Monarch of Darkness, Arsene

,m Hammering the throttle over the next few days without caring where I was heading, the clashes of Heaven and Hell\'s essence waged war with each other. From the information I had gathered from the Holocube, I learned that Baphomet, the Acting General, was holding his position in the air. And neither Asmodeus nor Bael was answering their holocube.

I was blind, and the worse part, on my way, wherever the hell I was going, I caught sight of multiple camps from various denizens of the Exalted Wheel. They were all arming themselves. The Angels\' attack had placed all those already on guard into a state of alarm. And we hadn\'t even arrived in Iliah yet.

I peered back towards the cloud of Gold and Scarlet mist that had stopped chasing and was now hovering, quite a distance away. Everything in me told me that while I may live due to the Path of Abyssal Night, the others would not be so lucky. Whatever that thing was, I had no interest in contacting it and finding out. I already had enough torment in subspace. Where I was almost torn to shreds, was it not for my understanding of Darkness and Ty\'s High God Divinity, I would have died.

Ty was still unconscious, and I didn\'t expect her to wake anytime soon. Not with the amount of divinity she used.

But she did a good job.

I smiled and peeped down at the little dragon drooling over my robes, sandwiched between Cleo and me. Her soft snore was like the sounds of music in my ears. Soft and comforting.

I descended the Echo-X near the base of a mountain, and a bit of relief left me. Chancellor Karr had warned me about the danger of Subspace, stating that even an Elder God needs to be careful less They either die or find themselves millions of years in the future from their present. It was a good thing Avar had done the calculations, or I was sure to be screwed.

My face was scarred, but that would heal, and the pain was a fresh reminder of my weakness. The battle hadn\'t even started, but here I was fleeing. The mere clash of their aura was enough to kill me.

Taking Ty into my arm, a profound sigh left my lips, and I settled my gaze on Cleo\'s questioning gaze.

"What?"

She stared hard for a moment, and I felt something slowly trying to invade me, a sinful intent. I smiled, then broke into laughter. "Woman who taught you that?"

Cleo\'s expression sank, "How could you resist?"

My eyes rolled. " First off, Mortal Dao, once recognized, can easily be countered, especially those I have dominion over."

Her striking features dipped into dismay, and my smile rose, "who taught you that? In fact, do you even know what you are using?" I softly asked, watching the pinks of her cheeks brightened. "Oh, it seems like you have a new master. What about—"

"Mind your business," She snapped, and my smile deepened.

Passing my hands through Ty\'s silky hair, I sat down and rested her over my lap. " Come now, Cleo, aren\'t we friends?"

"Because of you, everyone is here."

"Lilith is to blame for that. But I\'ll take the blame on this one, although my plan was a lot more gruesome. But come now, Cleo. I\'m about to be the supreme lord of the Court of Nox." Her eyes widen.

"What—"

"Well, all the major heads are here. Locked away in the abyss for god know how long, while only a small fraction of my armies are here." I calmly said, enjoying the paling of her cheeks. My smile slipped away, and my words chilled, " How about we make a deal to save that father of yours. Sorry, he is your master, right?"

My arms raised, and my gaze hardened into a fine slit, " Shall we make a deal?"

Cleo staggered back, and her chest heaved with a fit of anger. I could feel her fury take form. Her aura flared to life, but my killing intent was quick to quell that rabid rage that meant as little as her master\'s life. The Bed of Chaos, at this point, was just a catalyst for my will. Sure I was weak, but that was going to change quite soon.

"W-what do you want," She stammered to say through gritted teeth. The disgust was apparent, but I could care less. People didn\'t need to like me, only bend a knee when I needed.

"Your loyalty," I uttered, and her fist clenched into a deep ball.

"And?" she spat." Surely, that can\'t be it."

"And a favor. A favor I will not tell you till a specific day."

Silence fell, and her marvelous expression twisted. Love was such a cruel thing. It could bend even the most powerful of men.

"As long as it doesn\'t involve killing my Master, my Father, Talos. Fine." She said, and my palm opened for her to shake.

"Shake on it?" I teased, but the cold undertone told a different tale.

Cleo stared long and hard at my palm, but I needed her to answer now. I could not have her thinking too deeply about this vague request.

"I\'m waiting," I darkly said, allowing the Dao of Devil\'s heart to carry my intent. Cleo shivered and reached for my hand, shaking after a quick moment of deliberation. And with a brief sensation of the Hell\'s whisper against my soul. I knew the Devil\'s Deal had been achieved.

"Good, see, that wasn\'t so hard now? Welcome to Vaevictis, dear Cleo."

"So what now?" She mentioned with a clenched jaw.

I shrugged and opened up my holocube. But instead of calling Lilith, or Avar, I tried to contact the Dutchess of Noctem, awaiting her response, seconds trailed like untold hours, but within a minute, Layla Ozul appeared.

"What." She snapped to my appearance.

I blinked, and a grin tugged at my lips, such defiance. I truly am a kind lord. How many would have tossed her into a dungeon to rot?

Saint Arsene strikes again.

Clearing my throat, I continued, "How are things going?"

Layla grimaced and shook her head, " Good and bad. We have successfully integrated ourselves into many of those, not from the Bed of Chaos, but with the Angels strike, things might begin to slow. Those of the Exalted Wheel will be more on guard."

"Or maybe we could use their fear\'s to our advantage. Spies are a common factor of War. There is no helping it." I cuffed my palm over my chin and smiled, "Let a few of our spies stand out. Let\'s make them some heroes."

"And what of those from the Badlands?" She calmly asked, and a chill danced its way down my spine.

I\'d heard some of the slaughters that had taken place there. There was no trying to invade these people, as they had no armies. The Badlands were a land of chaos and war. They cared only for well, exp—a land of systems where only the strong survive.

"Ignore them; their numbers should be low enough we can ignore them," I said, and Laya nodded, then disconnected.

"Things are about to get crazy," I mused with a cold smile and peered up towards the black hole swirling with a foreboding light.