บท 1032: Zantar - Ultimatum

'My Lord, where have you gone? Your blinding radiance no longer shines over this Heaven. I can still feel you… I can still feel your majesty coursing through my veins… and it frightens me. I have never been one to fear death, my Lord. Never. As a Fallen, I have renounced the Father at one time or another, but he is still my Father.

"If I were to accept your gift that now courses through all Angels… If I was to become what you strive for. There would be no turning back. I fear such a thing, my Lord. And yet, for some reason, despite having sensed the other Lords of Hell, none of them have approached me. None of them have tried to reason with me, and none of them have tried to dissuade me.

" I am without a path… no, I am frightful of your Path. Power always comes at a price. It is the Rule of Law set by the One and the All.

"It cannot be changed.

"We were warned. We had been warned many times by Lord Belphegor, the Fallen Devil Variant. The being who stands on the precipice of hate and love towards the Father. He had foreseen it all.

'You are upon a path set not for the likes of you two. It's a Path that requires a level of coldness and blasphemy that very few carry.'

"He had said those words to me in private. He had warned me, but I didn't understand it. Not till now. The only difference between a Fallen and an Angel is their belief towards the One.

"Fate is such a trickle thing, my Lord… And it's only now that I understand I don't have any for you. I've seen you fall, and a Lord, A God, cannot fall. You have left me blind, and that cannot happen.

"Or perhaps the level of fate I had towards you was mediocre at best. Your light blinded me… When I became a Fallen, you guided me despite being blinded yourself. We had followed Mephisto for a long time. A very long time.

"But now…" I stood to my feet. "I will not turn to your Path. I will not turn my back on the Father… there is a limit to how much I will fall. Forgive me… Master."

"You are nothing but a coward," A voice that filled me with so much dread I found myself on my knees, shuttering with uncontrollable sweat. " But I must thank you two fools for opening this path for me."

Fear reeling from my core, I turned to the demonic flesh of the Fallen, and blood swelled from my eyes, bathing my clothing. I bowed my head closer into the dirt.

"Lord Belphegor."

"Teleth… Such an odd name. When I first heard it spoken across the collected conscious, I'd thought it was a telekinetic race… but it's the next level in blasphemy. I wonder if Mephisto saw this? Perhaps not. Even he will be hesitant to cross Father's bottom line.

My heart dipped in terror, but I dared not react intermittently and rise to my feet to flee.

"Teleth… I loathe the name. But you've given me a new beginning. You've opened up the Gates to the Unknown. To a realm with no name. Lucifer and Mephisto are so focused on Arcadia that they have missed the destruction brought on by Balor. But who can blame them? In the end, they are rulers of Pride."

"I don't wish to be a Teleth… It's a virus, a plague to everything that exists. No… it's not till my death that I'll accept such an end. No, I've got a new goal in mind. And you're going to help me."

"You can't be here… you can't influence the Fourth Realm. There are rules!" I shouted, finding the strength that quickly faded as Belphores anger began to bleed.

"We Fallen are Lords of Rebellion, while Lucifer truly lives by such a concept. We don't need to live by anyone's rules. We only followed the rules to keep the peace to bring about an era that'll entertain our immortal lives. First, we had Amara, but she never ascended despite being given options, then Ishar, who followed behind her master. Then there was the aberration Zariel who wielded a power no one can seem to explain. Then there is Arsene, and now apparently his twins."

He paused, giving a dark chuckle, and continued. "So many Monsters have come and gone so many. But now, there is a new Era on its way. The Teleth are scum, undead filth that should only be used as a last resort. This new era will demand something else. Something more.

Attempting to flee, Lord Belphegor's mighty hand clenched my skull and lifted me to his face that burned with might. I dangled from his palm, powerless to do anything.

"How would you like to regain your original power?" He asked.

"Eh?"

Nodes of suffering bleeding from his eyes, Belphegor chuckled. " The Heavenly Laws around this Fourth Heaven are slowly being eradicated by The Seven Orginal Fallen. So? What is it you want to do?"

My teeth clenched. " What do you want me to do?"

"To kill Arsene Snow, of course. Or at least attempt to. Better yet, I need you to cripple the children in Lilith's womb. Even if you die, you'll be resurrected by the plague of Balor and turn into a Teleth."

"Why?" I barked, unable to grasp his reasoning.

Why did he need me to do that? Why? Why do I need to become a Teleth?

"I won't! I—"

"Oh, little fallen. This wasn't a request. You know the terror of hell. You know that I'll just break your mind. I'll uproot your soul till your bottom line drops to ash. I'll make you into nothing more than a lump of shit looking to be fucked by the worst kinds of filth. You are mine now." His hand tightened, piercing into my flesh as I screamed. My flesh became so hot the blood ebbing from my wounds felt so cold as he barked." YOU ARE MINE!!!! Your opinion, your thoughts, I don't need to hear it. You either listen, or I break you."

"Oh, Bel, why is it? No matter the timeline, your still an ass. It is a shame Laevatein was destroyed. But kicking your ass shouldn't be a problem." A very masculine yet fiendish voice uttered, startling me. "Unfortunately, I can't let you harm Arsene or Lilith."

"Eh?"

Turning to look at the Ashen Headed young man whose eyes burned with the Flames of the Abyss, we froze.

"Your… how is that… You look like… Arsene."

"First off, I'm older, so he looks like me!" The young man barked. " And secondly, I'm sexier, not that Father is sexy… What I mean is… Fuck it! I stand by what I said."

Huh? What… is that Tiamat's son? What's he doing here?

"How are you here" Said Belphogor loosening his grip around me.

"To fuck yo bitch… Although I don't know if I want to bang the woman who fucked her son… that's some next-level shit right there."

"She didn't fuck me. I fucked her."

'... That's not a brag… in fact. It sounds more like rape or just flat-out incest. Then again, you are Belphegor."

Suddenly blinding heat whipped over my eyes, as a searing heat charred my flesh, sending waves of torment into my very bones.

I howled in pain, struggling to get out of Lord Belphogor's hands before he dropped me onto the ground.

"Fuck off… And go a kill Arsene. My mark will compel you to do so."

Pain still reeling, I moaned, catching sight of the smiling expression of the young man. "That's a little better. You can go. Me and Bel here need to catch up."

"Y-Y-You aren't here to save me?" I stammered to say, struggling to find the strength even to stand.

"Save you? I, too, want you to attack Arsene and Lilith. Why would I save you? I just don't want you to regain your original power, is all. The things I do for Pop-Pop… that bastard owes me."

"What's your name, boy."

The young man smiled. "I'm technically older than you. But you can call me Ves—"