Aime in her life, ann appeared. “Lillia ce at Fourteen.”
Lillia tapped o the keyboard on her puter. Her room was dark. On her s was a mystical se, a knight staring at a checkerboard bd white puzzle. There was a gold clo the ter that Lillia kept her eye on as she waited. She sighed when the knight said "Ack! That must not be thine correcteth answer..." for the huh time.
"I know what the correswer is," Lillia muttered to herself. "If you'd just be patient and wait for the clock..."
“Lillia! Time to go!” Her mother called.
“One moment!” Lillia said, tinuing to stare at the s.
“Ly’s graduation is very soon, my dear,” her mother said. “We don’t want to be aaate…”
“I said one moment!” Lillia said, tinuing to tap as she watched the clock turn on her game. If she could just time this right, she could finally get the st achievement in Tyrant Rangers 2000: System Knight.
“Pause the game and e back to it after this,” her mother said, opening her door and turning on her lights. “And brush your hair, you got major bedhead, dear.”
Lillia sighed as she clicked, missing the timer, causing the clock to disappear.
She let out a soft sigh as she got into the family car.
“Much better hair wise,” her mother said. “Now if we just improve the scowl on the way over…”
“Lillia’s always got that look.” Lilith said, seated o Lillia in the back of the car. “Always a sourpuss!”
“Lilith, be quiet,” Lillia said.
“Mom, she’s mad cuz you stopped her from getting one of those ‘aplishments’ iupid game Tired Raiders.”
“It’s called an achievement.” Lillia said. “And the game is called Tyrant Rangers.”
Lillia’s thoughts echoed around the memory trial. At least they are trophies I actually win…
Lillia looked stoic as she watched her older sister’s graduation ceremony. But she couldn’t shake the feelings of jealousy and self-doubt watg her take the stage.
At least it’s not Lilith’s graduation. Lilith had already been bumped up a few grades, but Lillia still was one ahead of her, which shouldn’t have felt like as much of an aplishment as it did. Ly was of course on of the very few students asked to give a speech, and her speech was quite poetid moving. It got a standing ovation.
“, Lillia, stand up.” Lilith said. “Don’t be rude.”
Lillia stood up relutly. It’s not that I’m not happy for her, or not proud…but it still hurts. Being the worst in the family.
The curtains drew once more.
“Lillia ce at Sixteen.”
Lilith squealed a horrid shriek before the curtains had even finished parting again. Lillia flopped off the cou the living room, her gaming headset falling off and her troller spilling to the ground, the battery pack falling apart, ruining her multipyer round.
“Lilith?” Lillia called out. “Are you OK? Did you just hurt yourself?”
Lilith didn’t answer.
“Is something wrong?”
Lilith ran into the room, holding a smart phone.
“Oh, my god!” Lilith said.
“What’s wrong?” Lillia asked. “What happened?”
“Nothing happened, Lillia,” Lilith said. “Well, something incredible happened! Look, I just won a grant!”
Lillia’s stomach dropped as her sister held her phone up to her, with an annou of her receiving an official grant from a genuine real institute to pursue speech writing. In the void version of the memory, the world turned dark around her as Lilith rambled about what that meant to her.
“I’m going to probably get a doctorate, and be really famous, and it’s gonna be amazing, and I’ll travel all around the world, except to maybe not the por tis, but maybe if they ask me to do a speech there, because—“
Lillia felt a sharp pain ieeth. She thought she was about to throw up, but gasped as a giant fireball escaped her mouth, bsting directly towards Lilith’s face.
“And then I got my fangs,” the present Lillia said, regaining her form to overwhelm the memory. “And practically burned my little sister to death.”
“She did get out of the way in time,” The voi the void said. “Looks like that burned her eyebrows pretty good, though.”
“But…she could have been hurt worse.” Lillia said, as echoes of Lilith g in terror surrounded her.
“Is that your takeaway ohings you’ve seen?” The voi the void said ohe shouts settled into silenbsp; “What are your thoughts on what you’ve been shown?”
“I don’t know,” Lillia said. “I learned...nothing? I still have to be better than them. I have to…prove…it’s pointless, isn’t it?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“So what do you say?” Lillia asked.
“I say,” the voice said. “That there is a path ahead of you that pushes you towards always striving to best your sisters.”
“That’s the path I wish I could take.” Lillia said.
“The path you wish you could?” The voice said. “By the way, Laenie has named me Twilight Umbra. I thought you should know.”
“How...I'm not sure if fitting is the right word...” Lillia said. “But yes, anyways, Twilight Umbra. The path I wish I could. Part of me desperately wants to take the Endoran path, and show Lilith and Ly I be better than them, but…”
“But?”
“But if I do…” Lillia said. “Whatever reward I’d gain from taking the path of Endora, it wouldn’t be worth it in the end.”
Lillia could feel power c through her. Another vision of herself appeared, smiling wildly as she trolled her fire not just with her breath, but with her bloodsaber and hands, as trophies and awards began to fall around like fetti.
“You’d be very strong."
"The Endoran path is powerful," Lillia said. "But from what I've been taught it goes against my moral system. To gai power quickly, but to sacrifice care and respect for others, putting all mental strength into ego and cruelty, that sort of thing."
"Even so, you’d have the satisfa of finally beier than them.”
“But they’re still family.” Lillia said. “I prove I’m great on my own, too.
“I like that answer,” twilight Umbra said. “Is that the path you intend on taking then, Lillia?”
“Yes,” Lillia said. “I know I’ll remain oh of the Atrians.”
“Very well,” Twilight Umbra said. “I’m very impressed with your answers, Lillia. You lived up to your reputation and more.”
Lillia smirked as the door back opeo her.