Lucifer: Godless Reawakening

"So? How long are we going to stay here?" Warren asked, tapping his foot against the ground, arms crossed tight across his chest.

It had been exactly an hour since they arrived at Island Beta's campsite.

Everyone, including William, needed rest—time to gather their thoughts, steady their breathing, and restart their journey.

The sun had already dipped toward the horizon, and darkness was now rising like a tide.

They were given twenty-four hours to reach Island Delta and hand over the child.

Naturally, Warren's impatience was justified.

However—

"We will leave in a few hours…in utter darkness." William relayed his decision calmly. "Leaving right now would only make things difficult for the ones who actually fought. If we rest for a bit, we'll have the strength to fight back."

Warren narrowed his eyes. "In the dark? It'll be difficult to know where they're attacking from."

Gloria let out a dry laugh. "When we left the ceremonial hall, it was still quite early. Were you able to see where they were attacking from back then?"

Warren glared at the bespectacled girl, but she didn't budge. She spoke the truth, and he knew it.

Natural brightness meant nothing when their enemies could vanish into the environment and strike without warning.

And given that Kevin, Gloria, and William would be their main line of defense in whatever came next, resting wasn't just important—it was necessary.

"We will leave in four hours." William finalized the decision.

Warren's eyes widened. "Are you insane? That leaves us with less than ten hours to reach that island! What if another one of those monsters shows up? What if we get trapped somewhere?"

But William was already leaning against a stump, closing his eyes, no longer paying attention.

Grinding his teeth, Warren looked around.

Kevin was already half-asleep, and Gloria didn't seem bothered by William's decision at all—as if he was their appointed leader.

Snarling, Warren muttered, "Screw that. I'm taking her there alone."

The child flinched as he reached toward her—only for a hand to clamp around his wrist before he could touch her.

Warren turned and saw Emma standing there.

Her blue eyes glowed faintly in the rising darkness as she murmured, voice drained of emotion, "You heard him. Four hours."

He tried to pull his hand back, but her grip didn't budge. It only tightened, making him groan.

"Agh—fine!" he hissed, finally yanking his hand away when she released him. Massaging his wrist, he spat, "But if we fail because of visibility issues, you're taking the blame."

William smirked. "Would that matter? If we fail…we all fail. Not just me."

That only stoked Warren's irritation further, but standing alone on this argument left him with no choice but to swallow it.

Emma sighed and turned to the child. "Are you okay?"

The little girl nodded slowly, though her tiny hands still trembled.

"She…hasn't spoken a word until now, has she?" Gloria asked suddenly.

Kevin blinked awake, also realizing it.

Emma tilted her head toward the girl, about to ask gently—before William spoke.

"She can't talk."

"...What?" Kevin shot upright, eyes wide.

Gloria's expression mirrored his shock, her gaze shifting to the child.

The girl's lowered head confirmed it.

Even Emma hadn't known.

William exhaled, his voice heavy. "I didn't want to, but…when I took her from Emma, I read a piece of her memory. That's how I learned she lost her voice a year ago—when her parents died."

Gloria covered her mouth, and Kevin's expression twisted with grief.

Emma slowly sat on the ground beside the child, still holding her hand.

William continued, voice roughening with each word he forced out:

"She…watched her parents being tormented while she was tied to a pillar. Forced to watch. Forced to stay awake through all of it."

Even he struggled to speak the rest.

Something that unsettled William—someone accustomed to horrifying memories—was unimaginable for a child.

"Her mother was strangled repeatedly…her face turning blue, then allowed a breath, only for the rope to tighten again."

Gloria shut her eyes tightly.

William wasn't done.

"Her father had it worse. His body was pierced with small needles—each one connected with thick threads. Eyes. Ears. Nose. Lips. Chest. Arms. Everywhere."

Kevin's fists clenched.

"And then…there was a man pulling those threads…in bunches. Ripping them. Over and over. Making him howl."

The silence that followed felt like a weight pressing down on all of them, suffocating the faint warmth of the campfire.

After a long pause, Kevin finally muttered, "And…that's exactly when the Devil gave her the offer?"

William slowly nodded, his gaze drifting toward the little girl who was nibbling on the berries from the cookie Emma gave her.

She didn't seem to react to their conversation — her focus was elsewhere. It was becoming clearer that she had mild hearing problems too.

Her life had been nothing short of hell these past few months.

After her parents' deaths, she had been taken in by the Great Hall and kept under constant surveillance.

No warmth.

No guardian.

No familiar hand to hold.

She lived in a tiny room, barely large enough for a child to move around.

A single window — too high for her to reach — the only opening to a world she wasn't allowed to touch.

…which explained why the very first thing she did after being handed to the students was to reach for the window. She wanted to look at the outside world. Once again.

After an entire year, she had finally stepped out of confinement.

But the cruel truth was still waiting for her: her freedom…her life…they were slipping away, inch by inch.

Emma felt her heart grow unbearably heavy.

Without a second thought, she pulled the little girl into her lap, startling her.

The child stiffened for a moment.

Then Emma wrapped her arms around the small, fragile body — not too tight, not too loose — just enough to let her know she wasn't alone.

Even Emma's hands trembled slightly as she held her.

Someone who had grown up safe, loved, and protected under her father's care…

Emma could never fully grasp the depth of the child's suffering.

But she could at least hold her now —

and let her know that, even for a brief moment, she was safe.

Kevin suddenly asked something that was on Gloria's mind too, "Is there no way of saving her?"

William exhaled a sigh, "From the Great Hall? Maybe. But from the Devil…it can only happen by slaughtering the Devil."

Gloria wondered, "How strong is the devil who has formed a contract with her…?"

Kevin muttered, his eyes hardening, "We will only know after seeing her curse mark."

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A/N:- Thanks for reading.