Monarch of Darkness, Arsene

Chapter 437: Lilith - Hesitation

Brushing his chest, tattered in debris and dirt. I took a quick whiff of that place. It was clear upon his body.

"Lilith?" He called, running his hands through my fiery hair, "What do you know of Abyssal Night?"

Shaking my head at the unfamiliar term, I shrugged, "Never heard of it, but what I do know is that you are now carrying the Aura of the Abyss on you. It's deep, too, like it was brewing deeply into you. How come I never noticed this."

Clitting his tongue, Arsene's brow creased, brushing his hand against mine, "Good or Bad?"

"Well, seeing that it hasn't killed you, I will say it's good. The Abyss is the Origin of Existence. It is what allows Qi, Concepts, and Dao to exist. You know the cause?"

"The Path of Abyssal Night," he cautiously informed. "It was a gift. A gift from The One, I think."

Lifting my lips slightly, a warmth bloomed within my heart as I thought of my Father. My real Father. It was only due to him that I existed.

Hearing a knock echo against my door, I looked up at Arsene waving my hand as the Pale Gate vanished within me.

Asmodeus and Leviathan will be with Baphomet for three days here, fulfilling the deal Arsene made with Baphomet.

Opening the door, the dark scowl of Talos appeared within my sight, carrying in his arms Cleo and that dumb bitch. Tossing in Yu Jing without much care, my brow twitched at the rather ruthless objectivity.

Walking past me, he gently placed Cleo onto the couch, turning to me with a long expression, "It's done."

"Great! How long has it been?" Arsene suddenly questioned, bearing down at the sleeping face of Cleo. "Or were these two lightweights."

"I don't know what that means. But it's been about twelve hours since we last saw each other. Why?"

"No reason. So a few hours, huh? What of the Star Ships? Did Tang Feng give you any trouble?"

Passing his hands through Cleo's hair tenderly, he rose to his feet, turning to Sene with a creased brow, "You ask a lot of questions, but your design is complete."

"Then I have one last mission for you, Sir Talos. If you will, place these worms all around the city, and at my signal, you allow them to run amidst the innocent, slaughtering those who cannot defend themselves and those who can." Arsene casually mentioned, crossing his arms.

"You truly are a monster, Snow," Talos confirmed.

"Spare us your malcontent, "I added, crossing my arms sending a measuring stare to the young goddess resting peacefully on our couch. " Pretty, isn't she?"

Tracing his hands down my waist, I smile at Sene's touch. "Is my sexy hotwife jealous?"

I have gotten a bit used to wearing a masked molded-out of Pure Abyssal Qi, but it definitely would be freeing to walk around with my actual face, free of this mask.

Pressing his hands deeper into my skin, I shuttered as a laugh escaped my lips. Tickling my ribs, Sene snickered, "Come on. We got one last thing to do, to make sure all who flee's and make their way from the other side of the teleporter ends up dead."

"See you soon, Talos." Arsene suddenly uttered, pulling me into a void of darkness.

Surrounded by a Sea of Night, light suddenly pierced through before vanishing again and again. Before I knew it, my gaze fell upon a powerful artifact humming with a pillar of spiral energy.

"Is that—"

"shh," Arsene sharply hissed, covering my mouth. However, I could feel the presence of another approach. Bendig space, time, and karma for an extra measure to my will, a mirror of reality appeared, revealing nothing of our location as Arsene covered us in a veil of darkness.

"We are doing all we can! Fuck! Where the hell is Saleh?" A man clad in snow-white frosted armor screamed towards another wrapped in a similar type of gear.

"A few guests have already identified the source of the poison —it's a Type LXS-23, aka VALA." The Second warrior informed solemnly, covered in a hue of sweat.

"Damn it. Vernan is outraged. His Qi is going out of control!"Said the First Soldier stepping onto the hexagonal artifact vanishing in a wisp of light.

Dropping my barrier, I sighed, arching my head onto Sene's chest, "What am I suppose to do?"

"Make it, so everyone who enters or leaves this gates that is not us enters the Pale Gate." He softly murmured with a chilling stare.

Wiggling my way out of his arms, I approached the artifact shimmering with energy with a downcasted expression. Sensing another world energy both in space and out, a solemn expression hung upon my lips.

Tracing my hands over the artifact, my emblem appeared glowing with abyssal Qi. Sending my will into the Sprial Artifact, a faint connection buzzed between my crest and this device.

Space was quite odd in many ways as it existed like darkness everywhere. There was no escaping it unless one entered a void, where space and various other Dao's have not fully formed. However, this hidden world was neither in the void nor reality but rather both.

A hidden pocket dimension.

"How long?" Startling me, Arsene inquired, stroking the nape of my back.

"Should have done this before we went into training." I softly replied as hundreds of spiral strings began to coil from my crest and onto the artifact, "A few hours and if things go bad, a day. I can bypass a few of their defensives, as there was not a lot. Probably thought someone would never get this close, or they were simply that confident."

Curling his lips downwards, Arsene's touch grew a little harder, to my surprise. "Any way to speed it up? Like with the Dao of Time?"

Halting my process, I turned to Arsene. Something was definitely wrong, "What happened?"

Retreating back a single step, he bitterly smiled, "How is it you can always tell?"

"I can tell you the average beats your heart makes throughout the day without anything going on. When your stressed, and when you're angry, you know."

"You stalking me?"

"Never stopped. Now tell me, what is going on?" I insisted, frowning deeply.

Hesitant, he sighed, "Guess you might know. I am hearing this voice."

"Does it sound like you?"

"No."

"Does it feel like Tenebrae?"

"No."

"Does it hold familiarity?"

"—no."

Pounding deeply against my chest, my stomach and heart began to twist, bringing a wave of nausea that slapped me hard. There was a faint pause during his last answer.