Monarch of Darkness, Arsene

"Who the fuck are we up against," Said Tian Wang.

My gaze slid to meet the Celestial King shaking in his boots, with his wife in his arms, covered in sweat, as they looked around in each other's arms. Almost like they were scrambling to survive here, I could not help but be bewildered by what I was seeing?

Fear, for the most part, was a universal concept for creatures with sentience. But Tian Wang was the Celestrial King. The Supreme High God said to rule over billions of Galaxies! I knew he was a little bitch, but god damn, this was disgusting. How could he be so useless? Fear is one thing, but to allow it to govern your being was another.

Lilith had glanced back, taking note of my interest, and smiled, " What are you thinking?"

"They are your prey," I replied, recalling how her face was deformed by Tian Wang those many moons ago.

It had been so long and confusing back then. So many things were happening, and so many people were toying with me. Good to see not much has changed. The directors might have changed, but the entertainment hasn't.

"Majestic, isn't it?" The butler questioned in a crimson black tailcoat that hung to his ankles. He pushed up the monocle on his left eye and smiled, "Lord Belphegor, renown for the Sin of Sloth, Lust, alongside various other sins, but there is so much more to him."

Taking a step forward, as if to lead us, he continued, "The Abandon child of God, said to have killed Seven Fallen before he was torn to shreds by the one he trusted most."

"Mephisto?"

"No, Lord Samyaza, Leader of the Grigori, Fallen Commander of the Angels, and Lord of the Wretched," He religiously addressed as this was new information to me. But how does he know all this? Not even Baels archives had such things.

What do they learn here?

"Samyaza, One of the First Seven to Fall," Lilith said softly, as though she didn't care.

"So you've heard of him. Yes, Samyaza was the one to kill our master, but it was then the greatest thing occurred, or the greatest humiliation. He was reborn from the womb of a Half-blood! A whore, no less, that became Touched by the Hells, and his once golden white wings fell, replaced by black feathers dipped with the anger and malice held only within the Hells. On the day of his birth, The Grigori, the very organization founded by Samyaza, whose goal was to watch over the Heavens, Earth, and Hells, as the eyes and ears for the various Leaders of Hell, gathered around the whore, known as Andariel, who later became known as the Holy Evil. The Maiden of the Sins, feared by Demons, Devils, and some Fallen."

Andariel? Hmm, a name to remember. I've not heard of her, not even in Baels records. He had seemed to intentionally say away from some of the lore involving the Fallen, keeping only a face-value look.

He feared them. But my biggest question is, what was Andariel? I'd heard she was a demon, and I can assume the father was also. But it seems Mephisto neglected to tell me anything about this Half-blood.

"Human," The butler informed, stepping through the halls towards what I was sure led to the sanctuary. "High human to be exact," he added, "everyone wonders it. But that all changed the day Lord Belphegor was conceived. His power that day was so mighty. So defining, he grew from an infant into a man in a single instant. But the power that lingered in Andariel changed her—severing her chains from the Mother of All Demons and Devils. She became a being known as a Nephalem, the first known or maybe second aberration after his majesty himself."

"Nephalem? Don't you mean Nephilim?" I corrected, but the butler smiled.

"No, it's not a welcoming term, as many do not recognize it. But in the bible of Belphegor, any tainted Nephililm shall be known as a Nephalem. If you are born from a Fallen, you are a Nephalem, including the child of Lord Morningstar, Aurelia Morningstar, the second Nephalem."

(A/N: I changed it up as I didn't even know Nephalem was a thing.)

"Lucifer might disagree," I remarked, as I've never heard the term before, and we had just spoken of it a few years ago.

"We are sure he will, as Belphegor and Lucifer, much less any other Fallen, are weak! Beings our Lord looks down upon. Ignorant are they, for it is by Lord Belphegor's Law that we rise!"

Gazing at the look of reverence he held towards Belphegor and disdain for the other Fallen; I couldn't help but wonder what type of person Belphegor was. On his birth, the Gregori had visited him, but they did not kill him, was it because they didn't wish to, or they simply couldn't? Then the way he spoke of this Andariel made my spine tingle with forewarning.

But is it always like this? Do the demons and devils usually disdain each other, and Fallen, who isn't their Lord? Does Bael? I should ask Zax; he should know.

"What of Andariel now?' Said Loki, asking the very question I wished to know.

"She became the first wife of Lord Belphegor. She is also a bitter rival with the Mother of Demons, Lilith."

My brow creased, as even now, I could hear the disregard towards what every demon I knew called Mother.

"You seem to hold her in contempt," I said, noticing the disgust.

"She was merely a High Human who left her husband. And ran away from home; she met Lucifer sometime later and was corrupted by Hell into what she is today. To us, her greatest accomplishment was simply breeding out Demons and Devils, nothing major."

"She flooded the Hells with your kind," Lilith defended.

"True, but what of it? It's through Lady Andariel that we find life in our eternal Torment; it's by her kindness that we prosper. The Mother of Demons and Devils look upon us like tools, but not Lady Andariel."

Jesus, What the Hell is going on in the Origin Realm. The more I learn about its structure, the more confused I become. Is Lucifer even the true King? And if so, if he allows all this to happen, just how much confidence does he have to kill anyone who challenges him?