Monarch of Darkness, Arsene

Chapter 35: Ashen Prince vs King Oswin

Taking a deep breath, I flipped the switch deep within me; the emotions I portrayed vanished, leaving only a cold, indifferent exterior. With a step, I gazed towards the King giving a light bow.

"King Oswin," I said, my voice cold, my heart steady as a still lake.

His deep blue eyes glimmered with killing intent as he stared me down. I could feel the deep scan of my body as he sneered, "What is the meaning of this, Boy."

"Your grace, whatever do you mean," I questioned, exposing no emotions.

Gritting his teeth, Oswin roared, "You may have instigated a massive war. Both Godwin and Romga will surely attack. Your little toy may have just sent us to hell."

A profound force quickly assaulted me, trying to force me to my knees, yet my head stood high and back remain straight like a spear, "And? Is this not progress, your grace. Is this not what you expect of your kingdom citizens. Do you seek stagnation or progression?" I questioned, revealing a half-smile.

"INSOLENCE!! What is progression before the lives of billions? You would sacrifice everything for what." Oswin roared, his eyes glowing with power causing the void to quake.

"Than kill me." I curtly urged, knowing that that man before me was clearly testing me.

"What!!!" astonishment masked his face as even Grey arched his brow in amazement.

"If you, the king of Asterion, destroyer of the kingdom of Gramor, does not value progression, then why seek power? Kill me and be done with it, show weakness before the other two kingdoms. Show them Asterion is merely existing, neither striving for greatness nor progression. " I said, my words piercing deep into the matter at hand.

While Oswin was a powerful man, he got comfortable falling into a loop of stagnation like most men. I had read hundreds of books about this man. Out of all the kings before him, he was the only one with the greatest ambition. In his younger days, blood graced his sword as he laid waste to millions on this continent.

So what will you do, King of Asterion? This is not just my test but yours. Your generals are all watching. The aristocrats that you named are here....all according to my plan.

Oswin expression slowly began to grow indifferent as he smiled with a hint of indignation, "Well played boy, well played,"

"Salazar, call for my War Counsel; it would seem we have much to speak about...Bring your grandson as well," King Oswin stated before vanishing.

A deep breath escaped from my lungs as sweat flooded my body like a stream dripping down. Smiling with a victorious expression, I gazed at Grey, "Do you think they will expect that."

Grey's eyes suddenly grew wide as he gasped, "you-you-you are using...son of a bitch!"

Grinning, I nodded; yes, everything that will happen from now on will be a trap for the light of Ashna. I am using the entire kingdom of Asterion as my tool to force them out of hiding. I will burn this entire planet to dust to achieve victory.

Grey had a complicated expression as he sighed, "you might be even colder than me. Billions will die in the years to come." he whispered.

Grandfather was confused but didn't say anything. He had been given orders from the king. Giving me a slap to the back, he vanished.

"Ummm, what of the Nexus Suit," Elsa asked, showing a half-smile.

"...Well, the Auctions is ruin...send it to the king and charge him 50 Billion Zel. Take ten percent that should cover more than the cost for this building and satisfy Riverdale." I said, understanding the king or the queen would be more than willing to buy my armor.

Placing his hand on my shoulder Gray teleported both myself and Eroma inside the snow estate. A cold sneer crossed his face as he eyed his younger brother, "Leave us."

Not being needed to be told twice, Eroma bolted out, leaving me alone with my dear uncle. Silence engulfed us as he tried comprehending the situation at hand, "you may have picked the worst time to proceed with this scheme Arsène."

Figuring he was talking about the upcoming civil war, I shook my head, "I beg to differ, I just forced the king's hand. Do you really think he will allow such a transgression to follow with such a war on the horizon?" I stated, staring up at the ceiling.

"The passive game that the king was playing with the whore was a nuisance, to begin with. He could simply kill her and the second born and be done with the matter, but he allowed the situation to drag out. I am sure he will not kill Genis, but I will be surprised if the whore lives past a week."

"I will agree, but why do you think he dragged out this situation," Grey asked, giving me a knowing look.

"Will, you ever be done testing me, uncle?" I asked flamboyantly, "He wanted to test those loyal to him, mainly us, and to see how his firstborn would settle the situation."

Smiling, I gazed at the ring on my finger, "So do you still want Dra's firstborn dead," I asked, walking to the door.

"Of course, nothing has changed; we will be taking control of Marquess Dra spy network," Gray stated with a cold smile.

Grinning viciously, I left Grey's office before making my way to my room. Deep exhaustion forced its way into my body as I dropped to my bed. The pressure that the king displayed on me was quite stressful, not to mention this entire plan took over five years to work out.

'Bigger on the inside,' a type of space distortion technique many within this kingdom uses, yet no one thought to use it for other applications. By bending the dimension of heavy armor into itself, we compacted it into a string. From there, I had my blacksmith weaved the dimensional strings into an entire piece of armor.

It was quite simple but truly a time-consuming process, but it would seem my time in my infancy was not wasted. Smiling, I closed my eyes, allowing the darkness to push me deeper into its depths.

That night a dream I was all too familiar with appeared again. Black flames surrounded me, followed by a blurred woman smiling with infatuation. Yet something was different as a deep voice sounded from my other self covered in black flames,

"Yura," he whispered