NOVPUB
Chapter 158: Chapter 158 The Truth
"Go back," Lilith said flatly, her voice calm but laced with quiet urgency.
Josh blinked once, then gave a subtle nod. "Understood, my lady."
"You shouldn’t stay here too long," she added. "They’ll start asking questions if you vanish too often."
Josh bowed respectfully to both her and Liam before silently exiting through the same door he entered from. The room fell quiet the moment the door clicked shut.
Lilith didn’t hesitate.
She turned toward Liam with a purposeful stride, her heeled boots making sharp, deliberate sounds on the hard floor. He was still seated behind the counter, arms resting on the polished surface, his mind racing with everything he’d just heard.
Lilith stopped just in front of him. She placed one hand on the countertop and leaned in slowly, her face only inches from his, her expression cool but serious—intensely serious.
"We have a problem," she whispered.
Liam’s brows knitted slightly. "What do you mean?"
Her voice dropped lower, almost inaudible.
"They’re here."
Liam’s heart skipped a beat.
"...They?" he repeated. "Talk to me, Lilith. I don’t understand. Who are they?"
Lilith straightened slightly, her eyes clouded with memories. For a moment, it looked like she didn’t want to say it—like dragging this information back up from the past brought pain.
Then she finally spoke.
"Years ago... I infiltrated the Golden Bird."
Liam blinked, not expecting that name.
"In disguise," she added. "It was a long-term op. Dangerous. Risky. I got closer to them than anyone else ever did."
She looked off to the side, as though seeing something no one else could.
"And I saw things, Liam. Things that shouldn’t exist. Their core members—" she paused, struggling to find the right words, "—they were monsters."
Liam’s jaw clenched.
"Strong," she went on. "Too strong. Some of them could bend fire to their will. Not tricks. Not tech. Real. Flames dancing on their fingers like toys. One woman made the ground quake when she screamed. Another... her eyes turned pitch black, and people just—dropped. Lifeless."
She turned her gaze back to Liam, locking eyes with him.
"They were abnormal. Just like you."
The silence hit like a bomb.
Liam stared at her, frozen. "...J-Just like me?"
Lilith didn’t blink. She leaned in slightly more, lowering her voice until it was just between them.
"Look me in the eyes," she said softly, "and tell me you’re normal."
He did.
He looked into her eyes—those sharp, intelligent, stormy eyes—for what felt like a full minute.
Then he sighed.
She smiled gently.
"I’ve seen you heal too fast. Bullet wounds, stab wounds... like they’re scratches. Poison should’ve killed you when Khan stabbed you with that blade, but it barely slowed you down. You fought twenty men alone in that warehouse like they were nothing. And those GAU-19s?" She scoffed softly. "You tore five of them apart with your hands, Liam."
He gave her a half-smile. "You were counting?"
"Always."
She walked around the counter slowly, her steps deliberate, circling him like a wolf that had known the truth all along.
"I’ve had my answer for a long time. I just wanted to hear it from you."
Liam looked at her for a long moment, processing everything. The world had just shifted again under his feet—and somehow, Lilith was still the one standing steady in the storm.
Then, her tone changed.
Cool, calm, and curious, she tilted her head and asked, "So... how did you get powers?"
Liam almost choked.
His eyes widened as he stared at her, stunned, caught off guard. "Wha—?!"
She blinked innocently. "What? It’s a fair question."
He sat up straighter, taking a long breath to calm himself. His heart was racing. The question felt too close, too dangerous. But... maybe it was time.
Lilith didn’t press. She simply leaned against the counter beside him, waiting. Trusting him.
After a long silence, Liam reached for the tall stool beside him and sat down slowly.
He tapped the counter once, then twice, as though trying to find the words. Finally, he spoke.
"...Alright."
He looked at her.
"I’ll tell you everything."
Lilith sat silently for a long moment, her expression unreadable as she watched Liam.
He had just told her everything.
About the day he was hit by the car.
About the mysterious system that had awakened in him after what he thought was his death.
About the strange, game-like interface that only he could see—his stats, experience points, the leveling up, the skill unlocks. And about the four names burned into his memory like a brand: Kyle. Daryl. Sam. Jack. The ones who pushed him to his death. The ones who watched as he lay broken in the street.
The ones who made him this.
Now she knew why he was hunting them down.
Revenge.
Lilith opened her eyes wider, still stunned. "...This is really crazy," she finally whispered.
She leaned her back against the counter, folding her arms, eyes focused on nothing in particular as she tried to wrap her head around the weight of what she’d just heard.
"You got hit by a car," she said, more to herself than him, "and you thought you died. And then you just... woke up. Days later. In your bedroom."
Liam nodded slowly. "Yeah. No pain. No memory of how I got there. Just... a pounding headache, and a message in front of my eyes."
Lilith looked at him again. This time, her gaze wasn’t just curious—it was something deeper. Something more thoughtful.
A month ago, Liam had been a regular guy. Charming, yes. Clever, sure. But ordinary.
Now? He was something else entirely.
Stronger. Smarter. Sharper. Hardened. And dangerous. Not just because of what he could do—but because of what he might become.
Lilith couldn’t help but feel a strange chill creep down her spine. If he had grown this much in just a month... what would he look like in a year?
She wasn’t sure whether that thought excited her or scared her.
"...What if it wasn’t random?" she asked suddenly, eyes narrowing slightly. "What if someone gave you that system? What if... you’re part of some experiment?"
Liam’s eyes narrowed as well. "You think I was chosen?"
"I’m saying it’s a possibility," Lilith replied. "A system like yours can’t just... appear out of nowhere. What if someone’s watching you? Testing you?"
He furrowed his brows, the idea taking root despite his best efforts to shake it.
"I’d know," he muttered.
"Would you?"
He didn’t answer.
Because she might be right. If someone was behind it all... then what was the end goal? To create a weapon? A superhuman? Or worse, a pawn?
He didn’t want to dwell on it. The thought was... deeply uncomfortable.
"Forget it," he said, shaking his head. "I’ve got things to do."
"Like?"
"personal stuffs."
Lilith raised a brow.
"Can I borrow a car?"
He wasn’t sure she’d say yes. In fact, he half-expected her to scoff and tell him to walk.
But to his surprise, she simply pointed toward the far corner of the room where a sleek, metallic rack displayed a row of keys, each tagged and gleaming.
Liam blinked. "...You’re serious?"
She just nodded. "Take your pick."
He hopped off the counter, landing gracefully as he walked over to the rack. The keys weren’t labeled by name, but it didn’t take a genius to guess what kind of cars they belonged to. Chrome accents. Custom leather tags. One had a freaking ruby embedded in the fob.
"Lilith," he called back, "all of these are flashy as hell."
She raised an eyebrow. "And?"
"I can’t show up where I’m going with a Lamborghini or a Ferrari. It’ll make a scene."
She smiled faintly, amused. "I don’t do subtle."
"Clearly," he muttered under his breath.
He turned to her again. "Seriously, you don’t have anything lowkey? Something simple?"
Lilith tilted her head in thought. She opened her mouth to say no... but then stopped.
Something clicked in her mind.
"Actually... I do."
Her tone shifted as she walked over to the rack beside him. Liam watched her reach past the front row and dig her hand into a small wooden drawer built into the frame. She pulled out a single key with a plain black fob—no shine, no custom tags, no glamour.
"That one?" he asked skeptically.
She didn’t answer.
Instead, she turned and walked toward the door.
"Follow me."
Liam hesitated for half a second, then fell in step beside her. Her hips swayed slightly in those tight jeans, but her focus was elsewhere, her eyes narrowed as though she was already ten steps ahead.
It wasn’t lost on him that she hadn’t given him the key—she was going with him.
Interesting.
"So," he said, casually, "I thought I was doing this alone."
"You are," she replied, not looking at him. "I’m just letting you borrow something... less flashy."
He smirked. "Didn’t know you had anything like that in your garage."
She pushed open the door, leading them down a narrow hallway toward a more private back exit. "You’ll be surprised."
