NOVEL NEXT Chapter 149: [Spin-off] Lady Lilvyra
Even young Cassian, just eighteen, cannot grasp the true nature of the tome in his hands. It once belonged to his father, and before that to his grandfather, stretching back through distant ages. Its pages are covered in indecipherable characters, a script far older than any language known today.
He deduces it must be a grimoire from the few symbols he recognizes, ones he studied at the Sereltha Magic Academy in the small city of Miriar, on the far edge of the kingdom of Erionulkar.
The tome is bound in a cover of pure black, without a title or any markings. Despite the age it suggests, its pages remain flawless, as if freshly written. It is the only possession of his father that remains untouched.
His father, Balthor Thalukvar, was executed ten years earlier, accused of performing dark rites in honor of the Primordial Shadow, Nyratalir. Every writing or artifact he owned was cast into the flames, yet for some mysterious reason this book escaped the eyes of his executioners.
Despite the text being incomprehensible, Cassian finds himself leafing through it every night, as if doing so could keep his father's memory alive. This evening, his eyes fall on a page near the end of the tome, where a short phrase stands out in that ancient language. Driven by a strange force, Cassian reads it aloud.
As soon as he speaks the last word, sudden understanding floods his mind, revealing the meaning of what he has just read: The daughter of shadow awakens to raise her children.
At once, the tome begins to radiate a blinding black light, and from its pages rises a thick smoke of the same color. It fills the room, making it impossible to see more than a few steps ahead. When the haze finally fades, almost drawn back into the very pages that birthed it, a female figure appears at the center of the room.
She is not exactly a woman, but a creature with long pink hair that frames her humanlike features. Nearly two meters tall, massive black wings spread from her back, and two goat-like horns curve from her head. Her gray skin is barely covered by a revealing black outfit, fashioned from metal-like plates that leave little to the imagination.
Cassian is frozen in place. He cannot move, nor can he tear his eyes away from the figure, who radiates an aura of beauty and danger in equal measure.
The creature does not speak right away. She looks around, as if the place feels familiar to her, and only after studying the room for a long while does she turn her attention to the young man.
«Imprisoned within the pages of the Rithzargul, I have no sense of time in your world. Yet, since you are the son of the dark mage Balthor Thalukvar, not many decades can have passed. And still, it looks so different. The last time, this place overflowed with artifacts and grimoires. They must have been destroyed by the same flames that consumed your father.»
That flood of information stirs countless doubts and questions in Cassian. Who is this creature, and what is the Rithzargul? How does she know about his father's death and that he is his son? But above all, what chills his blood is hearing the title "dark mage" tied to his father's name. Cassian has heard the rumors about his family, accused of forbidden rites and practices, but he always dismissed them as malicious gossip—just as he believed his father's execution to be nothing more than politics. Questions to which the woman replies with sharp, concise certainty.
«The name given to me by your distant ancestor is Lady Lilvyra, and since those ancient times, my duty has been to watch over his descendants until they gained the strength to join the Cult of the Primordial Shadow.»
As she speaks, she sways her hips and walks sensually toward the young Cassian.
«How do I know you are his son? I know everything about you, my dear Cassian Thalukvar.»
Then she reaches the young man, who has tried in vain to retreat, trapped against the wall.
«I know everything about your family since the dawn of your bloodline. I know their deepest thoughts, their fears, their desires. I know who killed your father, and I know of the violence you suffer every day because of your name, in that foolish human academy you attend.» At last, the woman presses herself fully against the boy, pinning him to the wall. «From now on, Cassian Thalukvar, your life belongs to me.»
♡♡♡
«Did you see? The outcast found himself a new friend—or maybe a girlfriend?»
«As hideous as he is, who knows what dark spell he used to enslave her.»
Cassian walks through the long corridors of the Sereltha Magic Academy, ignoring the sharp comments of his classmates who follow him with mocking eyes. At his side, a girl with long pink hair and a strikingly voluptuous figure walks arm in arm with him, drawing envious and cruel stares from everyone. No one has ever seen her before, and the fact that she is with him makes it all seem even more surreal.
Lady Lilvyra, who has taken on a human form so she can stay by his side without arousing suspicion, enrolled that very day. She appears to be Cassian's age, but her poise and beauty outshine every other girl at the academy. With every step they take together, the malicious whispers grow louder.
«How dare these worms insult your noble family like this?» Lilvyra mutters without taking her eyes off Cassian. Her hand slides toward his, and their fingers intertwine. Now they walk hand in hand, a gesture that only fuels the venom in the comments and stares around them.
Cassian blushes, unable to find words, lost in a storm of emotions he cannot control.
«When the time of shadows comes, they will all die by your hand. Be patient, my dear Cassian,» she whispers sweetly into his ear.
But he, confused and overwhelmed, cannot think of her words or the malice of the others. All he feels is the frantic pounding of his heart, born from the touch of her soft hand against his. Every trace of anger and sorrow that has followed him since his first day at Sereltha seems, for now, to have dissolved.
He knows well this is not Lilvyra's true form. She is a far more demonic and unsettling creature, but right now he does not care. He refuses to think about it—not when those clear blue eyes gaze at him so gently, and that pink hair sways as they walk together hand in hand.
♡♡♡
This morning, as always, Cassian sits in the farthest corner of the vast classroom, confined to the last row. The lesson is about Creation Magic, one of the most feared subjects at the academy.
Cassian takes frantic notes, trying to capture every formula and symbol that Professor Edgar Gorakthal explains. But the distance, combined with the professor's deliberately low voice, makes the task nearly impossible. His notes end up full of errors and gaps.
Fortunately, Lilvyra now sits beside him. Her knowledge of magic, honed through millennia, far surpasses that of any teacher in the academy. As Cassian writes, she corrects him with precision, adding advanced concepts the professor either deems too difficult for students or ignores entirely.
«And with this, we conclude the chapter on the basics of Creation Magic,» Professor Goraktha lannounces, closing an intense morning of lectures. «All clear?» he asks, casting his usual stern gaze over the class.
The students nod wearily. Few have truly understood the lesson, but after five exhausting hours, the last thing they want is for the professor to start explaining again. With disdain, Gorakthal fixes his eyes on Cassian. «And you, back there—did you understand everything?» he asks, his tone dripping with contempt. He clearly isn't looking for confirmation, only for an excuse to humiliate the boy.
Like the others, Cassian nods timidly, but the professor is not satisfied. «Since you claim to understand everything, we'll proceed with an oral test on this morning's material,» Gorakthal declares with a sadistic smile. «Feel free to use your notes—if you managed to take any worth reading.»
Cassian feels his heart race, a mix of fear and frustration. This is not the first time Professor Gorakthal has cornered him, making him look incompetent before the entire class. His tests usually end in awkward silence, followed by venomous remarks like, «I wonder how someone like you is still here,» or, «You're the disgrace of this academy!»
Calmly, Cassian opens his notes, now corrected and expanded by Lilvyra. He begins answering the professor's questions with precision, offering details that leave his classmates stunned. Every answer is accurate, each explanation deeper than anything Gorakthal himself had taught. The mocking smile fades from the professor's face, replaced by irritation.
Professor Gorakthal's scowl deepens, like that of a child whose mischief has been spoiled. His eyes shift to Lilvyra, aware that behind Cassian's brilliant answers, it is she who stands.