Monarch of Darkness, Arsene

Listening to the crackling of the firewood, poised in the lotus position, with a tranquil heart, I sucked in a large breath as the wings on my back trembled. The scales covering my body hummed at a low frequency as I held only one thought.

Retract.

I loved this look, this natural power, but for some reason, despite being able to change my form with spells and my willpower, I was struggling to grasp what I needed to do. Concentrating has been somewhat difficult since I left the Origin Realm.

The world was fragile, and the only thing that made sense was Lilith and the two buns cooking. The laws felt so fake, akin to a lucid dream. Try as I could, I felt nothing but disgust for the world around me; despite being in the abyss, it all felt cheap.

"Are congrats about to be in order? It looks like you're about to break through. "

A sly foxy voice echoed across from the campfire as the shadows seemed to converge, reflecting through my cold icy eyes the lazy eye Fallen, carrying a half-smile. Hair hanging loosely over his shoulders, Mephisto had his legs crossed over one another as he stared.

"I've got a mission for you."

"Good to see you as well," I said, and his half-smile deepened.

"Likewise, my boy. But I would like for you to kill Yor'fenli now." He said, unnerving me for a bit.

There were many reasons I should kill Yor'fenli, but none had anything to do with Mephisto and his intricate scheme.

I placed my hands over my lap and involuntarily narrowed my eyes, " Why?"

"He's trying to take advantage of the Hellspawn he just acquired and this lawless world."

"Lawless? Elaborate."

"The Heavenly Laws of the Myriad Heavens are fixed, but aside from Izavith trying to stop me from putting my physical body here, there are no fixed laws or wardings like in the myriad heavens stopping from doing otherwise. Izavith must physically act, which while not necessarily wrong—"

"It leaves openings and bias." I finished, pondering his words.

"There is no doubt in my mind nor yours that Izavith is biased, shit even I'm biased towards you. Of all the people I need alive, it's you and Lilith." He said, causing my guard to go on full defense. Something he seemed to notice as a chuckle left his lips. " Relax, I've no intention of killing or harming you. You'll do that to yourself; my goals are beyond such trivial things."

"Do you even believe yourself? Mephisto, the God of Trickery," I calmly said, "Your mind can't be grasped by anyone, except maybe one."

'Oh, there's one more." he remarked, but I shrugged.

"Maybe, but your words are mostly lies, and I simply can't trust you. We both know that."

The laziness in Mephisto's eyes faded, and a dark air twisted around him, startling everyone out of meditation around me. Within Mephisto, I could see a scary amount of ambition as he sat across from me, peering so deep into my soul I felt my insides quiver.

"I foresaw such things before, and that's one reason I convinced Lucifer to help me create a Devil's Deal." He responded in a regal undertone.

"And you think you have anything I want?"

Like a being of many faces, Mephisto's solemn expression shifted into a smile, " But of course, I'd like for you to take one of my dearest acolytes, I once delivered to Zantar and Balor."

"Don't tell me!"

"That's right, Sene!" A cheerful voice shouted as I shot to my feet, as an arm hooked its way over my neck.

"I've missed you!" Loki uttered with a smile.

"But your there, Thrall?" I stated, not understanding what was going on. How could Loki be one of Mephisto's Acolytes?

"Hmmm, kinda," he said, releasing a long sigh, unhooking his arm around my neck, and dropping his robes. That revealed a startling black tattoo that magically seemed to reveal itself over his back of a demonic-looking snake eating its tail.

"Ouroboros!" Lilith approached me; she shot Mephisto a long look, "What exactly does your blessing do?"

"Trickery, of course," he matter of factly said, tapping his fingers over his knee, "Care to receive my blessing?"

"We'll pass," I swiftly uttered, shaking my head.

"Oh, we'll see on that. But Loki is here to assist you. You can even take these little peasants here. Despite their Celestrial blood being waisted on them, they will make perfect cannon fodder." Said Mephisto rising to his feet. "Do this for me now, and I'll train you personally like I used to. This change that your struggling to control is more significant than you think. Me sending you to the origin realm was not for nothing. It was to force you into being trained under me, or would you like to learn from Izavith? But from what I hear, there's some tension there."

"Yup, I don't like him."

Hearing Izavith's bitchy voice, I rolled my eyes and smiled, "Of course, you are here." I said, glancing at the being who mysteriously appeared without a sound behind Mephisto.

"It's my mission to guard this Fallen."

Feeling Lilith's lingering gaze on my back, I pivoted my eyes towards her questioning eye; she spoke, " I think you should do it."

"See, even the wife thinks it's a good idea." The Fallen sang, clapping his eyes together, "Look, Arsene, I need him dead; this benefits you and me. If Belphegor is to have his way, Izavith and the other generals will have to get involved, and you know how strict Zariel is with rules."

"It's that bad?" Said, Lilith.

"Belphegor is an odd fallen that the Blood of Lilith and the Hells corrupted." He started off, " I'd like to defend his actions, but like most of the Fallen, the cold air of the Hells are not something many can take for long. The more they stay in the Hells, the more attuned they become, leading to greater insanity. Belphegor is a monster unlike anything you've faced, Arsene, and now he's after you."

"How strong is he?"

"We injured him greatly, but he still managed to escape; as Beelzebub came to his rescue, it seems those two have an understanding." He said, causing my jaw to tighten.

"So now I'm also enemies with Beelzebub?"

"No, we've been alive for a long time Arsene. If Beel came to Belphegor's rescue, it's safe to say said demon fallen owes a favor to Beel. That's how it usually works. If we had not interfered with the Hells so much, the power dynamic wouldn't be so great with Asmodeus and the other Kings." He said, and I somewhat understood.

Asmodeus now was the absolute ruler of hell, but from what I've read in Baels library, the power dynamic was relatively close. Sure Asmo was stronger physically, but when it came to knowledge, spells, and rituals, Bael was the king. Not to mention all the other kings had their specialties that outclassed each other.

Then there was the Demon Fraction, which held not just Baphomet but a myriad of monsters that could combat the Devils. Everything was in balance, except in my generation.

"We'll accept," Lilith answered for me.

"Lilith!" I shouted,

"Payback, plus, you need a master to help get your monstrous body in check. Your body is simply too powerful."