My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger Chapter 863 - 864: Catching Up

"I’d like to claim this isn't what it looks like, but that feels like a waste of breath."

Damon shut his eyes, his palms still resting against Renata’s waist.

The prickling sensation of Sylvia’s murderous intent continued to crawl over his skin.

‘Wait, why am I getting so defensive? I’m single. I don’t owe anyone an explanation,’ he realized, a frown deepening on his face.

Still, he instinctively felt it was better to keep those thoughts to himself. There was no point in pouring oil on the fire.

He adjusted his legs slightly, signaling Renata to move, but she merely smiled the moment she spotted Lilith.

"Oh, my lord. It appears our secret tryst has been exposed. I suppose we should have sought out a more secluded spot."

Sylvia’s killing intent reached a breaking point.

Damon let out a heavy sigh. Renata was being impossible. She was throwing him under the carriage without a second thought.

Thud.

He pushed her off his lap.

That was her punishment for tarnishing his reputation—or rather, for making a bad situation even worse.

Standing up, he walked toward the newcomers.

Lilith’s face was a mask of exhaustion, showing a flickering cocktail of revulsion, rage, jealousy, and bitterness.

‘What is her problem?’

Sylvia, meanwhile, was projecting a lethal, icy stare.

"I want to say it's good to see you both, but the last time we met, the world was ending and you were trying to murder each other. So, what’s changed?"

Sylvia glared at Renata and bit her lip. When her eyes returned to Damon, her demeanor shifted instantly.

She beamed and leaped into his arms, acting as if she hadn't been radiating bloodlust seconds ago.

"Heheh."

She let out a soft giggle.

"I missed you so much. You have no idea how worried I’ve been."

Damon raised a hand to gently stroke her hair.

"Why worry? I’m the last person likely to die in a place like this."

It was clear to him that Sylvia was dodging the question.

He shifted his gaze to Lilith and offered a smile, but she didn't reciprocate. Instead, she stared at him, seemingly lost in her own mind.

There was no warm welcome. No lecture. No sigh of relief.

She looked at him as if he were a ghost that might vanish, her expression torn between happiness and agony, fury and grief.

Lilith ignored Damon entirely. She walked right past him and stopped in front of Renata.

"Hm. So you’ve finally stopped the act."

Renata snorted, rolling her eyes.

"I assumed you already knew."

Lilith gave a slow nod.

"I wondered how long you’d keep playing the fool, but I see you’ve returned to acting like a common slut."

Renata folded her arms.

"I’m not the one who looks like she’s been dragged through the dirt. And what’s with that withered flower? Is that some new fashion choice?"

At those words, Lilith instinctively reached up to touch the nameless bloom pinned in her hair.

Damon didn't miss the movement.

He narrowed his eyes.

Since when did Lilith care for flowers? No, that was a gardenia.

That specific flower grew where her nanny had passed away. Lilith had always carried the faint aroma of gardenias. It was the scent he always linked to her presence.

However, she had never actually worn one before.

Turning away from Sylvia, he pulled several chairs out of his shadow storage.

Lilith sat down in silence, her body stiff, looking as though she was at a loss for words.

Damon approached and gently tilted her chin up, forcing her to look him in the eye.

"Hey. What are you thinking about? You aren't actually mad about Renata, are you?"

She squeezed out a tiny smile.

"No. I'm not. I’m just exhausted from the journey. That’s all. How have you been?"

Damon’s face remained neutral, but he sensed something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

It felt as if the confidence of the once-proud Lilith Astranova had been stripped away bit by bit, leaving behind a dull spirit.

Lilith caught his expression.

She had convinced herself she was fine. She really believed she held the advantage in this timeline.

Things had shifted more drastically than before, yet it wasn't enough.

She could still see that hollow look in his eyes.

Perhaps it was due to her failure to secure the elixir of pseudo immortality from the Black Tower.

Or perhaps it was because, in every past life, she had fought Damon in hopes of preventing him from choosing his own destruction.

Seeing him now, all that past failure and misery came rushing back.

She wanted to hold her head and scream.

The weight was unbearable.

She was the only one who remembered.

To make matters worse, with every passing second, her memories of previous regressions were becoming a blur.

She was losing the ability to tell which details belonged to which reality.

"You look like you've been making life difficult for someone," she whispered.

She tried to maintain her usual strong front, but inside, she just wanted to collapse and weep.

Damon smiled at her.

For a fleeting moment, she saw that specific smile again—the one he wore while laughing, even when covered in his own blood.

"How about some tea? You can tell me all about your travels and why you two were trying to kill one another."

He firmly shifted the topic.

Producing a teapot, he began pouring steaming tea into a matching set of cups.

Renata looked at the rising steam.

"It seems you have just about everything hidden in there."

Damon chuckled.

"I’ve ended many lives. Some people drop fascinating loot. Like this teapot—it generates hot tea automatically."

He held up a hand to Sylvia as she prepared to speak.

"Don't ask me the mechanics. I have no idea."

He tilted the teapot slightly, revealing the faint runic system carved into the surface.

"Likely the work of the unknown god, based on the level of detail."

"I wonder if the tea supply is endless," Sylvia remarked.

Damon gave a shrug.

"Who knows. I've never tested it."

Sylvia smiled and nodded her head.

"You know what else I’m curious about?"

"What?"

He realized his mistake a moment too late.

Her voice turned freezing cold.

"What exactly you were doing with this bitch in the middle of the night."

He sighed.

He really shouldn't have asked.

‘She used to be such a sweet girl. What happened?’