Shadow of the Abyss

Chapter 256: Athena I

'Experience,' Altair thought, idly peering out at the carriage Silia had procured for his arrival. It was an odd thing. Despite it being his first time within Themyscira, Altair had found himself reminiscent. Familiar trees, landmarks, and faces swelled across his mind like a maelstrom of the senses.

He felt happy, taken back by the feeling of home. It made him realize how little he truly understood of his Pale Knights. These were not his feelings, his nostalgia; they belonged to Alyssa. The memories, the experiences, the pleasure, the sorrow he'd taken them all into him, claiming her reality through death.

Just then, a faint disturbance drew him away as Tasha guided his hand to her lap. He watched, neither speaking nor rejecting her touch.

"In Mythos, it's believed that one could read the fait of Gods and Mortals alike by reading the palm,' she said. "Would you like me to read yours?"

And the memory of little Aria Silvermane stirred his prescience, 'But a Great Prince is here!' she'd said, 'The Prince who shall burn the world and create it anew.'

"Did Grimory teach you that?" he asked.

Tasha nodded. "She did. Amidst my lessons, palm reading was instilled within us. We are not just playthings of the Fallen. We are guides."

Across from her, Silia's eyes brushed across the Lilims face.

"Guides? That's the first time I've heard of that."

"That's because it's not something housed within our blood. Father claimed it would give us too much power and that only a selected few whom the Fallens had chosen via their birthright should ever need to be trained in Guidance." Tasha looked up at him, smiled, shook her head, and focused on his palm once more. "You feel sorry for me."

"I don't like the idea of breeding someone for pleasure. It feels—-"

"Empowering.' Finished Tasha, once more lifting her eyes to him. "You've no idea the pleasure that comes in serving. I'm sure it equates to the sensation of ruling."

Thanatos nodded. "To that, I'd agree. Not everything sounds nice. In a sense, I am a slave to Primal Death. But there is honor in service, honor in carrying out my duty."

"But is it the same? She was born to be someone's plaything. You had a choice." Altair fired back, not understanding how he could make such an absurd comparison.

"Did I?" said Thaan, smiling. "Did you have a choice coming into this world?"

Altair frowned, shaking his head.

"Did you have a choice learning the Path of the King?"

Again, he shook his head.

"What about who or what your parents are?" Thaan drew in a breath. "Athena… is Family. My family. I don't like it, but it's true. I've never particularly liked her, but neither have I ever hated her. That there is a choice I made.

And a choice that was reciprocated. I was born the personification in my domain as Primal Death. I represented the end of all things. Meanwhile, my father, Hades, represented the Order of Death. These were not choices. Do you like spears? Your next journey awaits at M-V-L

"

"I don't dislike them."

"But you don't use a spear. Is that a choice, or is it inherent?"

For a while, Altair was silent, lulled into a state of awareness that made him ruefully smile. 'All men are not born equally,' he thought, closing his eyes. 'Only beneath the hands of Death are they equal.'

"Each of the Hells but the Eighth, Sylvorlum, possess Lilims to guide the various monarchs and lower Lords," Tasha began once more. "Allowing them to make informed decisions. In the Royal Palace, beneath Father, I was the best attending her on a daily basis before I was offered to Lord Asterorth."

Tasha smoothed out his palm, gently pressing down, following not the lines of his palm but the pattern of a rune Altair could not make out.

"It was a shame… I never got used by the Allfather of Time. He did not require me. But rather chose to allow me to guide the mortals across the Myriad in his domain."

"Couldn't he do it? Why you?"

"I was good, my Lord," said Tasha, her blood-red eyes burning with fire. "I planned the entire ordeal of Farwin: The strife, the betrayal, the lust, the demon assaults, and more. I created an entire culture based around fighting demons, even manipulating the Sisters of Serith into believing they were a force of good. I did so for millions of worlds.

Why else do you think a Devil with my level of cultivation would be able to call upon Lord Asteroth?"

'If what she says is true, then I am vastly underestimating her.' Altair thought. 'It would seem her talents don't necessarily lie in spreading her legs.'

And he said," Is this your way of asking me to give you a place of power?"

She looked at him strangely. "Oh my Lord, I already have your ear. Aside from your bed, what better place is there?"

Altair did not respond, turning to peer out at the ice-cap mountains alongside the silvery blanket of snow covering the Heavens. He sighed. It was a stunning sight, yet they were burdened by the memories of a pilgrimage that left many dead.

On the fifth name day of every Amazonian child, a pilgrimage would be taken to sharpen their will and bodies. The pilgrimage took nearly two weeks to complete, forcing the children to either work as a team or kill each other in the hopes of stealing body heat. It was a harsh trial with a fourth percent mortality rate, usually, with most perishing trying to cross the frozen Lake of Deos.

But the memory of it all was both a tragedy and a treasure marking the day the children became women.

For nearly an hour, they trekked forward, pushing the horses until their lungs burned and their eyes froze.

"My Lord, do you want me to tell you your future?" Tasha mused, sliding an eye towards him.

"Is it along the lines of I shall burn worlds and create it anew?"

Tasha looked startled for a while before Altair broke the silence. "Aria told me the day we met. I assume that's the reason Asteroth wanted her so badly. Those eyes of hers are very much special. I wonder how she's doing."

"Hmmm!" flaring her cheeks, Tasha snorted, "Cheater!"

"Excuse me?!"

"You heard me! Cheater!"

Altair chuckled. "How about I give you another chance?"

Tasha peeked up at him, her lips curling up from her earlier pout. "Really?"

"Of course I—"

"It'll have to wait," said Silia. "We have arrived at the Lake of Deos." she pointed towards the faded island in the distance shrouded by an icy fog. "There lies the Isle of Judgement."

Releasing Alyssa from out of his Shadow, his knight lept out of the carriage, frolicking through snow, beaming like a child who'd never seen snow before. She stopped at the edge of the shores, looking out at the thin layer of ice at the top of the Lake of Deos.

"Are we swimming across again?" she asked, glancing back at Altair and Silia walking off the carriage.

"You can if you want… I'll just walk on top of the water." Said the Prince, though he was mildly interested in experiencing the cold waters of Deos once more. The cold was always something he strived to experience.

Alyssa nodded before leaping in without the slightest bit of hesitation. Piercing through the top layer of ice, she plunged into the water's depths like a fish in water.

Meanwhile, Altair, Tasha, Thaan, and Silia began stepping over the water's surface using their Mana to match the frequency of the water, allowing them to stand on the water even if the ice cracked.

They spent about three hours crossing the lake, taking in the sight before they arrived on the other side of the lake to be greeted by Alyssa alongside half a dozen Amazonians, clad in their traditional garms. All of them were in the Ninth Circle.

"Sisters,' said Silia calmly. "This is Altair Blackwood, the new King of Earth."

The Nine Amazonian Sisters turned a measuring eye towards the Prince. And their gaze turned to disbelief.

"But he's a Third Circle," One of them exclaimed. "How's that possible?"

Thaan ignored the Nine Sisters, looking up towards the Twelve Pillars in the distance obscured by a fog. He couldn't make it out before, but he could now.

"I'm going to pay respects to my Father; it shouldn't take more than a few minutes."

"Tell Hades I said hi."

Thaan nodded, vanishing in a wisp of Mana that made Altair somewhat jealous. He wondered when he'd be able to teleport like that.

"Hey you!" said Tina, one of the Nine. "Are you really the King of Earth?"

Altair did not respond to her. It was to beneath him. "Silia, why don't I go ahead? You can deal with… this." He said, moving forward beneath the incredulous eyes of the Nine Sisters.

Silia nodded. "As you say. The Queen should already be there. Awaiting your arrival, Lord Blackwood."