Monarch of Darkness, Arsene

Falling onto the floor with my chest heaving, I shook my head and stared at my bed that needed to be burned and cast into the Hells at all the shit we committed. Dear god in heaven, smite that sinful mattress. Its ruin. I'm not laying on that.

"Sene… Your taller."

"Yup. It has been almost a thousand years." I struggle to say, utterly exhausted. Honestly, I've no idea how Lilith is still able to move. She ran out of divinity so long ago and was just using physical prowess, which was crippled due to the pregnancy. I had to share my qi with her to ensure she wouldn't die.

Pulling a few snacks out of her soul, Lilith was quick to munch them down like a little hamster on what appeared to be fruit. "I've got to keep up my strength!"

"Something Ariel gave you?" I concluded, and Lilith nodded with a face covered in citrus.

'Yup… I'm to eat one if I manage to drain my divinity. It rarely happens, so this is the first time I've had to eat what she called ... Hmmm, I can't remember. But it's some type of dragonfruit."

I stared at the white fruit dotted with black marking I assume was seeds, and smiled. "Let's take a break; it's time we start working on me becoming a Paragon."

"Huh? We already were?" Said Lilith, " I was attuning my soul to yours. It's not every day we get to have fun like this. Your soul is leagues ahead of mine, so I had to match your frequency. Lily and I said coitus was how we make you a paragon. What? You didn't believe us?"

I almost instantly nodded. "Damn right, I didn't believe you. That seemed so outlandish. I almost called BS."

Summoning another snack, Lilith shrugged and opened what appeared to be yogurt. My eyes lit up. " Can I have some?"

Glancing around, Lilith frowned for a second. "You'll be an elder god, you know. You'll jump straight up an entire rank. Ninty-nine percent of what I eat goes to the chibi's."

I cleared my throat and patted Lilith's head wet with sweat." Darling… If you don't give me that yogurt right now. I'm leaving you."

"Huh?"

"I've not had yogurt since I reincarnated. And I've no idea how to make it…. We should visit Earth one day." I said seriously.

Lilith glared at me and sighed. "You sure? I thought you'd like the feeling of making it on your own."

"I've had help from Zariel, the Order, Mephisto, and I'm pretty sure other Fallen. I think that they have stepped all over that ideology. And this isn't about getting power. That yogurt… its coconut-flavored, right? With sharts of coconut, right?"

"Fine, but after!" She surrendered. "You're such a child sometimes."

"I've yet to suck at your tit. Although, I don't mind. We've tried so many more moves these past thousand years, and I've even taught you Levi's blowjob technique. You should have—Never mind."

"Cross your legs and turn your back to me, Mr. Arsene Lucarious del Lazarus Snow."

A chill like no other. Crept into my heart as I didn't dare meet my wife's chilling eye. Guess she wasn't ready to forgive me for banging her mother. Although, that will forever be a win in my book.

I fucked your mom, Bitch!

"Sene, what are you thinking? Did you just curse me?"

"Me!" I pointed to myself, shaking my head, "I'd never!"

It had never felt so good to lie. Screw my pride: This was the best. Turning my back and smiling from ear to ear, I could hear Lilith grumble and place her icy palms over my spine.

"You're going to feel a slight pinch in your spine; just take it like a man."

"As long as it's in the spine and not my booty! I can take anything!"

"You're a damn fool."

"As advertised." I played off as a sudden pang of utter pain coursed over my body, and the sensation of feeling in my legs slipped away. A tinge of fear slipped into my heart as I couldn't help but ask. "What just entered my body?"

"The Abyssal Fragment," said Lily curtly, " We are checking your body, race, heart-blood, mind, and soul. Pretty much anything physical."

'The soul is considered physical?"

"You munched on a soul, you tell me."

"One of the best snacks in the world," I replied, getting her point.

But I still couldn't feel anything going on. And it was rather unsettling. It wasn't the first time I'd been crippled, but I usually had Qi to help me move around. But right now… I couldn't even feel my Qi. There was only a coldness that only seemed to tighten its hold around my heart.

"You scared?" Said Lilith from my rear.

"I trust you," I said without turning back, even finding a smile.

Lilith snorted. "Everything about you is Paragon except one thing: Your mind, which also needs to be tarnished."

"And once that's fixed, I'll be a—"

"No. The next step is uniformity and then Formation. Well, the soul is both Spiritual and Physical. And I'm sure you are wondering how you can have uniformity with something you already have. The soul and body are considered the greatest uniformity. Some cultivators can leave their weak body and take over a stronger one, but that will only cut their talents down and weaken them in the long run."

"I know this already; I don't understand the uniformity of something that already exists. My body and soul are already one."

"Are they?" Said Lilith coldly. "Or is that just an illusion? Who created you?"

"My mother… Yuki."

"Wrong. The One molded your soul and gave you perception and a body. All your mother did was push you out into the world. There are two ways to become a Paragon. The Angels will push deeper into the illusions created by the One till it's corporeal, and people like the Fallen and Zariel will forge their own. They'll hammer away at the body and soul till it's so small and beaten that only the spark of freedom is revealed."

"And it's only then can the Pillars of Paragon be formed. You've already reforged your body and soul in ways not even I can believe; now all that's left is to sever ties with the One and the All."

"That's blasphemy!"

"Perhaps… or maybe it's what is considered a baptism. A new start. A new beginning. What you do from there will signify whether it's blasphemous or not." Lilith paused. "There are quite a few who rejected the Father. A lot. You've already met one. Belphegor. He was the first.

"And Mephisto and Lucifer?" I mused.

"... I don't know." She said, but I knew that was a lie. I can always tell when she lies. Rarely will she ever truly lie, but I always seem to know. Smaller ones, however, will go over my head. "You'll have to ask them yourself. Such a question is as personal as it gets. But for what you will pick will decide…."

"And if I pick the abyss?"

"It's up to you, Arsene." Said Lilith softly, leaning her head onto my shoulder. " Just close your eyes, and let us begin."