Monarch of Darkness, Arsene

Holding out as the hours continued to trickle away to keep myself awake, Lilith and I continued towards via the palanquin. It was quite tempting to devour the breath of another, but for some reason, my instincts warned about such actions. It was as if the very intent of my actions felt like heavenly judgment lingered over the nape of my neck.

It was the first time I felt both strong and weak at the same time. My body was strong, but my soul felt weak as if it would dwindle to nothing in a matter of seconds.

"You look like shit Arsene." My wife remarked, resting her palm over my head. She frowned. "You have a fever."

"Nonsense." I dismissed. " What type of god has a—"

"It\'s quite common. In fact, there are so many diseases as a god. You might think they are mortal." Lilith said. "And if you haven\'t noticed, your adaptation comes from this so call \'Breath,\' by the way, find a new name. It\'s confusing. And right now, that ability you\'re so fond of is out of commission."

I grimaced at her words but couldn\'t rebuke them.

"So… This is how it feels to be sick. I\'d almost forgotten."

"How\'s it feel? I\'ve never been sick like that." Lilith inquired, leaning her forehead against mine. Her amethyst gaze softened as if she wished to transfer my sickness onto her.

"I just feel weak and sleepy… Let\'s take… a nap."

Falling into slumber as the passage of time ravaged my mind, by the time I opened my eyes, I could feel a strange energy fluttering greatly the further we descended. But I still couldn\'t sense a single lifeform.

Was the Boundary of End perhaps masking nearby lifeforms?

Becoming more alert of my surroundings, chatter within my palanquin caught my ears.

"Breathing, you say?" Came the soft voice of a woman filled with happiness.

"Yeah. he experimented with it, and it backfired. You are the best doctor I know." Lilith said.

"Hehe! Lili always says the nicest things to me! Let me—Oh, he\'s awake!"

Slowly opening my eyes to the large doe eyes bearing down at me a little too close for comfort, I couldn\'t help but sigh, recognizing those golden eyes, silvery hair, and round-like features that made her out to be a doll at times.

"Ariel." I weakly said.

"Hiya Sene! How ya been? Ya missed me! I missed ya! I\'ve taken good care of Lilith in your place!" She happily said and suddenly pouted. "It\'s just she won\'t fall for me! Can you give me some tips?!"

Finding the energy to glare at the foolishness this angel was spouting, her pearly laughter resonated through the air.

"I jest! I\'m only interested in men… big handsome men, with abs, I could grind…." Drooling away, Ariel coughed into her palm. " Sorry. Any way you look like crap!"

She\'s weird.

"Yeah… I keep hearing that." I hesitantly responded, glancing at Lilith, who immediately turned away as if not to meet my gaze.

"Well, it seems you touched upon Heavens Breath. Well, it\'s a good thing you didn\'t steal any." Ariel said, losing her smile. "There are limits to Father\'s mercy. Had you stolen any, I suspect you\'d have reincarnated by now."

I gulped. "Your…kidding, right?"

She shook her head. "Nope. I\'m quite serious. Heavens Breath was formulated to give life to the soul." And she paused, tilting her head. "Stealing from God is a death sentence or a one-way trip to Hell. Heavens Breath can only be given, never stolen."

"Never?"

\'Never." Ariel gravely emphasized. "No one but Zariel has true control over one\'s breath, so it\'s not highly researched, but it would be dangerous to believe you could control other people\'s \'Breath.\' In a way, ones \'Breath\' represents not just their life but their freedom."

Interesting… But aside from stealing someone\'s breath\' I found I could manipulate it in other ways.

"If you need Heavens Breath, you should find a non-sentient lifeform like a flower or perhaps a broken spirit corrupted by madness.

\'O, and don\'t worry about Tenebrae and little Art! I already checked up on them!\' Ariel\'s soul whispered over. "When you transferred over some of your Breath, you strengthened both the Mother and Sons Breath. The pregnancy ought to have been a seventy percent death rate, but now it\'s down forty percent.\'

Eyes widening, I felt my weakness cast into the shadow realm as I jerked up, startling Ariel as she backed away.

"What\'s up with you? Wanna fight Ariel? Hmph!" She squealed in shock, putting up her small fist that I was sure couldn\'t even hurt a fly.

"What\'s Lilith\'s survival rate?"

"Her\'s? Hmmm. It\'s about sixty percent. I helped her out quite a bit, feeling her Seraphic essence. But if you could give her some Breath, then you could raise that sixty percent into a hundred." she said, lowering her fist, seeing I had no intention of fighting her. "But you shouldn\'t worry. There is a familiar aura I felt here. It reminds me of Eden. I should Tell Mephisto. He always loved Eden."

Did he? Wait, that\'s not what\'s important.

"Please don\'t I—" Coughing into my palm, a shroud of weariness swelled within my mind, twisting my reality as I collapsed back into my seat.

"Easy, Sene." Lilith voiced, shooting Ariel a glare. " I thought we agreed not to tell him about my survival rate? You know how possessive he is."

"Seeing is believing plus…." Ariel said with a bittersweet smile I\'d never thought she could possess. It was weak and graceful, yet there was a warmness no one could mistake for anything else but true compassion.

"He\'ll be fine. You, on the other hand. I\'d like for Arsene to give you some of his breath." Ariel continued without batting an eye.

"Are you crazy!" Lilith shouted, her voice dripping with a sinister undertone.

"Arsene?" Ariel said, looking towards me.

"I\'m fine with that." Glancing at my wife, whose expression paled with anger, I reached up, patting her head to calm the anger. "Relax… There is a reason Ariel mentioned that aura from Eden."

She nodded. "Yes… Eden is the birth Place of Life. It\'s where good and evil started, where sin sank into the bones of all other lifeforms, it\'s the place of purity, and it is filled with Father\'s Breath. The very Breath he delivered to Adam, Eve, and Lilith."