Darkness' Touch

Chapter 16: Assets

"So that means you were the reason why I started to eat like a pig?"

The next morning, Avy woke up earlier than usual to have breakfast with her Grandfather who will be leaving for work in the afternoon after tightening up the security of the estate. She was fixing her off-shoulder pink topped dress with a dark green skirt and floral designs on the chest and hips part, with Ares helping her in Mariel's stead who was busy on the task she gave her.

Ares, with the clothes he stole from Ashton's wardrobe, was fully dressed like a real noble gentleman. Showing off his good looks as if he also came from the house of Arkwright, he was the one who was forced to zip up Avy's dress, put on her shoes, and tie her hair in a half ponytail.

"Darkness is infinite. Without a proper source of power, you don't have a choice but to forcefully take everything this world has to offer." he answered.

"Thank you for turning me into a human black hole. That really helps." she sarcastically remarked.

"And thank you for using me as your own personal maid, Avy." he replied back with the same level of sarcasm he was given, addressing his master by her name since hearing a man that looks like her older brother call her My Lady doesn't sound much appealing, she says.

"Aren't you a slave of mine? Then stop barking and just do what you're told." Avy snapped back mercilessly as if she wasn't talking to a supreme creature that can easily kill her in seconds.

"Yes, but I was pertaining to things like killing others in your stead or threatening people to be your servants! Not tying your hair and zipping up your dress!" the poor man retorted in exasperation.

Avy raised her brow and said "What a joke. Why would I want to kill someone when I rarely meet people?"

"How about killing that girl with divine power?"

She looked at her with a deadpanned expression as if saying 'Are you serious?' as Ares just smiled without any hints that he was joking. He meant every single word he said and he's not even flinching by the thought of killing an innocent girl they've never met before.

"No, you psychopath. I don't even know what she looks like. And being involved with that one wouldn't do me any good." she said and checked her reflection on the full body mirror.

"Her existence alone is a danger to your life. It may not be known to the people today, but the curse of the Divine and Darkness still exists even though it happened even before this Empire was founded. You'll naturally feel hatred towards that girl since you're now connected with the first holder of this power who clashed with the Goddess of Life a long time ago." Ares explained, finally piquing the lady's interest. Sure she was familiar with the Goddess of Life because she was mentioned in the novel, the Goddess who gave the main character the power she now possesses, but all the other information that came out of the man's mouth was unknown to her.

"You mean, your former owner wasn't the first holder?" she asked, Ares, shook his head before speaking again.

"My former master, Anastasia, is an offspring of a Beastman and a Human Girl who came from this Empire. She was the first person to ever control the Darkness, which is me."

Avy's ears perked up by the mention of a very familiar name. 'What a coincidence.'

"You see, I am the personification of Prosperine, the first holder's hatred towards the Goddess of Life before she died. I was born after that decisive battle and was passed onto another, trying to find a master but they all ended up being swallowed by their own darkness and then became a part of me. I am the greed, the hate, pride, wrath, and everything bad extracted from all those living creatures who lost to Prosperine's dying hatred. I lived in a never-ending repeating loop, entering a mortal's body, slowly watching them succumb to the Darkness, losing their sanity, and me eating their sin-filled soul before they eventually die. But the cycle stopped when she saved me from those, that was more than a hundred years ago." Ares narrated, his eyes reflected the exhaustion he got from all the suffering for the past hundreds of years.