Shadow Monarch in DC

The night settled over the estate, its darkness punctuated by the soft glow of lanterns that lined the garden paths. Arthur sat in the garden, relaxed, his eyes fixed on the stars above. The laughter of his family still echoed from the house, Kara’s warm chuckle, his mother’s gentle laugh, Adam’s dry humor, it was all a warm reminder of everything he was fighting to protect. But his mind was elsewhere, turning over the weight of everything he had seen and done. The battles, the losses, the victories, the power that now flowed through his veins.

Didi sat beside him, her silver ankh caught the faint glow of the lanterns, gleaming softly. Her eyes found his face, and she smiled warmly.

"I assume you are planning something to do later on regarding Darkseid, by yourself... You have that look about you."

Arthur was silent for a long moment, his eyes still fixed on the stars. Then he spoke,"You could say that." He paused, his eyes meeting hers. "Though I am thinking about my child right now. About what she will inherit, what she will become, what kind of world she will grow up in."

"What about her? You seem troubled." Didi said.

Arthur smiled. "I know you know this too, she will inherit Kara’s powers and some of my own. She will never be normal. She will never have the luxury of a quiet life, of anonymity, of peace." He paused, his eyes meeting hers. "I need to prepare her. Probably pass on some of my powers to her. Give her the tools she needs to survive."

"Are you already tired of the power of death? Is that why you wish to pass it on?" Didi teased.

Arthur shook his head. "Of course not. That is something I am not going to burden anyone with, at least not anytime soon." He paused, his eyes meeting hers. "But my shadow powers can be passed on. I can arrange that, give her access to some of my abilities, and slowly pass it on. She will have the choice to accept it or not."

Didi’s voice carried a note of careful caution. "I do not think that is a good idea for now. She is not even born yet, Arthur. You are planning for a future that may never come. You cannot control everything."

"I am not talking about now. I am talking about when she is old enough to understand, to choose, to decide for herself."

"I know you are talking about a distant future." Didi paused, as she looked at the sky as well. "Still... I worry. You are already carrying so much. Do not add more to your shoulders before you have to."

"Well, I understand the concern." He said. "But I will give her that choice once she is old enough. I will not force this on her. She will decide her own path."

Didi approved. "That is wise. You are a good father, Arthur. Even before she is born, you are thinking of her."

"I try to be." Arthur said. "Hold on... I have an idea."

Raven appeared in the garden, her body emerging from the shadows with grace. Her eyes found Arthur’s, and she smiled. She had changed out of her formal dress into something more comfortable, her hair loose around her shoulders.

"What is this idea? I could hear you thinking from across the estate."

"Raven, glad you came. Because you need to listen to this as well." He gestured for her to sit beside him.

Raven sat next to him, a bit too close, her eyes fixed on Didi with a look that was almost possessive. "Go on. I am listening."

"Back in the World Tree, there is a secret chamber hidden within its depths. It is ancient, older than the multiverse itself. There is an altar facing nine statues, and all of their lights have gone out, except for two." Arthur explained.

Raven’s eyes widened as she realized what he meant. "You are talking about the altar you mentioned sometime ago." She paused, her eyes meeting his. "Where you gained your full Monarch powers. You are saying all of their lights are gone because they are dead.. except for you and the Dragon Monarch."

Arthur nodded. "Yes. I knew you were smart enough to put it together." His voice hardened. "You also know what this means, right?"

Raven nodded. "They can be reignited. So, either they can return to life, or the powers of the fallen Monarchs can be passed on to new bearers."

Arthur smiled. "Exactly. Though this time I can have full control of it." He paused, his eyes meeting hers. "Their worlds lie without leaders.. leaders that I can reignite. I can pass on the late Monarchs’ powers to new ones, and they will have full control of their worlds and armies. The power will not corrupt them, because I will be the one to choose them myself."

"You really can do something like this?" Raven asked. "Is this not dangerous? Power like that corrupts and changes people... weren’t they also humans from different earths?"

"I mean that I can give this to literally anyone of my choosing, human or alien. They will be bound to me, but they will have free will. They will be able to lead their people, to protect their worlds, to fight alongside us." He paused, his eyes meeting hers. "And I already have a candidate for a Demon Monarch."

Raven’s eyes widened, she pointed a finger at herself, her expression a mixture of disbelief and curiosity. "You cannot be serious."

Arthur nodded, his smile warm and genuine. "Yes. You. You are the perfect candidate, Raven. You understand darkness, you understand that sort of power, and you have proven yourself time and time again, that you are no longer that emotionally unstable demon girl."

Raven was silent for a while, then she said, "You want me to become the Demon Monarch? To rule over demons? To command armies of hellspawn?"

"You will have access to a world full of demons, and they will answer to you whenever you call upon them." He paused, his eyes meeting hers. "Do not view them as the monsters we find in dungeons or we defeated during the monarchs gates, the monsters are intelligent when they are not ordered to kill us. The ones inside dungeons are simply prisoners of the Rulers who are giving humans power or death.." His voice hardened. "But I will stop that too, even if I have to kill the Rulers, the monsters too deserve freedom, not servitude."

"This is too much responsibility. I am not ready for something like this." Raven said.

Arthur held her hand and said. "Not really." He paused, his eyes gleaming with dark humor. "You do not have to be an actual monarch and live in a palace with demon servants. You can still live here, with us. You can still be Raven. You will just have a new title and a new army that will serve you."

Didi smiled. "Good idea. You will have access to reinforcements who will aid you in battles.. Even though Arthur’s soldiers are in the millions now, he has significant forces, but extra living ones will not hurt. And having a Demon Monarch on his side will send a message to the universe."

"I know. We already have forces even in Hell. Etrigan is the ruler of Hell, but he is bound by me in a contract. Basically, I am the real ruler of Hell." Arthur said, his eyes meeting theirs. "But I do not care about that, I bet Darkseid does not even understand the sheer scale of forces we have under us. He thinks he is the only one with an actual endless army and firepower."

"I understand that the only reason you refuse to use most of them is because we are here on Earth. You do not want to turn this planet into a battlefield." Raven said.

"Of course. I do not want it to be a battlefield." Arthur said. "The scale of destruction and magic would ruin the planet, rendering it uninhabitable if a battle between myself and someone like Darkseid, the Rulers, or the Dragon Monarch took place. I will not let that happen."

"You could use your Abyss realm, but I know it will not work against the likes of beings of the Great Darkness such as true Darkseid and the Dragon Monarch, because they have as much connection to the Great Darkness as you do." Didi said. "It failed against the Empty Hand, after all you only managed to seal him, and that seal won’t survive for long."

"Which is why I am planning to overwhelm all of them with power, numbers, magic, whatever we have." Arthur said, his eyes glowing brighter. "Whatever we have, it still should not be enough. They are too powerful, too connected to the source of all things. But I will find a way to end all these threats in a short amount of time."

Didi nodded. "It is better than deciding to be satisfied with what you have."

"I never asked you, but... are your siblings okay with what you did? With you giving up your role as Death?" Arthur asked.

"Who?" She asked, her eyes meeting his. "They do not know the extent of what I have done. They think I am still fulfilling my duties."

"Well, that answers my question. You have not told them."

"I left a hollow version of myself doing the duties of Death of the Endless, like I told you. It will take eons for them to notice." She paused. "Though I think Dream and Destiny are already aware of it. They are too perceptive not to notice."

The moment Arthur heard the name destiny he got curious. "Does Destiny have something for me or about me? Something in that book of his?"

Didi looked at Arthur and smiled, her eyes twinkling. "I do wonder."

"Is that your answer?"

"I truly do not know. Only he does." She said, her eyes meeting his. "And since you are beyond our reach even when you were far weaker, I doubt he has anything about you in that book of his. You are an anomaly, Arthur. You always have been."

Arthur sighed. "Fair enough."

"Forget about Destiny for now... Let us say I will take this Monarch title and its powers." Raven said. "What about the other six vacant Monarch positions?"

"We will find suitable candidates." He paused, his eyes meeting hers. "And you will help me do it. They also need to be compatible with the power and trustworthy. I cannot risk giving this power to someone who will use it for evil."

"I will think about it thoroughly, I may have some in mind." Raven said.

Arthur smiled. "I already do too."

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