Hellbound With You

Lilith too, realised that the way Ezekiel stopped and turned to look back at them was somewhat off. Focussing on the direction of his eyes, she noticed that he was not looking at her but at where Alicia was standing!

"Is it possible that he could see you too?" Lilith whispered lightly at the sight of the suspicious look that appeared in Alicia's eyes, "He had singlehandedly returned all those demons back to the dark vortex. He is just too powerful. Maybe his left kind of demonic eye could actually see you as well?" She was hazarding a guess.

Alicia faced Lilith, her expression now thoughtful. "I don't think so. He must have sensed something but there should be no way he would be able to see me. Because only witch queens are the ones who possess the ability to see me in my spirit form. No one else, not even the demons."

Hearing the word 'spirit' came out from Alicia's lips, Lilith pressed both her lips tight. And she immediately set aside the issue about whether Ezekiel could actually see Alicia.

"My Queen…" Lilith started, hesitantly. She still could not quite believe what she was seeing and doing right now. She wanted to hug Alicia so badly, but she knew she could not, and she had to clench her fists to stop herself from reaching out. "W-what happened? W-what's going on? This means…" she swallowed hard, and hope shone in her eyes as she stared fixedly at Alicia, "this means you're not really dead, right?"

Alicia was silent for a moment, her head bowed and looking to the ground as though deep in thought. Though her expression was unreadable, Lilith could not help but feel a little anxious. After some heart pumping moments, Alicia lifted her head and looked at Lilith.

"I really am dead, Lilith," Alicia smiled sadly as she replied to Lilith's question. Her answer seemed to have broken Lilith's heart and her face fell and time seemed to have screeched into a halt.

"B-but… but you are…your spirit is still… you're here, right?" Lilith stammered, unable to properly process what Alicia had said. She still felt there was something that perhaps Alicia was not telling her or maybe keeping from her. Was she? Lilith felt confused and her heart was in turmoil.

"Every witch queen has an opportunity to state one last wish before they finally leave this world. This one last wish will be granted as long as it's not a wish to come back to life again." Alicia explained to Lilith in a gentle tone. "And my greatest wish is to lift the curse that has been plaguing Zeres ever since."

"C-curse?" Lilith's brows lifted high. She had not heard that there was anything of a curse affecting Zeres.

"Yes. He himself didn't know this but he was apparently cursed to draw on the powers of the witch queens as long as he was alive. So now that the curse is lifted, you and the future queens to come will no longer die such an unnatural death anymore." Alicia's tone was contemplative as she told all these to Lilith.

Shocked, Lilith's hands flew to her mouth. "Could it be that this was why you chose to sacrifice yourself?!"

"No. My main reason is to save Zeres. What I did about his curse is only secondary. However, my wish is apparently almost as great as wishing to come back to life again. For it seems, the curse on Zeres was just too great to be lifted even by a queen's last wish. So, to be able to have this wish granted, I had to sacrifice one thing, a greater sacrifice. Since I have already lost everything and even my life, all I had was my chance to go to the afterlife. I traded my only chance and that's why I'm here."

Lilith's eyes flew wide.

"Oh my god. But… why? What will happen to you…"

"I am not going to ever have the chance to go to the afterlife again. And that only means one thing. That my spirit will be stuck here forever… wondering this earth and never being able to go to that perfect resting place where all souls go."

What Alicia revealed was so shocking that Lilith could do nothing but just stand there frozen.

Alicia's lips curved up to a slight smile. "This is my decision, Lilith. I don't know what awaits me in the future but perhaps, I'll just stay invisible and roaming and watching over this world forever. Or perhaps, someday, I'll disappear. However, no matter what happens, I am not going to regret this decision. I died with so much regret because I have too many things I failed to accomplish before taking my last breath. But now I feel so relieved that I will be able to do so many meaningful things by dying. This exchange for my afterlife is worth it. So please don't feel sad for me." 

Lilith could no longer hold her emotions and teared up. Large drops of tears rolled down her cheeks uncontrollably.

"Don't cry Lilith. I know I'm dead now, but I am still here. Just that I'll be in spirit form. I'm not going to go anywhere."

Lilith took deep breaths and forced herself to calm down.

"Can Zeres see you too?"

"No, he can't. Only the queens can do it. And though Zeres is a silver haired witch, he is not a queen like us." Alicia said as she attempted to console Lilith by brushing her hair. However, her hand could not touch Lilith and her fingers passed through Lilith's hair like mist. "Now listen Lilith, I need you to tell Zeres about me. That my spirit is still here. I am afraid that after my funeral he'll begin to do something unforgiveable. Or worse, he would start to continue seeking death. The witches cannot afford to lose him now."

"But would he believe me especially since he cannot see you?"

"I will think of something to try and convince him. For now, you must tell him. This is the only way to calm him down now. However," Alicia's expression became serious, "make sure that the vampires do not know about this… especially Ezekiel."

"Why? Why must this be kept as a secret from them…especially Ezekiel? Aren't they the ones helping us all this while? And why are you so hellbent on keeping Zeres alive?"

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AN: been pretty tired today so i only managed 1 chap. I will update the second chap tomorrow. ×.×