Holding the Blacken Crystal Bead to my head, the noise of the world fell silent. The howling winds grew calmed and tame, the cries of worship of my acolytes soft and distant. In my sight, there was only me and the bead.

  No longer was I standing besides Lilith but rather a vacuum of Darkness. At first, I had thought this to be my soul but discarded that Idea the longer I studied the Darkness.

  It was not mine, but rather Tenebrae's.

  "I will not worship you," I uttered, unsure if this was her doing. But that was the only thing I could say to clarify my intent.

  It was not my intention to be ungrateful, but to worship a god, was not for me. It didn't matter if one was powerful or not. Relinquishing the greatest gift I was born with would be a sin in itself. What is life without freedom?

  "Nor do I ask, you too, my child." The Darkness replied with a pulse of intent. "I only wish to see the start of a new era."

  "A new era?" I replied, drawing a breath.

  "Ever since Zariel failed to stop the Myriad Gods from changing the rules, the Fourth Heaven has not bred any new True Gods."

  "Zariel lost? Wait, what is a True God?"

  "It is what you are striving for. To be free without restrictions, while weaker than other Gods who worship others, you will retain true freedom." The Darkness softly said, melting my heart with her motherly voice.

  "Why didn't no one change the Rules back?" I asked, unsure why this was such a big deal.

  "Zariel had wished to, but he was forced to depart due to his deal with The One. It was decreed through the Heavenly Chaos that all who exist past the fourth Heaven are forbidden to visit.

  "Wait, isn't vancurro here?"

  "Merely his intent, that grew a form to follow his will. Those that leave cannot return. However, there are ways to get around such a rule." She explained, "But for now, should you not be focusing on transferring your Qi into that crystal?"

  Recalling my purpose, I regained my lost focus and stared at the crystal hovering over me like a star. Shimmering with a black light, of all those who worshiped me, a mist of Abyssal Night sprung from my pores.

  Pouring all that I had collected over the years into a crystal I made with a single thought, I could not help but get a bit anxious. For most False Gods, when they did this, they would not worry about death, but I was about to be smited in the real world.

  Failure was out of the question for me.

  Sucking my body dry of any Qi and Divinity I may have, a somewhat foolish gamble suddenly appeared within my mind. It was stupid and totally unnecessary, if not unheard of, but…… I knew this would make a huge difference.

  Don't do it! Don't do it, Arsene! Just be AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH

  "Fuck you, Greed." I hatefully cried before adding in all the Godly souls I had collected.

  "You stupid idiot!" Aegis howled. "STOP!!!! YOU WILL KILL US ALL!"

  Ignoring his words, my lips began to crack and blister, my skin began to wither, as I felt my very life force being drained.

  Blinding me with such a radiant black light. My heart shook as the divinity held within my crystal began to twist in nature. Suddenly large cracks flashed over its marble surface.

  "You must do something quickly, or we are dead!" Aegis bellowed in dread.

  Opening my eyes to the battlefield around me, with my hands still upon my head, I appeared withered all the way down to skin and bones when another depraved thought came to mind. "Fuck it!"

  Matching a stupid Idea with a stupid Idea, I swallowed the crystal about to explode, causing all eyes to turn to me.

  "Arsene…… it's not a pill; you don't just swallow it." Levi strangely expressed.

  Opening my mouth to speak, I shook. Staggering in the air, Ancient tattoos rose from my withered flesh. Bringing forth scales blacker than night, a shimmer of scarlet rose over my scales as the crest of Lilith and my own shone over its surface.

  Shaking uncontrollably in the air, fangs sharper than blades sprung from my lips. Resisting the urge to bellow like a depraved beast, I closed my eyes and looked within.

  Wreaking havoc within me, I glared at the Blacken Crystal Bead, slowly destroying me. Clenching my teeth, together a harsh light swallowed me whole, "If you do not obey, then I shall torment you till you do!"

  Committing to death and the path I set for myself, the Flames of Hellfire sprung from the void, carrying a searing heat. It coiled around the Crystal Bead as a cruel glint of malice filled my site.

  "BURN!!!!" I howled as a cry of pure anguish rang from within me. I had wished to cry physically, but it was like my own body was not mine anymore.

  Searing my soul that I never thought a soul bender would have, the very essence of my soul, cried in dread as the flames of hellfire refined and tempered the crystal bead.

  Pain was something I was very accustomed to, but these flames were horrendous. Searing my very ego but leaving it intact, I bellowed inwardly.

  Clawing at my own flesh, I did nothing to stop the flames from tormenting me, as I knew it was doing the same to the crystal.

  "YOU WILL NOT CRACK! YOU WILL MELT AND BE REFORMED BY MY WILL!" I desperately cried, wishing with my all to stop, but there was no such thing as a free lunch.

  The seconds had felt like years, and minutes had felt like Cycles. I knew the flames of hellfire were manipulating time due to its tormented nature, but realizing only a minute or two had passed in reality was hell onto itself.

  Bleeding tears, I watched as the Flames of Hellfire melted away the crystal and souls I poured into it, leaving only an orb of pure obsidian liquid. Immediately halting these damn flames, I wasted no time, basking in the joy of being free.

  Willing the obsidian liquid to reform. A small ring appeared within my line of sight, hovering where my heart should be. The ring within my chest slowly began to bleed a strange silver liquid. Trailing down from its curves, it fell through my body as if it didn't exist, landing within my dantian.

  It was only a single drop, but as the Nine Blackholes absorbed this silver liquid, an echoing boom shook every fiber of my being.

  Snapping my eyes open, the familiar echoes of shattering glass rang. Tearing away my previous view of creation, a new land that appeared the same yet totally different emerged.

  "All Hail, the Monarch of Darkness, Arsene."