Monarch of Darkness, Arsene

“No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!”

Eagerly nodding, Tene smiled and caressed her womb. And a warmth I was sure only a mother could harness fluttered through her obsidian eyes.

“The Shadow Proclamation. I created that to not just train the next generation of youngsters but also protect my son from the likes of the Fallen and Angels. By the time little Altair is born, they’ll think he’s my disciple.” She said.

And the strange conversation between her and Moloch flashed through my mind as everything began to connect. Even the conversation I had with Zariel. That bastard knew! No wonder he called me lucky!

Motherfucker!

I can’t have another kid! I’m already strapped. Mephisto is already involved with the twins! What’s this make? Four? No, you got to think Arsene… You need an army. And an army of chibi’s so cute no one can hurt them sounds… no! That won’t do.

“Sene…” Tenebrae said eagerly with stars in her eyes. ” Tene bought hundreds of empty bottles.”

‘…. Why?”

“Tene is gonna store all his baby drool.” And she looked up at me. A shiver of anticipation, if not madness, gleamed from her eyes. ” I’m going to store all his drool, hair, and teeth.”

…This woman is dangerous.

“Tene, don’t you think that’s a bit… extreme?” I asked, somehow hoping for a sane answer.

“Nope!” She happily said without a second thought.

But seeing that look, I honestly felt somewhat jealous. Some people don’t deserve to be parents, and I think I’m one of them. But people like Tene… who’s waited through multiple eternities, make me wonder if I even deserve to have so many children.

I’m sure I’d be a badass dad. But… I don’t think I should be one.

“Don’t ever tell Lilith. At least until he becomes a God.” I told her, unable to take my eyes off her abdomen. To the sliver of life throbbing a warm aura of life. I faintly smiled and looked up at her. ” And this should have been the first thing I said. But congrats Tenebrae. I know you’ve suffered.”

She quivered and lowered her head, masking her teary eyes behind her hair. ‘Umn.”

‘But Altair? How’d you get that name?”

A sealing domain suddenly appeared, catching my attention as she smiled warmly. “Luna named the child. Said it was your Mother’s name. AH! Sene? Are you… are you crying?”

Rubbing my eyes, I shook my head. ” No! Just surprise.” I muttered, looking the other way.

She giggled and tipped toed up merely to pat me on the head. “It’s ok. Sene.” She whispered as my shoulders shuddered at the sensation that both hurt and healed. But.. the more I thought of it…, the more tears fell from my eyes, drenching my robes.

“… So it’s a boy?” I muttered, through the tears rolling uncontrollably. My expression was masked behind my ashen hair.

She nodded. ” Yes… I’m sure of it. After I fed Altair the Mutatied Chaos Dew. he mutated. And expanded quite a bit.”

My head instantly tilted. “But you don’t look like a whale?”

“…”

“…”

“One, Two, Three! One, Two, Three! One, Two, Three!” She muttered on repeat for a good five minutes,” Ok… I’m good. I will not destroy his testicles with my foot.”

A shiver bounced from my feet to my head as I jerked away, grabbing the family goods: “I was merely curious!”

“Then don’t say anything that’s so infuriating. And I’m masking it with my understanding. No one aside from Zariel, Father, and Mother will be able to peer through my veil of darkness. Not even Hellmaster.”

My eyes went wide. ” Eh? Wait. Not even Lord Hellmaster? Ain’t he the strongest to exist?”

“Indeed, but his role is to punish. He’s insanely powerful, but power doesn’t constitute knowledge. No one has a better understanding of my Darkness than I. No one. That is a Fact. When I want to hide something, it shall not be revealed. Remember Arsene. One of my divinities is secrecy. The reason people hold secrets, the reason people hide things, is due to me. My daughter Luna merely shares this with me.”

‘Then how did Moloch get a whiff of your son? And does he know?” I probed, challenging her ability. Not to be a dick, but things are quite dangerous right now.

“Moloch doesn’t have an idea what happened. But He gleamed something when I found out I was pregnant. There was a small window in time and space. Moloch and Karma sensed it before I could use my veil to block them.”

“Who?”

“Oh… I guess you wouldn’t know him since you two never met. Well, don’t worry about Karma. He is an enemy. At least one of my enemies.” she said coldly, clenching her fist. ” Either way, both of them sensed a disturbance. But I reacted quite quickly. Luna right now is spreading the word of a new divine artifact I created with the mutated chaos Dew. To help… avert everyone’s wild guesses. ”

“Karma, huh? The Dao that determines good from evil.”

Tene smirked. “That’s a bit of a simplification, but you’re not wrong. He’s one of the few children I didn’t create but rather formed naturally due to the activity of the Angels in heaven before the Fall. He’s a nightmare to deal with. Even for Mephisto. If it wasn’t for Michael and Sariel. Mephisto would have killed him. Karma is the one person Mephisto will kill on sight. With no question asked.”

Mephisto has an enemy like that. He’d never said anything.

“What about Moloch and K—”

“Hello! Can we come inside!” Mephisto’s childish voice rang from outside the domain Tenebrae set up, startling me as she laughed. 𝑜𝘷𝑙.𝘰𝑟𝑔

“Speak of the devil. Keep quiet of Altair. And remember, neither of them can sense it. Makes matters simple.” She said, and I nodded.

Lowering the barrier around us, I stared at the silvery blonde hair of Lucifer, and Mephisto joined at the hip, both with smiles.

“Aunty!” They said together

“Bunch of brats wants a favor.” She muttered, rolling her obsidian eyes. ” Are you here about Avernus?”

Avernus? Isn’t that the entrance to hell?

A/N: Said to be located in Italy.

They nodded. ” Well, let me tell you about my plan. For the… For the game, I’m creating within this new world order. One that will divide the Divine and the Mortal. But also grant you all opportunity to compete for acolyte and disciples. “