Monarch of Darkness, Arsene

Howling in a burst of maniacal laughter, I took five steps away from Lilith, maybe ten, sensing her anger being tempered beneath the stares of others. But like most New Yorkers, they turned, ignoring everything. Probably think I was high or something. Glad to see nothing has changed.

A teasing grin caught hold of my lips. I shifted my lingering gaze back to my lovely wife, smoldering in embarrassment. I carefully stepped closer, careful not to annoy the mama bear. “Just say you want kisses and hugs, and as the best husband, finest king under the heavens, I shall—”

“I want to peg you.”

“…”

“…”

‘…”

“I want a divorce!”

Seeing her smile return, I slipped behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist, and swung her around. “Want to get something to eat? I’m sure there are a few fast-food restaurants open. It’s been a while since I had something that will kill me.”

“Kill you?” Lilith muttered, “is it poisonous?”

Unsure how to answer that, I shrugged. “Kinda. It wouldn’t kill you, but it might shave a few years off your life with constant use. Come, let’s explore!” I said. With her still in my arms, I held her princess style, turning her cheeks red, and darted towards the exit.

“Sene… this is… embarrassing,” she muttered. With such a bashful expression, I almost tumbled over. Unable to resist her enthralling eyes, ensnaring every fiber of my being. ．𝚌ｏ𝚖

“Keep that look up when I’m nailing you from behind,” I whispered evilly. “Because every state we visit, every province and country we stop in. I’m fucking you in.”

Skin igniting in heat, she shuttered. “Y-Y-You promise?”

My footsteps halted. “Don’t tempt me to tear that beautiful dress off you and have my way with you now.”

Lilith lifted her hands, cupping my cheeks. A bold yet timid contrasting look swelled within her amethyst eyes. “We’ve never done it in a park… with everyone looking. But… But I’m torn. I want to see your world. But I also want to see you. What should we do, Sene?”

Sweet. Sweet. Sweet. Abyss. Lilith is going to kill me one day with her temptation. I swear she will.

“Let’s keep exploring. You can wait till night when this city truly comes to life. We’ll club, fuck, drink, fuck, and fuck again.”

“I keep falling deeper and deeper. Sene… I might have to do something so deranged to keep all these women away from you.” She whispered, sliding her gaze away, exposing a temptation that stabbed at my soul. ” Show me your world. And tell me about your family. You never talked about them before. Tell me about your Sister and Zariel.”

Startled, I wanted to slap myself in the head at my stupidity. I did rarely talk about them. Guess that’s my fault. My memories of those days were beginning to return quite a while ago.

Damn.

“Who’d you want to hear about first,” I asked her, noticing a few food stands. The one thing I just loved about this city was that no matter the street I stepped in, I was almost guaranteed food. Maybe I should think of investing in this type of culture in Noctem.

“Hmmm.” She mulled over, nudging her head back and forth. “Tell me about… Zariel.”

“That guy. Honestly, I thought he was gay for the longest, lol.”

“What!” Lilith exclaimed, to my surprise.

“Yup. Zariel was never interested in women. Even the loose ones I brought over for him. He was cold to each of them. Nearly killing a few. And after he came back from Hell. Man. It was worse. He never showed a physical change. But each day I visited, I saw the mask crack more and more. That’s when the blackouts began.”

“…”

“Zariel fell into deep drugs. Deep depression. A terrifyingly deep psychosis. It was like the longer he remained in the world outside of Hell, the more those tragedies began to open up. They began to show. It started out he’d just smoke, but as the days passed… I’d find him strung out with a broken look over his face.”

“You know what he told me… When he finally came to? Motherfucker said he wanted to relive it. Wanted to feel that torment again.” I muttered, gritting my teeth. I could taste the tang of blood.

“And Aurelia?” Lilith muttered heavily.

I shook my head. “I don’t know how that marriage happened. But they kind of hated each other a the time. Aurelia was still a rebellious child and Zariel… Well, he was just broken. And growing more so… as the days pressed on. I’d never seen anything like it. And yet he wasn’t addicted. Nor was it a distraction. He was growing stronger, he was growing… but his mind was fracturing.”

“Yes! Two hotdogs, everything on both. Extra onion.” I answered in line before shifting my attention back to Lilith. “It was a phenomenon that showed his mental acuity, but it also gave Zero, Van, Ko, Iz, and myself an idea of how cruel a reality he faced. It’s one thing to face them as an Adult. But a child one easily influenced by their limited view. Zariel just broke one day.”

“And the day he did… Aurelia was there to help him get back up despite her dislike. She was there to put him back together. She wasted a year back then. An entire year she spent helping Zariel return. She sacrificed a lot, especially since she was young at the time. We tried to help, but… Aurelia was the only one who he wanted or trusted. I don’t know.”

“Damn,” Lilith muttered, nibbling on a hot dog. She looked up. “Was it that bad?”

“Yeah. Worst. I haven’t felt that powerless since Mother died.” I bitterly replied, airing out my lungs. ” One of the most fucked up things I’ve ever experienced. Honestly. That event changed a lot for many of us. Especially Zero, who became even more aware of our mortality. And our mental acuity. He had us go to therapy.”

‘You went to therapy. You, Mr. I eat people!” She joked, but my heart only dipped at that heavy memory I’d rather forget. I’m just glad… he seemed alright now as the Lord of Order. That might have been the biggest scare of my life.

I had no idea how I could ever face Mother’s Grave had Zariel… just remained that mentally destroyed. Life was a bitch. And that man had no lifeline for a long, long time.

“Zariel didn’t know about it. Aurelia was his therapist. But yeah. Zero made us an A.I., not even he had access to. It was probably the one selfless act he’d ever committed. Some took it seriously, myself included, after what I saw. But to others… they brushed it off. Nothing we could do there.”