“I’m not even sure where to start,” Lilian said, choosing her words carefully. “This goes back so far beyond you.”

“The beginning would be a good place,” Angel said, gesturing for her to keep going. “And sooner rather than later, please. I’ve had enough lies.”

“Fine.” Lilian ran a hand through her hair and let out a slow sigh. “As you’ve surmised, one of the names I go by is Cowl, although I prefer Lilian. I am – was – one of the seven members of the Reawakening, and I’m six hundred and fifty eight years old. Each of us possess a small amount of Old World Magic. Mine is the ability to completely change and alter my form at will.”

Angel blinked. Part of him wanted to burst into laughter at Lilian’s words, but they made a certain amount of sense. The immense power that Reave possessed and the apparent longevity of the Reawakening had been strange. However, if they were using Old World Magic because they’d manage to retain some of it from before the Great War, it wasn’t completely unreasonable.

“How did you live so long?”

“We all had a relic that converted power to life force. When our organs failed from age, we replaced them with Magitech,” Lilian explained. “So long as we had artifacts to feed our relics, we could live.”

“I see,” Angel said. “Continue. For the sake of time, you can skip to the part that involves me here. I’m interested in the rest as well, but I’d like to know if I’m going to be blasting you to kingdom come sooner rather than later.”

A smirk tugged at one side of Lilian’s lips. “Then I’ll begin when we first met. I was in search of one of the other members of the Reawakening – Soul. He’s been missing for several years, and I’ve been trying to locate him. I was led to believe that he was in Bronze City.”

Lilian sat down with a heavy sigh. She rested her hands on her knees before continuing. “Unfortunately, the last sighting of him there was over ten years ago. However, while I was in the area, the Magistrate of Brineview got in touch with the Reawakening. He wanted our help capturing Vanessa in exchange for some resources that we needed to bring back the Buried Gods.”

“So you were working for him from the start,” Angel said, his voice flat.

“To a degree,” Lilian admitted. “Silver had no idea of my true nature, though. He was simply given the other end of the tracking device I was using. The Brineview Magistrate’s guards got a little overexcited and wanted to report to him before he’d given us what we needed, so I took care of them. I was meant to give our position away as soon as we were far enough from Bronze City.”

“It took that long for everything to get sorted out?” Angel asked, cocking his head.

“Well, no. It was done after just a day or two, but I was enjoying myself.” Lilian shook her head and let out a bitter laugh. “You have to understand something, Angel. After living for as long as I have, you start to detach from the rest of the world. Everyone I knew other than the other members of the Reawakening died, and they weren’t the best company. I’d forgotten what it meant to actually live.”

“You’re telling me you were having second thoughts about what you’d been doing for six hundred years because… you were having fun?” Angel asked doubtfully.

“The most powerful reasons are often simple,” Lilian replied. She picked up a stone on the ground and tossed it from hand to hand. “There is little humor or enjoyment in the Reawakening’s task. Do you know what our true goal was? The reason we – they – wanted Old World Magic back?”

“Some evil world domination shit?” Angel guessed.

“No. We all wanted to live longer,” Lilian said, clenching her hands. “The relics were slowly failing. They would have lasted a few more years if we were lucky. We needed more and more magic every year.”

“Old World Magic would give you a huge extension,” Angel realized, lowering his hand an inch. “You might even be able to get rid of the relics entirely.”

“Exactly,” Lilian said. “We would have lived, but I think all of us forgot what living actually is. You and Vanessa reminded me of what we used to be like.”

“But not enough to leave right off the bat?”

“No,” Lilian replied with a grimace. “Not enough. I gave your position away twice, as I’m sure you’ve gathered. The first was easier than the second. The Reawakening is so close to bringing Old World Magic back, and that hope was powerful. I didn’t want to die, Angel. I still don’t. I feel like I just started to live again.”

“So what changed?” Angel asked, splaying his fingers out and gesturing to the cavern around them. “Either this is the most elaborate trap I’ve ever seen, or you’ve gone turncoat.”

“Your talent in Old World Magic,” Lilian said. She nodded at his mechanical arm. “You integrated a relic with New World Magic while trapped with limited resources. Unlike us, you’ve got a chance of setting the world back to what it should be without ending hundreds of thousands of lives with the Buried Gods.”

The lights in the room flickered, casting them in shadow for a moment before turning back on.

“You know what the Reawakening is using the Buried Gods for, then?”

“I was more of a field agent than anything else. I’m far from up to date with our plans, but I know some. A key to bringing back Old World Magic lies somewhere within the Barren,” Lilian said. “Somewhere beyond the ring is a catacomb that key opens, and that’s where the source of Old World Magic is. We’ve found that much. The Buried Gods are the only constructs powerful enough to pass deep into the Ring. But with your talents, I believe you could find a way to bring Old World Magic back through study and research, not copying the mistakes of our forefathers.”

“Hold on,” Angel said, raising a hand. “What about the Magitech inside you? That was easily as advanced as anything I’ve ever done, if not more.”

Lilian’s hands clenched at her sides. “That was done by Soul. He’s the one who created the system inside each Reawakening member before he vanished around ten years ago. He was a true master of Magitech and was convinced that there was a secret in the Barren that would enable him to retrieve Old World Magic without the Buried Gods.”

Angel let out a slow breath. “So you were willing to bet everything you’ve done for the past six hundred years on the off chance that I would figure out how Old World Magic works enough to bring it back before the Reawakening does?”

“Just about,” Lilian said. An embarrassed laugh slipped out of her mouth. “That and I could feel that my relic was fading fast. I wouldn’t have made it much longer, with or without Old World Magic. You were my only hope. Soul could have done something too, which is why I was looking for him, but no such luck there.”

“I see,” Angel said. “And that leads us to where we stand now. You might no longer be part of the Reawakening, but you’re responsible for the deaths of thousands of people. Old World Magic should help people, not destroy them. I’m no paragon of morality, but that disgusts me.”

Lilian matched his gaze. Her eyes were ice cold, like two crystal orbs deep beneath the earth. “My care for the lives of others faded over the course of the last six hundred years, Angel. Don’t misunderstand me. I care for the people I know. You, Silver, even Vanessa. Your lives hold meaning to me. But those of the countless masses that exist just for the next meal? They do not matter in the grand scheme of things. I don’t care about them. I just want to live.”

“And what if I decide that it’s my duty to play executioner?” Angel asked, his arm humming to punctuate his words. “To end you here, make you pay for the suffering you caused.”

“Then I would die. If not during the fight with you, then shortly after.”

“Well, at least you’re honest,” Angel said. “One last question then, Lilian. Why should I save you? You’re a mass murderer that shows no regret. You saved my life, but it was only to save yourself later.”

“There’s no way for you to fight the Reawakening on your own. My powers would be instrumental when you fight against them.”

“And why should I believe that you won’t just turn against me again?”

“Because I want to live,” Lilian replied. “And for all intents and purposes, Soul is dead.”

“What if he wasn’t?” Angel pressed. “Wouldn’t you just turn against me again? These are your old friends, after all. No, I don’t think you’ve told me everything, Lilian. There’s more. But you’ve given me enough to make my decision.”

“So?”

“You betrayed me,” Angel said. “I won’t forgive that so easily, but you’re right. Your talents would be invaluable against the Reawakening. I want a promise. From here on out, you work for me. You’re going to repay your debt to the desert, and I’ll keep you alive to do your job. And, in case you’re thinking about lying to me…”

He reached into his bag and pulled out a small metal marble. “Another one of my creations. Inspired by an explosive, but with a twist. Observe. I am a woman.”

The orb lit up with green light. “I am a man.”

The light flicked out. “If you lie while holding this orb, it starts glowing. If you don't say something true right after, it’ll explode.”

Angel flicked the marble to Lilian. “Do you agree to work your debts off in my service, doing anything and everything I ask of you without hesitation in exchange for your life?”

“Those are some pretty open ended terms,” Lilian observed. “Is anything and everything really needed? I mean…”

“Yes or no,” Angel said, narrowing his eyes.

Lilian glanced down at the marble in her hand. Then she let out a slow breath and met his gaze. “Yes.”

The marble didn’t change. Angel gave her a slow nod, then took the marble back and slipped it into his travel pack. “Then let’s get to work. We have a lot to learn here, and not very much time to do it.”