Monarch of Darkness, Arsene

Standing still in meditation in the air, the blaring of turbines bringing about the heat of a small star came into my ear. The winds picked up, bringing a cloud of ash and brimstone like a storm.

Opening my eyes, I looked up at the enormous starship, fit with several cannons over a sleek silver surface and tall as any mountain. I felt something unexpectedly seize control of my body and was carried from the air through a couple of atmospheres before entering a hanger bay.

Genesis surely does have some nice toys.

I’d like to make a trip there sometime. That tractor beam was powerful; if I wasn’t an Empyeron, it might have broken the skin of this king.

Landing through the gate, I stood still and stared at Avar’s minty hair, carrying a smile over her divine face. Scrunching my brow, I felt something different about it that made me a little on guard. It was as if I was standing before another person.

“Did you have a breakthrough or something? You seem different.”

She tilted her head, touching her tender lips that plumped at the slightest touch, ” Hmm, I guess you could say that. But that’s for another discussion; we’ve found the valley you were talking about.”

“You sound like you’ve got more to say,” I said, noting the people standing at attention as she and I spoke.

“I do,” She said, turning her back to me, and spoke out in a stern voice that demanded attention, ” Set sail to the Vally of Ser’ven, cut down any demon or devil we see on our way there. Arsene, follow me to the bridge.”

A little intimidated by her sudden commanding change, I followed, eyeing the eerily clean ship that seemed so advanced. Virtual images were the norm here, as all these soldiers seemed mindlessly doing their tasks without issue or fault. They were all acting like robots, but with flesh and blood.

Heading up the elevator and to the bridge, which had taken about five minutes, the same time it would take to get where ever Avar was, I could not help but be shaken.

“Is there a problem in the Vally of Ser’ven?” She inquired indifferently.

“A Prince of Hell is targeting my uncle,” I answered, albeit a little worried. 𝑏𝑒𝘥𝑛𝑜𝑣𝑒𝘭.𝘯𝑒𝑡

“Why now?”

“I’ve no idea, but it seems like some strange movement is going on. The Demons on opposing sides to their gods have accepted a blessing from another, which worries me.”

“Have you been in contact with—” She paused, shaking her head, ” Never mind, here we are,” she said, as I looked down at a sea of fire pooling out from the valley covered in trees.

Angels gripping their flaming weapons covered the skies, cutting down demons and devils alike as they made their way through the turbulent war below. On the ground surface, I saw hordes of the denizens of the Exalted wheel, carving their path through demons the best they could.

“We must stop the ritual! WE MUST! KILL THE FOUL ONE!!” A female angel, beautiful as they come, with long blonde hair that reached her feet, in a dragon tail, roared—covered in a slew of sweat, leading the charge.

The foul one? Interesting. Who could that be? Greyson, what the hell are you involved with.

Pulling out my holocube, I called Eroma, watching his solemn expression with an amber glow reflecting over his cheeks; I frowned,” you here, aren’t you.”

“Yeah, I can see you.” He answered.

“That’s impossible; no one short of an Eternal Sovereign can pierce through our cloak,” Avar said, scrunching her delicate brow.

Eroma lifted his head from the holocube and looked up, and the both of us could feel his intent dance along our skin. I wasn’t really that surprised, but Avar was startled.

“I like the new look Arsene. You look like a badass. You look scary, but you’ll need to change your look when your baby is born. You wouldn’t want to scare the shit out of it.” He softly said, without his usually mischievous glow.

“You know what is going on?”

‘A little,” He answered, and from the hologram, I saw his fingers curl into a ball.

“Remember when we introduced you back to Richter, back into the Holy Sword? Well, a little bit after that, Grey told us about sacrificing Father.”

“Oh,” I softly remarked.

“Yeah, that didn’t go over well,” He said, shaking his head, ” I was fucking furious and punched that selfish fuck in his face. But—”

“But?” I said, noticing the long pause that made my skin tingle.

“But I said it wasn’t up to us, and your Father agreed. It was up to our Father’s decision whether he should die or live; either side he picked, we would support him. That was the last time I saw either Father or Greyson.”

“He really did it?” I asked, a little surprised.

“No idea, we had to leave for this little festival, but you saw the state of Grey at your party a month ago, right? Well, I saw nothing but darkness that seemed more demonic than the fucking demons out there. I was so sickened I couldn’t even speak to him. Arsene, what the fuck was that Grimoire you gave to Grey? Who wrote it?”

Opening my mouth, I thought to say Baphomet, but I’ve no idea these days. I’ve learned so many things, and there were many things that even Bael was clueless about. so many lost artifacts that were subject to rot within the Fourth Heaven and Abyss.

Eroma sighed, ” We should have stade ignorant. We should have just stayed in Pendragon, ignorant. Arsene, this shit is fucked up. I’ve found many resources on this damn planet and made it to Heavenly Lord, but I know it’s not enough. But I want you to take me with you.”

“Eroma,” I started but was quickly cut short.

“I’m going, Arsene,” he adamantly said, as his eyes shimmered a foreboding light.

“Zantar and Balor could be involved, or worst, the ones who opened the Gates of Hell,” I warned, knowing that death was around every turn. Eroma wasn’t like me; I could survive a full-on attack from a high peak god, but he wouldn’t.”

“I’ll cover you all, but you must be careful,” Avar chimed in, ” there’s a Hell Gate down there, one that is different than the other twenty-five. Be careful, Arsene. Greyson may have done something stupid.”