A/N: The chapter ahead is raw, which means not been proofread yet nor edited.
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"I heard your mother gave birth to a son. How does it feel like to be a brother now?" I asked since we have lots of time to waste.
"I don't know if I should like it or hate it. At least my brother is real and alive unlike your sons."
I was caught off guard.
I didn't see it coming at all.
The only question that's running in my mind is, "How? How did he know about my sons?"
Only one knows about that.
My eyes slowly traveled to that sly snake. Skadi Eira.
A snitch that you are.
Emotions left my face and gave him the blankest stare I have ever had since.
"That's funny. You should probably meet more of your brothers. I used your mother's cunt to breed monsters."
That too, wiped the annoying smirk off his face.
"Monster? Like what you made Watts Xirquit be?"
What?
I suddenly looked his way and found an expression so distressing even to me.
A magic circle lit up over us. Thousand swords came rushing down to me. It pierced through every part of my body but my head. No skin of mine was left untouched.
What 'monster' is he saying about Watts?
"Ah, you must not know how we know because you weren't here. The past was shown to us. Truly heartbreaking, honestly. It's pretty pathetic how you begged for mercy to those cold Deities on your knees. How does it feel to kill your husband with your own hands? Then lost your son right after through miscarriage? You must be very naughty back then that the Deities decided to punish you the hardest way. Pfft. You deserved it."
My hands trembled from everything that he have said, especially to the shit he said about my son.
"I...deserved it?"
My head fell. I was staring at the ground with widening eyes.
"Did I push a trigger? Should I provoke you more? Heh. Everyone saw it. After killing your husband, you killed your son. You're so heartless! You didn't even let the poor boy see the world! You deserved everything that has happened to you, Moon. Because you brought it upon yourself. You get to suffer because you were sinful! A slaughterer!"
The magic circle slowly died down and the swords that were buried in my flesh melted until it's gone. I healed and regained my composure.
I heave deep, sharp breaths.
"It's my turn now, is it?"
When I raised my head, his face crumpled a bit when he didn't see the expression he milked from me.
"You are such a fool for not seeing the threat that's standing before you, Izylidas," I said as I bring my hands closer.
The moment they met, a black magic circle expanded between us.
"Bring forth the youngest blood of Izaac Tyran Eclipse Dragunovv and Aurora Dragunovv."
Foolish boy.
I have long discarded the humanity in me.
Third Person's POV
From the black magic circle rose the body of the months old Prince. Prince Izylidas suddenly felt cold for the very time. A different kind of cold because chills and goosebumps followed. His heart keep on skipping beats. Right in that moment...hes feeling something he's never felt before.
Azarese went to see the child.
"As long as it's not mine, I HATE IT."
Prince Izylidas lost his balance when he witnessed how she crushed his brother's head with her heel. And not only him, but everyone, was left in great horror. Even though they want to, they couldn't take their eyes off of them. Tears stream down their faces, clutching their gaping mouth with their shaking hands, praying to the Deities that they will spare the poor child.
"S-Stop... St-... Stop..."
When the Young Prince received healing from the black magic circle, it cried.
"It's still my turn because you hit me twice."
With her own hand, she removed the young Prince's clothes and threw it to his older brother.
"Izylidas, I meant it when I said I won all the battles I've fought. Do you want to hear about my crimes?" she crouched down and drew a line on the baby's chest using her claw.
"Humans are the best fighters I've ever faced. Selene Azazel, Aloisia, Elektra, Diamanda---to name some, I used them to breed hybrid pets. For that, their husbands waged wars against me. But guessed what happened to them? Died. They all died. The last mercy I could give them is death. But you see, among all, Maxism Ford Lee is my favorite,"
The Vernignacs heard their bells ringing upon hearing her mention their patriarch's name.
"I'd say he's greater than Aloisia. Even after losing his limbs, he still fought. A threesome with me and that sky-blue hair bitch right there. That's right, he fought against a higher being, too. Anyways, did you know what your father do? Labeled to be the most powerful, but he went into hiding with his other brothers and remaining family members as soon as I began hunting each of you down. Even after I got Aurora, he didn't do anything to save her. The strongest, the most powerful, cowardly hid himself under the skirts of your grandmothers."
Elektra covered the eyes of her husband and gathered her sons' head to bury in her chest when Azarese summoned a mason and crushed the crying Prince's head with it.
"NO!!! YOU MONSTER!!!" Prince Izylidas yelled out with his veins popping.
Azarese gave Hands a hand gesture. The last two pair went to the Prince and created an invisible cage to contain him. Even when he raged and recklessly threw his powers around, they ricochet to him.
The black magic circle healed the young Prince before he lose his life. Azarese left the mason to her side. Eins picked the young Prince by his right foot, raising it to Azarese's level.
"You see, I would've loved babies if only I heard my own children's cry at least once. I would've spared every infant in the world had my sons lived. The worst would've been prevented if only my Zodiac was born. Losing Zodiac...meant losing the remaining faith for humanity and sanity in me. You have no idea about my grief. You have no idea that I mourn for him every second. You are a fool for provoking me, who lived twice and did what the devil couldn't do."
Azarese made a stance. She raised her hands to her chest, and when they recognized what position it was...
Jab after jab, Azarese punched the young Prince like he's a punching bag. She could hear the Prince's breathless cries but it never reached through her stone heart. Instead, she found delight in doing so...becaude she's never done it before. It was a whole new experience for her and she likes it.
A portal opened outside the ring. The tearful Princess Aurora jumped out of it. Before her foot could land to the ground of the arena, her pupils dilated with sheer horror as she found what her son's has become. Finally, she landed on the ground with a broken femur, but the sight of her newborn son getting beaten up numbed her senses that she couldn't react to the pain.
"NO!!!"
She was paralyzed by the sheer brutality of the scene.
Azarese stopped sending her fists to the bruised and bleeding Young Prince. Her head slowly turned to where the screeching scream came from; a smile ripped through her lips, ear to ear, so evilly.
"Aurora~!" she sang now that her favorite sister-in-law is in the same place as her again.
"A-Ahhh... W-What are you doing... M-My...sons... WHAT DID YOU DO TO ALTAIR!!"
"Is that his name?" Azarese took the Prince's ankle from Eins and walked to where the Princess is. Princess Aurora crawled and punched the barrier between them.
As Azarese close the distance between them, she spin the young Prince. Princess Aurora lost her mind and punched the barrier harder, stronger, in the hopes that it will break but no. She only got her knuckles broken, her bones cracking and poking out her skin, causing them to bleed.
Azarese sat before her with her wicked eyes that seem to be grinning at her.
"I hate it. Only my Zodiac can use a name that meant about anything in the skies."
And she threw the young Prince to the barrier, crushing his head, blasting his brains out.
In that moment, Princess Aurora ceased to be the compassionate and loving mother and person she once was. She became a vessel of madness and vengeance, her sanity shattered by the unimaginable horror she had been forced to witness.
As the blood of the young Prince drip to the barrier, it revealed his mother's face craving for retribution. Her grieving eyes glaring straight through Azarese's soul, if she ever had one. Her teeth gritting, growling shakily as her body convulsed in the uncontrollable anger surging throughout her body.
"You...are the devil incarnate. I do not have the power to destroy you... BUT MY HUSBAND HAVE."
The corner of Azarese's lips curled mischievously.
"He surely did. But he's a coward who hid to avoid execution, Aurora. He sacrificed you for what? He sacrificed Izylidas for what? For his own safety and comfort under his grandmothers' skirts."
The Princess, although it's so hard to, calmed herself. She shuddered, she was laughing. Her tears are falling from her eyes and Azarese could see her reflection from them as they cascaded.
"I feel sorry for your children. Their mother is a cruel, merciless, ruthless, and heartless MURDERER. Isn't that right, Prince Astrophel!? Are you seeing this with your brothers!? Is she the kind of mother you love!? If she can do it to my son, she can do it on you, too! If you can do something so horrible to my son, you can do the same to your sons too, Holy Azarese Elyzena Dragunovv-Warlock! Can you hear me, huh!? I know the name of your sons, Princess! I KNOW THEM!"
The expression on Azarese's face went cold and straight.
Princess Aurora slammed her hands against the transparent wall between them, leaving a bloody handprint.
"Zodiac Astrophel Nikolai Xirquit-Warlock! Maximilien Vernignac-Warlock! Ivailo Devereux-Warlock. Ambren Axeore-Warlock! Those are the names of your sons, right? Tell me that I am wrong! TELL ME, PRINCESS!"
Azarese stand up and threw her son's headless body back to the black magic circle behind them for it to heal.
Princess Aurora laughed while looking up to her.
"The Deities of this world are cruel, but mine isn't. ALMIGHTY GOD, THE ONE WHO INSPIRED THE CREATOR, I am your child! Before me stood the devil incarnate, but I wouldn't wish for her destruction! But instead..."
In that moment, Azarese felt something.
"---BRING THE DAMNED SOULS OF THE NAMES I MENTIONED BACK TO YOUR DOMINION!"
Azarese was taken aback when a light broke out between them, coming from Princess Aurora's heart.
"AURORA!!!"
In the infinite expanse of the multiverse, where dimensions and realities intertwine like threads in a cosmic tapestry, the Princess's desperate cry echoed through the fabrics of existence. Her anguish and plea for justice had reached beyond the new world, transcending space and time, and reverberated through the celestial realms.
The light from her heart, mirroring the color of her soul, shoot to the skies.
In the ethereal plane, where only light can dance in a harmonious symphony, the Archangel Azrael, the Angel of Death, heard the call.
He went down on one knee before the Supreme Being seated in his throne. His eyes are closed, or he will be blinded by the purity of His majestic glory and light.
God gave him a solemn nod. He then stretched out his hand, causing dimensions around him to ripple and warp.
Azarese's heard her own heart beating loudly. It's echoing in her ears as reality began to distort, bending to the will of the divine in the vast, free skies. The stars themselves seemed to twist and elongate, forming a luminous pathway through the void. Each step Azrael took resonated with a deep, melodic hum, the sound of the cosmos aligning to accommodate his journey. The boundaries between dimensions grew thin, like gauzy veils, allowing him to pass through effortlessly.
From this tear in the fabric of existence, Azrael emerged, his presence both awe-inspiring and terrifying. His wings unfurled, casting a holy glow that illuminated the ground like daylight. His eyes, deep pools of infinite wisdom and compassion, swept across the landscape, leaving the creation of Him and the Creator's bewildered, trembling before his most holy presence that even Deities couldn't possess.
With a gentle, yet irrevocable gesture, Azrael raised his hand. The barrier melted. Princess Aurora desperately crawled below him. Each crawl leaving a trail of her blood and tears.
"I am Azrael, the Archangel of Death, and I've come to collect the souls of the dead."
The feeling of helplessness grew in Azarese who's never met someone like Archangel Azrael before. And in Skadi Eira eyes, who are looking at him and he's looking at her back behind his glorious helm, she felt defeated.
"Please... Save my son. Altair... Forgive me. Forgive all our sins. Almighty Father who art in Heaven, show mercy to my son!"
Archangel Azrael descended, shrinking from his gigantic figure to a human to wipe the tears of his sister.
"You have long been forgiven, child of our Father. Thank you."
Azarese stood on her ground. Everything flashed before her eyes.
"Why...now? Why...to her?"
Archangel Azrael run his hand all over the Princess, healing her with His divinity. The Archangel helped her stand up to her feet.
"Fear not. He is protecting you---"
"PROTECTING WHO!?"
Azarese lashed out and dashed right to the Archangel of Death with nothing but her fists. The Archangel raised his hand and stopped her motion before she could get close.
"Before I've become this, I WAS ONCE A HUMAN, TOO! A part of me was! A part of me was His child---BUT YOU FORSAKE ME! WHY!? And in that bitch's single calling---YOU CAME RIGHT DOWN!? I suffered! I lost my children! I was abused and everything---BUT HE NEVER CAME DOWN TO SAVE ME!"
She swore that she would rather them see her bleed but cry, but her eyes betrayed her one more time.
"He knows, child. We know. You will be free."
The Archangel showed Azarese her future that He promised. What it is, only she and Them knows.
And so, the Archangel called for the souls of her sons. He opened his palms and the door where they were kept opened. Their souls went to him, the purity of their soul dancing inside crystal balls.
"Know that the safest place in this universe is his kingdom."
"No... No. NO! They are safe with ME! GIVE THEM BACK! THEY'RE MINE!"
The Archangel was astonished when she managed to move through despite still being under his power.
"You already took everything from me. They're all I ever have! No I won't let you take my sons! AZRAEL!"
Azrael's mission complete. But before he turned and disappeared back through the closing tear in the fabric of reality, he walked to where the humans are gathered. Voltage Xirquit brought his wife and sons down with him and bent his knee before the Archangel.
There is no fear in their chests. Their souls has never felt so much peace.
"Boy,"
They looked at each other and found Watts to be the only one looking at the Archangel.
"Blessed child of Our Father," and he looked at the rest, "Blessed children of Him. I am cleansing your souls of sins by His will and grace. Among all, you are the only ones with a soul. Your futures are promised."
"You're fucking cool---"
Voltage Xirquit grabbed his eldest son by the head before slamming it against the floor. He kept his head low, but his eyes were closed tightly.
"Please, forgive his insolence."
Archangel Azrael gave him a nod, and they could imagine him smiling behind his helm.
He must be handsome, they thought, even in the situation they're in.
Thus, he finally turned his back on them, leaving behind a world forever changed by his brief but profound visit. The dimensions and universes settled back into their natural order, the celestial disturbance a mere whisper in the annals of time. Yet, for those who witnessed it, the memory of the angel's descent and the justice he wrought would endure, a testament to the power and mercy of the divine---humanity's God.
He left, and Azarese created yet another personality that is still unsure if it's for destruction or peace.
Meanwhile, Zodiac palmed his face after witnessing it all.
"I-I should've brought them with me here. That angel... He will regret bringing Maximilien there."
The Matriarch giggled and gave him snuggles.
"I wonder what he will do. That one is pure evil."
And the man with them just sighed.
"Come. Let's not forget why we're here for. And Zodiac, are you not going to show yourself to your mother?"
Zodiac flashed a sad and weak smile.
"Not yet, Aunt Schionna. Rather, I should go down and comfort Valy. He's probably terrified because Ivy, Maxi, and Ambry were taken."
And the woman they're with, who is now revealed to be Princess Schionna, daughter of Prince Astaroth the God of Time, sighed.
"He must be so sad. Let's bring him here. His mother...didn't know about his existence. Poor boy. He must be so sad."
Zodiac's head fell low. The Matriarch embraced him and that became the signal for his tears to fall.
Poor Valy. His mother couldn't remember him.