Monarch of Darkness, Arsene

"STOP HIM!" Zantar roared in a voice I\'d never heard before. I wasn\'t even sure it was him, as I could hear the screams of panic.

"CHARGE!"

Three hands clenched onto the Scepter of Lilith, and once again, the sounds of shattering glass exploded in my ear, leaving only a slew of darkness unfolding with a cold heat, pressing against my soul. A chill deeper and far more profound than I had ever felt rippled out, and from the cold dark void, scarlet, grey eyes appeared.

"Arsene Snow, Lord of the Abyssal Night." The eldest of Humanity said, her voice touched with a supple grandeur that carried a regal demeanor. "Patriarch of House Snow, or is it Lazarus?" her tone deepened," Well met."

"I want your blessing," I said, meeting her eye without fear, unlike before, where I buckled to my knees.

Her gaze pulled up in amusement. " Then it shall be yours."

"Just like so?"

"Just like so," she confirmed. Her sinister gaze slowly narrowed, and I felt like I was standing on ice for a moment. " Show us your power, little monarch."

My eyes blinked, and I was back. Under the glow of Scarlet Gold, a pulse rippled out, freezing the charging angels and demons.

Pain. Unimaginable pain dipped down my soul, reaching into my very core. I, no, we staggered back, as even my actual body shuttered. And our mouths open, and a roar of a dragon, a roar that took me back to the days of Tiamat, erupted from my throat, parting the gold and scarlet clouds like the red sea. The night appeared.

My Night.

Between my brow, an upside cross crowned my head, and divinity surged over the land, an evil that even I knew stemmed from the darkest of souls, and a blinding light of enlightenment rippled over me. At the same time, my sigil sprang over the skies.

"Sword of the Ethereal Night, heed my call," I chanted, and thunder crackled, ripping apart the skies. "Free thyself from the Bindings of Heavens Might and become one with my mind and body, so that we may rule, under a single night!"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!

My breathing dimmed, and my cheeks paled to the color of ash. But under the blessing of the Demonic Mother, I was quick to recover.

Nevertheless, I felt Noctem tremble. And at my call, the Dao I had forged, and cultivated to this day, seemed to erupt in full. Unsure where my potential started or ended, a sword whose blade seemed to suck away light materialized within my palm, Fitting almost perfectly in my left hand, while in my right, Hellfire blazed in the shape of a spear.

And it wasn\'t just my hand that this blade had appeared. Each of my clones possessed the same blade, carrying equal power.

Heart thumping, I lifted my gaze to meet with everyone, and an almighty pressure pressed out from the pours of my flaming skin.

Taking full advantage of my hacks, I, alongside two of my clones, Shadow, Stepped into the heat of battle and, with a single arch of the Sword of Tenebrae, danced, meeting with empty space, angelic blood sprayed like rain over the land below.

\'Shadow Slash," I chanted my singular almighty attack ending the lives of hundreds of angels around Star-Lord, and Realm-Lord; before they even had a chance to witness their ends, their souls whipped towards me, entering my soul space.

\'ARSENE!" Zantar cried, burrowing towards me.

But with a single thought. All three of my bodies skimmed over the battlefield like shadows dancing under the skies of day.

The blade of Tenebrae was cutting through flesh while the flames of hellfire were searing away souls, leaving nothing but the hollow screams of the angels I was decimating.

"Got you!" One of the Great Seven, Sulthial, whose long golden hair fell to his broad shoulders, screamed.

Needing only a single thought to use Shadow Step to remove myself from out of his range, I decided to hold my place as a grim smile marred my bloodstained lips. I exploded, releasing a pillar of flame that caught the Elder God by surprise.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!

Ensuring some degree of injury, I listened to his howls as my soul fragment willed the flames of hellfire together once more, and my gaze lingered upon Sulthial.

"I may only have the power of a High God at this moment, but Hacks are hacks," I said, cracking a smile as the pain within my soul tightened. Within a few hours, I would be no more.

Wrapped in the flames peeling the skin around his left hand, my eyes didn\'t say long as Baphomet appeared, cleaving Abbadon downwards, slapping Sulthial, who barely managed to lift his wings of pure, holy light to defend. An explosion of angelic essence rippled but was snuffed out by the mushroom cloud as Baphomet plunged downwards, stomping down over Sulthial head. Not stopping till blood covered his feet and the sounds of shattering bones echoed. The other six angels whipped towards him.

Taking in the chaos of the battlefield, as ash and fire fluttered through the darkness, I turned my attention towards an army of the Ethereal bastards.

Taking a deep breath, my Soulforce reversed as I poured it into my fragmented soul, and in a single moment, I lost contact with one of my clones. Taken back, the hairs upon my neck erupted as the flames of Hell burned even hotter than before.

I forced another clone to follow in the path of the Hollowing. Fear fluttered over my heart as the night seemed like a distant concept. Terror rippled as I watched my own clones run wild, slaughtering Angels, Demons, devils, and the undead like depraved demons, leaving nothing but the bloody remains of chaos. A chill danced between my brow as I finally witnessed how powerful I truly am.

The Demonic Mother may have increased my power, but this chaos, this Dao. It was all mine. Shadow Step had made me the fastest man alive. At the same time, Shadow Slash made it so that I could attack instantaneously. Whether it was spells or my spear, any of my attacks would always land.

My heart fluttered, and it was at this moment that I felt a set of eyes upon me—a set of eyes without any intent.

I took a beep breath bearing the torment piercing my heart like a knife, over and over. My pale cheeks sunk, and I stood still within the chaos of War, opening my hand.

"Let\'s test the Tarnishing."