Shadow of the Abyss

Chapter 174: Palace of Stygian

As the A.I. droned on about his Mother, Altair became enamored with its stories. Aside from being his Mother, Altair knew nothing about Tenebrae, and the more he heard, the more enamored he became. Of all the Primordials, Tenebrae was the most loved by the Ilvarians, who had built worlds to sing praises of her most glorious name, the Weaver of Night.

Altair might have listened for days if he wasn't on the run.

"It's so cool in here!" Shouted Kirr, barging into his room, wielding a sword that bore an edge of pure azure light. "Look at this! Master, can I—" Pausing as he saw Altair and Ren cuddled up, he tilted his head. "Is that sex?"

Jorm, who'd gotten lost chasing him, stormed right in, pushing his head down as he bowed. " Forgive him, Master, he—"

"It's quite alright," Said Ren, snickering.

Hurriedly, Jorm said," Then we'll be on our way." Jerking his brother outside before any more could be said.

Ren erupted into a slew of laughter and turned to look out the windows that stretched the length of the entire wall. "This city truly is beautiful. And all this was Mama Tene's land. Amazing."

"But how'd it get here?" Altair couldn't help but stare at the earth, obscuring their view of the skies and moon.

"During the explosion that took place on Umbra, a barrier was erected to protect the Denizens within the Palace of Stygian and her land. Despite my efforts, however, a strange force somehow managed to penetrate my defenses and was able to restart my system. And as seasons passed, I was able to protect the Palace of Stygian and her land; however, my reserves are currently fading." The A.I.

said, curling the lips of Altair downwards.

"How long do you have?"

"Seven hundred years, on life support." Said the A.I. coolly.

Altair lifted himself off the bed, thinking for a second. "We saw ghouls on our way here. Did you exterminate them?"

"Affirmative. Undead Genus Unknown is a threat to the wildlife the system uses to power its reserves."

'It absorbs life force but not Mana? Interesting.'

After a bit of back-and-forth gauging of the system's mechanics, Altair asked, "How can I recharge your system?"

Sensing the stir in the flow of energy that was unlike anything he'd ever felt before, Altair lifted his head towards the ceiling to where an azure droplet emerged from various runic symbols. It fell, sinking into his forehead before he could perceive what happened.

Knowledge sunk into his Astral Sea, weaving itself within his mind until it took the form of a strange runic symbol that blazed a bright azure light within his mind.

As he came to feel an unending stream of numbers, letters, and formation filling his head, it took a while for the Prince to put them into words.

"Art? Are you alright?" Ren asked, a little shaken, feeling his aura becoming unstable. She dared not touch him, unsure what could happen.

Blood quickly began to pool form down his nose as he stringently nodded. "I'm good… Just a little out of it." He admitted, trying to assimilate all the knowledge held within the Palace of Stygian. He nearly puked. But held it back.

"Ava, teleport us to your core," Altair commanded, and before Ren could blink, she found herself in a dark abyss of nothingness, seemingly stretching on for miles.

'What the Hell?" She yelped, watching with utter fascination as Altair opened his palm. From nothingness, it appeared a small semi-translucent cube flickering with multicolored light, and within its center, Reina could barely make out the twirling mass of a Quasar.

Suddenly, from the darkness, endless lines of code, formations, runes, and symbols began to rain over their heads, passing through their bodies as though they didn't exist; they plunged into the darkness below.

Altair felt pleased standing within the core of the Palace. Opening the control panel to the terminal, he began inputting various commands, causing all light to fade. In but a single instance, everyone that was within the Palace had been forcefully teleported out, to their surprise.

But before anyone could speak, the towering monolithic building robotically began to fold, layering itself into a small cube that settled perfectly in Altair's palm.

"What just happened?" Nia asked, turning to her Master.

"A new beginning"

***

Overlooking the radiant seas of azure glistering beneath the sun's aimless rays, Altair peered out at the heavens and the earth with a bright grin. He nested the Core of Stygian down a few miles off where mountain and sea seemingly touched.

Suddenly, the cube let loose an intangible pulse, scanning the realm in a blink of an eye. Mana fluttered, and before their eyes, Altair and Ren watched as space began to be devoured. Oddly enough, space did not seem to distort, but rather, from the gaps that led to some unknown realm, it began to mend similar to the way one might sew a wound.

"What the?" Said Altair and Ren in fascination. They'd never seen something so magical and dangerous all at once.

"How… How long will it take to—" Before Ren could finish, the cube suddenly burrowed itself into the earth and vanished.

Lifting Reina into his arms, Altair flickered with the aid of Sovereign Gale, flashing as the entire region of the Serpents Outreach began to groan. He leaped out of the portal he'd created, closing it with a bright smile.

"We'll let it eat first." He said as they landed before Zagreus and Thanatos, staring oddly at them.

Thanatos, in particular, was smiling. "Did you gain something of worth?"

"Hell yeah. Mother unintentionally left me a castle." Said Altair, settling Ren down on her two feet. He beamed happily before shouting in a large booming voice, applying Mana to his vocals."MASTER!!!!!!!!!!"

Dust whirled about, startling everyone at the sudden outburst, but before they could say anything, she appeared in her pristine white mask like a ghost. Her blood-red eyes narrowed on the Prince, who bowed to welcome her.

"What is it?"

He grinned." You a wine conisosur, correct?"

"I prefer whisky, but yes." Said Iliana curiously.

"Well." With a devious grin, Altair said, "Within the Palace of Stygian, there is a cellar before the age of Adam and Eve. If you'd be so willing to trade me a body enhancement technique much like Reina's [Infernal Rage], I'd be more than—"

"Deal." Said Iliana shamelessly.

Iliana had originally wanted to test his blade in a clash between Master and disciple, but seeing him hunted like a dog. She thought otherwise.

"Ren, your infernal Rage is up to a multiplier of three, right?" Asked Iliiana, who nodded in turn.

"Yes, that's correct. But now that my Mana is so pure, I think I might finally be able to force it past a times three multiplier."

Iliana nodded, shifting her attention back to Altair. " Since there are hundreds of thousands of foes from Babels Tower here, hunting you. I'm sure you've faced a few that double or triple their stats.

"Indeed. But the issue is demons. They are learning how to do so as well. And things are getting dangerous." Altair began, clenching his fist. "If I can't adapt to them, then I don't see me making it to Visem."

"Remove your mask," Iliana commanded. Delve into more on m-vlem,pyr

Altair steeled his heart and took his mask off. He felt Iliana's slender finger tapped against the forehead and gasped as another influx of information suddenly began to rage through his Astral Sea.

[Heart of Darkness surges at the knowledge]

[Ding]

[Path of the Abyss is being tarnished]

[Path of the Abyss ? Desolate Abyss]

[Resonence found between Fallen Moon Imperfection and Desolate Abyss

Ding

Name: Desolate Abyss

Grade: ???

Description: Tarnishes your 'Source' into the Essence of the Vale to vastly improve comprehension, Physique, and Soul Force.

Staggering away from Iliana's touch, Altair fell to a knee, clutching his head, as blood dripped from his nose, black as tar. He bellowed a cry that came from his depts as the pain came like a flood clashing within his astral sea. Thick, elongated veins sprang around his face, writhing in an agonizing frenzy until he was howling.

"Odd…" Iliana was saying when Reina's blade whipped towards her head. She caught the blade, amused by the fury billowing in the ruby-eyed girl. "I didn't cause that," she said calmly, flicking her finger, and like a cannonball, Reina was ripped off her feet, barreling through buildings. She leaned her attention back to the boy, clutching his head as hoarse wails tore at his throat.

[Divine Sin, Archeon, is shaken by the power of the masked woman.]

[Divine Being, She Who Hunts, frowns at the entity known as Iliana.]

[Divine Being, Titan Falls, wonders who you are.]

[Divine Fallen, 'Quivering Night' senses the might of the Abyss on Iliana.]

[Divine Fallen, 'Currupt Prince' is alarmed]

"Pesky little gods," she said, waving off the comments of the Gods. She swatted down but quickly backed away as the Aura of the Vale began to leak.

An alarm filled her eyes as two Vale Stars began to crown the Prince's head, flashing back and forth. Black nodes began to rise off his body, pulling him into the air following the echo of a crow.

"CAW!!!!!! CORN! CORN!!!!!!"