MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin



"We only met for the third time now but each time you managed to understand just how little I actually understand about the world."

Adam mused. He was surprised that he was able to feel much calmer than he would have imagined. Beyond being surprised at learning that humanity might be sent back to the age of stone.

He could understand the reason. On one hand, this news was so outlandish that it barely landed.

All humans knew that they would die one day. But how many actually contemplated their death?

All humans knew that climate changes would sooner or later bring the end of the world for them but they did not care.

This was both the greatest flaw and the greatest strength of humanity. They did not care about the far future that they could not perceive and were only interested in the most immediate future for their survival.

On the other hand, after surviving two devil invasions, Adam had an inkling that shit was really about to hit the fan.

"Well, now that I learned that the world is about to end I am…"

"Not the world. Only humanity and the early supernatural races will suffer. This is only a class 2 after all. This is a reset that happens to actually stop humans from destroying the earth itself."

"A reset heh."

Adam smiled, "How funny."

"Very well. Do you know what this apocalypse will entail? Devils summoning?"

This was the most likely after all.

"I do not know. Currently, I am unable to use my full power and so my abilities as a seer are quite restricted."

"Any other seer as good as you?"

Medusa scoffed, "Only the Norns sisters or the Moira [1] and entities of the like can actually surpass the Gorgons when it comes to observing Destiny."

"Well. I doubt we have access to some deity right now."

"We don't. But we have one who, despite being a mortal, sacrificed her sight in order to see what should not be seen."

Medusa, for the first time, had eyes filled with respect. Even though she usually tried it, there was no denying that she had a certain disdain when it came to humans. It was not because she simply looked down on them but the reality was that aside from some exceptions, they were truly inferior.

But those exceptions were what made humanity so interesting in Medusa's mind and she respected all the outliers who were able to bring results beyond imagination.

One such outlier was—

"Her name is Anastasia. She is also known as the Blind Maiden. Truly a crazy old woman."

—--

[Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels– Los Angeles]

"We are in deep shit."

While Adam was having a discussion about the future of the world and humanity, in the church of Los Angeles, Elysia covered her face and released an exasperated sigh.

"Please, pay attention to your words Mother Anastasia."

On the other end of the screen, the old woman with her clear white eyes frowned,

"What do I have to mind? Do you not shit? I do not think you reached the level where you produce no more body waste."

"Mother…"

"Don't shush me child, shitting is natural. Shit is stinky and filled with filth and this is why I said — We are in deep shit. Very deep."

Elsyia wrinkled her brows and pushed away the chocolate milkshake she was about to drink. It suddenly looked far less appealing than a few moments ago.

"*Sigh* Now that you managed to disgust me, could you at least explain."

"Look at you, weak hearted girl. In my time, we had to step hands first in the filthiest places. Youngsters nowadays are so mentally weak."

She complained a few more before shaking my head, "I am truly becoming too old. To think I would say a speech similar to what the matrone said to me in the past."

"You are not that old."

"Ohoho. Do not worry. Ever since I lost my sight, my interest in the physical world waned greatly."

Elysia did not know what to say. It was no secret why Anastasia lost her eyesight. This was one of the reasons why she was so respected as a zodiac even though she did not have her full power.

She may have never stepped on a battlefield, but the number of calamities she helped avert through her visions could not be counted.

"Do we have no hope left?"

"Like I said we are in deep shit. Filthy, stinky shit. But at the same time, even the filthiest shit can be used to fertilize the ground and bring a new life."

"Mother, I know you cannot directly reveal the secret of Heaven. But why use this as an image?"

"I am old and I have few ways of distracting myself. Making others feel uncomfortable is honestly pretty interesting."

Elysia was left speechless at this gangster like way of thinking. But she knew that despite all her words, Anastasia was a woman with humanity in her heart and a great sense of justice.

She was only slightly eccentric.

"On this day, a new light ready to extinguish everything nearly descended. But thanks to the one with a thousand faces, lies were not able to encroach upon truth and were chased away."

Even as she spoke, she seemed noticeably more tired. For a human, divulging the secret of heaven always had a price and the only way to minimize it was to talk in such an indirect way.

"The world was given more time to thrive and humanity given a second chance. But this is nothing but a small reprieve. Soon, an even bigger calamity will happen and this time, the chances of stopping the incoming calamities."

"Is there a way?"

"I do not know. But what I can see is a King. Leading from the shadow and possessing the power to affect Life and Death as well as the Natural Force of the world. A man whose fate can never truly be read. A being created by the greatest sinner. He has thousands of faces and no fixed identity."

Anastasia became more haggart and her breath was labored. Elysia wanted to tell her to stop but she knew that this would be an insult to the resolve of Anastasia.

"Listen my dear child. On the annual sacred day, a new star will be born and three sages from three factions will find a new King. The King, accompanied by a legion of beings neither dead nor alive will either become a Black King that will cover the world in Chaos. A white King that will cover the world in Benevolence or a Grey King that will watch over the world with indifference."

Her eyes were bleeding now but she did not stop,

"I will be one of the sages and you my child…Need to make a decision."

(AN: Honestly, this arc should have been the first arc of Volume 7. I made a mistake in order and started this before Shuri arc. Thankfully it doesn't change much to my plans.)

[1]: The Norns sisters are Skuld, Uld and Verdandi.

The Moira are Clotho; Lachesis and Atropos.

Be it the Norns (Nordique myth) or the Moira (Greece) basically play the same roles as the spinner of the Thread of Fate. What is interesting is that many mythologies in the past all used the concepts of Three goddesses, generally sisters to represent Fate.

For example, the Celtic Matres and Matrones, female deities almost always depicted in groups of three. In Lithuanian and other Baltic mythologies, the goddess Laima is the personification of destiny, and her most important duty was to prophecy how the life of a newborn will take place. With her sisters KArta and DEkla. In Hurrian mythology the three goddesses of fate, the Hutena, were believed to dispense good and evil, life and death to humans.