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SD: CH87 - Lilim
🕑 Added 2023-09-30 20:40:15 +0000 UTCThe bottom fell out of my stomach.
“...Wha… what did you say?”
I had to have misheard her. There was no other explanation. I and I alone was the Outlander, and only I had the ability to view the Screen and use its ability to take advantage of the System and get out ahead faster than anyone else. My one-way ticket to Godhood. There was absolutely no way the Screen would start displaying itself to others even if they were—
You have activated a new Attribute
Attribute — DEVOTION
DESCRIPTION
Every Lord needs his acolytes to display their complete and undying devotion to him.
Presence of the DEVOTION attribute transforms a 100% anchor into a Lilim.
I paused. Ok, the screen was doing something. I didn’t know what any of it meant, but this was presumably controllable.
You have activated a new Attribute
Attribute - LILIM COUNT
DESCRIPTION
Acolytes of the Incubus Lord. The more, the merrier.
And a Lilim is…?
LILIM
A 100% World Anchor with Devotion is classified as a Lilim. Lilims have limited access to the Screen. Upon activation, Lilims may gain perks and increased affinities from the Incubus Lord, and enhance the Incubus Lord in return.
What was this? Why was I getting all of this now? And why was Hestia suddenly able to see a goddamn Screen? She had hit her hundred percent anchorage sometime last week, and Hermione had hers close to two months ago. Hell, Amelia gained hers most recently, and right before me evolving to Incubus Lord. Then… why?
What was I missing?
I focussed on the earlier stat.
Devotion.
‘Harry—” Hestia began.
“Shhh,” I told her absently. “I’m thinking. Just… stay silent for a while.”
“But—”
“Please?”
I pulled out of her, and got off the bed, scowling. Unlike World Anchorage, the Devotion stat didn’t have any range parameters. It was either present or absent. But Hermione was equally devoted to me, wasn’t she? She had sworn herself to be on my side, no matter what happened, back in our first-year. But it took her accepting the fact for her World Anchorage to rise and hit the 100% ceiling.
But if that wasn’t Devotion, then what was?
And why did it only matter for those 100% World Anchors?
Too many questions. Too little answers. And as if it wasn’t enough, the Screen flickered once again.
Current Lilim Count — 1
HESTIA JONES
As expected, Hestia had been turned into a Lilim, whatever that was. I recalled that Lilims were demonic entities that served greater demons. By that logic, Hestia was someone with a 100% anchorage, which translated to me being the most important person in her life, and she was in service to me, an Incubus Lord — a demon of Lust, which made her a Lilim.
And there were only two things that had happened recently that could have been the reason behind the sudden change.
Her proclamation of her love for me.
And, the fact that she cast the Imperius on Emmeline to protect my secrets.
As much as I wanted to believe it was the former, I couldn’t. And Incubus wasn’t a being of Love, but of Lust. Well, that was technically an incorrect statement, given how my anchorages reflected my emotional bonding with my anchors and vice versa. It might have been a case of childhood love for Hermione, but for Amelia, it was about emotional and conjugal fulfilment. Sexual satisfaction was probably a significant thing for Narcissa, but I doubted that she chose me specifically for my ability to outfuck her. Well, maybe it was part of the reason, but achieving her freedom from Lucius’s shackles was just as high a priority in her eyes. Susan’s was a case of infatuation and to a lesser extent, freedom, while for Hannah and her mum, it was simply a form of defiance and sexual satisfaction. Tracey saw me as a way to gain financial independence, and for Ginny, it was a result of her possession.
Emmeline just didn’t count. Not yet.
There was only one thing that made Hestia truly different from the rest. She had cast the Imperius Curse on Emmeline Vance. She had chosen to subdue another’s will, just because the person could potentially be a danger to me. She had truly developed the kind of mindset that required her to believe that not only was I the most important person in her life, but that no other person’s wishes or their ability to choose did not even matter when compared to mine. Like they were lesser.
I could argue that Amelia had also mindfucked Susan to a degree that could be called criminal, but she hadn’t done it because I wanted it, or that it would aid me in some way. No, she did it because she wanted to exert her influence over every other woman that I bedded, and wanted to ensure that she remained my Number One. The motive behind it all was innately selfish, and not what one might think as Devotion.
Or at least, that was what made sense to me.
Hermione too, fell along similar lines. Yes, she had pledged to be on my side, but that did not rid her of her own insecurities, nor put her in a mindset where she could just offer herself to me, while expecting nothing in return. For that was what Hestia had done. She had imperiused her own mentor, gone against the very Order that made her what she was, and was trying to bring her best friend and first love into my web of lust, and yet, she was perfectly prepared for me to reject her because she cast an Unforgivable.
Was that why….
I turned to Hestia.
“Harry,” she said, her tone uncertain. “Is something wrong? Have I done something wrong?”
I couldn’t help but smile. Devoted indeed.
“No. But you might have done something right. Tell me, this… Screen, what does it look like? Does it have anything written on it?”
“Uh, yes,” she asked. “You’re going to think I’ve gone crazy, but this thing claims that I’ve become a Lilim.” She paused. “Your Lilim.”
Somehow, I knew that the Tether perk was to blame for it. I knew something was not right about it the moment I had gotten it. It told me that I would have to take responsibility for my world anchorages, but was never clear about the mechanics. The monthly boosts of Meta-Luck was possibly the best thing that any perk could ever give me, but I should’ve known that there was no such thing as free lunch.
As the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility.
Here’s my addendum to it. Great responsibility often gets you fucked greatly.
Exhibit like… C just entered into evidence.
“Harry?”
I exhaled, and controlled the irrational burst of panic in me. The truth was, it was through my fake time-travel story that I had gotten Hestia’s complete and utter devotion. I’m not even being metaphorical here. I had to be careful about this, and make sure that nothing I told her strayed from my fake story, or else I would be in a world of trouble.
Careful, Harry. Be very, very careful.
I exhaled. “Hestia, I want you to tell me everything you are seeing before your eyes right now.”
Mentally, I commanded the screen to display her ‘status’.
LILIM - HESTIA JONES
Age - 24
AFFINITY
Transfiguration —17%
Charms — 44%
Martial Magic — 41%
Dark Arts — 59%
Psychomancy (Occlumency) — 57%
Psychomancy (Legilimency) —39%
Spatial magic —53%
Magical Sensing —13%
Magical Analytics — 9%
No perks. Which meant that her ability to read through conversations was a honed art, and not a natural facility. Perhaps she was channelling her innate Legilimency talent? 39% was nothing to scoff at. As was her staggering 57% at Occlumency. No wonder she had taken to Emmeline’s training like fish to water.
Bloody hell, I remember having a measly 3% in general Psychomancy upon finding myself in this world.
Also, No Meta-Luck either.
“Ummm, you’re not going to laugh, are you?”
She took one look at my expression and sobered up. “Okay, um, it lists my affinities. Transfiguration, Charms, Martial Magic, I suppose that classifies as Defence Against the Dark Arts, and then there’s Dark Arts, Psychomancy, Spatial magic, Magical Sensing and Analytics. And it’s displaying my affinity to them in terms of… and I’m not freaking kidding, in terms of percentages.”
“Anything else?”
She shook her head.
“Harry,” she asked again. “What’s all this? Do you — I mean, is this another of your —”
“My powers, yes. Well, sort of.”
“What is all this?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. She tried to touch the status window using her finger, but it obviously passed through. “I’m pretty sure they aren’t my NEWT results. And I can’t touch it, this screen, I mean.”
“That’s because it isn’t there, Hestia,” I said, sighing. “It’s an illusion. Well, an illusion that only you can see.”
“And you?”
“And me, yes.”
“Can you see what I’m seeing?”
“Yes.”
Her eyes narrowed further. “Prove it.”
“How? I could comment on how you’ve got a high affinity for Legilimency, even though you haven’t learned it yet. Or I suppose I could point out your extremely high affinity to Spatial magic, 53%, which makes me wonder just how skilled at apparition you are. But I think I’d rather talk about your affinity for the Dark Arts, a staggering 59%, and greater than any other discipline, which explains how you successfully cast the Imperius curse. Merlin, Hestia, you’ve got all the makings of a Dark Witch.”
She scowled at me.
“Yes,” I deadpanned. “I can see them. You’re my Lilim. Of course I have access to your profile.”
“But what is this?” She almost whined. “What sort of magic is this?”
I took a moment to gather my thoughts. “It’s… called the Tether system. It’s the reason why part of my mindscape looks like a futuristic muggle city that’s, well, being eaten by a shadow demon.”
“You mean — this is a technology from the future?”
“Magical technology, yes. Every magical — witch, wizard, or any other creature really, has varying affinities for the different disciplines of magic. That’s why some people are good at some things, average at others and absolute dunderheads at others. Some people are great at defence, but terrible at potions. For example, you have a very strong affinity for Charms and Martial Magic, which explains how you can cast the Patronus, but your skill at Analytics is only 9%. I doubt you even took Arithmancy at Hogwarts.”
She shook her head. “Care of Magical Creatures and Divination. Never had the patience for Runes or Arithmancy.”
“And because it’s an easy OWL.”
She giggled. “That too.”
I observed how carefree she looked. It wasn’t that she was sombre before, but despite that cheerful facade she always had on, I could sense a sharp, cunning mind observing every action I took and run its own calculations.
“We think that if we study harder, we’ll probably score better. Maybe some people even do. I mean, hard work beats talent every day and all that, but a natural facility is always an added advantage. What this status window does, is display our affinities in terms of percentages. Based on this, you can tell exactly what you’re good at. Makes it easier for students to be sorted into the disciplines that fit their affinities.”
“Amazing…” murmured Hestia, her eyes wide. “And in the future, everyone has this?”
I twisted my face in a pained expression, and Hestia instantly winced. “Sorry, I — I didn’t think.”
I shook my head. “No worries. I’m one of the few that got their hands on this. Though, you getting this was a surprise.”
“Why?”
Why indeed? I’d have gone out on a limb and claimed that it had something to do with the Tether perk, my World Anchors and my own status as a ‘fake’ that had been inserted into Harry’s body by some higher authority with a sadistic sense of humour. On the other hand, the terminology made me think it was connected to my nature as an Incubus Lord.
A power that I hadn’t fully actualized yet.
But come to think of it….
Screen. Do I need world anchors even for the Necromancer Path?
The response, as always, was immediate.
You do not belong in this World. Be thankful, the World Anchors are here to save your arse.
A World Anchor is a Bond you share with existences that are part of this reality. TETHER allows you to establish new World Anchors and solidify existing ones, granting you affinities from your anchors as well as Meta-Luck.
I could’ve done without the sassiness though. But the Screen wasn’t finished.
METHODS OF GAINING WORLD ANCHORAGE
Perform a Tantric Sex Ritual with another entity, sharing your magical energy while receiving a minor portion of their affinity in return
Create a Horcrux
Perform a Sanctum Invocation with a Ley Line.
I stood corrected. World Anchors were not something limited to the Incubus Path then. There were different versions of them, depending on the Path I chose to take. Wait, did that mean that by creating Horcruxes, Voldemort too was gaining strength? Did that mean the stronger I got, the more power and skill Voldemort would get from me in return? Was that how it worked?
Fucking hell! The horcrux had to go.
I clenched my teeth and fisted my palms. This… I had never expected this. Was I, on my way to gaining ultimate power, making Voldemort more powerful in return? It did make poetic sense, given how I was also synchronising with his Necromancer powers. Was this — was this what the prophecy meant?
The Dark Lord shall mark him as his Equal?
If I let it, maybe the Horcrux would slowly make my affinities in Necromancy on par with Voldemort. And in the same way, it would probably synchronise my affinities with him. The only difference would be that I’d have those affinities, but with no real skill or knowledge to truly utilise them. On the other hand, he, with his endless knowledge he had gathered over decades, would only get better and infinitely more powerful because of the affinity he'd get from me.
Was this Fate’s way of making it a battle of equals somehow? Because things weren’t exciting enough for that fucking bitch?
I became conscious of Hestia’s eyes on me. I glanced at her face. Her expression was tough to read.
“I told you about how I became an Incubus Lord, remember? Well, a Lilim, mythologically, is a demoness in service to a greater demon. So I suppose, when you demonstrated unwavering loyalty to me, it affected our bond, and transformed you into one.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You’re saying I’ll cease being human?”
I shrugged. “I really couldn’t say. This is as much new for me as it is for you. Hell, I’m an Incubus Lord and I’m still human. Or well, at least look and feel and think like one, so I imagine you should too. And given this only happened after you cast the Imperius for me, and said you love me and everything —”
“I do,” she said without the slightest affliction.
“Yes, that,” I said, feeling utterly uncomfortable at her bluntness. “Doing that establishes you as a Lilim. You know, in service to the Incubus Lord. At least, that’s my theory.”
“A demoness,” she murmured, frowning. She pursed her lips for a moment, and then giggled.
“... what?”
“Oh nothing. Dad always told me I’d be trouble when I grew up. And look, I’m a demoness now. With a silly magical screen.” She giggled again, making me wonder if I had hit her with a cheering charm by mistake.
“You’re taking this Lilim thing quite… I don’t know, easily?” I almost grumbled. “Aren’t you, you know, just a little bit sceptical? About all this?”
She gave me a lopsided grin, and placed a single finger right over her naked breast. “Lilim, remember? Complete and utter devotion to my Lord. Why should I question anything you say?”
I scowled, and that made her giggle harder. After a moment, she finally spoke. “It’s not that I’m not sceptical. It’s just that I don’t care. I mean, I can see it, and so can you, so either it’s some illusion that you’ve cast over me to make me believe in some cock-and-bull story that somehow also makes sense, with my umm, affinities… in which case, I’d say it’s unnecessary because I already trust you with everything.”
“Or?”
“Or it is the truth,” she said simply. “And that means you’ve infected me with some future magical technology, and that means there must be all kinds of interesting things this thing can do. I can’t wait to see them.”
My mind flashed back to her confession, how she had bluntly stated how she agreed with my vision of the Wizarding world, and pledged her loyalty, and just mere moments ago, stated how she loved me, without the slightest affliction to her tone. I wasn’t sure if she was secretly holding doubts, or just playing along, or really didn’t care at all like she claimed, but I got the impression that as long as things fell along her own agenda, Hestia would be fine with pretty much whatever weird shit I threw her way.
“Harry…” she began again, her eyes going wide again. “You told me Voldemort summoned demons. Did you… do you think that your Incubus powers are connected to that?”
I blinked.
Her face grew even more serious. “I mean, if you faced demons, and are now an Incubus, a sex demon then…”
Oh God.
Really. Again?
“Did I say something funny?”
Her frown made me chuckle. “Sorry, I just… remembered something funny, that’s all. And yeah, it could be. I like to think I was a fair hand at killing demons. But I had my share of scars from that. It’s possible one of them could have caused a magical reaction.”
“I see,” she said. “Yes, that makes sense now. It explains everything. I had wondered, but yes…” she swept the hair on her face past her ear. “Your knowledge, your incubus nature, your sudden growth and your investing in muggle technology and enchanting. And that stunt with Penelope, who coincidentally happened to have crafted a revolutionary approach to enchanting…”
Do not laugh. Do not laugh. Do not laugh.
She met my eyes. “That’s what you’re after, aren’t you? You’re trying to recreate this technology. And Penelope —”
“I am not sure of that, Hestia,” I told her. “I’m no Charms master, and I don’t know the ‘why’ behind this technology. Hell, I’m still not done figuring out the ‘how’ completely. Penelope’s thesis looked revolutionary, and I thought that if someone has the best chance to reverse-engineer this thing…”
“I see,” she said, nodding. “That makes sense. I mean — wait, something’s —” She paused, and frowned, and right then, a new notification hit me.
Configuring Spiritual Baseline for Lilim HESTIA JONES complete….
Rendering…
Perk added: ETERNAL YOUTH
Both of us looked at our individual screens and yelled out —
“... WHAT?”
“E— eternal Youth?” Hestia stammered, looking at me utterly bewildered. “Harry, this — this is a joke, right? This things says that I — that I have —”
“I know what the bloody thing says!” I growled. “I can see it. Just working on believing.”
And so it was, the impossible perk, staring at me in the face on the Screen.
Perk — ETERNAL YOUTH
A wart-free immortal life. If that isn’t the envy of every woman out there, what is?
EFFECTS
Lilims do not succumb to age. They reach a certain point of maturity and stop. Suffering from a disease or poison or curse will kill them like anyone else.
“Harry—”
I didn’t respond. My brain was too busy working overdrive. The first rule of being the boss guy was to never let others see you sweat. People expect us to know things. It can be a big advantage. Screwing it up by looking like you’re as confused as everyone else is bad for the image.
The very nature of an Incubus was to be a figure that oozed sex appeal. Ageing could help there, but only up to a certain degree. After you reach your prime, any further ageing would only drop your appeal in front of others, and somehow, I doubted that Devil’s Charm would allow that to happen. Ever since I had become an Incubus, I had grown stronger and faster and gained some degree of bulk, granting me a figure that attracted the opposite sex. Increase in libido, development of a sharper jawline, some defined stubble, and of course, a musculature enough for me to get a job as a model. I even looked less like a sixteen-year-old and more like someone hitting twenty or more.
Show me more on Lilims. I told the Screen. How do I use them? What do I get? Everything.
INCUBUS LORD AND LILIM
A Lilim denotes a permanent symbolic representation of an Incubus Lord in the World. So long as a Lilim exists, the Incubus Lord cannot die.
Through performing acts of Devotion, Lilims can gain a rise in affinities and perks at the expense of the Incubus Lord’s Meta-Luck. The Incubus Lord can use Lilims through Lecherous Shrine.
HOW?
Information redacted
Domain LECHEROUS SHRINE Inactive
Damn it.
I ran my fingers through my hair.
This — this was the reason why I was given the monthly boosts of Meta-Luck. It wasn’t because Fate had decided to be less of a bitch to me. No, it was so that they could be used to amplify my Lilims, turn them into immortally young witches, and through them, grant me a form of pseudo-immortality.
Not unlike the Horcrux.
The Dark Lord’s Equal, indeed.
Voldemort used his horcruxes to TETHER himself to life. And the TETHER perk used these Lilims to anchor me to the world, keeping me away from certain death, so long as my Lilims survived. Obviously, that meant the more Lilims I had, the more secure I was in my immortality. Conversely, if Voldemort or his shit-eaters attacked my Lilims, then I’d fucked.
Take responsibility my arse! This— this was both a blessing and a bane in one.
“This —” I said at last, gathering my words. “This is real, Hestia. As a Lilim, you have eternal youth. Not a hint of grey hair, not a single wart, nothing. You’ll probably keep growing until you reach a mature form, and then just stop.”
Which meant that if Amelia became a Lilim then —
Poor Susan! Her dream of seeing her aunt in grey hair and wrinkles was never going to be a reality. On the other hand, I’d have to make sure how many lilims I could maintain at the same time. Nothing could be worse than having my Meta-Luck drained faster than I could even refill it by gaining new anchors. It certainly didn’t help that my Meta-Luck was scratching at the bottom right now.
“You can’t be serious!”
I sighed. “I’m shocked, not serious! I…. I didn’t expect this was possible. Oh and yes, so long my Lilims are alive, I cannot be killed.”
“And all of this because I told you that I love you?” she asked, sceptical.
“Not quite. But it’s definitely because you chose to imperius Emmeline.”
She scowled. “Don’t mock me.”
I shook my head, and caressed her cheek. She almost melted at my touch. “I’m truly not, Hestia. When you did that, you proved that no one holds greater priority than me in your eyes. That proved your devotion to me, which made you my Lilim.”
“Bollocks! By that logic, Hermione should’ve been a Lilim long ago.”
“It looks like that, but it's the underlying emotion that counts. Hermione is devoted to being on my side. Being with me, helping me, that’s what she’s chosen to define herself with. But that doesn’t stop her from being selfish about it, or being insecure about her position in my life. I imagine that’s what stops her from becoming a Lilim.”
“If that’s really the case,” came the cool voice of Hermione Granger. “Perhaps you should teach me how to cast the Imperius Curse, Hestia. I wouldn’t want to miss out on that Eternal Youth. Seems like a useful thing to have.”
Both of us whirled around and saw Hermione, standing at the doorway, giving us the look that promised an interrogation that would make the Spanish Inquisition seem tame.
“Hermione—”
“Werewolf hearing, remember?” she said, sauntering into the room, just as naked as she had been when I filtered the raw necromantic energy out of her. “Makes it really difficult for me to sleep without silencing charms. I guess I’m never going to complain about it from now on. I mean, how else would I know that the person I’ve been living and fucking every day is a fucking time-travelling demon?”
Hestia and I looked at each other.
“You explain,” both of us said at once.
Hermione was not amused.
