Monarch of Darkness, Arsene

My blood trembled with recognition as his voice tore through the void of time and space, consumed with anger. Lilith touched her womb, a rich smile on her cherry lips. 𝒃𝒆𝒅𝒏𝒐𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝙘𝙤𝒎

Uriel staggered back, his eye wide, as a storm of energy swarmed this small realm. Time shattered, freezing everyone but Vita, Damaris, Lilith, and me. Everything else was stuck, including the various Laws and Concepts.

‘Arsene… whatever happens, do not touch them. Do NOT TOUCH!” Lily grimly warned with such a cold voice; it mirrored Lilith’s iciness.

Cracks through the void of space splintered like great webs, revealing two silvery hair children, baptized by the aura I’d only seen in Abyss-Chan. Like I was standing in the depths of a forest fire with no way out, a sensation of something scarier than death swarmed my consciousness.

“Ten Seconds.” The ethereal voice of my daughter said, “Ten before Mephisto gets past Crowe.”

“Confirmed,” Vesryn coldly said, as a blood-red spear covered with such ancient abyssal runes emerged, I felt the very nature of the abyss within its depts. In turn, Izalith drew two swords from the void that felt like they had been forged in both Hell and Abyss using the blood of something ancient. It reminded me of the Mololith I saw within the Heart of the Abyss.

Lilith staggered back into my arms with a bloody nose. “I want more. More. He’s so handsome. My Mini Sene is a man.” She whispered, touching her baby bump. Tears streamed as she hiccuped, trembling in my arms.

“You…You two can’t be here.” Uriel stammered.

Izalith lifted her left hand, gripping her sword in a reverse grip, and spoke. ” In my time, you are not as weak as you are now. You are but half of what you are now. You don’t stand a chance. We didn’t set up this event for you.”

Our eyes went wide as the punchable face of Gabriel appeared in my mind. ” That fucker didn’t say anything. ”

“Do not make us act,” Vesryn warned. ” I’d hate for the Angels to lose a valuable Archangel during the prelude. You still have some use.”

“You two… “Uriel said with widened eyes before breaking into a slew of laughter. ” So Gabriel is on your side!”

Izalith sighed as a rich smile suddenly slipped onto her lips. She moved. And yet it wasn’t some quick action. She merely walked forward, standing directly before Uriel.

‘Die,’ she said, and before I could figure out what happened, embers flashed like a storm of baptizing light the size of a small city. Two blades clashed, and Iza’s blade cleaved down through Uriel’s shoulder before it was stopped.

She stared him dead in the eyes as the amethyst in her pupils began to become swallowed by a devil’s red.

“This isn’t a battle. You can win. Uriel. Stand down, or have someone take your place. We’ll not warn you again.” Vesryn said calmly. “Our event, our rules. And it is protected. Not just the Abyss but your Family as well. Leave my Father alone. Because the next time you act, it will be against a being of Absolution. Let’s go, sis.”

Gargling blood, knowing Uriel had taken some type of damage, Damaris’s whisper sounded. ” That Movement Technique, it’s Abyssal.”

“It’s called Zero Step,” Lilith said. “From an outside perspective, it seemed like she walked, but she jumped into a higher dimension when she moved. Uriel couldn’t move or defend himself because she attacked him from a higher dimension. She could have been a million times his current speed within whatever dimension she entered. By the time his mind caught up to Iza’s speed, her sword had already entered him. She could have killed him.”

“Can you just jump dimension when attacking?” I questioned, feeling a little ignorant in these matters.

“Normally, yes, we do the same with normal attacks,” Vita grimly explained. “It’s a great way to kill someone at our level. How do you beat an instantaneous movement? You do it in a higher dimension. It’s an Almighty Technique … That demands a reactive defense. And even so, there is no telling the limit of this Zero Step.”

Blood slipped from Uriel’s thin lips as he glared, clenching his shoulder. Iza had almost removed as he backed away, a bloodthirsty smile visible. ” Good seeing you on the other side. I hope we can clash once more when you’re at your peak.” Shooting me a glance, she giggled. “I hope you remember this, Pop-Pop. You to Mama. Time is not on our side.”

“Agreed!”

“Mama! Want hugs!” Lilith squealed, glaring at our son with fire in her eyes. She opened her arms, “Come to mama.”

Ves lips twitched, and he looked at me with a pleading glow. “Mom… um. We can’t. In fact. You might not even remember this. We—”

“What the hell are you doing!” Crowe howled, flashing to their side. ” He’s here! RUN!”

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“GOT YOU!” Mephisto howled, sealing time and space. He emerged in a blazing inferno of black Seraphic Might through a crack in the void, his entire being a little disheveled as he smiled devilishly.

“BYE-BYE, MEPHO!!!” Iza squealed, giggling away with pearly white teeth as she grabbed the Crowe and Ves. “See you on the other side! Hehe! Zero Step!”

Blinking from sight, leaving everyone wide eye, Mephisto vanished as well. Dissipating into a ripple in time and space.

“My baby!” Cried Lilith, reaching upwards like a baby wishing for a parent. Tears filled her eyes as she trembled.

“Arsene, seal your mind with Black Sabbath and the Path of Abyssal Night. You might be able to retain some memory of what happened. Hurry. All this is a minor Paradox, but it’s a dangerous one. Your children stepped on a powerful line.”

Startled by the fear in her tone, I stared as the frozen laws and concepts began to tremble and bend. And before I had noticed, I saw dust fill my eyes as Lilith began to dissipate into nothingness. Dread coiled around my heart as I noticed every fiber of my being lose its molecular stability.

The world fell into a wave of stardust coiling into a nebula in a single instance. Death approached faster than I thought as my spotted vision slipped into oblivion.

“… Abyss-Chan…”