Monarch of Darkness, Arsene

Smothered by the haze of smoke filling my lungs, a blazing heat crashed over the forest, shattering trees, rocks, and dirt. Shockwaves exploded with such power the barrier of darkness tore apart, crashing into my body, shredding away my clothing. Lacerations erupted over my arms and legs, carving their way up towards my chest as I pushed forward through the flashes.

Holding my ground through cloaked darkness, I shot my gaze over the horizon at the small cruiser speeding through bolts of light, moving at speeds greater than light, but for some reason, the vessel was able to dodge with strenuous ease, at speeds, not even close to light speed.

I darted ahead, weaving through tree’s plants and the occasional bolt that seemed to ricochet endlessly in this dome, making my every step wright with endless peril. I lowered my cloak feeling like I had made enough progress, allowing myself to be seen from the Array above. The hairs on my neck were quick to stand on end.

Covered in sweat, I peered up for a moment, peering at the bolt of inscrutable power flashing over the confines of space. Destroying everything that had the misfortune of coming in contact with it, I quickly made a note to keep an eye over the formation—making sure my actual body would remain in the areas seemingly untouched by the Array. They were safe zones I quickly picked up on.

“You there!” A sudden bark thundered with a drilling force shaking my organ. My gaze settled towards the direction of the temple, where a squad of soldiers stood, all of them holding onto long black glaves, jagged and sharp to a fine point—gripping their scaled shape shield to the similar design of their armor in an oddly guarded manner. My expression blossomed into a smile.

“Hello there, “I charmingly said, all smiles, when suddenly, a bone-chilling gaze fell upon me. My stare left the soldiers ahead and landed on the Middle age man. He was a bit tall, not by much, but his skin was a ghastly pale color. The sclera of his eyes was a heavy black, while his iris was a deep blue, with a sharp glint of scarlet running horizontally through his pupils. The Stranger had a heavy presence, which intrigued me so much that my bloodlust rippled from my smile.

“Arsene Snow,” One of the soldiers I could see was a Lur’vain beneath his armor by his greyish-black called, “You have been sentenced to death, on counts of treason.” He said, stepping out of the squad of soldiers identifying himself.

The other squad members slowly flickered around me, weapons drawn.

“Guess you are going just to kill me? No trial?” I asked, not in the least concern; once I die, I will just need to create another shadow. Shame it’s only been about seven minutes. No, screw that! You bastards need to work to kill this sweet piece of ass! No homo!

I parted my legs, and a regal aura flowed seamlessly over the land, bending the darkness to my whim; the Twelve High Gods all glared profusely, shimmering with fierce eyes.

“Kill Hi—”

Blood stained my cheeks as the Lur’vains entire face exploded into a coarse mist that whipped over my cheeks, staining my chest. My eyes opened at the Stranger, who suddenly blinked into existence right in front of me, holding onto his sword sheathed in his scabbard. His arms quivered, and everyone fell to their knees. I turned to look, and my heart trembled as their bodies slowly became atomized, leaving nothing behind.

“Damn,” I exclaimed, shifting my gaze towards the blue eye Stranger, staring deeply at me, measuring me so intently I felt bare before his gaze.

He suddenly smiled and stretched his shoulder, “War has not existed for so long. I’m a bit rusty. Forgive me for my tardiness, Arsene Snow.” He said with a charming smile over his handsome face; he narrowed his dark eyes and did a semi bow, “I am Karr Arlov, Chancellor of Umbra, one of the Seven Imperial cities in Noctem. It’s an honor.”

“An ally?” I said, surprised. I haven’t done anything as of late to garner an ally.

“I am Arsene Snow, the Next Monarch of Darkness, but you already know that. 𝙗𝙚𝙙𝒏𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡．𝙣𝒆𝙩

Karr gave a small nod and peered up at the skies littered with forboding light-reflecting endlessly. “Lod Snow, I am here to assist you in getting you to the Temple so that you may regain your—”

“Why are you helping me?” I swiftly asked, staring, trying to peer into his heart, but all I saw was a rippling serenity over ethereal darkness, provoking a bit of fear to wake within myself. Everyone had devil hearts; even if it’s small, there were some. Never have I peered into someone and seen just this. There was always something. Even if I couldn’t use their devil heart due to the difference in power, I should have been able to perceive its existence.

Caution filled the chancellor’s eyes, and he frowned, “A devil heart practitioner? I’m afraid that will not work for me. I am a practitioner of Form V, Zensu. I know every inch of myself better than anyone. To master Zensu, one needs to destroy their Devils.” He said and returned his gaze once more back to the skies, “My Lord, I am afraid we need to keep moving. They are coming.”

Peering up past the silver eye, a profound wave of darkness seemed to reel as a cold bloodlust akin to a devil began to reach over the horizon.

“No,” I hastily said, ‘Just create havoc. If you wish me to trust you, follow my orders.”

“havoc?’ Karr repeated, taken back by my words. “Are you serious? What about the temple? What about your coronation?”

“In time,” I calmly said, glancing down at the bloody body of the Lur’vain, whose headless body oozing thick red blood twitched. “For now, I wish for you to take me along with you. I assume a chancellor like you did not come alone.”

“Not everyone is like me, my Lord. Many have long since given up on the thought of a coming prince, much less king,” Karr said. “You are a rumor, my king. A dream that many have been dreaming of these past two hundred or so years. The Knight Of Lunafreya is on their way, but even they might not be able to last long against the coming army.”

“Then let this be a test of fate.”