CHAPTER 5:
TRUTH SEEKER.
Arcadia

"Lady Arcadia! How lovely it is to see you," The smile of the light bringer herself did not bring me much comfort as they grabbed my hand and lifted it up to their lips for a kiss.

"You as well, Lucifer. How is Mazikeen?" I asked as Morpheus joined my side, already staring at Lucifer and that he would probably want to scrub my hand of them once we got home.

"Splendid. She is enjoying the gifts you sent her on some of the souls at the moment," With Lucifer still being insistent that Morpheus and I give up our rights to our home and align it with them, I sent a small gift package. Blades of different color and size that could either burn or slice through bones with ease.

"And I wished to bring yours in person," Morpheus stayed silent but I knew that he was giving off an aura of protection and jealousy. See, once it was known that I was with him, Lucifer sent an offering to me with a demon saying they wanted me to marry them. To leave Morpheus and become Queen, as my powers made me a candidate.

"How lovely. . .is. . .is this what I think it is?" For the first time in forever, Lucifer Morningstar was speechless. It was a ring I had made using my own abilities, the singular white gem shining bright but not too intense.

"I made it from a dying star, as it made me think of you," I expressed, and it was true. Lucifer had my respect as a young goddess for fighting for freedom and individuality, but every time it feels like they have lost their way and only wishes to conquer.

"My wife is very considerate, light bringer," He emphasized to her, standing by my side as Lucifer marveled at the ring.

"Which is why we have come to ask you to stop trying. The realm we live in is our own, and we will not submit to you. We are aligned with Nyx and Erebus, who have said they will come to our aid if someone were to try and attack," I said, forcing some of the power residing within me to envelop my aura as to warn Lucifer.

Unfortunately, that did something else.

They looked down at me and moved their hand towards my stomach.

"You are with child."

When I woke up, my hand rested upon my stomach. And I couldn't move. I couldn't tell if that was a dream or a nightmare because a corpse cannot carry a child, and even now, it has been months with barely any sunlight or food.

A tear shed down my cheek and I silently began to cry on the floor. Was that my reality? Did I have that baby? Where is it now? And the man who called me his wife, I could not make out his face, but his voice would be recognizable if he were to speak in front of me.

Why?

Why out of everything, did I have to remember that?

As I continued to let the tears flow and my hand twisted around the dress that covered my stomach area, I felt eyes on me. The guards weren't paying enough attention to care, or they were but did not pity someone with immortality. So, I looked at the only other man in the room.

The man in the glass.

"Do you know who I am?" I asked, my voice desperate as I wiped away the tears and he continued in his silence as he stared at the ground.

"I-I think I had a memory come back. I was in Hell, I think, and told Lucifer to leave my husband and I alone. She told me that I was with child," I did know this man, despite what Roderick Burgess might say, but I felt inclined to say this to him due to the fact that he felt comforting. Despite his cold demeanor and no sign of communication, he gave off a warmth that only someone I knew could provide.

"I just feel so alone. I wish I stayed dead," I moved my gaze back to weeping in a corner with chains on my wrists and ankles. Unbeknownst to me, his eyes snapped to my figure with urgency because not only did he despise himself for not saving me, but also because he did not know whether to comfort me and tell me everything or leave me be.

Leave me to find someone more deserving of the gracious love I could give, and not a man who took advantage of the fact that I was a power incarnate.

A man who was closed off and forbade himself from loving after years of trying. Only to send the one person he truly loved away and to her deathbed.

I suddenly felt tired. Maybe it was the crying, but I doubted that I would want to experience another memory of tragedy. Yet, I yawned and started to succumb to the darkness.

When my eyes opened, I was in a field of color. Emerald, green grass covered in all types of flowers that smelled like nature and was a way better scent than that of that cave I was made a prisoner in.

"I knew of you."

That voice.

I looked up to see him, only fully clothed this time. He donned all black, and his face was stoic yet held many emotions that flooded his soul.

"Was my name Arcadia?" I asked, staying seated in the field of flowers as I stared up at him.

"It was. You are a child of Nyx and Erebus, both Primordial Gods that predate the universe. They will come find you and take you home," His voice was void but the words were reassuring as he stared off into the distance.

"Oh. . ." it was such a powerful thing to tell someone who did not have any clue as to who they were.

"Will they get you too? I don't know how long you've been here-"

"No. You are their child, they need not worry themselves over me," He cut me off, his tone suggesting that he didn't even deserve to leave.

"What are you? Surely you are more powerful if they have you locked up like that," I stood up, but he still would not look at me.

"I am no one of importan-"

"I must be someone more important if you won't even look at me. Tell me!" I grabbed his face and looked at him, and somehow, he was even prettier than before. His skin was cold but not a damp cold like the cave. It was soothing and nice against my warm palms, and he seemed breathless as he stared into my soul.

"You. . ." He gulped, searching my face as his hand went up to mine and held it.

"You were very important to me. But I was not the man you think of. I am Dream, Ruler of Dreams and Nightmares, and you were just a woman who wanted better but could not have it."

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Morpheus did love Arcadia, but wouldn't let himself because of how badly his previous relationships ended. So Arcadia died thinking the man she's been with for a thousand years never loved her.