NOVEL WEB Book 6: Chapter 37: Home
"Can you do that, Lilith?" Ciel squeezed a small smile as she extended her hand toward Lilith. Although her smile resembled the warm sunlight of early spring, it still carried the lingering chill of winter beneath its surface.
Lilith suddenly realized how cruel her words had been to the girl who was forcing a smile through her pain.
It was as if, in a single moment of irrational emotion, she had denied the worth of Ciel's countless years of loyalty and struggle—reducing all that effort, all that devotion, to nothing.
And yet… Ciel still smiled at her. Her gentleness made Lilith feel guilty for doubting her.
The remorse pressed in on Lilith, and before she even realized it, her hand was already reaching toward Ciel's.
"Yes, that's right." Ciel's cold aura had faded completely as she watched Lilith's hand stretch toward her.
Her smile softened even more as she continued, "I can't completely rewrite memories like your mother can, but I can seal some of them. I don't know how these memories of dragons appeared in your mind, but to keep you safe… I think I should seal them away once I've examined you."
"What…?" Lilith's hand froze midair. "You're planning to seal those memories away?"
"Yes." Ciel's tone grew serious. "They could have been implanted—by someone or something—as a kind of suggestion or trigger. If left unchecked, they might influence you over time… maybe even alter your personality. Until we understand their origin, it's safest to seal them away."
"Don't worry. There won't be any side effects. Sealing memories is simple. Even an ordinary saint-level cultivator could do it. For me, it's effortless."
"No…" After hearing Ciel's words, Lilith didn't look relieved in the slightest. Instead, she jerked her hand back violently, as if she'd been electrocuted. "I don't want it!"
"Why?" Ciel stared at her in confusion. "Those memories—won't they only cause you pain?"
"Who said that?! Besides, you still can't prove that all of you are right!"
"What more do you need? Are your words just for show? Did you never actually believe us?" Ciel couldn't understand. After everything she had done, after all her efforts, why was Lilith still being so stubborn?
"No… I just…" Lilith shook her head furiously, like a child trying to block out the noise.
The contradiction between her memories and reality, the tangle of truth and illusion, the sincere concern in the eyes of the girl before her… They all clashed in her mind like different chemicals.
Her head throbbed with a pain that bordered on unbearable.
"I still refuse to believe that dragons aren't real!"
They had to be real, especially when she had spoken with them just recently.
As those words left Lilith's lips, everyone else, including Ciel, was giving her exasperated looks.
"Lilith… I really need to examine you now," Ciel said, stepping forward. A low hum of divine power pulsed around her.
Lilith could see this written clearly on her face—"If you won't cooperate, then I'll do it by force."
"Don't come near me! Don't touch me!" She struggled, but the divine power wrapped around her like invisible chains before gradually tightening.
"Trust me, Lilith. It won't hurt. You'll just fall asleep…" Ciel said softly, extending her hand toward Lilith's forehead.
"And when you wake up, the memories of the dragons that caused you so much pain will be gone. You'll be happy again."
A surge of powerful divine consciousness began slipping into Lilith's mind, reaching for the relevant memories.
"No!"
In that instant, Lilith felt something important was about to be torn away from away. In her panic, a deep, consuming darkness flashed through her eyes.
"I forbid it!"
In an instant, the black flames solidified, condensing into a gleaming obsidian crystal. It stood between Lilith and Ciel's divine consciousness like an impenetrable barrier.
No matter how much Ciel pushed her power forward, it couldn't advance even an inch. The black flame flickered—and in a single breath, the divine power binding Lilith was completely devoured.
Ciel staggered back, her face suddenly pale. But the moment she regained her balance, something clicked.
She lunged forward, reaching out in a desperate attempt to seize Lilith.
"I will never allow anyone to touch these memories!"
The instant Lilith regained her freedom, she recoiled like a startled rabbit. Distrust gleamed in her eyes. She glanced around warily, then vanished in the blink of an eye.
Ciel remained frozen, her hand still reaching out toward the spot where Lilith had been. She stared blankly at the empty air, then let out a long, weary sigh.
"Guess there's nothing I can do… It seems the only way you'll ever accept reality… is when you're forced to face its cruelty yourself." Her gaze shifted to the corner, where Imperial Consort Jadeite still lay unconscious and the Aurora Python… was still playing dead.
Ciel raised her delicate eyebrow at them.
"These people are only good at causing trouble."
With a wave of her sleeve, she called, "Guards!"
Armored soldiers, who had been waiting for orders, rushed into the room.
"Tie them up and throw them into the dungeon."
"B-But…" The leader of the group nearly peed his pants after getting a good look at their targets. "The Guardian… and the Imperial Consort… They're…"
They might get away with doing that to the imperial consort—it was, after all, a direct order from their superior. But the Guardian…?
Ciel understood what the soldier meant and replied flatly, "He is no longer the Guardian. Now that I've returned, this empire has no need for one. For the sake of the years he's served, let him cool off in the dungeons."
Then her gaze shifted to Jadeite. "As for that idiot… Strip her of her title. I'll decide her fate when I return."
The soldiers hesitated, but recalling that the emperor's word was absolute, they clenched their teeth and stepped forward, ropes in hand.
◆◇◆◇◆
Lilith reappeared on the streets.
It was already late. The festivals had long ended, leaving only the fading scent of fireworks in the air. Silence had replaced the celebration, and it was deafening.
She stood still on the empty road, turning slowly to take in the desolation around her. A sense of loss welled up in her heart.
What should I do now?
She began roaming the streets. Her eyes swept across the buildings lining the street. The familiar structures somehow felt different to her now.
The Holy Dragon Empire she remembered was a land that revered the dragons. They worshipped the dragons and taught their children tales where dragons no longer abducted princesses but forged swords with their own blood for the brave.
In many stories, the dragons were even protagonists. Yet after wandering the streets for so long, Lilith hadn't seen a single sign of them in this empire that supposedly worshipped the dragons.
"Something's wrong… really wrong."
The architecture of a nation often revealed the soul of its people—their tastes, beliefs, aspirations. But here, Lilith saw no trace of the dragons, not on the eaves, the doors, the roadside signs, or even the business billboards.
Even the eaves of the grand building behind her were adorned with a stone sculpture of a strange, coiled creature, something that resembled a dog… but clearly wasn't.
In her memories, the Holy Dragon Empire had been a land full of dragons. Dragons had once adorned the eaves, doors, and windows of every building. On roadside signs, dragons with outstretched wings guided the lost, while merchants proudly used majestic illustrations of them to draw in curious customers.
Now, all of it had vanished overnight.
It was as if an unseen hand had swept across the entire empire and erased every trace of dragons from the land, leaving not even a trace of them behind.
But… Could there truly be a power in this world so vast, so eerily precise, that it could effortlessly wipe away all evidence of an entire race? Lilith had no idea.
She raised her hand, gazing into the flickering black flame that danced in her palm.
No… even that wasn't capable of something like this. The black flame in her palm was pure destruction—raw, terrifying power capable of devouring the world itself. Yet, it couldn't silently erase the very existence of an entire race… or even a single person.
Even if memories could be rewritten, even if the mind could be altered, the world remembered. Family. Friends. Even strangers met in passing. Someone would always remember.
To truly erase a person, one would have to alter the memories of not just one, but hundreds—thousands, maybe more.
And if that person had done something great, something worthy of history, then even history would have to be rewritten. But this wasn't about a single individual. This was a proud race—one worshipped by an entire empire.
The traces they left behind should have been like words carved into stone, weathered by time but could never be erased completely.
There had to be something left… There had to be.
Lilith's eyes stung. She quickly tilted her head upward, fighting back the embarrassing tears that had welled up in her eyes.
The vast sky above her was clear. It was a beautiful summer night. The stars glimmered across the darkness, and in the absence of a moon, they shone even brighter.
The heavens looked like a vast ocean scattered with luminous pearls. Their lights intertwined, yet none outshone the other.
At the far edge of that celestial sea, there was the largest and most radiant pearl. It was lonely, yet shining brilliantly in the solitude like a lantern in the dark, quietly guiding all lost wanderers home.
Wait… Home?
Lilith suddenly realized something.
If the dragons had truly been erased from the world, then there was still one place where their presence had been carved deeper than anywhere else… where their existence would be hardest to erase.
Dragon Island. The home of all dragons… And also Lilith's first home in this world.