Surrounded by the salty winds passing freely through my hair, I glanced up at Lilith shooting down like a falling star. Ignoring searing heat, she crashed over the azure sea sparkling over the blazing sky-blue sun.
Lilith eyed me with a bit of wonder as Arkanos wild laughter filled my ears. "Wanna have a race to see who gets to the tower the fastest?" She challenged with a cheap smile over her face.
"North?" I asked, pointing off in a random direction.
"That's west. Ask Ty," She said. Feeling little Ty nodded above my head, a competitive glint flashed through my heart.
"Dinner, you cook if I win?" I said as she chuckled.
"You enter the Pale Gate with me if I win." She voiced, scaring the shit out of me with her request. "Death would like a word."
Gritting my teeth, I shook my head, "I am not going back there till I am able to fight against Julius without him kicking my ass without even trying. I made it to the tenth layer the first time I went in. Now, I can barely beat him at the first damn level. It's total bullshit! How the hell does that labyrinth even scale?"
"GG," she callously teased, "Do we have a deal or not? Or do you not think you have what it takes?"
Gritting my teeth till my blood filled my lips, a dreadful smile slipped over my lips. "Fine, but forget dinner. I want something more. If I win, I want you to grant me an arte from that infinite knowledge 'into the abyss' grants you."
The she-devil smiled and glanced towards the Azure star, "fine, Sig!" She suddenly shouted, "Count down from three."
Shrouding the realm in the laws of darkness, an innate coldness of the cold dark void fluttered through the winds, "Aegis. Back on Alos, I was able to kill a god, as a mortal with a simple command, how do I use that?"
"That was not my doing, Arsene. And to do so lies in your ability to control your soul. Right now, you can't, not unless you have me take control." He said, but I grew hesitant.
"Could you win?"
"Unlike you, I can shadow step anywhere darkness lies." He claimed as I felt my consciousness being pushed aside. "Victory is in the bag."
Noticing something, Lilith turned to me and frowned, "If you wish to cheat, I can cheat as well."
Aegis possessing my body, chuckled, "I was once the Prince of Darkness and was without equal. You cannot hope to defeat me." He argued as I felt something so indescribable washed over the darkness of the bed of chaos.
"Rule," he muttered hollowly below his breath, as everything he felt I too felt. Feeling the entirety of the bed of chaos within my mind, the core of my soul began to shake as a splintering anguish washed over me.
Shaking her head, Lilith sighed, "Izavith, allow me to show these fools the power of the abyss. Little Ty, look out for your sister." She said as the little dragon leaped off my shoulders.
Oozing out a pure abyssal essence, the light within Lilith's eyes faded into a cloud of madness. Chilling the agonizing pain brought on by this so-called 'rule,' pure horror appeared within both our hearts as an almighty essence raced over Lilith's body and eyes. Witnessing the very skin over her body peel, a pressure so encompassing and dreadful rose into the air.
Holding the image of the Temple Arken spoke of with the power of darkness in his mind, Aegis shot Lilith one last glance as Sigfried appeared above our heads.
" Three, Two," He counted down, and the very darkness swirled over the void. Already positioning himself within the temple. Sigs count down came to an end. "ONE!
Shadow Stepping across the ocean that spanned over a million kilometers, we appeared instantly, not wasting even a nanosecond of time. As Aegis fell to his knees, my face turned a deep pale, breathing laboriously as blood raced over my lips. He passed control back to me.
Glancing around for Lilith, I ignored the stare of the elderly man staring at me with confusion and laughed, "I won!"
"Are you Asura Bloodgrave?" a sudden voice of the elderly priest called to me, startling where I laid. "Oh! You are! Amilia said you would appear in two days! She had requested me to personally bring you down to the Sunken Isles once Arkanos and Ty arrive. They are your daughters, right?"
Scrunching my brow, I wiped away the blood trickling over my lips and staggered to my feet. "Did she call ahead?"
"Call? Gods no. She arrived two days ago. Did she not tell you?" He claimed as my confusion only grew.
"That's not possible; she was just..." I hesitantly muttered, shaking my head at the possibility.
"Papa!!" Arkanos cried out alongside her sister. Charging towards me, holding a small letter. "Mama, handed this to me after you vanished! She said that you would be confused."
Snatching the paper from her hands, I gazed at the content.
"Dear Sene, I am sure you are baffled, wondering where your lovely wife is, where your Lilith is? Well, I can't say what will happen, but I should be leaving you a few clues for you to follow. Don't feel bad you lost. Izavith, movement Arte is not meant to be used in this lesser heaven. Try not to cry! GG."
"Fuck!" I howled, ignoring the burning sensation tugging at my soul; I almost vomited blood. Did she just fucking time travel! Is that even a thing! I call bullshit! Absolute bullshit on every fucking level! NO!!! If this is time travel, then fuck fighting her, screw it all. She didn't just go back a few seconds. No, she went back two god damn days! Screw the abyss!
Brimming with tears, Ty hovered off the floor and patted my head, "Papa lost, didn't he."
Hanging my head low, tears filled my eyes, "Yeah, I lost. Your mother cheated."
"But didn't papa cheat too?" Arkanos faithfully pointed out.
"Who side are you one?!" I viciously bark turning to the somewhat annoyed priest. "What do you we need to do?"
"Amilia has already taken care of it. All you three need to do is join me. However," he added, glancing at Kurt and Sigfried racing over, "They will have to pay."