Monarch of Darkness, Arsene

Lips parting, my eyes flashed to meet Lord Hellmaster, whose dark, looming smile seemed to deepen as he stood to his feet.

“You ain’t too old to get a piece of Lily! Hold my shit! Arsene.” Lily snapped, and before I could speak my peace to distance myself from whatever the hell this was, I was booted from wherever I was, remerging where I had left.

“Lily?” I called, but there was no reply.

I knew Lily was a… for lack of a better word, a gangster, but this takes the cake. This system soul is on something. Wasn’t she the one to warn me of Hellmaster? Could there be some prior relationship I’m unaware of?”

Then again, this is Lily I’m talking about. The Mad System with a vulgar mouth.

I ignored the battle raging on without signs of end, and a bitter taste sank in as I teleported back to Iluthath under a veil of darkness, using Tenebrae’s blessing. I masked myself the best I could, feeling the fresh air billowing against my cheeks for the first time in a long time.

Nothing ever felt refreshing in the Hells. It was scary down there. And with Hellmaster’s warning, I didn’t want to test his boundaries. At least not yet. He had all right to kill me but didn’t. Giving only a warning and a cup of tea.

… I like him. But the way he behaved seemed almost too laid back. I’m kind of jealous.

“Tenebrae, will you’re blessing hide me from Michael? And do you know why Lord Hellmaster told me that winged bastard was after me?”

Darkness painted my vision following the materialization of black nodes of light. Slowly the nodes began to congeal, taking the form of a beautiful woman with long black hair carrying a few strings of silver. Her eyes were a devouring black, and the features she carried seemed as bewitching as any drug.

“The plague that was released. The one you named Teleth. Michael wants answers. Something foul has infected the Myriad Heavens, targeting Angels and Fallen. Alongside the children. A few Nephilims are showing mutations.”

“Wait! Hold up! How does he know I was the one who named them? I don’t remember telling anyone that?”

Tenebrae smiled and inched closer, tracing her hands over my cheek. ” The moment you spoke their name, it echoed through the Myriad Heaven to every major god and organization. Overnight you became famous.”

“… I only repeated what Lily said…. ”

“Then she played you. Making you a great target. You’re quite famous. I—”

“No… No… No. Hold up. Are the angels blaming me for the Teleth? I haven’t done shit!” I pointed out.

Tenebrae smirked, and her dark eyes found a shimmer of amusement. ” How many people have you blackmailed, or better yet, how many people have you screwed over because you could? The angels might just do it to you. They have the power.”

Releasing a sigh, I looked past Tenebrae towards the luminous skies painted with an array of colors and back to the woman I was to marry. “Can you teleport me to my Mother’s Grave?”

She smiled. “As you wish. Till next we meet.”

Nodding, I blinked, and by the time my eyes opened, a field of azure glistening like endless stars filled my sights. And yet, as I stared at these flowers, I watched in amazement as they began shifting from a blazing azure to a milky white.

In seconds it felt like I’d stepped into another world despite not having moved.

Moving through the field of elegance brushing against my robes, my sights anchored themselves on a mid-size monolith a few meters away. Beautiful and refined, I felt my heart go heavy.

“It’s been a while since we were here.” Came the voice of Zariel from behind. “Too long, in fact.”

“Yeah… you never found her body?”

“I tried… and I’m still trying.” He replied. “And I believe I’m close. Very close.”

I looked at him, awaiting his reveal. “What, you haven’t figured it out? Mephisto didn’t even know about Yuki at the time. He couldn’t have taken her. And even if he did, three people we created owed her a great debt. You think they’d allow her body to be taken and experimented on?”

“The children.” I figured.

“Maybe. It’s only a guess. I’ve no proof. Only hope.”

“Don’t we have a saying about hope?”

Zariel chuckled. “Then I guess I’m weak.”

…

…

… 𝙗𝙚𝙙𝒏𝙤𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝒎

“It’s good to see you again, little brother. Are the others here?” I asked after paying respect to Mother. “I’ve not seen Iz or Van in a while. Izzy is still alive right?”

“Whose going to kill that cockroach? The Myriad Heavens could end, but he’ll find a way to live. But I’m surprised… I didn’t think you’d remember him. What changed?”

Looking at him as we made our way down the spiraling staircase below the stone Monolith, I told him about the Path of Abyssal Night and my Divinity of Sin. The memories were all coming back, albeit slowly, but I could remember many things. And it made me want to kill the woman and man I called Mother and Father in this life.

But that wasn’t fair, even for me. That was a little too much.

“Well, Izzy isn’t here, only Zero. I’ve got them on missions. Same with Vancurro, Aurelia, and a few others. We’ve been busy.”

Coming to a halt before a large metal door, I suddenly felt something scan me.

“…what’s it looking for?”

“Everything. Before this door, if you’re unhappy, sad, angry, or happy, you’ll be blocked. You need a calm body and mind. If not, you’re not getting in. Unless someone buzzes you in. I’ve been locked out dozens of times, but it’s one of Zero’s paranoid inventions, so we’re stuck with it.”

“Good to see he’s not changed.”

“Changed? That bastard’s gotten worse. He banned Aurelia for a few chaos cycles because he didn’t believe she was pregnant. And wanted to run millions of scans to ensure she wasn’t a spy.”

Watching the gate open up, I swore I was visiting somewhere on genesis as the blinding light of machines caught my eye.”

It was exquisite. I could practically see the digital pixels glinting off the air as projections and other devices hummed with life.

“You guys stepped up.”

“Welcome back to the Order of Chaos.”