Chapter 319 - Lilith From The Future?
"That's not true." Bai Zemin shook his head and said firmly, "Look, just now didn't I need your help in identifying whether this thing in front of us is benign or malignant? This is just one of the countless future cases in which I will need your guidance. Without you, I would probably have died by now in some unknown corner without alarming anyone and without raising waves."
Lilith looked at him with complicated eyes and shook her head as she said, "You don't understand. It's not that simple."
"Then what's the problem?" Bai Zemin looked at her and took a step forward, "Lilith, I really want to help you... Even though my strength is still lacking and I can't do much for you, I'd at least like to be a person with whom you can vent your grievances, someone whom you can maybe ask for an advice or two."
Even though Lilith's life was more extensive than the years lived by Bai Zemin and probably had not only much more knowledge about the universe than him but must also have more knowledge about life itself, she was after all a considerably young person since even though Bai Zemin did not know her exact age she was not yet even 100 years old.
For someone so young, many times the advice or opinions of other trustworthy people could be of great help in freeing oneself from bonds that were actually not as powerful as one initially assumed.
Bai Zemin hoped that he could ease Lilith's worries even if it was just a small notch. It was the least he could do for her and, unfortunately, it was also the most the current him could do.
"You don't understand..." Lilith shook her head and a nostalgic but with a hint of unfamiliarity expression flickered across her face as she looked at him, "You diverted too much. My arrival on day 1 when the Soul Record reached this world might have been too rushed... Even though it's undoubtedly good that your strength is increasing so quickly, I don't like it when things get too out of my hands."
Bai Zemin looked at her silently, trying to process what he had just heard.
As the only two living beings in this clearing of land completely overwhelmed by the destruction of an off-scale attack looked at each other, the rain continued to fall like a seemingly unstoppable and inexhaustible waterfall.
Thunder roared beyond the clouds and roared across the skies illuminating the world with powerful flashes of blue and violet light for tiny flickers, shining on the handsome man's face and the beautiful woman's face for mere seconds before fading again and leaving the world in total darkness as it was before.
"Lilith." Bai Zemin finally broke the silence.
"Mm?" She looked up at him, and when she noticed that particularly serious look on his no longer so normal face, her blood-red lips curved imperceptibly upward as she waited for his next words.
After taking a deep breath, Bai Zemin's sea-deep black eyes filled with resolve and he finally asked a question that had been bothering him: "You... You ever met me in the past?"
A look of 'that's how it is' shone in Lilith's eyes as she nodded slightly to herself. She looked at Bai Zemin with a faint smile that intermixed with her still lingering worried look gave form to an extremely complicated expression and said in a clear voice, "No."
Bang!
A flash of lightning illuminated the area followed immediately after by a mighty thunder that shook the earth. As the natural light illuminated her face, Lilith's expression remained unchanged.
Although it was impossible to know whether she was lying to him or not, Bai Zemin for some reason felt that what she was saying was true. But that strange feeling simply made him feel even weirder inside.
No? As he looked at her in a daze, thousands of questions and doubts filled his mind.
Just then, however, Lilith continued:
"But... I do know someone named Bai Zemin from a long, long time ago."
The complicated expression on her face became even worse after saying this. Her slight smile turned into a slightly bitter one before it returned to normal and she asked, "Why? You think I came from the future?"
Bai Zemin jumped in surprise upon hearing the question she had just asked him. In fact, that was exactly what he was thinking. After all, every detail presented so far on Lilith was too strange and her words implied too much; therefore, he came to that conclusion naturally.
In the end, little did he expect that Lilith's answer would end up making him even more confused than he already was.
What did she mean by she knew Bai Zemin a long time ago but didn't know him?
With his mind in a mess, he awkwardly asked, "This Bai Zemin... Is he someone with my name?"
Even though somehow the answer was already there, he still asked.
And Lilith's answer only confused him even more.
"The Bai Zemin that I have known for a long time in a way is also you, but at the same time, you both are two completely different existences. You both look alike but at the same time, you are nothing alike... I knew that you existed somewhere, but I didn't know you. The first time I and you actually met was on day 1 when the Earth changed after the intervention of the Soul Record."
"You... Just, who are you?" Bai Zemin looked at her in a daze and with a blank mind unconsciously blurted out that question.
"Didn't I tell you already?" Lilith suddenly smiled sweetly and said as if it was obvious, "I am called Lilith, a Sixth Order existence belonging to the faction led by the Eighth Order existence called Lucifer, the Demonic Army. I am also a holder of two Firmament Fragments and my current race could be considered a succubus among the demon faction."
Bai Zemin sighed when he heard this and slowly closed his eyes, allowing the pristine water to hit his face uncontrollably. It was too obvious to him that she would no longer say anything regardless of how much he inquired, and he did not wish to inconvenience her any further either.
However, it was not as if he had gotten nothing out of this conversation.
At least he managed to learn that Lilith had known about his existence for a long time but that they definitely did not know each other before she appeared in front of him when the apocalypse broke out. This completely left out the theory of her coming from the future, but while it cleared up one doubt, it left much more hanging.
Besides, another thing he managed to silently pick up on was that, perhaps, Lilith's race was not always a succubus.
They were small details, almost useless and if one didn't pay attention to them they could easily be overlooked. But since Bai Zemin really appreciated Lilith a lot and really wanted to help her in any way possible, those small details could not slip through his fingers and get lost.
Seeing him open his eyes once again and noticing how his mind finally stabilized, Lilith encouraged him a little by saying, "You don't need to overthink it. At your current growth rate, it won't take much more than a couple of years for you to know the answers to most of the questions you have today."
Bai Zemin chuckled and said in a joking tone, " I will probably have more doubts by that time than I do today though. As for whether I get answers to those questions by then, only destiny will tell."
Lilith shrugged with a smile.
Although the conversation she had with Bai Zemin was not relaxing and the topic they discussed was extremely serious and important, most of her worries were also swept away.
While Lilith did not know what was going to happen tomorrow, in the past she at least had a rough idea of the course things might take. However, the young man in front of her was an anomaly beyond what she originally estimated and every possible scenario was being destroyed one after another.
But even if that was so... Even if she didn't particularly like nor was she a fan of not having some control over what was or was about to happen around her, at least she knew she didn't have to worry so much about the young man in front of her.
The faster Bai Zemin grew up, the faster she could finish her reason for coming to this place. Besides, to begin with, the faster he grew up, the less chance there would be of disasters that no one wanted to see.
Therefore, her only latent concern was one.
"Just remember not to underestimate your enemies." She advised gently. "In the future, you will definitely meet countless existences that pretend to be weak but in reality hide terrific power. Not only humans but there are also many races in the universe that are extremely treacherous."
Bai Zemin gave a thumbs up and assured her, "You don't need to tell it to me. I've already been bitten once, I definitely won't easily trust others, let alone underestimate someone."
No one capable of advancing through the ranks of evolution was simple. Even the weakest were monsters who had slaughtered countless lives and forged their own paths with the bones of their enemies while bathing in the blood of the slain.
Someone who had managed to survive for an unknown amount of time until he encountered them definitely could not be someone simple. Because to get there, that existence would definitely have to undergo countless tribulations just like Bai Zemin himself.
Only an extremely arrogant idiot would ignore such beings and underestimate them.
Bai Zemin had read dozens of stories in which powerful characters were stupidly killed for overconfidence in themselves.
"As long as you're firmly clear on that, then it's fine." Lilith sighed and shook her head before changing the conversation, "By the way, what were you going to ask me earlier? Was it about this mental one?"
"Ah! Right." Bai Zemin quickly recalled the matter in question and turned his gaze to the ground in front of him.
Buried in the center of a crater, there was a pile of an amethyst-colored object that under the glare of lightning glowed with a faint metallic light. The pile was enough to forge several pieces of equipment and each metal fragment was the size of a grown man's fist.
However, the problem was that this object that seemed to be an unknown metal never seen on Earth before also had small blue flashes flickering on the surface occasionally; this was the main reason why Bai Zemin did not dare to carelessly touch it earlier.
"Mmm..." Lilith stretched a hand forward and with exquisite control over her own Mana made a fragment float towards her.
Bai Zemin looked at her with glittering eyes and anticipation awaiting her verdict. If that metal was good and Lilith gave him the green light, then he could forge better equipment when he had free time!
"This is a slightly rare Rank 2 metal." Lilith analyzed as she casually touched the metal. She looked at him with a playful smile and joked, "Don't worry, it won't explode or anything."
Bai Zemin took the metal fragment from her hand and snorted, "Just to show you how cautious I am. I don't even underestimate metals!"
"Hehehehe..."
As Lilith's beautiful giggle rang around him like delicate silver bells, the information and details about the metal fragment flashed in Bai Zemin's retina. However, even before reading the information about the object, he couldn't help but be amazed by the weight.
[Lapiodite: An extremely strong and heavy Rank 2 metal. It needs a flame with a power comparable to a Second Order skill to melt it. The weight of this metal depends on the gravity of the world in which it is born and multiplies it x2 each piece used. It possesses electrical properties and is especially good for forging magical gear.]
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A/N: What are your theories? I have a lot of fun reading them xD
Thanks a lot to all those who use their Golden Tickets to vote for BW <3