"I don't trust you. I'd have more fate in Lucifer than you. At least he holds something dear to his heart. But you… What won't you sacrifice?"

Mephisto's expression didn't change as if frozen in a specific moment. "And what choice do you have? Metatron, despite my disdain, is quite the caster. The same could be said for Tenebrae's enemies."

"Why would they come after—"

"Do you think they'll leave the person she mated with alone? She has been alone since the beginning, and now… after endless eternities, she's found someone. Even if what you shared was a fling, they'd still try to harm you or your family. Those low-level rankers that attacked you. They were only the beginning. You are a prime target now, Arsene. And your biggest weakness is your children."

Fingers clenching, I stilled, finding myself weary of mind and body. Mephisto, seemingly noticing, sighed: "Look. It brings me no pleasure, but your only alternative is to risk your children's lives. Don't think just because they went back in time that, everything is set in stone. Time travel merely made our reality more fragile than what it once was. I—"

"Excuse me, my Lord." Said Elvira appearing like a ghost. "Tenebrae of the Eternal Night is here."

'..."

'NOOO! She can't see me! I like this clone!" He yelped, staggering backen when—

"Oh, shut the hell up," Tene said, rolling on in with a bright smile. "Sup, Sene. You look like shit. You ok?"

A little lightheaded, with a throbbing headache beginning to appear, I staggered into a seat, feeling a sense of relief gripping my bones.

"We keep meeting each other, don't we? How odd. What are you doing here, Tene."

"Right… Mephisto. Since we are currently in Arsenes Territory, it's considered part abyssal. So I'll overlook your existence this one time."

Just where exactly are we? My soul is too weak to use my Divine Sense.

"Lucky me~" The Trickster lifelessly mused. "Well, what is it you want?"

"Two Hell Cycles ago, you came to me looking for—"

"A Chaos Seed." He finished with a burning desire in his eyes. "Don't tell me you're willing to trade with it. I'm sure the Goddess of Fate will not be pleased as she levied against me last time."

"Which is why I didn't give it to you. But now… I wish to trade a few of your worshipers or slaves. I still can't tell what some of them are."

Tenebrae is taking this shit quite seriously. Why is the Tower of Babel so important?

And, " What is this Seed of Chaos?"

"It's a seed that burns all mortal desire into fuel, allowing one to peer into the future to a certain extent." Replied mephisto grimly. "It's a legendary item, a little less rare than Chaos Flames but rare enough."

"Unless a Supreme Power binds you, it's impossible to peer into a set future. But a Chaos Seed removes those restrictions and grants you free access to that supreme power." Tenebrae said, summoning a contract. "Here, take a look. These are the people I want."

Accepting the contract, Mephisto almost immediately frowned: "I would have thought Ishar would be on the list. But Loki? Why would you—"

"That's my business," Tenebrae warned in a chilling tone.

"Ah, this isn't about the Tower of Babel. No, this is about something else." His gaze rose to me, then swayed to Tenebrae. A smile returned to his face. " I wonder what that could be, Aunty Tenebrae. You are holding onto a secret."

Tenebrae's expression remained passive: "I'll not ask again. It's already been two Hell Cycles. You might be my first choice, but that's all you are. There are other options. Will you accept my deal?"

"Loki… he is one of my go-to minions. I'd like to know why."

"I plan to send him into the Cycle of Reincarnation. As for why? Well, it's none of your concern. You'll be in Arcadia by then. Stop feigning concern, Mephisto. We both know this is a perfect deal."

'Yes… but it's too good of a deal. I'm weary of it." He mused silently to himself and looked at me, narrowing his eyes. "Arsene… Arsene… Arsene…" he kept repeating.

Unease prickled my skin so much I dared not even sweat less, he figured out I was having another child.

"Are you pregnant?" He asked, sending my entire spirit into a frenzy. " No… that's not right. It's too early for that. And someone at Tenebrae's level, you'll have to do it in the Abyss."

"How do you know where we did it?" Tenebrae asked amusingly.

The trickster coughed into his palm: "Fine, I'll accept." He claimed, nicking his finger with his teeth.

We watched as a single drop of blood fell onto the contract, binding both parties by the blood as well as the Nine Hells.

Tossing Mephisto a ring, Tenebrae snapped her gaze to me and planted a kiss on my cheek when a soul whisper caught my ear: 'He's suspicious. The reason he brought up pregnancy was to gauge our reaction. Be careful. You did well to hide your feelings, but Mephisto is very sensitive."

"Bye ya, Sene," Tenebrae said soon after, vanishing in a sea of black embers.

"You think she's pre—"

"Do not jinx me motherfucker! I don't want another kid. Do you know how stressful it is to have two? And twins, of all things? Not to mention one is a girl. My god, she'll be attracting so many guys I swear I'll be swimming in blood to last multiple lifetimes."

"I—" Mephisto tried to say, but my rant wasn't nearly as done.

"All those little bastards can do is eat, sleep, and shit. And they're not even born. My god, I can't even bang my wife! Do you know how good Lilith's no-no box is? Bro, it's literally to die for. And I mean literally.

"No-No-Box?"

"Her pussy!" I roared, finding energy I didn't know I had. "I remember the days we'd bang for hundreds of years. Aw~~ Good memories, but not anymore. Now we got to listen to crying. We got to clean shit."

Almost finding myself in tears, I glared at him. " Don't you fucking jinx me? I can't have a third. I refuse to have a third."

"... My bad."