Dear reader,

first of all, thank you so much for clicking on this novel. It means a lot to me and I hope you enjoy reading it.
I'd like to preface this with a disclaimer that I will probably be updating this very sporadically, and I'm sorry for that. This story and its characters have been in my head for almost nine years now, they mean a lot to me and I am determined to write the whole thing down. However, I'm currently also working on a comic (that takes place in the same world - shameless plug, it's called Prelude and you can find it on Webtoon and Tapas), doing the prep work for two other comics, I should be working on my thesis and I have a weekend job ... yeah. I haven't worked on Burning Lilies in quite a while, and I'm posting it to motivate myself to start working on it again, even if it's at a slow pace.
My updates will also be ... not necessarily the very first draft, but obviously, since I' still in the process of writing it, I haven't gotten around to more in-depth editing.
I absolutely understand if you choose not to read it because of that. But if you do stick around, just know that I'm very grateful and appreciative.

Anway. I think that's all. Let's get to the actual story.

Somewhere in Hell, 1763

In Saira's dreams, God's return was announced by a thunderstorm.

The clouds had blackened the sky, but were briefly illuminated by lightning, which crashed into the earth and set fire to every living thing unable to escape. Houses collapsed, forests burned down, whole cities were destroyed ... demons screamed and tried in vain to get away from the flames they had once used to kill.

And then, as He appeared, a violent downpour of rain started as it had only occurred once before. Saira watched the man who had murdered her mother extend his burning arms to the droplets in a desperate attempt to soothe the singes on his skin, oblivious to the fact that the sudden change in weather would not bring salvation but bury him in a watery grave.

He laughed as His flood conquered Hell back and drowned its people, every single demon that had destroyed more lives than they could ever fathom, and Saira joined in. She laughed when the remains of her orphanage were swallowed by the newly created ocean; she laughed when she saw soldiers fight against the tides, and she laughed when she watched the other children's futile attempts to stay afloat. She was still laughing when the sky cleared and His revenge had washed away all life in Hell.

When she woke up, the sun shone on her face. Her bed creaked as she rose and pushed her scratchy blanket away. The washbowl in her room contained cold, probably not entirely clean water that she used to sprinkle her face. She was alone; the other beds were vacant and neatly made. The sound of footsteps made her little body tense up and her muscles twitch in anticipation, but to her great relief they passed her door without entering. At least she had some time to mentally prepare for the punishment she faced for oversleeping.

When she stepped out, children emerged from every corner of the hallway, almost as if they'd been waiting for her. Perhaps they had. A tall and lanky boy pushed her, a smaller one began kicking her sides when she hit the ground. A girl whose name she could never remember spat in her face. Suddenly, Thelma's wide frame blocked her view and her rumbling voice, almost as dark and piercing as the thunder in Saira's dream, demanded that she follow her into her office. Saira obeyed and, with a straight face, let herself be beaten. Outside, demonic children were playing soldier, while demonic soldiers were incinerating everything good and sacred. The orphanage was untouched, unfazed by the mercilessly burning sun, Saira's cheeks burnt with every hit she received and within her, a burning rage began to grow.