Chapter 59: : Snacks Above All

The Welcome Committee

Several cultists approached shortly afterward.

None attacked immediately.

Instead, they bowed.

“We welcome the honored guests.”

Lilith blinked.

“…That’s suspiciously polite.”

Cassian muttered:

“I preferred the stabbing.”

The cultists gestured toward a massive doorway.

“The High Priest awaits.”

Lilith climbed onto Fluffy’s back immediately.

The giant Cerberus carried her proudly while growling at everyone nearby.

They were escorted through the city afterward.

Or what used to be a city.

Lilith looked around quietly.

The place felt dead.

Not physically.

Emotionally.

Windows were boarded shut.

People walked silently through the streets with lowered heads.

Massive posters covered the walls everywhere.

Each depicted the same symbol:

A hollow crown floating above darkness.

Cult propaganda.

“The Hollow King Sees All.”

“Submit and Be Reborn.”

“The Eternal Night Approaches.”

Lilith wrinkled her nose.

“These are ugly.”

One cultist looked offended.

“They are sacred declarations.”

“They still look ugly.”

Aurelia coughed loudly to hide a laugh.

⸻

The Palace

The cult palace sat at the center of the ruined city.

Black towers stretched into the crimson sky.

Huge statues lined the entrance.

All faceless.

All kneeling toward the central throne chamber.

Lilith disliked the place instantly.

Too gloomy.

Needed more carpets.

And probably cookies.

They were led through massive corridors filled with chanting cultists.

The deeper they traveled, the colder the air became.

Eventually….

The enormous throne room doors opened.

The chamber beyond resembled a cathedral more than a palace hall.

Purple flames illuminated gigantic pillars.

Dark banners hung everywhere.

At the far end sat a massive throne carved from black crystal.

And standing before it one of the cults highest-ranking priests.

Unlike the others, his robes shimmered faintly with shadow magic.

His mask bore seven crimson markings.

He spread both arms dramatically as they approached.

“Welcome.”

His voice echoed unnaturally through the chamber.

“I am pleased to meet with the honored guests of the Hollow King.”

Lilith immediately got bored.

⸻

The Speech

The priest descended the throne steps slowly.

“You stand at the precipice of eternity.”

Cassian looked exhausted already.

“The Hollow King shall soon awaken.”

The priest’s voice grew louder.

“The false golden age of weak worlds will end.”

“Dreams shall indeed burn.”

The priest smiled smugly.

“Reality shall kneel to the needs of the king.”

The priest dug in his pocket to pull out a shining metal box.

“The king will produce an endless void that shall consume—”

Lilith quietly opened her bag.

The speech continued somewhere in the background as she dug around.

“—and from the sacred darkness shall rise—”

Lilith searched deeper in her bag.

“Oh no. Where are all my cookies?”

Lilith used the random lights the priest started to emit to look through all the bags nooks and crannies.

“—the final ascension of existential misery —”

A tiny panic began forming on Lilith’s face as her stomach grumbled.

“I couldn’t have eaten all of them. Where are you hiding.”

She vigorously shook her bag.

“The dawn of a new era!!!! Nobody will be able to handle the Hollow Kings eternal legacy and—”

Lilith finally found half of one slightly crushed cookie.

She stared at it sadly.

“…Oh no, it seems like Chomper was in my bag again.”

Selene noticed the change on Lilith’s face.

She squatted next to her, “What’s wrong?”

Lilith held up the half-cookie miserably.

“I’m out of snacks.”

Everyone paused.

Even the priest stopped talking briefly.

Lilith looked around hopefully.

“Does anybody else have snacks?”

Moira checked her pockets.

“No luck here kid.”

Cassian shook his head.

Aurelia looked apologetic.

Selene only had emergency healing potions.

Fluffy sneezed sadly.

Lilith stared at the tiny half-cookie in betrayal.

Then slowly turned toward the priest.

The priest had already resumed his speech rather dramatically.

“Soon the eclipse will bring all worlds and—”

Lilith raised one hand politely.

“Excuse me.”

The entire throne room went silent.

The priest blinked slowly.

“Uh…What?”

Lilith hopped up and walked toward him casually.

“Do you have snacks here?”

Silence.

Complete silence.

The priest stared at her.

“…What?”

“Snacks.”

Lilith gestured helpfully at the last cookie half she possessed.

“Cookies. Chips. Tiny sandwiches. Anything really I am oh so hungry.”

Several cultists looked around.

The priest’s eye twitched beneath his mask.

“You interrupt the sacred declaration… for snacks?”

Lilith nodded.

“You are talking a very long time with your speech sir. I can already feel myself starting to waste away.”

The priest inhaled sharply.

“We do not keep such meaningless things here.”

Lilith eyes opened wide.

“…You don’t have snacks?”

“No.”

A dangerous silence followed.

Lilith slowly narrowed her now glowing eyes.

“Oh… I see.”

The temperature inside the throne room dropped significantly.

“No snacks…”

Black shadows curled faintly around the surrounding cultists feet.

“…At all?”

The priest spread his arms proudly.

“We require no mortal indulgences here… we don’t even use salt.

The priest did not know that he just barely managed to redirect Lilith’s wrath.

Lilith looked genuinely offended now.

“That’s stupid.”

Several cultists gasped.

The priest pointed dramatically toward her.

“You dare to mock the Hollow King?!”

Lilith completely ignored him.

Instead she sighed deeply.

“Well if there’s no snacks here,  then I’m leaving.”

The priest laughed coldly.

“You think escape is possible? I would love—-“

Lilith casually sliced one hand through the air.

A hole in reality tore open instantly.

A portal back to the hotel lobby appeared.

Everyone stared.

The arrogant priest stared hardest of all.

“… what.”

Moira blinked.

“How did you DO THAT?!”

Lilith shrugged.

“Momma Sarah taught me how last Tuesday. Let’s go now I am famished.”

The priest looked moments away from mental collapse.

Cassian immediately started walking toward the portal.

“Such an interesting child.”

Aurelia followed quickly behind him clutching his coattails.

Moira practically sprinted through.

Selene gently guided Lyra  toward safety.

Fluffy casually stomped after them while growling at nearby cultists.

No one tried stopping them.

Lilith paused at the portal entrance and waved politely toward the stunned priest.

“We’ll try to come back later!”

Then she stepped through.

The portal shimmered and closed instantly behind them.

⸻

Home Again

The clean warm hotel lobby greeted them immediately.

Soft lights.

Fresh carpets.

The smell of food drifting from the kitchens.

Everyone stood silently for several seconds.

Then Hank looked up from the front desk.

“You all have returned…How’d the kidnapping go?”

Cassian answered immediately.

“Terribly organized.”

Hank dug into the desk and tossed Lilith a cookie. 

Her face brightened instantly.

“Oh thank you!”

She held up the cookie dramatically.

“Hank can you tell us what time is it? Did we make it in time for din din. That bald guy talked way too much—-“