Monarch of Darkness, Arsene

"Shall I show you?" Lilith remarked, lifting a finger. Slowly nodes of Qi gathered at the tips of her fingers. No more than a human was capable at the beginning of their journey. She pointed her finger at me, smiling. Suddenly a flash shrouded my vision in such a way I shuddered and reached up, touching my cheek that carried the sensation of being wet.

I was… hit?

"That was about the full force of a Demi-God. But it was able to cut through your notorious defense. I considered your race, your gender, your mind, the various sins, the weakness of darkness, the influence of the Hells, the Abyss, and much more. That one Qi attack, while it couldn\'t break a bone, you should know how difficult it is to kill one such as yourself." She continued, lowering the tip of her fingers.

"Fascinating!" I said aloud. "That one attack… Should have killed everyone on this planet, if not this solar system."

The smile on her face continued to deepen. " Of course, it wouldn\'t. I thought of that too. This power is something that comes from the One. Ever heard of thou shall not kill? Well, it\'s like that. Look, you\'ll have to dig into this type of boundary yourself. I can\'t fully explain it. You have to experience it yourself. Now… Hotel?"

Mindlessly blinking, I exploded in laughter that burned away at my gut. It was almost euphoric the look on Lilith\'s flushed expression.

"You really are one of a kind," I told her, unable to resist the joy creeping up my spine. I was not one to care what people thought, but… seeing I was so desirable by my wife was everything. Damn. I really am a hypocrite. A heartless one at that.

"Will you forgive me, Lilith? It was to hurt you. But…Tene—"

Fingers pressing against my lips, Lilith\'s amethyst eyes glittered with such mystery I felt utterly lost in her stare. My heart fluttered as she shook her head. " Never. Ever. Ever. Apologies. You hear me. I could stop it. I could have said don\'t. But… I could see that desire in your eyes. Everyone thing she\'s your wife. Maybe even you. But Sene… You can only have one. And we both know… No matter what you do I—"

"Excuse me!" A vibrantly amused voice chimed in, sending prickles along our flesh. Our eyes flashed as we separated, drawing weapons at the sight of—

"Fuck! Mephisto, you scared the shit out of me!" I screamed, almost releasing a sigh of relief while Lilith giggled, somehow amused. And yet that smile over her cherry lips seemed colder than ever before.

"Mephisto." Lilith began. "To what do we owe the pleasure? Are you here to talk to us about that transformer?"

"Trans…. Do you mean Metatron? Lol! I like that! I get it!" He sang, landing within the alleyway, a smile ever present over his lips. "Naw, I don\'t give a damn about that loser. A barking dog is what he is. Give him an inch. He thinks he has a mile. Elder brothers. What can you do?"

… I thought they hated each other? Or is it just Metatron that hates Mephisto? That would make sense. Then again, the Angels dynamic is far from traditional. Out of all the ones I know. None seem to hate their angelic brethren. It\'s almost like they accept it.

I wonder how they came so far along.

"I actually came to see you guys." He said, startling the both of us for a second.

Shooting Mephisto a measuring stare, noticing the bags beneath his lazy eyes, the faint hint of dismay, and frustration, I glanced at Lilith, who nodded. Coming to the same conclusion as me.

Something in his Grand Scheme was wrong.

Sweat slithered down my brow the more I thought about it. Could it be a mega-powerful god? A divine artifact? What the hell could—

"I\'m sure your brains are running wild. So I\'ll just get on with it. I know this is your date… or whatever you want to call it. But I\'m troubled with a scenario I thought I was Ok with." He said, running his fingers through his disheveled obsidian hair. He sighed, looking away. " I\'m looking for your permission to screw you over."

\'..."

"..."

"-_-"

"Let\'s go," I said, dragging Lilith away with the blandest expression I could muster.

Fuck this guy! And I thought I was a master at pissing people off.

"Oh, come on!" Mephisto rang, hooking his arm over my neck as we exited the alley. He groaned. "This affects you deeply. The both of you. And if anything, I learned a lot after the whole Zariel going to Hell scenario. I learned a lot. You know I still feel guilty about it."

My footsteps came to a halt as I turned to him, my heart and soul ablaze. More so than it ever had been.

"Why\'d you do it?" I snapped, livid, at the image of Zariel that sprang through my mind. " Why did you torment him? Was it because of the—"

"No one sin is alike or stronger. But each of them has this… symbiotic relationship that is so unique it\'s fascinating." He said, arms pulling away. His ever-present smile fading with indecision. " but it was necessary. Few people do I ever hate Arsene. I don\'t take pleasure in torment. It\'s rather repulsive. But it needed to happen. Zariel needed to break. And be brought together. Both Father and I agreed on that. It\'s just…." He winced, unable to even keep his eyes on me. "It\'s just I hated it. Every moment of it. But without it. Zariel would have died. You would have died, and my schemes would have died."

"So it was for my sake!" I barked.

My teeth clenched so hard that the tang of blood spilled from my gums.

"No… it was for… look, Arsene. I know you hate it. And you to Lilith. And I\'ll admit it too. I hate myself for what I did. But everything has a price. Do you regret coming back, Arsene? Do you regret your death at the hands of Aldrich?"

I didn\'t, but… that didn\'t excuse the rage burning within my veins.

"The stage is set. All that it requires is you to make the sacrifice." He said, startling us for a second.

"What\'s that supposed to mean?"