Monarch of Darkness, Arsene

Dropping the bamboo casing, I tore Lilith off her feet and into my arm; a sweet floral scent ran down my nose as she squirmed, lost in my firm grip. Pushing her head against my chest, she peeked up like a newborn, staring at the world for the first time.

Tormenting my heart, with her amethyst stare, I could feel the chilling touch of her lips rise against my chest. "What's wrong?"

"Aside from the fact that you two are just about dry humping in my throne room?" Yu Lan wryly said, crossing her legs over one another.

"You gave Loki a gift. I want one too." I claimed, pursing my lips as she blinked her lashes. "A big one!"

"Are? Are you ok?" Lilith muttered, tracing her tender lips over my chest, sending my mind into a fog. Holding her tighter till her cheeks flushed, reaching to her ears, and her eyes grew moist as a water nymph.

Breathing heavily against my robes, her head bobbed, "I'm going to get you a big teddy bear!"

"As big as me?"

"Bigger," She cutely told, tipping on her toes to reach my lips. Parting my lips for what was to come, a cough echoed through the air.

"Ok. I think that's enough!" Lan Lan suddenly voiced, her face stained a deep shade of red, yet whether it was from embarrassment or lust, I could not say, although it was well within my power to tell. But where was the fun in that? If there is no hunt, there is no joy. It's like paying for a hooker. You get the sex but not the achievement of conquest.

"What is that Loki gave you?"

Recalling the bamboo casing, Lilith left my embrace, bringing a chilling air to cool my burning desire. Missing her lingering touch, I stood still as she approached Loki's gift. Lilith had not told me anything as of yet. The moment I awoke, she was lying beside me, informing me we needed to see Yu Lan.

Rushing towards the Lan's Palace just to see your wife getting a gift from another man. Call it a kick in the balls. Maybe I should start getting her gifts. When was the last time I made her dinner? While she did torture me for seven years. To me, it was a second, but to her, it was far longer.

Pushing such thoughts from out of my head, I blinked a few times to regain my focus and witnessed Lilith popping the bamboo case open. Releasing a pulse of a strange aura, I felt a wave of water wash over my flesh, cutting away all moisture. Yet almost instinctually, my body rejected such an aura before any damage was done.

Lilith pulled an azure silver longsword from the case and gave it a swift flick, casting a vibrant ring through the blade and into the air. Filling the room with a powerful Sword Intent holding many properties of water, I eyed its hilt, which held a strange crest of a river.

There was nothing particularly enchanting about this crest, nor was it profound in any way, yet my gaze seemed to hold such a crest in awe.

"Riverfall," Lilith swiftly named, grabbing my attention.

"Quite fitting, but why did Loki gift you such a blade?" I questioned, narrowing my eyes.

"It was the Fallens. They were the ones who asked Loki to gift me this blade; it seems they have quite a plot going on." She muttered with cloudy haze running across her amethyst eyes.

Zantar, so it was him. Now that is interesting. It makes me wonder what his goal is.

"Oh, and Loki may know about our exit strategy. It seems like our movement has been under his watchful eye for quite some time." Lilith softly muttered as the cloudy haze vanished.

"Why do you say that?" I inquired.

"A guess, but it never hurts to assume it's not true," She claimed, allowing my suspicion to grow.

"Loki is a snake, but a terrifyingly smart one. I had heard tales of him in Midgard, but that is not why many fear him. We all know Loki has inherited the Norse Pantheon name, hence gaining their history and destiny." Yu Lan calmly explained, rising from her throne.

"However, it is here in the bed of chaos that he made himself a terrifying name. One of the biggest manipulators is Loki. It matters not who side you are on, because once that man's inner voice starts taking over, only chaos will follow."

"Inner voice?" I curiously asked, having rarely heard much of Loki in the first place aside from him being a dick. "What the hell does that mean?"

"it's a theory many who has dealt with him have coined. As we speak, Loki is calm right now, but he will destroy a family every couple of cycles or cause a war to occur. Loki is known to be the Bed of Chaos's biggest terrorist."

Passing my hands through my hair, I sighed dismissively before a chuckle suddenly ran from my lips, "And what do they call me? I just condemned Nox and the Celestrial House."

"It doesn't matter right now. Loki is not the problem but the reason he gave us this blade. He had to call in a favor for Riverfall, and I am sure it was some type of blackmail going on. It's safe to say once that person sees me, he will attack."

"And assuming he knows our escape plan, then the planet we stop off at will be a trap." I finished arching my lips. "Let's just ditch the blade then."

"No." Lilith swiftly said, staring at me with a solemn gaze to my surprise and bewilderment.

Waiting for her to continue, the silence only expanded as she stood still, without words.

"Always with the secrets." I renounced, tracing my eyes over the blade held within her hand. Masking her features against my gaze by hiding beneath her silky hair, I frowned. "Then what can I know?"

"Whatever you want," She said softly, harboring a biting of heartbreak in her tone. "It's just you must look for such answers."

Clitting my tongue, fire ran through my chest. Fury was but a fleeting emotion as I towered over Lilith. "Not with Zantar. I need to know everything."

"Arsene, I think it's best you.."

"Hold your tongue." I ruthlessly commanded, silencing Yu Lan. Baring a chilling glint, Lilith raised her head, carrying an indifference I had only seen when her abyssal energy ran wild through her body.

"Find out for yourself, "Lilith adamantly declared, vanishing before my eyes.