Monarch of Darkness, Arsene

My blood boiled as if caught in a den of flames. And as if the Abyss had heard my cry, it answered. My skin peeled away like paint on the wall, falling upon the ground as ash rather than dead skin. While the blood that should have painted the earth and pooled downwards in an onslaught of lifeblood never came.

Rather what I should have seemed came as an echo… an echo that resounded through all realms, through all echoes elements like an unfathomable gong it rang.

The weave that was my sight began to break down and be replaced by two insurmountable concepts that flared from my palm: War and Death.

As if two of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse had presented themselves to me, the winds howled and wailed, tore and bent, as if brought into the hands of slaughter. An obsidian spear engraved with silver and red presented itself. The blade itself was elegant to a single point, demonic in nature, with a regal polish that carried two sigils upon its shaft. One of Pride, the other of Wrath.

“Arsene…” I heard the flabbergasted Metatron say.

“Requiem!” Dreamless shouted, all thousands of eyes vanishing, replaced by a shadowy figure whose presence seemed as if it wanted to mask itself from me.

Me, the Monarch of Darkness.

Disgust plastered my lips in a downward arc as the reality of perception bent to my will, distorting in such a way the shadows masking Dreamless were torn to shreds.

“There you are,” I calmly said, the arrogance of my tone almost as foreign as it was powerful.

The moment the spear was drawn, I felt my mind grow colder, and my heart rate slowed, yet my heart continued to hammer away, pushing Qi throughout my meridians, activating every living cell, every spinning electron, and atom.

As I was born again, reborn, the world seemed anew.

“Requiem, is in your possession?” Dreamless howled, possessing long snowy hair that trailed over his shoulders. His gaze was affixed with two cross shape patterns in his silvery eyes. “Zariel gifted it to you!”

“Do not be fooled,” Megatron said, nearly insisting. “That’s not Requrim. That’s the Blood of his accursed Bloodline. It’s close to Requirm.” He pointed at me. “Look closely. Arsene and Zariels Astral Signature are close to one another. They’re family, after all. But there is nothing to fear. That fool can’t use the spear as he pleases. It’s eating him away.”

Dreamless eyes widened a little, the caution in his gaze lessening. ” Your right… I—”

“I think I’ve heard enough of this nonsense.” I heard myself say as I composed the onslaught of Qi, whose purity was eating at my inners.

My adaptation was quickly trying to adapt to the changes, but the Spear of Abyssal Night was too monstrous.

I glanced downwards to the obsidian spear bleeding runic symbols in almost every language conceivable. Slivers of fear coiled around my heart, tightening till my breath fell short, and my vision became dotted with black.

“I’m on my way.” The cold voice of Aurelia echoed like a storm. “Zariel is slower than me. So I’ll reach you first.”

“Someone is invading my dreamscape! They’re quick!” Dreamless shouted, snapping his gaze to Metatron. ” You promised me that was impossible. That only Pure-Blooded Seraphims could—”

“You—”

Coughing up a mouthful of blood, I tightened the hold of my spear and stepped into position. There were too many things out of my control. First, a bunch of no-name rankers found and attacked me. Now, in my own hell, I’m about to be kidnapped.

While the spear of Abyssal Night has granted me power, damn near unlimited power… if I can’t identify what is dragging me away, I can’t stop it.

“Damn it!!!!” Dreamless bellowed, lunging towards me as hundreds of thousands of millions of black tentacles sprang out f creation. My vision was blanketed by the sight, and yet fear did not ring. Rather, it was the hiss of my spear as I spoke.

“Aspect of Sealing”

The dreamscape shattered into shards. Night and day fractured like a stilled painting. The laws and concepts froze as if stopped by the power of the Abyss. One after the other, they receded into themselves as an arc of obsidian light blared over the horizon, devouring everything in its path.

Whatever might have been in my path shattered, revealing Dreamless fearlessly approaching at an impeccable speed. 𝚍ｎ𝚘ｖ𝚕.𝚝

I was sure he could instantly arrive at me, but revealing such a technique so early could reveal more than he’d like.

Hands gesturing into seals, I frowned as Dreamless pointed the finger at me: ” Dream scur—”

“Aspect of Devouring”

As if a blackhole had imploded, the event horizon whipped over the arc of Heaven and Earth as pure raw darkness blanketed my vision, leaving nothing behind but Tenebrae’s grace. The spear of Abyssal Night howled with Almighty essence eating away at anything and everything till nothing, but void existed alongside the contorted expression of Dreamless.

I was sure… I was sure I could harm him. I could at least injure him. My spear made it possible to injure Fell Gods. That I was sure. Call it arrogance, but everything in me was telling me I was correct, but… that bastard wasn’t even injured.

He wasn’t even phased. Was the discrepancy that big?

Channeling the Abyssal Flames over the spear’s edge, weariness gathered within those crossed shape pattern eyes of his. He shot me a measured stare, soared down to the ground, and began to circle me like a lion would its prey.

“How long can you last?” Dreamless asked as magical sigils began to gather over his shoulders. “An ignorant man like—”

Through the weave glimmering through my eyes, I grin through the globs of blood seeping from my lips as information sank into my soul.

“Three Seconds out!” Aurelia’s voice thundered through my mind as this magical dreamscape shuddered as if moved by an insurmountable force.

But I wasn’t worried. The reason my attacks didn’t phase Dreamless, why he seemed so indifferent, wasn’t due to me being weaker. This bastard didn’t exist on the physical plane. Before me was an illusion. A construct created by energy.