The mischievous nature of this Fallen dissipated as he slid his gaze toward the chasm. He stepped forward, squatted over the ledge, and turned to me.
"How many dead."
"It's an entire kingdom. Millions, I believe, or billions. The city seems quite massive." I reveal but hold my tongue regarding Ves. Some things didn't need to be said. "So? Are you going to explain why the Fel is here?"
"There has only been one instance I've found where a Fel was within the Myriad Heavens. And he was Zariels mortal enemy. It was enlightening because Father had banished them. Tell me, can you recall any of their features?"
"Eh?"
Trying to recall the image of blood that I saw in the city below, my heart trembled as I opened my eyes wide. I couldn't recall. There was nothing there.
"You can't, can you? You're lucky. If you were to have met a Pure Blood the moment your eyes were to leave the Fel, you would lose all memory of them, alongside however long you stared at them." Mephisto said softly. He rose to his feet and grimaced. "That is what made the Fel dangerous. Can you imagine being in a life-and-death battle, and the moment you turn or survey your area, you lose all memory of the fell and your battle?"
"Damn," I muttered.
"When I created the Fel, I wanted them to be the strongest. So I gave them many life-saving measures. Using some of the greatest resources known to the Myriad Heavens."
Another bullshit ability. What's fucking new.
"Can you stop this memory wipe shit?" I questioned, spitting blood from my lips as my organs burned with the Fel Toxins eating me alive from the inside out.
"You technically can if you seal it, but seals are specific tools. You can't just place an encompassing seal on them or anyone. It needs to be almighty to counter the almighty innate ability of the Fel. It's like your adaptation. The only way to stop it is with an Almighty Seal on a specific point. A point that not even you are clear of." Mephisto sighed and positioned his hands behind his back in a poised manner.
"The toxins within you should fade after a Chaos Cycle. "
"The fuck!"
"Kidding." He joked, shooting me a cheap smile.
My teeth gritted together. "How long old man."
"It'll be gone in a few hours. You didn't have a lot of exposure. That said, you don't seem concerned about who killed them." The Fallen arched his lips and narrowed his cold red eyes.
"That's because he already knows." A chilling voice announced as the void trembled around us. Shredding the cold to nothingness, Zero appeared with a bloodlust I found different from what I remembered.
Zero was never one to let his bloodlust get the best of him. He was always poised. Always. No matter the situation. He remained calm. But this bloodlust seemed… more threatening than it did poise.
"Zero!" Mephisto chuckled. " What brings you here, my friend? Care for a drink like old times?"
"I know what you are planning, Mephisto."
"Doubtful," Mephisto smirked. " If you did, you wouldn't be standing as my enemy. You only see what I want you to."
Listening carefully, I glanced at Seraphina standing behind Zero and beckoned her to my side.
"It's because I have an idea of what you are planning that I stand against you. Although, if I were to tell Arsene or Zariel, they'd bitch. And things might get out of control." Zero mentioned and touched his masked; slowly, he pulled it off, revealing a single eye that sparkled an emerald hue. "Shall we discuss… I'm sure we can come to an arrangement."
… Why does this feel like a betrayal of some kind?
Focusing on Mephisto as he frowned. The Fallen nodded. "There might be a deal to be made. But you are wrong.
"I know what you are thinking. Ishar is your rook. The Fel the Pawns, as is the Forsaken, You are the King. Your knight is—"
"Is this chess? Really can't you guys talk like normal people? And Zero, if you're going to screw us over, can you at least not do it in front of me?" I persuaded, shaking my head with a sliver of frustration.
I one hundred percent trusted Zero. But he is a mastermind. And will screw us over to achieve the greater good. That's why we made him our thinker. Sacrifices needed to be made, and Zero was the only one at the time capable of making those plans. Still is, it seems.
"Shall we discuss?" Mephisto mused, vanishing in a wisp of mist alongside Zero.
"He is going to screw you," Seraphina mentioned, rubbing her arms as the cold bit at her smooth skin.
"That's what makes him an honorary Snow member." I casually teased. A little concerned and relieved, Zero could counter a few of Mephisto's moves. Although that does beg the question, what is Mephisto's end game?
Zero mentioned it would anger Zariel and me. Us to so it must concern us personally. The kids, maybe? But he has already shown interest in them. So that's a given. They were going to be bothered by him. That's not what I'm concerned about. At this point, it's a rite of passage for a Snow. So while he must have plans for my kids, I suspect that there is no real damage there. Mephisto isn't bloodthirsty like the other Fallen. That being said, it is curious. What did Zero learn that I'm missing?
Suddenly taking hold of my stomach, an intense pain flared off my being as I vomited a mouthful of blood into the snow that eagerly devoured the red.
"Shit," I muttered. "If these Fel were half-bloods or something less, how is it their toxins are so potent."
"Adaptation isn't going to help you this time," Lily mentioned. "Each Fel have a different toxin within them. Some are more deadly than others, but ultimately, all are deadly."
"I'll be ready next time," I whispered. We'll see how the toxin fare against the darkness. Kuro, prepare the horses to ride. And Sera. Dear Sera, care to tell us what happened with the angels?"
"Not even a hi or hello? No, welcome back, Seraphina. Why were you with Zero? Just right onto business?" Sera berated, folding her arms over her ample chest.
"Oh?" Lifting my bloodstained lips, I chuckled. "If you want to go on a date, just ask me out. Although your paying." I teased. "Or this could be some pillow talk. I don't mind showing you how much it means to me that you returned safely. In fact, it would be my honor to nail you over the—"
"OK~OK! I get it!" She cried with reddening cheeks. "I get it! I'll tell you. Just stop talking."
Having received a full update on the situation with the Angels, I gave Seraphina a nod of recognition.
Arch-Angel Uriel. Haven't heard much about him, but him being here is definitely evidence the Myriad gods were descending into the Fourth Heaven. The banishment of these traitorous angels is sure to stir the twelve realms.
Seraphina hardened her gaze near the small campfire we'd started. " I want to look for my brothers and sisters. They don't deserve this."
"I think Uriel was absolutely right in doing what he did. In fact. I'll call it justice if such a thing even exists. We both know it." I said to her, observing the sinking of her lips alongside the loneliness pressing against her shoulders. "They were traitors through and through."
"They didn't know." Sera pressed, tightening the grip of her fist
"Doesn't mitigate the crime." Firewood crackled and smoldered. Winds billowed like knives over our flesh as a silence pressed over the Realm. "A traitor deserves death. And Uriel saw to banish instead of kill. This is their second chance. Whether they became Fallen is up to them."
Seraphina's eyes closed and opened after a long while. "Goodnight, Arsene."
Merely nodding, Sera walked away under the grimacing shade of snow, and I chuckled with wry amusement as she faded. The firewood covered in my abyss flames crackled again, heating the campsite.
"She is too naive. But I guess it comes with the territory of her nature. But this Uriel is quite forgiving. Although, he did slaughter millions in the Heavens. I'm sure they deserved it. If it were me, I would have killed every single one of them and started over.
Glaring at the campfire, blistering a chilling heat, I focused my heart and mind together. Embellishing in the flow of my blood through my veins, the heat on which my body burned, I pushed aside outside forces and focused on my inner self.
The body of a human was practically limitless. While there start from infancy weak, they could grow into monsters with cultivation. Some are even capable of rivaling angels and beings like me. It all depends on talent and willpower.
Throughout my life, I have ignored one fact. And that was the body growth of the body through cultivation. It wasn't something I needed to ever think about. Steal Qi from Heaven and Earth, and you get stronger. But I never wondered how. Why does Qi make me stronger? Why does my body grow with it? The answer: Blood Laws.
Everything about Heaven and Earth was connected in one way.
Sensing the ecosystem within my body come alive, inviting the world from the outside in, I finally began to understand why people had various affinities to different elements. The soul had a lot to do with it, but so did the body.
Life began with the soul, which gave birth to the body: This was the beginning of all life forms.
Returning to myself, cloaked in a fog of blood light, glistering under the moon's glow, a cold icy breeze caressed my cheek. And the echo of a lone crow echoed the song of death as I looked upwards with a sense of authority in my heart.
The coldness plaguing my flesh for years melted away as the outside elements I didn't accept receded.
As if I had gained control over every aspect of myself, from the atoms to electrons spinning, a sense of control gripped me.
"It won't be long until I become a Paragon or, better yet, Chaos Lord. I'm close. To both of them."
"Can you instant adapt now?" Lily asked.
"I think so. But only if it's in the Realm of my understanding." I replied, confused as to why she asked. Lily seemed all-knowing. "You can't tell?"
Giggling within my soul, Lily spoke." Not anymore. You pushed me out. You pushed everyone out. If I want to know everything about you, I'll have to forcefully break in, and that's too much trouble."
"I think I understand what fusing my body and soul together now means. It's like going back to Origin, but inverse. The soul comes first, then the body. I need to trigger a change that'll allow my body to awaken the core of my soul. This way, I'll awaken a rebirth and become a Paragon."
Exhilaration marched through my heart as I struggled not to smile. "After so many years, so many cycles. I'm here."
"Don't get ahead of yourself. You need to refine your blood laws like you have your darkness. Have patience."
I nodded, noticing the rising sun over the horizon. I rose, listening to the cracking of my bones fortifying themselves with this sudden sense of enlightenment.
A challenging glint flared over my heart. " Lily, how strong is this cold? What layer of heaven?"
"It's pretty much fifth. Why?"
Opening myself up to the world, a blast of ice consumed me but melted almost instantly as an array of information flashed over my mind. The cold melted into nothingness as my body instantly adapted to the cold.
Heaven and Earth trembled as pillars of black light flared like stars over the dawn. Two pillars shot up from Kuro and Adrian's shared tent and hundreds of continents away. All of my Shadowfell changed as their innate adaptation began to strengthen.
"I guess my race will also be a race with a bullshit ability." I mused gleefully. "I wonder if they can Instant A—
"They can't, but maybe the paragons or high-rank Shadowfell might be able to when they get stronger," Lily said, cutting me short. "Try to hide your progress Arsene. No one knows what happened. Before Shiva or Zariel force you to seal your ability to give your people any physical or spiritual changes. Progenitors are dangerous for this reason alone."
"Yeah. I get it. But survivability is needed right now. I just gave my people a chance of survival in this eternal winter. Even if they don't have instant adapt, I've enhanced their adaptation... In the future… I'm going to make myself immune to everything in creation. Only Almighty abilities will be able to harm me."
"Spoken like a true Chaos Lord."
Somewhat proud, I looked up, sensing the intent of confusion and dismay in the skies. Knowing various Myriad Gods were monitoring me. I rose my middle finger.
"I'm coming for you all."
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