"Lily is SCP-231-1."
Dr. Kondraki's calm voice landed like thunder across the Marvel Universe.
At S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury's pupils shrank.
Even James couldn't believe what he heard.
"Wait… Lily and Clef were married… and she's also one of the Scarlet King's brides?!" he muttered.
Then another terrifying thought formed: "Is SCP-166 Clef's child… or the Scarlet King's?"
Dr. Kondraki avoided that question. He didn't answer, not directly.
"Area-8 housed the portal to SCP-2317," he explained. "It's been relocated."
He turned to James and added, "That's the origin of 2317."
Then he continued, "Area-9 contained thousands of occult artifacts—ritual bones, seven altars, and ten statues of 2317."
Dr. Kondraki paused, his eyes narrowing.
"Area-10 was worse. A corridor with carvings from the Book of Erikesh on both walls. This book is sacred to the Scarlet King cult—it explains how to restrain him."
He glanced at James and said, almost teasingly, "Oh, and by the way… the place where 2317 is now imprisoned? That's the Kappa-Erikesh Universe."
James raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that where the mystic defeated the Devourer of Worlds?"
Dr. Kondraki nodded. "Exactly."
He took a deep breath and lowered his voice. "Some believe Lily built the entire tomb, using knowledge from the Book of Erikesh. That's why the tomb survived the flooding of the town—it wasn't built by human hands."
James frowned. "But… how did Lily even gain access to that kind of knowledge?"
Dr. Kondraki didn't answer. His expression turned dark.
He muttered, "The time Lily was pregnant was the worst period in Clef's life."
He described what happened inside their home—now designated SCP-4231-2. Most of the house's paranormal activity replayed Lily's abuse of Clef: emotional manipulation, gaslighting, physical violence.
"She turned their home into a prison. Clef lived through a nightmare… again and again."
The live chat was horrified.
> "That's beyond abuse. That's hell."
"Poor Clef. And he was a reality bender too?"
"This whole story is like a psychological horror movie."
"And let's not forget… the Crimson King's power was right underneath them."
Dr. Kondraki continued with a grim face. "Lily's cruelty escalated. She began hurting animals—then humans. Random, brutal attacks. Unpredictable. And deadly."
Even the hardened agents at S.H.I.E.L.D. shifted uncomfortably.
Fury clenched his jaw. He hadn't imagined Clef's past could be this horrifying.
Dr. Kondraki finally changed the subject. "Let's talk about Clef."
James nodded.
"Clef used to work for the Global Occult Coalition— the GOC. His code name was 'Ukulele.' He was originally a reality bender himself, but one who suffered from PTSD and dissociative disorder."
Dr. Kondraki rolled his eyes. "And now he's a lying, reckless bastard who somehow became a brilliant hunter of reality benders."
James raised a brow. "But you just said he was a reality bender himself?"
Dr. Kondraki nodded. "Yes. But for a long time, Clef hid that fact—even while helping the GOC hunt others like him. He kept his powers suppressed. Even when he joined the Foundation, his abilities were difficult to measure."
James remembered something. "Like how you can't capture his face on any camera?"
Dr. Kondraki smirked. "Exactly. That's one of his tricks—to avoid relapse… and to avoid being found by the Foundation."
He lit another cigarette and sighed. "When Clef joined the Foundation, everything changed. Slowly, we pieced together the real story—how Lily, Clef, and SCP-4231 connected to the Crimson King."
The live audience leaned forward.
"It started decades ago. Clef's mother, a linguist, was hired by the Foundation to translate the Book of Erikesh. She was pregnant at the time—with Clef."
James's eyes narrowed.
Dr. Kondraki continued, "When Clef was about 17, his mother vanished. Most believe she was hunted down. But before she disappeared, she left behind translations of the book."
"Lily found them."
She became obsessed. She read the rituals. She believed in their power. And she began performing them.
James clenched his fists. "So… she summoned the Crimson King?"
Dr. Kondraki's voice was cold. "The fear created by those rituals—that's what fed the King. Not the rituals themselves. Fear, pain, suffering… they're his fuel."
He looked directly at James. "That's what makes it so terrifying. It's not about those children. It's not about sacrifice. It's about spreading fear."
The chatroom exploded.
> "She summoned the Crimson King by making Clef suffer?! What kind of monster—" "Fear as food? This is cosmic horror level crazy." "Now I understand why the Foundation calls him the End."
At S.H.I.E.L.D., the agents were silent. Fury, however, frowned. Something didn't add up.
He thought carefully.
According to the Foundation, Lily was SCP-231-1—the first of the Scarlet King's brides.
But Kondraki's description didn't match that.
The real victim wasn't Lily. It was Clef.
He was the one locked in the room.
He was the one tortured.
He fathered her child.
Lily was the abuser, not the imprisoned bride.
A horrifying theory began to form in Fury's mind…
Could Clef be the real SCP-231-1?
Back on screen, the conversation shifted again.
"During Lily's ritual obsession, Clef was assigned to Project Ichabod," Kondraki said.
James asked, "What's that?"
"The GOC's black ops program to eliminate Type Green reality benders."
Kondraki's tone became flat. "99% of all Type Greens who reach Phase 2 eventually become Phase 4 threats. When they do, they become unstoppable. Their egos explode. They use people like toys."
The room went still.
James asked, "And Phase 4 is…?"
Kondraki answered softly. "Godlike power. Like a walking apocalypse."
> The livestream went wild.
"Every reality bender can become a god?!"
"That's insane. We're all doomed."
"What if more of them already reached Phase 4?!"
At Kamar-Taj, the Ancient One's face turned pale.
She whispered, "So many potential gods… in the hands of madness."
Dr. Kondraki explained more.
"Back then, Type Greens were only hunted after something catastrophic happened—someone disappeared, or people were killed."
"They called it a witch hunt."
James nodded slowly. "So why didn't they stop them earlier?"
Dr. Kondraki's face darkened. "Cost. The world realized: it's cheaper to stop a potential threat early—even if it means killing someone who might never turn dangerous."
"Statistically, 99 of 100 will become Phase 4. That one innocent life saved isn't worth the thousands who could die."
He took a final drag of his cigarette.
"So they launched preemptive hunts. Killed first, questioned never. It was brutal. But it worked."
James remained silent.
The weight of it all pressed down on him.
Clef, the victim. The agent. The hunter. The bender. The man who stood at the edge of godhood… and turned away.
And maybe—just maybe—a bride of the Crimson King.
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