Parallel Memory

I rested for what felt like weeks—long, dragging days spent beneath the jagged ceiling of that forgotten cave. Time passed slowly, every tick of the clock marked by the dull ache in my bones and the occasional drip of water echoing through the cavern. But even in that stillness, I never truly stopped. My body was healing, yes, but my mind was already preparing for what came next.

Revenge.

I hadn’t forgotten the harpies—the screeching storm of feathers and claws that had nearly torn me apart. And now that I knew their leader was the floor boss, our paths were destined to cross again. It wasn’t just about revenge anymore. If I wanted to ascend to the next floor, I had to face them, whether I was ready or not.

So, as my body mended, I put my time to good use. I sent out the mana-battery drone and mapped out the terrain above. The drone moved in silence, its eyes scanning the skies, circling the dense cliffs that rose like jagged spires into the clouds. Eventually, it picked up traces of movement—sharp-winged silhouettes darting through the sky like lightning. They were fast, organized, and territorial. But most importantly, I spotted one harpy who didn’t move with the others. She perched above the rest, her wings darker than midnight, her eyes like burning coals. That was her—the leader.

Perfect.

While the drone did its job, I used the quiet moments to talk to Lilith—little conversations at first, slow and careful, like brushing dust off an ancient book. Her speech was still broken, but it was getting clearer every day. And what she told me... it shook me.

She had always been a devil.

Not just any devil, either. A princess. The only child of the devil king himself. She’d never seen her mother, had no memory or trace of who she was, but her father... he had once been a dreamer among devils. Unlike the others who saw humans as weak, disposable, or corruptible, her father believed in peace—believed that devils and humans could live side by side. He pushed for unity, for diplomacy.

And they called it weakness.

Lilith’s time in the human domain hadn’t been a random accident or coincidence. It was planned. Her father had sent her there. We were meant to be proof that coexistence was possible. That devils didn’t have to be monsters, and humans didn’t have to be prey.