Fallen Realm Online: Rise of The Fallen Monarch

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"My Lord."

Lilith returned after nearly twenty minutes, her voice laced with reverence as she stepped into Xylen’s chamber.

She wore a sleek black evening gown that perfectly hugged her figure like a liquid shadow, her hair tied into a small bun. The style made her two small horns more prominent, and even with her crimson hair pulled up, its length still flowed elegantly. Her fluffy tail swayed gracefully behind her, further enhancing her allure.

In one hand, she carried a small basket.

"Hope you haven’t missed me a little too much?" she teased, a playful light flashing in her eyes.

Xylen, who had been immersed in plotting his next move after completing his current mission, instantly lifted his head, and then his lips twitched at her playful words, a fleeting crack in his otherwise cold demeanor.

’Miss you?’ he thought speechlessly, rolling his eyes skyward but refusing to dignify the comment with a response.

"So, about the issue I asked you earlier..." he pressed, cutting straight to the point without even waiting for Lilith to sit.

Lilith instantly blinked in surprise, pausing momentarily before letting out a small, helpless sigh.

’The only thing on my Lord’s mind is eradicating the village from years of torment and oppression,’ she mused, her gaze softening a bit.

Had Xylen known her thoughts, he might’ve laughed—or scoffed. After all, he wouldn’t even flinch if the village burned to ashes overnight and everyone was to be tormented to death.

Why should he care?

They were nothing more than fictional characters without real lives, while he had a far more pressing concern—leveling up and making money.

Unaware of his thought, however, Lilith gracefully approached him and sank onto the wooden chair beside his bed. But before she could address his question, she lifted the basket, unveiling its contents.

Xylen’s brows immediately furrowed.

Inside the basket lay strange, lumpy black spheres, looking like oversized goat droppings, their rough, flaky surfaces emitting a faint but unpleasant odor.

They looked hideous and unappealing.

Xylen’s mouth instantly opened, however, words caught in his throat as he struggled to process what he was seeing.

But just then, Lilith, failing to see his expression, carefully picked one out of the basket, cleaned it, and presented it to him with both hands.

"Please eat, my Lord," she urged.

Xylen, "..."

He instantly stared at her in a trance, unable to react.

"Ea... eat?" he stammered, his voice barely a whisper as he scrutinized the revolting fruit.

Lilith, not understanding his hesitation, quickly nodded her head.

"You haven’t eaten anything in years, my Lord, so I brought you some Blightberries," she explained, her voice gentle.

’This...’

Xylen gawked at her, disbelief plastered across his face for a moment before finally—

"You’re telling me this thing is... edible?" he finally managed to ask, his voice tinged with horror.

Lilith tilted her head, perplexed momentarily. Then, her eyes widened in realization.

"My Lord, you don’t remember this fruit again?" she gasped, her voice laced with shock.

When Xylen remained silent, her expression softened, and a hint of nostalgia crept into her voice.

"How could you forget? You used to crave this as a baby, crying endlessly until you had it," she said with a faint smile.

After a brief pause, her smile grew knowing.

"I understand now, My Lord. You were so little back then that you probably don’t remember again, right?"

Without waiting for his response, she gently took Xylen’s hand and placed the fruit in his palm, her fingers warm against his skin.

"Just try it, my Lord. I swear you won’t regret it," she urged, her voice rich with sincerity.

Xylen: "_"

He stared at the grotesque object in his hand, his mouth slightly agape in astonishment.

’Eat this... abomination?’

The mere thought made his stomach churn, bile rising in his throat. But...

’Given the absolute trust and unwavering loyalty in her eyes, she wouldn’t poison me, right?’ he reasoned, clenching the fruit tightly.

Then with the resolve of a warrior stepping onto a battlefield, Xylen took a deep breath, shut his eyes, and bit into the fruit — fully prepared for a vile taste which he would immediately spit out.

But then everything shattered.

The instant the juice hit his tongue, his mind detonated, and in the next second, his eyes snapped open, his pupils dilating in shock.

"This!" he gasped, staring at the half-bitten fruit as if it were a relic of the gods.

"Did... did this thing just taste like that?" he stammered, glancing at Lilith in sheer disbelief.

Hearing him, Lilith’s face radiated pride, her chest puffed out. "I told you, right, my Lord? I said you wouldn’t regret it," she responded, practically glowing with satisfaction.

"This..."

Xylen, still in shock, glanced back at the fruit.

It was intoxicating. The most luscious, exquisite flavor he had ever tasted.

The fruit’s flesh had melted like butter on his tongue, flooding his senses with waves of honey, cream, and sun-ripened peaches.

The juice had also glided like silk, carrying hints of exotic spices and fleeting floral notes that danced across his taste buds.

Without thinking, Xylen bit again, and this time, the flavor amplified, evolving into something even more profound.

"This... this is insane," Xylen muttered, eyes gleaming as he devoured the rest of the fruit.

"It is the true meaning of never judging a book by its cover!"

His eyes began to shine brightly as he subconsciously accepted another fruit from Lilith.

Then one bite turned into two. Two turned twenty.

Before long, he had nearly emptied the entire basket, lost in the addictive euphoria of taste.

But then—

"That reminds me," Xylen suddenly said, glancing at Lilith, who had been silently watching him eat the fruits with almost rapt attention.

"If my avat... if I haven’t eaten anything since I entered a coma eighteen years, how come I’m still alive then?" he asked, his brows furrowing.

Even if this was just a game, it was designed to follow realistic rules.

While it had no impact on their real bodies in the outside world, players’ avatars still needed to eat to regain energy, drink to quench their thirst and rest to restore stamina within the virtual world.

Even if it was merely a background story, it still had to follow these rules perfectly. So now that Lilith had brought it up—how had the body he currently possessed survived for eighteen years according to the backstory without food or water?

This didn’t align with his knowledge of the game from his past life at all and thinking this, Xylen fixed his gaze on Lilith, silently waiting for her response.

Meanwhile, Lilith’s brows couldn’t help but furrow for a moment in confusion at Xylen’s question. But after a moment of staring at him and realizing he was dead serious with his question, she responded in a matter-of-fact tone:

"Because you’re a Demon."

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