Lilith, a decorated general for the army of the Blood Monarch, had been missing from the world for more than fifty years and counting.
A blood Demoness herself, she had been serving under the Blood Monarch's banner for centuries. Known as a ruthless and cunning warmonger throughout the known universe, she would go to any lengths to accomplish her goals.
But those close to her and serving under her knew her as a capable tactician and a powerful Elementalist. The tales of the fight between the Demons and the Divines were stories etched in the annals of time with blood and carnage.
Lilith had been at the forefront of such battles between the two factions. The Blood Monarch had been an upcoming champion for the Demons and was tasked with securing a strategically important location against a faction of the Divines.
When news arrived of a legendary fruit being born in a lower world, many factions were eager to claim it for themselves. The Blood Monarch tasked Lilith with acquiring the fruit for him.
Lilith held immense respect for the Blood Monarch and would not hesitate to lay down her life for her liege. For the Blood Monarch as well, Lilith was his strongest fighter and tactician, and he valued her immensely. The Blood Monarch had even given Lilith three powerful and lifesaving artifacts prior to her journey toward the lower world.
One artifact was the pair of Space Stones to be set up prior to any dangerous battle to save one's life. Another was a one-time-use blood bead for absolute dominion over another being (although it required certain conditions to be met - the same artifact Lilith used to draft the Soul Contract). The last was a lightning whip operated by rare lightning cores.
The Blood Monarch had taken a gamble at a crucial point and doubled the stakes by providing Lilith with these rare artifacts. Only later would he realize he had placed a losing bet.
Soon, all communication with Lilith was lost. It was later discovered that it had been a trap all along. A team of Divines had set up an intricate plan to trap Lilith in an anonymous lower world.
Lilith was now trapped with no way of being found without breaking treaties with other factions. The Blood Monarch lost considerable standing in these events and was recalled by higher authorities for additional training.
Meanwhile, Lilith remained trapped in a cave in the middle of nowhere.
Over the years, she found a way to accumulate blood elemental energy little by little. However, this was nowhere near enough to break her shackles. By her calculations, it would take nearly a thousand years to free herself from imprisonment. While time itself wasn't an issue for her, she feared the tide of war might shift dramatically during that period.
With no other options, she bided her time and focused on accumulating elemental energy. Things began to change with Axel's arrival in the cave.
At first, Lilith only noticed the fragment of the Space artifact that had been lost during her fight with the Divines, surprised by the sudden appearance of its familiar energy signature. She was certain the artifact fragment had been used to send the boy to the cave.
But soon her attention turned to the boy himself, who seemed too special to ignore.
Others might have missed the subtle energy fluctuations around Axel, but Lilith did not. She was blessed with a unique physique known as "The Elemental Eye," allowing her to observe the smallest elemental fluctuations and draw insights from them.
Lilith had known the Blood Monarch before his ascension. They were raised together in the Domains of Demons, building a strong, trusting relationship in the harshest environments. Because of this past, she understood how elements interacted with and around a Monarch Candidate.
The process of becoming a Monarch included the birth of a new element. It might not be entirely new, but certain aspects would definitely differ from existing elemental behaviour.
What most didn't know was that elements possessed a sort of consciousness, with particles behaving erratically around certain events and phenomena. Most of the world, including other Monarchs, dismissed this idea of elemental consciousness.
But Lilith, with her unique physique, could observe this phenomenon directly. She had noticed during her friend's ascension from Candidate to Monarch that elements like Darkness and Chaos constantly surrounded him like a mother supporting her child, while others like Life and Light seemed to flee his presence.
Though this analogy was Lilith's own interpretation, the elemental particles did behave erratically around her friend. Now she observed something similar when this unknown boy entered her prison cave.