Monarch of Darkness, Arsene

Staring wide-eyed at the woman with long black hair, alongside her icy blue eyes, I stood shaken as I read her nameplate.

Lilith and I had just finished changing into fluffy robes and separated from Valice. But upon leaving the locker room, for couples only, my feet came to a halt as I stared a the woman I had not seen in god knows how long.

The blue eye dame draped in a white uniform to complement the calming aesthetic smiled, " Mr. And Mrs. Blackwater. Greetings. I"m Vinay Shorvela, and it's an honor to serve you both. I will be giving you your tour of our facilities before we can get started with our first course of treatment, the sensual sauna." She said in a patient tone that seemed almost heavenly.

She was just as I remembered, far younger and prettier, but it was the same person! What the hell?

"Sene?" Lilith whispered, touching the base of my palm.

'It's nothing,' I replied softly, not taking my eyes off Vinay smiling like a peach. " please do." I said after a pause meeting her smile with mine.

Vinay nodded, turning her back," Please, if you'll follow me."

Is this my sister doing? Is she like Ren and me?

Does she possess a gift? But if that's the case, why is she working here?

"Arsene," Lilith said to me in a soul whisper, "What is going on? Who is she to you?"

My brow creased, "I killed her and her child,' I said back, "at the time, I was eighteen and had finished the first five years of university. She was a middle school counselor and a world-class psychiatrist when we last met."

"Relax, she couldn't possibly remember you," Lilith comforted, "Push it from your thoughts. You've got other things to worry about, silly. She's a weakling anyway. What could she do to you? Your immune to just about everything."

"Maybe, but you are not." I pointed out, unable to mask the worry; I narrowed my eyes as she frowned.

"You've changed." Lilith said out loud, startling me, "You are more focused. The old Sene wouldn't have cared."

"Maybe, but—"

Vinay came to a halt, pointing towards a room inside, 'This is the mud exfoliation room. We use some of the finest clay imaginable, said to age the body back to its most optimal state. I'd even heard it is super healthy for new mothers. And I can assure you it's real!" She said, gripping the base of her stomach, and my eyes grew wide.

"Arsene don't," Lilith said in a soul whisper, "It's just a coincidence, and even so, she knows nothing. You don't even care if people find out who you are."

I almost snorted in derision at her words," Of course I do. Or did you forget we have two children? I might not care, but the little ones will. Not everyone can be born like me, where the world is already dead."

Putting a smile on my face, I chuckled, "Must be marvelous! I simply can't wait for my child to be born."

"I know! Right! She exclaimed, snapping her bright blue eyes to me. "You can't even imagine the relationship a mother shares with her child." She said as if alluding to something.

My heart tightened. This must be a plot.

"Will it help in putting the little ones to rest? The little brats love to kick," Lilith said, tightening her grip around the base of my hand.

And yet everything in me was telling me to kill this woman, tear the head of her alongside her child, and bathe in their blood. Those I kill need to stay dead. But I needed to know. I needed to see who was doing this.

Mephisto? Truck-kun? Who is after me, or was I just too paranoid? But that can all wait after I spend the day with Lilith. I will not forget about Vinay. After all, I spent seven years waiting to kill her once; I can wait a few hours.

Leaning back, I gave Lilith a peck on the cheek," It's your day; let's just enjoy this, K?"

A bright smile lingered over her lips for the longest as Vinay began giving us a tour of this massive facility which held over a hundred floors each with their local teleporter, so one didn't need an elevator.

Dear god! I'm one hundred percent going to add a place like this to my castle in Noctem—This seems magical.

"And to end our tour, welcome to the sensual sauna." She said, " the benefits are soul regeneration, mental relaxation, alongside a marvelous attunement to the very Abyss itself. By the time you exit, you will temporarily be attuned to the world's will." She said, opening the door as a breath of stream billowed against our faces.

p How much is all this costing? And damn! I think I might just recover fully after this spa day.

Lilith pulled me into the majestic bath that could fit only two people. The scent of lavender, jasmine, and many more seemed to be filling the air with its flagrant eroma, and the water appeared to be a rainbow-colored pigment that made me want to taste the rainbow.

Pulling down her robes, the moment the doors closed and locked, Lilith revealed herself and beckoned to me with a large smile as steam alluringly curled around her.

"Come to mama,"

Slipping my robes off alongside her, we slowly made our way into rippling water. And yet the moment my feet touched the surface of the water, I could feel the lingering effects of the Abyss due to my attunement begin to dissipate.

"I think I love the abyss."

"Thanks for the compliment, although my name is Lilith."

"You know what I mean, " I jokingly said, pulling her into my arms and dropping head first into the water with a loud splash.

Laughter rang from our mouths as Lilith leaned into my arms.

"You don't prefer abyss-chan?"

"Lili-chan, or Lili-kun, has a nice ring to it."

Enjoying the heat pouring into my very bones, wiping away the lingering battle wounds not visible to the naked eye, I smiled.

"You got a castle here? I mean not, Iliya."

"Izavith is working on it. She said that it requires a lot of planning and material and will take a while."

"Well, tell her we need one of these. My balls feel like there being cradled and slow cooked at the same time."

Lilith's head puckered up, ' Is that a good thing?"

"It's the best thing."