Monarch of Darkness, Arsene

Dashing forward, leaving behind Arsene, who was dealing with the seven Heavenly Lords of the Overworld, Ezra and Ren trailed after me, shadowing my every step. We weaved through hordes of various Abyssal Monsters aside from spiders. Despite this, webs began to coat the walls, casting us into a silvery cave that hid the slightest glimmer of scarlet.

Rushing through the various tunnels without any sense of direction, I could only hope for the best when it came to Arsene. I was sure he was fine with his high battle prowess, but I still felt worried. With all that happened recently, I knew he was struggling to think of a way to get around Yu Jings’ untimely death.

I pushed such thoughts out of my head as an intense heat sweltered through the air, draining my pores of moisture. Covered in such a sweat that my clothing clung to my skin, Ty and Arkanos began wiping away the sweat while casting some ice spells to cool my body. 𝒃𝒆𝒐𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝙘𝙤𝒎

Despite their best effort, I felt like I was trapped in a pyre. The heat was searing, drying the sweat the moment it appeared, leaving my skin crusty; despite my abnormally high comprehension of the Dao of fire. Helplessness swelled within my heart as my feet slowly came to a halt.

“Just how far do these tunnels lead?” Ren questioned, with a noticeable strain in his tone; covered in a cloak of magical essence, the grimace lingering over his thin lips seemed almost tiring the longer we trekked ahead.

Days. If not weeks away. I thought to say but held myself back.

“I can keep going, but you two may not last,” Ezra stated, who appeared noticeably untouched by sweat. “I can keep going, but—”

“That might not be the best Idea,” Ren interjected, shaking his head, ” We have no idea what lies ahead.”

Feeling like a lobster being cooked alive, a wave of abyssal qi poured through my dry pores. And I cursed beneath my breath for using a bit more divinity than I would have liked, my lips pursed. ” We should wait for Arsene. We managed to escape most of the chasing beast anyway.”

“That’s because nothing can live down here,” Ezra argued.

“Those spiders could,” I fired back, silencing her. I didn’t want to say it, but it should be obvious the deeper we went, the stronger Abyssal Monsters we would face. Not only would the heat continue to rise, but the pressure against our bones would also begin to become unbearable to anyone but Arsene. Although I could make it down if I—

“How far is Arsene?”

Scrunching my brow, I reached into myself and paused as a slew of words left my husband’s lips that made my skin crawl.

“Mama,” Ty suddenly whispered, “Ty no feel well.” Plummeting off my shoulder, the Little Dragon fell into my arms, catching her limb body that felt like molten lava, searing my skin; I groaned in shock at the sudden change.

Watching as hundreds of thousands all across Zpheris fall one after the other, I was wholly taken back by this sudden change. I turned my attention to Arsene, a few hundred kilometers away.

“Arsene, what are you saying,” I hesitantly asked as the unease in the pit of my stomach bubbled with apprehension.

“About to make a new Sin!” He arrogantly shouted, causing a slew of words I did not even recognize to slip from my mouth; I cried to everyone as a dreadful premonition sank into the back of my mind.

“RUN!”

Taken back, I didn’t even bother to explain anymore as a vortex of spiral qi rushed out from my pores, and in a single step, I bolted thousands of kilometers through the tunnels; I turned around to glance at Ezra and Ren gripping onto my shoulders.

“What are we run—”

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM~

Wide-eyed at the eruption of Abyssal Night flooding the realm, darkness came like a wave of rushing stream, devouring life and death, heaven and earth. Leaving nothing behind but its devouring light, causing the hairs on my neck to rise so much I felt they were about to fall out.

My heart thundered against my chest, and in a single instant, I felt something strange, something incorporated itself into the abyss—a concept that was both foreign and familiar, a power that made me feel disgusted yet relieved. I wasn’t sure how I felt, but it scared me.

“We can’t escape!” Ren howled, ” Stop running. We need to fortify—”

“Papa,’ Ty muttered in my arms, opening her scarlet eyes, carrying his sigil within her pupils.

“Big sis,” Arkanos whispered, squeezing my shoulder, with large tears bubbling in her beady eyes, “Big Sis IZAVITH!”

“No need,” I commanded, with a hint of anger in my tone. Turning around, I came to a swift halt and opened my palm. Eyeing the incoming Abyssal Night, I sucked in a deep breath and pointed a single finger out towards the dark.

And like clockwork, the moment the darkness of Abyssal Night came into contact with my finger, I understood what had happened, and a knot twisted in my stomach.

Arsene, you idiot! You’re not ready for that! Why are you never thinking before you act?

Holding back the coming of Abyssal Night, Izavith’s words echoed through my mind, “Should I help him?”

“No,” I darkly answered, “He’ll overcome this on his own; if he can’t, he may lose something altogether.”

The Tarnishing is a deadly ability usually reserved for the Darkness, The Abyss, The Hells, the Angels, and the Fallen. Arsene initially made a shadow flame, the very core of his ability that held two of his most used elements, but all his comprehension was held in that single flame, his very soul.

He may not have thought this through, but that single flame connected not just him but every Shadowfell in creation. And since it’s a core ability held by all Shadowfell, it touched not just their bodies but their soul.

Arsene just started a worldwide racial tarnishing.

“Ezra, Arkanos, Ren,” I calmly said, glancing back at them as they covered themselves in a dense divinity to protect themselves from the heat.

“Get one of the Blood Crystals and bring it back here. Arsene’s life and yours depend on it. I can hold back this abyssal Night for a week, maybe two, but that’s my limit.”