Monarch of Darkness, Arsene

Situated in the guest living room near the southern entrance to the villa, I viciously glared at the betrayer, the wench that sullied herself, eating peanut butter and pickles all at once with a content smile.

Besides her sat Valice, with a curious look, “I’ve never seen Mr. Blackwater so distraught.” She said, retelling how the guards rushed towards her informing them of my accident outside. “I must say I’d love to know.”

“I ate fish,”

“She ate fish,” I said, in utter disbelief, ” How can you even say that with a straight face? You whored yourself too–”

“Ok, I’ve had enough! What the hell! You’re being so ridiculous! By the Abyss, what the hell is wrong with you? I’m pregnant! I have urges!” She hollered, rising to her feet with a mouth full of peanut butter, with the disgusting scent of pickles lingering in the air.

Peanut Butter I can stand, but gods, I hate pickles almost as much as I hate fish. Ok, maybe I’m being unfair. Fish is at the top of the list, then pickles, and finally, raw tomato.

“I want a divorce!’

“Ok, so there’s no getting through to him,” Sighed Lilith, falling back to her seat; she turned to Valice and groaned, “Thanks for the meal; I didn’t think you’d have something like this.”

“Think nothing of it. I only got pregnant in the Abyss. And I, too, began to eat odd things, although not eating seafood is just crazy to me. Nevertheless, Pickles and Peanut butter were the best.” The First Consort said, a little reminiscent as she touched her stomach, ” But dear god, it’s been such a ride.”

“I can imagine,” Responded Lilith with a little teary eye.

Calming myself down with the Path of Abyssal Night, I looked towards the baby bump and sighed.

I was still pissed, but it’s fine. I’ll just power through it.

It’s only a phase. It’s only a phase.

“So why are you here?” I rushed to say while mentally chanting my mantra.

“Rude much,’ Said Valice.

“No, it’s fine,’ Lilith announced, rolling her eyes as though she expected me to react this way, “I’m pretty much done with all the schemes. I can be lazy and pregnant till your ready.”

Hmm, now why does that image of Baphomet come to mind?

“That’s great! Your husband has been making me tons. Care to go shopping? It could be a girl’s day. Pedicures, with hot wax, cucumber massages, and best of all, I know a masseuse that’ll make you sing before dumping you in a mud bath.”

“That sounds amazing! Let’s do it, Sene!”

“So that’s your name. Sene,” Valice remarked, narrowing her eyes.𝑏𝑒𝑑𝘯𝑜𝘷𝑒𝑙．𝑐𝘰𝘮

“It’s a nickname, don’t get ahead of yourself,” I said, sliding my gaze back to Lilith, ‘ And are you sure you want to go?”

“Sounds to me like you want to join me. If Valice is Ok with it, you can join. I do, after all, have to talk to you about Zena. I just had the most lovely conversation with her father.”

My heart skipped a few beats as Lilith’s chilling smile pierced my heart, ‘ Ain’t he dead?” I said, glancing back to Valice, who nodded in confirmation.

“He is dead.”

Lilith chuckled,” I’ve no reason to lie, and he’s no reason to lie. Not at his level. Although it makes sense, after all, Zena is a Nephilim.”

Don’t tell me. Fuck me! Why can I not catch a break? No wonder Mephisto said she would be my rival! She got the backing of some Fallen or Angel.

“What’s his name?” I inquired, truly not wishing to know. I just wanted to battle with her at least once. It’s not every day I get to see someone with the same potential as me.

Lilith nodded and glanced at Valice, ” The Father is Azazel, God of Death and the Mother; well, it should be obvious. Her name is Mithra.”

“Cthulhu’s Wings! Surely you jest!” She said in what I could only assume was a curse back on Aether.

‘…”

Did she just say Cthulhu? He’s real! Even Bael didn’t write about him, although that could have been due to his nature of ignoring various gods.

“Hey Zax,” I said inwardly towards the ring of Bael. ” What do you know of Cthulhu?”

“You could say he’s like the Demonic Mother, Lilith. He to was once human. That was till he came upon an entrance to the Abyss.” He explained, taking in a long breath, “In the Origin Realm, Entrances to the Abyss open randomly and usually require Arch-Angels to descend to close them. We’ve no idea what Cthulhu came upon in the Abyss, but upon his return, the Great Immortal Cthulhu was reborn, with the power capable of challenging a Forsaken.”

My heart began to race, and Lilith quickly took note, pushing out her senses to help hear what Zax had to say.

“Cthulhu is older than I am, and there are many things I don’t know about him, but I do know that Azathoth and he became good friends. First off, it’s due to Azathoth that most people know of every God and Demon, and so on; he reaches into the dreams of others, allowing them to see through the eyes of the various being they wish. That’s why various novels exist. They are likely all real things due to Azathoth’s dream-like ability.”

“What’s that got to do with Cthulhu?” I inquired.

“Because Arch-Angels rarely kill people, it’s their last resort. So, upon Cthulhu’s first emergence from the Abyss, his power ran wild and out of control, driving Gods and Demons mad by his presence. The Devils and Fallen cared not at the time, so two arch-angels descended from the heavens and trapped him by pushing him back into the Abyss till he could learn to control his power. But even to this day, Cthulhu never returned. But a new breed of monsters slowly began to pour into the vast expanse. Dreadful monsters that rose through the charts with their monstrous intelligence. And with Azathoth’s dream cast ability behind this new race, the Church of Cthulhu was born.”

Narrowing my brow, I frowned, ” What is this race called?”

“The ilthad, Beings of Madness and Chaos.”