Celestial Bodies

Prologue

Stars, beings of immense power. Once simple minded and primitive, now one of the most divine beings to exist. Many of them, at the start of the cosmos, formed simple friendships and small communities to make sense of themselves and their solitude. They would contemplate life, the universe, and their place within it. In their further years, they learned to control the energy they possessed and sought out purpose in their existence. Some stayed within the communities of their birth while others strived for explanations beyond that of what they could even think to ask.

There was one specific little star who strived for such knowledge, born into a small community until she was only a child. She would go on adventures that would leave her with nothing more than what she already had. Even so, she carried on. One of her small adventures leading her to stray too far from her people. She had no way of finding her way home, leaving her stranded and lonesome for centuries. Growing up on her own, she learned how to harness her power and built a kingdom all by hand. Dividing her power to form terrestrial objects and even life. She named her kingdom after her old community. It thrived because of her outstanding leadership and sense of self. She had found what most of her kin strived for most, purpose.

Once her kingdom was complete, she finally dialed back how much power she was using. The adrenaline wearing off made her realize how much she had overexerted, which made her fall deathly ill. What death meant to a star was death to the people around them too. Following her death would be the dispersal of her power throughout the cosmos. Meaning anything created with her energy would essentially dissolve unless there was someone to absorb it and harness it in her stead. Not wanting her people to come to harm or have to live without a queen, she left in hope of finding a cure. She fainted in deep space and woke up within a sort of tent. It was warm, there was a fireplace in the corner. The bed she woke up in was soft and plush and there was a writing desk on a parallel wall. A man was asleep seated in the chair adjacent to her bed. He stirred upon hearing her movement and greeted her gently as to not frighten her. She felt better than she did when she left her kingdom, he explained the remedies he used to her. He assured her she was safe. Over the course of her further healing, they grew fond of each other naturally and eventually went back to the kingdom to live.

After a while the queen became pregnant with a daughter, they named her Lillith. The kingdom was elated, and the King and Queen were happier than they could ever be. After the birth of the child, the queen fell asleep knowing her daughter was safe with the castle help.

She woke up to an empty room and a bassinet a few feet from her bed. She looked at the clock, showing it was midday. She figured her husband was fetching a meal and would return soon. The queen sat up at the edge of the bed and wobbled to her feet. She made her way to the bassinet to see her baby. She too was asleep in peace, on her side. The queen gently turned her over and pulled her into her arms to see her. The baby had scar-like markings on her back, two sets of eyes and a pair of horns. Her jaw fell open with a small gasp. Dumbfounded and frightened, the queen searched for her lover, expecting an explanation. Which she received.

She heard a crash on her balcony and ran to investigate, tears streaming down her face, Lillith in her arms. She ripped back the curtains with such force, they tore off the wall. Only to find her lover, standing on the balcony railing, bearing an appearance she'd never seen him with. The same appearance her daughter had displayed. Only he had great wings and blood dripping from where they stuck out of his back. He had tricked her. He was a species of parasite, born from the mass of dying stars. Beings born straight of havoc's womb. Their only purpose being to reproduce and inflict pain on beings with what they once had, and leave. Which he did. The queen looked at her husband with pain in her eyes, he looked at her mirroring her pain. There were tears streaming his face, but he let out a shriek and tore off the balcony so fast it crumbled bits of the railing.

The Queen let out a bone chilling scream in pain. She fell to her knees and wept, looking down at the child in her arms. After the kingdom saw what had become of their recently named king, they were worried about the princess.
Her mother, devastated and heartbroken, knew what would happen eventually with her daughter. In an attempt to delay the inevitable and allow her daughter as long a happy life as possible, she isolated herself from her. She left the castle staff to raise her.

The first portion of her life, she only displayed her mother's old emotional traits, her sense of self, strive for leadership, and so on. She had been told she was the heir to the kingdom and couldn't wait to grow up because of it. When Lillith was around 8 in her own years, she had grown old enough and smart enough to realize she did not come to be spontaneously. She must have parents somewhere. At first, she only questioned it. The maids and other staff telling her she was a star, that her mother was away. This kept her curiosity at bay for a while. That is, until a new hire's slip of the tongue, twisted the course of fate.

This new hire was questioned by the princess and she told her of her mother's being at the west wing of the castle. Lillith was, of course, elated.
Hearing of her mother's existence, of course, she sought out looking for her. She didn't tell any of the regular maids, and waited until they tucked her into bed to sneak out. Reaching the west wing, she opened every door she passed until she finally got to the one at the end of the hall. It had to be the one. Standing in her mother's doorway, she opened it.

She found her mother reading, her room rather clean for someone whose locked herself away for so long. It was rather dark, the only light being from the open door and a bedside candle. The queen heard the door open at her back and had assumed it was her maid returning to offer additional help. She began to speak, dismissing what she thought was a maid but cut herself short.

Her mother turned to the door taking her eyes off the book and seeing her daughter in the doorway. She went wide-eyed at the sight of the child and began to weep silently.
Lillith called out for her mother and walked towards her with open arms, her mother backed away with each step. Her affections were rejected.

Lillith was heartbroken and stopped in her tracks. It was inevitable. Lillith suddenly cried out in pain, not like anything normal, a primal scream. As she screamed and bellowed, wings tore through her flesh and out of her back, horns emerged on her forehead in a similarly violent manner, eyes rolling back into her head and plasma seeping from fixed places on her body burning her on the way out. She fell to the ground sobbing in pain. The room suddenly fell silent, all that could be heard was the princess's labored breathing.

Before anything could be said, she lunged at her mother screaming in emotional and physical agony as she did. She clawed and bit at her mother's skin. Ripping flesh from bone and muscle, the only sign of retaliation being the horn that her mother tore off in a vain attempt at removing the child from herself. Eventually the squirming stopped, the screams went silent. The room, cold and dark. Moments later a maid came running toward the queen's quarters to investigate the racket. She came upon the queen, ripped open at the abdomen, and her daughter. Her daughter was feasting on her intestines while the queen lay dead. Her reign; no longer.

Upon her mother's death, the power she held, transferred to Lillith. This power balanced out her parasitic side, she regained consciousness but not feeling. She stood and looked down at her mother. Her tears reflected a sadness of which she wasn't experiencing.

A maid heard all the noise and ran towards the room. Hearing the maid approach, Lillith's head snapped in her direction. Blood dripping from her mouth and hands, she lunged out and swiftly murdered the maid. She tore her way through the castle's walls, mutilating anyone in sight. Eyes were pulled from sockets, legs from hips, organs from bones. The bloodbath sent her into a state of euphoria, Lillith already had plans for the rest of the kingdom's fate.