The bard fantasized again.

Chapter 222 A Prisoner Without a Sentence (4.4k views, please subscribe and vote)
Lilith couldn't remember how many years she had been imprisoned.

She had tried to recount it all, from the time she had memories.

But it's not easy.

After all, her sleep schedule is not fixed; sometimes it lasts for a few days, and sometimes for several months. She can only remember the number of times she wakes up.

But when one day she forgot whether it was the 10,007th time she had regained consciousness or the 11,000th, she became too lazy to keep track of this unimportant matter.

It's no big deal.

Just like people don't remember how many meals they've eaten.

When something spans a long enough period and happens many times enough, everything about it becomes insignificant—it's just a process that repeats itself endlessly over a long period of time.

Time is meaningless.

This renders value meaningless.

To the point that life becomes meaningless.

Therefore, she often envied those who died young.

I envy how they can make the most of their limited time to satisfy their desires before the end of their lives, without worrying about the disappearance of those desires.

She often had this feeling.

I remember how I used to taste blood and find it incredibly sweet, so I tasted the blood of every living thing.

But now, even drinking blood has become a necessary obligation to maintain bodily functions, and I have no interest in it.

Of course, she generally does not transform into a derivative form, nor does she kill or harm animals.

The area she can move in is so small. If all the life around her dies, where will she find blood?

Later, she tried to instill fear in people as her spiritual nourishment.

To this end, she removed the fog, occasionally exposing the land to sunlight and clear skies, and then distributed wooden stakes, garlic, and holy water to the common people living there, from house to house, sometimes even sprinkling it directly on their faces.

This terrified them. They knelt on the ground, crying and saying things like "truth, goodness, and the gods," and begged for mercy.

But as time went on, she lost interest in fear.

Instead, I started to feel excited about the sun.

She fell in love with the sea surface under the midday sun, bathed in its blazing light. The sunlight spilled onto the green tide, and the refracted waves formed a dazzling golden river.

She felt that nothing could be more precious than what she had in front of her.

It wasn't because she appreciated the beauty of the scenery.

She instinctively loathed the sight.

It's simply because she can't look directly at the sun and has never seen the sun before.

Pain allows her to feel her own existence.

So she removed the protective mist and sat on the fine white sand, under the high branches of the trees, in the open plain, letting the sun scorch her skin until the flames consumed her entire body—

Unfortunately, she was a prisoner.

Prisoners without a prison sentence.

She can never leave the land she is confined to; her flesh and blood will one day be reshaped, perhaps in a few months, perhaps in a few decades.

Then, after being resurrected, they continue to wait for the return of dawn, endlessly drifting between life and death.

In the end, she even got used to the sunshine and began to look for new pleasures—

Fortunately, the pain helped her find her way.

Since they hate daytime, they can only feel their existence when exposed to sunlight.

Then choose to swallow human food, even if you end up vomiting it out in disgust, it's still more flavorful than boring blood.

If you can't enjoy other people's fears, then find value in their affections.

That's not easy to do.

She felt she had already tried her best.

I remember once, she tried to extend a gesture of kindness to a stranger, so she invited him to a banquet at her cemetery.

They had prepared many surprises along their inevitable route.

For example, corpses hanging from trees, bats dangling from treetops, and zombies greeting them... each one is a welcome she likes and carefully chooses.

He told me himself that he really liked this enthusiasm, and was so excited he almost cried.

At that time, she even took out two bottles of her treasured items:

"Would you like to drink the wine of an eighty-year-old, or the wine of a sixteen-year-old?"

The first glass was darker and had a slightly astringent taste, but with a sweet aftertaste. The second glass was brighter and had a smoother texture, but it was a bit too sweet.
"If it doesn't suit your taste, you can taste your own blood?"

She had actually tasted her own blood; although it couldn't satisfy her hunger, it could satisfy her cravings.

"Come on, give me the knife, and I'll tell you where the blood tastes best."

Hey, why did you faint...?

Even though I've shown my utmost sincerity, why can't I win his favor?
What went wrong?

She felt discouraged—

But discouragement is also an emotion.

This novel challenge, ironically, brought her renewed joy in life.

So she made up her mind and took the initiative to consult the most respected lord in the area:
"What should I do to be loved like you?"

Is it possible that we don't like drinking blood?

"Are there really people in this world who don't like drinking blood? You short-lived people have so many demands."

"To be loved, you must first understand human beings."

"Am I not human?"

She doesn't think she's much different from humans, which is why she always distinguishes between short-lived and long-lived people.

"...Strictly speaking, you are not."

"Then what am I?"

"You are a vampire."

What is a vampire?

"Well—okay, it's nothing. Maybe we misunderstood your existence."

She remembered the lord saying very sincerely.

"But I think I can help you in this regard—"

Joining me in maintaining peace on this land will surely bring you great respect.

How to maintain it?

"For example, helping to defend against enemy invasion?"

"It's too far, I can't get out. And I'm very tired. Is there any way to succeed without much effort?"

"Then could you give me a drop of your blood? I will act as your representative and make your name known far and wide."

"Hmph, so you humans don't like drinking blood?"

She cut her wrist and gave the other person the entire bottle to show her sincerity.

This worked, and the lord immediately pledged his loyalty to her:
"Please allow me to build a mausoleum for you and move my residence to your side, so that I can report the progress to you at any time, and you can also use it to observe human activities and thus better understand humankind."

Of course, please do not reveal your identity at that time, as the fear of vampires is still deeply ingrained.

This was indeed a necessary means to alleviate her boredom.

With her permission, a castle to her liking was built atop the cliff, and even her tomb was renovated.

Is this what it feels like to be respected? It feels pretty good.

Although it lacked the sweetness of fear and even had a touch of shameful bitterness, it was indeed a unique experience.

She decided to continue living like this until she got bored again.

Unfamiliar faces always pique curiosity, and many people swarmed around her like chattering mice, exchanging pleasantries and greetings.
"You are so beautiful, your eyes are like red zircon, so captivating."

Remember, you need to understand people and be loved by them, which is a difficult challenge.

Lilith told herself this.

I decided to show my friendliness as much as possible:
"Then I'll give it to you."

She gouged out her own eyes, the eyeballs on her palms covered in a sweet, metallic taste of blood, which flowed down her fingertips to the ground.

The 'rats' around me screamed and fled from the spot.

She was a little sad, feeling that her sincerity had not been rewarded as she should have.

She was the one who said she liked the eyes, so why is she scared now that I've given them to her? Wait a minute?

Sadness is also a good emotion; it seems to add a touch of bitterness to the pain.

The lord eventually resolved the matter:
"I've sent that person home. I guarantee she won't say a word more than necessary, and she won't damage your reputation. However, you might need to be more careful about her behavior in the future..."

"Did I do something wrong?"

"It's somewhat strange to humans. Why don't you observe it a little longer? Do you enjoy reading?"

What is a book?

"You can read, but you don't know what a book is? Well, I'll have someone bring some books over, and you can learn about humanity through books."

So she avoided the crowds and began reading books in her own tomb.

She then realized that the life she had lived in the past—drinking until she was full and then sleeping, and drinking again after waking up—was just the tip of the iceberg in maintaining the world and shaping a person.

Besides satisfying their appetites, art is also an indispensable part of their lives.

She immersed herself in the ocean of books, trying to absorb all the nourishment.

They no longer even care about the original purpose.

After all, she just wanted to find some fun in life.

Only now do we finally understand the freakish lifestyle of humankind:
"So they're out during the day and rest at night?"

"They prefer to eat corpses rather than drink fresh blood. What right do they have to call vampires cruel?"

"What is marriage, and what is the purpose of having children?"

She recognized the habits of living things, but she couldn't understand them at all.

This is clearly contrary to her innate nature.

It wasn't until a young boy accidentally fell through the trapdoor and entered the tomb, becoming aware of her presence, that he explained the whole story to her:
"Because humans are more energetic in the light and fall asleep more easily in the dark."

"I've heard that vampires also can't get used to human food; it just shows that they're different races."

"A person's life is finite. Marriage and childbirth are ways to extend this finite life in another way."

Lilith shook her head: "I don't understand."

Only those who die young would care about these things.

"You're really strange. Could you be a vampire? They all say my grandfather kept a night army. Is that related to you?"

"He won't let me say I'm a vampire."

"Haha, are you really interested in understanding human society?"

"That's how it is for now. Once I get bored with reading, I'll probably find something else to do."

"for example?"

"I didn't think about it."

"If you don't want to study anymore, how about trying to write a book?"

"I won't."

"We can take it slow—for example, write down whatever comes to mind?"

"Let's talk about it later." Right now, she just wanted to read.

"Okay, I've been here too long, I should go back. By the way—my name is Sean, what's your name?"

"Lilith."

"We've exchanged names, so we're friends now."

"I've seen this word in a book. But what does it mean?"

"It's just that we often chat, eat together, and share random things?"

Since she regained her memories, she has been trapped on this land, all alone.

Having a friend seems to be a completely new experience:

"Then let's eat together."

She cut her wrist and offered her bloodied forearm to the other person.

"No, no, I've already inherited my grandfather's bloodline. If I drink any more, I might become a vampire—I don't want to never see the sunlight again!"
Even if we don't eat together, we can still be friends!

From then on, the lord visited the tomb less and less, and the boy would often sneak into the tomb to talk to her:

“Grandpa’s legs are not very strong anymore, so I will bring you books from now on.”

"can."

“We are friends, so I don’t want to lie to you. Grandfather never actually publicized your name because he thought that once you felt the crowd, you would get bored and leave—that way, you wouldn’t help us when the territory suffers an unbearable blow.”

"Yes."

"Aren't you angry?"

"I'm not bored now."

"That's good. Speaking of which, I've fallen for a girl, but it seems my brother likes her too, which is making me conflicted. I don't know whether I should let go or not."

"Bring him here, I'll take care of him for you."

"Hey, wait, he's my brother, that's not what I meant! I meant that although I like her a lot, I think she'd be happier with my brother... Sorry, I shouldn't have told you something you wouldn't understand."

She spoke very little because she was always immersed in books.

But I can't say I was particularly happy.

She didn't know how many books she had read during this time; the number might have piled up into a mountain, but it made her gradually realize the similarities between many plot points.

Perhaps before long, that feeling of boredom will return.

What should she do then?

If she could, she would certainly want to break free from this constraint and explore the other places described in the book.

Unfortunately, she was a prisoner.

Prisoners without a prison sentence.

Sean saw through her thoughts and, during the final delivery of the books to the tomb, suddenly asked:
Have you heard of "Eudemons Online"?

It was as if it touched the deepest part of her soul.

She felt a strong sense of familiarity with it, yet upon reflection, she knew nothing about it.

Sean pulled out a black book from the newly acquired collection:

"This seems to contain information about the [Demon Realm]—a terrifying demiplane that hides and imprisons the [Dark Lord]. The edges of this plane are shrouded in mist and it never belongs to any part of the world."

At the heart of each demon realm stands a unique lord.

They are evil, tortured in captivity, immortal, and unaware that they are the center of the world...

I don't know why it connects to reality, nor do I know what crimes you've committed.

But I think you are one of them.

She knew nothing about her past.

She has maintained this appearance since she gained her memories, and has spent countless days and nights in this state.

Now, as I flip through the books Sean handed me, I can't help but notice the most striking feature: the handwriting.

"The way to escape from the demon realm is to find a qualified successor."

Sean nodded:

"You want to leave here, don't you?"
Let me help you.

The magic network in the south has become disordered, and the [Tide of Chaos] is unstoppable. It won't be long before it encroaches on this land.

I sacrificed most of the night march to barely escape from the battlefield.

I know you have no intention of getting involved, but I can't just stand by and watch my family be buried because of this—

So let me take your place.

I will commit unforgivable sins before you, and then you will transfer the power of darkness to me.

You will gain your freedom, and I will accept imprisonment.

I will lead the family forward in my own way.

……

Tang Qi flipped through the notebook written under the pseudonym Mary Sue, but whose real name was Lilith.

Then, looking up at the heart-shaped, pulsating red crystal on the dome, he nodded and said:
"So you failed, that's obvious."

(End of this chapter)