Monarch of Darkness, Arsene

It was a little scary. For a Fallen angel to lose its intelligence yet retain its battle prowess was utterly frightening. The way he handled Metatron was rather aesthetic, in my opinion. Honestly, it appeared like a masterful, choreographed battle. And that\'s was makes this entire situation terrifying. So there is only one question left to ask.

\'Will he betray me one day? Will he wake up and turn against me?\'

Watching the Fallen Hound open its ruby eyes, I hesitated for a moment before trailing my fingers through its thick mane. "I can only assume you became attached to me due to the Abyss. But as for how and why. I can\'t say. But… I do look forward to keeping you by my side. I think… I know I\'ll be needing you. Although, we\'ll need to change your name to mask your identity. I\'ve—"

Pausing for a second as a knock echoed, the door to my chamber opened, alerting Gadreel. "Yo," Said Tene. " How have you been?"

"... seriously, aren\'t you busy? Why the hell are you here again?"

"Hello, Tene. How\'ve you been, Tene? Oh my Goodness, Tene, your back." She quoted, shooting me an icy glare. " Is it so hard to say, you ass. It\'s called decorum."

"Tene… It\'s me… It\'s me, Arsene. I don\'t do decorum. That\'s for bitches."

"Dear God," She whispered, "I\'m having this idiot\'s kid."

Smirking, ready to congratulate her, Gadreel rose, wagging its tail. He approached with a curious gleam its eye. Circling my wife as if it had discovered something magical, and, against all reason, he licked my wife… more specifically, her stomach.

I frowned. "Is this cheating? He is a dog… but he\'s also a Fallen with maybe a human form. Letting another man lick my—"

Struck by the hilt of a sword, I tumbled over to the bed as Tene\'s voice thundered. "You dummy! Can\'t you see this beast bearly has intelligence? He\'s probably smelling your kid. But that\'s odd. I created a very powerful warding to block such things."

"Who the hell throws a sword? This is why we can\'t have nice things!" I barked, flickering before her. I bore down upon Tene, who merely snorted in retort.

"It serves you right."

"Did it? Are you trying to take out your hubby?"

Her small nose wiggled playfully." Maybe"

Slipping my arm around her waist, I evilly grinned, wanting a taste of my bad wife. "Are—"

"Don\'t look at me like that. I came here with every serious intention. Your kid is about to be born." She told me, sending my mind into a flutter. "I can feel it. I can feel all of the Myriad Heavens becoming destabilized by their auras."

Startled, I couldn\'t help but frown. "Mephisto didn\'t say anything."

"He wouldn\'t know. Only those with a great attunement with the Myriad Heavens and the Abyss could sense it. But He will soon. Everyone will. I\'d love to visit, but… well, you know. If Lilith were to sense my kid…"

"Yeah…" I muttered, pressing my lips against her forehead. "You did well. Good job." I mused, rustling her hair.

She smiled. " Treating me like a dog, are you?"

"Would you rather me fuck you like one."

"How I\'ve missed that filthy mouth of yours." She said, the sarcasm quite audible.

Gad barked, racing around Tene and me. And as if grasping what he wanted, I laughed and rustled his hair as well.

"You\'re quite a jealous one, aren\'t you," Tene said, shooting a sharp look at Gad. She snorted, turning to me. " Also… When are you going to Eden?"

"Soon," I said softly. "I\'ve been delaying it, but I sense danger from the very name. Mephisto is involved, so the dangers are always high, but now with Metatron\'s latest assassination I—"

"His what?" Said Tene sharply, her warm exterior vanishing to that of a sharp edge.

"Hmmm." Standing up from playing with Gad, I nodded. " With this new ability given to me by the Abyss, I\'ve created all the necessary prerequisites to push into this new path I once saw. It honestly feels like I\'m wasting time. Delaying, but every day I dive deeper into the spirit realm until my soul burns and my body breaks. "Gad looked up at me and licked my finger, comforting me as I turned to Tene: " I\'m close, Tene. And…" I leaned closer. "Not even Mephisto knows of this Path. It\'s a game-changer. And if Zariel and I can perfect it. Then… we might be able to remove restrictions on you and all Primordials."

Tenebrae eyes just about glowed as she clenched her womb…" you better go. Oh, mama. Or Mama might need her fix."

Staring me dead in the eye, I gulped. Aww! Damn, those kids. Not even born, but already ruining my sex life. Fuck.

"WOOOF!"

Somewhat regretfully, I backed away with Gad as the darkness sprang around us. And within a blink of an eye, we were back.

Noise in the form of panic swelled through the palace grounds as I saw both maid, soldier, and lords all pacing back and forth. Their expressions pale as if they were going through a twelve-step program.

"My-My-My Lord!" One of the men shouted, noticing my arrival. "You must hurry. Our lady started to bleed."

Not waiting to hear more, Gad and I practically teleported to Lilith\'s room as we barged right in. Welcomed by the heavy scent of blood, every nerve in my body froze as Lilith lay like a ghastly figure. Had there not been a look of recognition in her eye, I\'d have thought she was dead.

"Hiya, Sene." She whispered.

"Save it," Ariel said, with slivers of sweat around her brow. "I… Is that Gadreel? No, not the time. Arsene. Transfer Lilith some Breath. Not a lot, just enough to stabilize her condition. We need to stop the bleeding."

Drawn in by the blood pooling between her legs, painting the snow-white sheets a vibrant red, I gritted my teeth. "Alright."

I inched towards Lilith, taking her by the palm that felt more like Ice than Ice itself. "Silly woman… you sure know how to cause problems."

·ƈθm She grinned. "It\'s almost time."

"Is this the abyssal version of childbirth? Bleeding out like this?"

She nodded yet again, and my heart dropped. " Yes… I… W…."