Shadow of the Abyss

Chapter 207: The Rotten Vale III

As the throne room began to clear to the last man, Altair leaned his head back with a smile, meeting Reina's golden rose eyes. A childlike beam shone from his face as he looked at her.

"Did I do good?"

She giggled. "When did my Art start needing my validation?"

"I don't. But It can't hurt to have it."

Ren hummed a cry of victory, stealing a kiss. "Yes. You did you good. Good boy."

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"You two are weird." Syris mused, a little annoyed by such a public display of affection. She glanced at Thanatos, not paying attention, and nudged his arm with her elbow. "You're fine with this?"

Thanatos returned to himself with a sudden jolt and shrugged. "I could care less. If I get uncomfortable, I'll just leave. Simple as that." he glanced down at Altair, beaming like a little boy. "But I suggest we leave. None of you are ready to face these monsters."

"No, " Altair declared. "This was exactly the challenge I was looking for. Every clash I had felt as if death had me. You can't expect me to give that up."

"I expect you to keep on living. And right now, you are in a position where neither Zag nor I can guarantee your life."

"Thanatos, " said the Prince coldly. "I don't need a guardian. Do you think I don't know how much you two have held back?"

"Which is why I'm telling you now. If you stay, death will—"

"The hands of death will not claim me." Altair declared. He stood up and drew in on Thanatos, peering so deep into the eyes that the Former God of Death sensed a fathomless abyss hidden beneath this boy's shadow.

With an arm on his shoulder, Altair said: "If you are my bannerman, then stop holding back.

"like Father like son. " Thanatos closed his eyes, sighed, and said: "If that is your decision, will not speak of it. What will you have of me?"

"Help me create my domain. Help Reina and Syris form theirs even if our domain is outclassed. Those Soul Kings can't bring out all their skills with their current souls or physiques. Am I correct? Their prowess is surely cut by eighty percent, right?"

"I cannot use ninety-nine percent of my battle prowess as it stands right now. And it's the same for those Soul Kings," said Thanatos, startling the boy. "You've no idea the power of the Chaos Lords, do you? There is no clashing of the sword, no parry or flashy battle: You either die trying to fight and defend, or you flee from death."

He closed his eyes, amused by a faint memory he'd had with Godric, a brother, friend, and rival within his Father's court. So swiftly as the memory came, it faded just the same.

"The comprehension of a Spirit Domain was a feat even a child can do. Boys and girls barely eight and nine can do it. Learning it is quite simple, but that simplicity quickly dissolves into an ability meant to bend reality."

"Like changing the position of gravity?"

"Was it gravity that changed or space?" Thanatos asked the boy, startling him as the answer did not come as easily as he thought. "The perception of spatial laws gets quite difficult to understand. It's the same for gravity. But I'm getting off track. Let me explain to you the first level of a Spirit Domain."

Altair, Ren, and Syris waited with open hearts and minds. "To put it simply, it's a Divine Sense. A soul-like ability that allows you to see with the soul rather than the eyes. To soul users and Astral Users, the body is more like a cage. Blocking our senses. By pushing past our mortal cages, we expand our minds to the world around us."

"A divine sense,' Syris said. "I heard that one needs to be at least a god or—"

"One needs only be a mortal." he tensed, and the three felt a hint of 'presence' upon them, a weighted power pressuring their bones. "When you exert your presence upon another. Is that not the manipulation of the soul? Yes. One merely needs practice to explore rather than dominate."

Altair fell into deep thought while still allowing himself to listen to Thanatos's lecture. And for some reason, he felt what he said was both right and wrong.

'How does one explore without the need to dominate?' he wondered. Be it man or woman, is the urge to dominate not innate? 'To lay claim to all that around me? Am I not a King.'

Warning caught hold of Thanatos in a sensation of danger, a pulse of forwarning that urged against any sudden movements. He smiled said," Of course, that is only the most basic way to acquire one Spirit Domain. But truly, it comes down to one's innermost desire. Will forth your Spirit, and it shall appear. The power was already at your fingertips. All you needed to do was weave it into being."

As he said that, a domineering force surged from out of Altair, pressuring the air like a great mountain. So dominating the intent, the palace walls groaned beneath its might, cracking and bending.

"Dominate not the physical world but the spiritual," Thanatos informed in a lecturing tone.

And as if a switch had flipped, the horrifying pressure vanished, leaving a sort of heavier air.

Syris had been unsure why, but the urge to kneel tugged at her mind, gnawing away at her Spirit as it began to dominate her mind. Her cheeks grew hot, and from between her legs, her loins began to quiver. It began to writhe against her undergarments.

She covered her mouth, staring at the Prince dominating the air with his Spirit. It was faint, but she could see a rune, a brand upon between his brow: The Brand of the Incubus.

"It was so simple?" Altair laughed. "Was I overthinking it?"

"This is but the first level. Give it time for the System to register it, but yes. How fitting you chose the path of a conqueror."

"What path did Father choose?"

"Him? He didn't really have a Spirit Domain, per se. At least not in the traditional sense. He kind of skipped several phases, gaining a technique that worked much like a spirit domain, allowing instantaneous movements and attacks."

"And my Uncle?" Altair questioned, recalling Zariel's name being tossed around more and more.

"His own was hard to explain; his Astral Domain was—"

"Astral Domain?"

"Oh…" realizing his mistake, Thanatos said," It's an upgraded version of Sprit Domain that requires Astral Qi. Does the same thing but a thousand times better."

[Divine Being, She Who Hunts demands you say who this uncle is!]

Thanatos gave her the finger.

[Divine Being, She Who Hunts, puffs her cheeks incredulously.]

"Let's just say his own dealt with reality-warping feats. Anymore, and these gods might learn his name."

"How does one add abilities to this Spirit Domain then?" Reina asked, getting a sense of her own. It was a little easy, but for some reason, it frightened her the more she realized how much more proficient her enemies were than her.

"They'll need an Aspect or something that synergizes with it. Elements do well with this. But for now, practice the basics. I'll explain the rest the more proficient you are."

"Great… then Altair, can you shut down your spirit domain?" Syris tearfully asked, so red her chest was hammering so loud she feared others could hear it.

Altair tilted his head when his sense of knowing whispered truth into his mind. Almost immediately, he dismissed his domain, overwhelmed by two things: The Brand of the Incubus and the Realm of Spirits.

'Does my domain grant me knowledge?' He wondered, recalling the matter a few hours ago when he first awoke. A little tempted to unveil his Spirit Domain again, Altair halted the idea on account of Syris.

"Better?" He asked, not daring to bring up the fact he was aware of all that occurred. He was sort of apologetic. He wasn't aware of how the Brand worked, but it had seemed to find a particular interest in Syris. 'Or perhaps it's following some feral desire of mine.'

"Y-Y-Yes."

"You're so red," Reina said, her golden eyes filled with a pool of warmth. "You ok?"

"Yes," Syris mewled softly, so ashamed she couldn't even meet Reina's eyes.

'What's wrong with me?' she thought, chewing her lip when her gaze snapped to Altair, filled with blame.

Altair wisely chose to ignore the stare. "Do you have anything to do today?" he asked Thaan.

"I do. Keres and I have much to discuss."

"Excuse me?" Altair muttered.

Thanatos nodded. "Yes. Keres is my protector from the old days. Molded by the hands of Nyx herself, he was forged into being to be my shadow. Although that was a long, long time ago. I'd invite you, but—"

"No. I get it." Altair remarked. "But I must know, is he an enemy?"

"Keres isn't an enemy, but I can't say the same for Davos. Watch out for that one. I've heard only rumors of his existence."

"What type of rumors?" Said Ren.

"That he was the first to create the concept of Spirit Domains… and that he was the teacher of Former Lord of the Prime Chaos, Aldrich."