wrong?" She asked aloud in uncertainty. Then she pressed her hand on her chest in confusion, feeling her abnormal heart beat, "Why does my chest suddenly hurt?"

As soon as Felix felt his body completely dematerialize from the throne room, he let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He was certain Lilith shouldn't be able to eavesdrop here, and so he let his mind loose and fell on his weak knees breathing heavily.

He finally understands now. He finally understands why Lilith was the most wanted Primordial by the Dark faction.

Wasn't it because she ran away with the body of the Witch Master? Yes, but that was because the Witch Master coming back to life wasn't a normal phenomenon. He couldn't do it on his own—because he was dead. That was why he called Lilith to his dying bed and according to Lilith, specifically told her to 'ensure his return'.

Lilith didn't realize that little she'd let on was enough for Felix to figure out that she was probably the only one who was capable of ensuring his return, and that was why she tasked herself with escaping into his domain—his domain that should be inaccessible to anyone but the Witch Master.

The Dark Lord was after her to try to stop her from raising the Witch Master back to life because if that happened, he wouldn't be able to contend with the Witch Master in terms of power and would likely die if they clashed—but that wasn't the point here.

The point was, what did Felix have to do with the resurrection of the Witch Master? Did Lilith just make him for the sole purpose of destroying the Dark Lord when she could as well resurrect her master to fight his own battle? Why were the gods very intrigued with him, and the Dark Lord' threatened by him—a mere human. Why was his class oddly similar to the bloodline of the Witch Master himself? Yeah, it was because he was his champion. No—that's not how this works.

But Felix knew the answer to all of it the moment Lilith said more than she should—even without thinking it through. That is because he was the final ingredient—waiting to mature—in resurrecting the Witch Master.

That is because he—Felix—is the vessel being prepared for the Witch Master to live again.

"Felix Thomasville."