Blessed by Night-Chapter 457: Moros

Keres pulled Malachi all the way into the darkest corners of Nyx’s home. The rooms he usually never visited.

His mother was a very old goddess.

She had things collected from universes he could scarcely imagine. All of them were sentimental to her in one way or another.

Keres stopped at a door nestled near the end of a long hallway.

She did not bother to knock and instead flung the door wide open without waiting.

Malachi braced himself to see some sort of shrine or possibly something perverted, but the reality was anything but.

He stood beneath a sprawling night sky dotted with millions of twinkling stars and a crescent moon hanging in the distance.

A virtual ocean of golden sand lay before them, glimmering every bit as brightly as the stars hanging above it.

"Over there."

Keres pointed to the very center of the seemingly infinite domain.

There, they could see their mother one-sidedly bullying a large male figure in metal armor.

"-You think you’re too good to come home, is that it? Can’t be bothered to say a simple hello to the woman who pushed you out all by herself?!"

"... I-"

"You hush! Honestly, do you even care that you have new siblings to get to know?? When is the last time you spoke to the siblings you’re already familiar with as a matter of fact?!"

"...I was not under the impression that our family was a social club."

"Well, that’s your fault!"

Malachi raises his brow as he floats over the sand and towards his mother.

Once he came close enough, the figure in dark metal whirled around to face him.

Malachi felt a dense, terrifying aura pressing down on his body.

Nyx jumped up so that she could slap her son over the helmet.

"What is the matter with you?! Do you think I’m just letting any random demons into my domain?? That’s your brother!"

Malachi wasn’t as bothered by what had happened as Nyx was.

"It’s alright, Ma. Takes a lot more to put me on my ass these days, you know? Kinda have your friend to thank for that."

Malachi landed beside his mother, and she quickly embraced him with her hand against his cheek.

"Yes, yes, my darling boy is big and strong... Now, to make sure that you are also strong and prepared, I’ve asked your brother here. This is Moros."

Malachi watched the eight-foot-tall giant remove his helmet.

Moros was exactly what mortals would expect a god of war to look like.

He had a square, chiseled jaw and a handsome face with numerous scars.

His eyes were almost completely black, save for the golden irises that spun around in a circle like Ferris wheels.

Moros’ body was covered in pitch black armor with a bright red cape billowing behind his back.

The man was a giant in height and musculature. A living weapon that gave off a sense of impending doom like few other entities possibly could.

His white hair was tied above his head in an impeccable Greek braid.

He stared down at Malachi with a look that said he wasn’t very impressed by anything about him.

Malachi had only been a demon for a day, and he was already sick of being looked at like he was garbage.

"They would love you in Olympus. I hear that Zeus is in need of a new cupbearer after wearing out his last one."

Malachi felt all of the muscles in his face contract at once.

"...Really not getting off on the right foot here. You sure you don’t want to take a chance to change how you greet family?"

"Do not presume yourself to be on the same level as me, boy. You are my mother’s hobby. Nothing more."

"MOROS!" Nyx roared.

The giant flinched subtly at her shout. Though no apology left his lips.

"Wow. Some real trouble in paradise over here.."

Malachi looked up.

Black claws could be seen tearing through the fabric of the realm, allowing a familiar frightening being to poke her head through.

Moros immediately became on edge. An overpowering godly aura roared to life.

"What manner of creature is-"

"Karliah, what are you doing? You know you’re not supposed to be here." Nyx folded her arms across her chest in annoyance.

"House is empty. I’m bored."

Karliah dropped down from the hole in the air with a heavy thud.

The wind generated from her landing alone caused Moros’ aura to vanish near instantaneously.

The hairs on Malachi’s neck stood up.

With that simple display, Malachi had learned that the woman before him was much more powerful than he had initially estimated.

She was at the very least a being on his mother’s level. Maybe even above.

He was now even more wary of her than before.

"Aren’t you glad to see me, my shea-butter angel??" Karliah lifted up a much smaller Nyx by her waist and held her up like she was a child. "It’s not often I get to interact with this version of you-"

Nyx casually unfolded her arms and pressed her thumb into Karliah’s left eye. Malachi winced, but the behemoth of a woman did not even flinch.

"You know you can’t be here. Bekka will have my head if she finds out." Nyx said plainly.

"Aww, don’t be such a spoilsport. I’ll return before anyone finds out, so let me stretch my legs a little bit."

Karliah’s remaining eye settled on Malachi and the look of fascination she gave him intensified.

"Hot damn. Mama likes that a lot.."

Malachi felt a cold shiver run through his body. He couldn’t explain it properly, but in front of this woman, he felt completely exposed.

When her eye settled below his belt buckle, Mal could no longer ignore that chilling feeling.

She was seeing through his clothes.

His suspicions were only confirmed when Karliah suddenly licked her lips lasciviously.

"That sure is a lot of... energy you’ve got spilling out of you, handsome. I think I’ve got the gist of the situation."

Karliah put Nyx down gently and began taking steps towards an unsettled Malachi.

"Seems to me like you need help getting a handle on all that magical power you’ve got leaking out. Why don’t you play with big mana for a bit instead of this edgy little loser?"

Karliah shoved Moros into the sand without even looking at him.

"Y-You wench!"

Moros got back to his feet with a vengeance.

In an instant, he was ten, then fifty, then a hundred and fifty meters tall.

"You WORM!!"

Malachi had to admit, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up a bit when he saw Moros’ true form.

However, Karliah was undaunted. She gently grabbed Malachi by the chin and turned his gaze back towards her.

"Oh no, don’t take your eyes off me, handsome. You’re making me develop a bit of a possessive streak.."

Malachi couldn’t quite say what happened next.

At one moment, Moros raised his foot as if he were going to crush the horrifying woman underneath him.

And in the next, Moros was gone. However, Malachi could still feel him as clear as day.

"...What’d you do?" Malachi unkindly twisted Karliah’s hand away from his face.

"Ooh, bab, I’m not that easy. You gotta work a bit to get a woman like me to spill her secrets."

Malachi gnashed his teeth in anger.

"Look, Serana and my sister seem to really like you, so I’m being patient. But if you keep being a creep, I’m probably going to cut your fucking head off."

Nyx covered her face with her hands; wishing she could take her son’s words out of the air as soon as he said them.

Bewilderment was apparent across Karliah’s face.

"Holy shit... I think I might actually love you."