Shadow of the Abyss

Chapter 258: Athena III

"So here's my gift to you. With your permission, I would like to fuse Gaia into Earth."

"What does that mean?" said the prince, shaken by his prescient warning of some unnamed amalgamation within the maelstrom of his subconscious. And he thought, 'Was this a trap? A game to give myself over to her?'

"It's as it sounds. With my authority, I seek to fuse Themiscyra into your world, granting Earth a higher level of Mana, better fighters, higher fertility rates, knowledge, and more."

Her words appeared sincere, and perhaps they were. But was this the right move?

Athena seemed to sense the apprehension and said, "It would not just be Themiscyra. But many other realms across Gaia herself." —Altair's brow jumped, but he allowed her to continue without pause—" Dungeons as you know them to be are mere fragments of a single realm. Some are large; others are small. Some possess borders, others do not. It all depends on the God who crafted the trial."

"This hardly seems like a gift. Perhaps I get land, but you and your allies of all these particular lands will gain a shield." He said, almost managing a smile. It was an interesting scheme, one that truly worked in his favor. And yet, why did he feel hesitance towards it?

Athena had a shrewd smile, brushing her lips across the wine glass seductively. "A true king would never hesitate over such a matter. No one ever said gifts never came with attachments."

'Does she seek to attack my Pride?' he thought through expressionless eyes. And he chuckled and said, "Are these powers ready to bend a knee?"

"They are."

"What about the Gods?" He asked, marking the slightest twitching of her lips. It seemed nearly absent. "When one invites someone into their home, they invite not just their customs but their religions, their diseases, and their daggers. As a King, when I conquer people, I intend to strip them of their former identity.

I intend to bastardize what they once were so that the new generation will believe the only culture that is right is my own. That is what it means to conquer, Athena. Unless—-" He paused, giving out an olive branch.

"Unless," said Athena, feeling their position was being flipped around.

"Unless you join me and my court."

Athena's jaw dropped. "Eh?!"

Altair snickered. "Swear fealty to me while also attending my court in the Palace of Stygian, and I'll agree to your terms. You can have all the champions you want. They can even try to kill me. I don't care. So long as you swear fealty before Heaven and Earth."

"What good would that do? Allegiance can be broken?" Athena said, unable to comprehend why he'd suggest such a conundrum.

The Prince grinned. 'Because the moment you find out who I am. All that bravado you possess will vanish into acceptance.' he wanted to say, but instead said, "Because the moment you enter an alliance with me, you'll never be able to leave."

Athena sneered, "You're more arrogant than I thought."

"I king must have his pride," he answered, playing along with her scheme, recalling an axiom within his memories.

'The Pride of the King represents the state of your kingdom. Each time you lower your head, bend a knee, you degrade yourself before another,' said Tenebrae kindly.

Athena had expected pushback, but not like this. It made her very own prescient writhe with forewarning.

As the Goddess of Knowledge, the Gift of Prescience was one of many gifts Athena was born with that made her the God she is today. Ares might have been the God of War, but even he dared not face Athena in battle if he did not have to. Be it her strategic mind, political manipulation, or schemes, few possessed the skill to face her head-on.

Had Zeus, the Patriarch of the Gods, not forbidden conflict between Gods during the Forgotten Era of Stagnation, it was said whoever held Athena on their side was sure to be undefeated in all matters.

"You realize even with me. Even if I swear allegiance, the other gods won't."

"Athena,' said the Prince, amused. "I thought you were trying to persuade me. Is it not your intent to get me to side with you? And it's not like all Gods will be against their idea of making me their champion. Plus…" He leaned closer, narrowing his scarlet eyes. "I am not without allies.

There is Artemis and the Chthonic Gods. Thanatos and Zagrerous have already taken the vow. I'm sure you know Hades. Do you think he would send both his sons to me if he didn't see potential?"

***

Seething a tantalizing moan, shudders jittered across her bare skin as Syris bit her lips. Altair stood behind her, his fang pressed against her neck, drawing in sweet nectar with each pulse of her heartbeat.

Syris allowed it, quivering in delight at the euphoric sensation rattling across her flesh. When she had heard from Talia that Altair had returned, she had practically abandoned the mission at hand, hurrying back to the Palace of Stygian.

It had been nearly two weeks since she last saw him. She knew most of the blood packs she'd made for him would not last. Ever since he returned to the land of the living, his appetite had been predatory.

He'd already killed several young women by accident, forcing Aurora to implement a national order of some of the strongest men and women donating blood.

So it came as no shock to Syris that on the day Altair found her, he'd torn off all her clothing until she was bare, sinking his fangs in.

He wasn't gentle like he usually was, tearing through muscles like a wolf upon a rabbit. It wasn't until she was cold that Altair stopped, his glossy eyes coming into focus. He kissed her neck, then her cheek, and lastly, her lips as she weakly looked up at him.

"I'm glad you came. Already doing your wifely duties of feeding your husband."

Syris found the energy to smile as her natural regeneration began to produce more and more blood through her system, replenishing what was lost. By the following dawn, she would have returned to her peak.

"Your hunger is growing."

Three Vale Stars hummed across space, appearing like a ghostly crown upon Altair. "The more blood I consume. The more my stars grow. I don't really understand the mechanics. But aside from you and Reina's blood. No one else seems to be able to sustain me for more than a day.

Even the blood of people who are in higher Circles doesn't do much aside from raising my stats. I get hungry the following hour. I'm sorry if I hurt you. I—"

"Don't be. It's why I returned,' Syris said, flashing him a bright smile despite being overly pale. "We need to buy some blood pellets."

"Or perhaps we need to find a proper cow."

Syris peeped up at him. "A cow?"

"A sweet young thing, just like you, who I can bite every day."

And her cheeks began to flare with color. "Am I a Blood Cow then?"

Altair narrowed his eyes at her breast. "Those things are not big enough for—-"

Jetting her head up into his jaw, Altair cursed, nearly biting off his tongue.

"I'll have you know I'm a D Cup, you ass hole! You just got big ass hands, so they seem—"

"Milk-able?"

Syris blushed, covering her chest with her hands. She hurried off the bed into the bathroom to clothe herself. When she asked, "How'd it go with Athena?"

"Oh? It's a done deal. She made the oath of Fealty or at least some semblance of it." he answered, sprawled out over the bed, savoring the lingering nodes of Syris's blood.

"She didn't bend a knee? I told you she wouldn't." Syris echoed from the bathroom. "You owe me breakfast in bed. Fucking loser!"

Altair lifted his head, annoyed. "I really thought she might have. She's more pride than I realized. Thanatos and Zagreus did it."

"Beneath the order of their Father and Nyx. Well, at least you were able to predict that Athena would officially join our side. That should make dealing with Genesis a lot easier. Was Artemis there?"

"Sadly not. And Thanatos didn't return with me."

Emerging from the bathroom in a snow-white sleeping gown, Syris slithered back onto the bed, mounting her prince with practice precision. She grinned.

"Well?" she said expectantly.

Altair could only sigh, "While I would love to eat you up tonight. I might have gone a little overboard on your neck." he touched the taut wound on her neck, still tender to the touch. The wound, despite signs of healing, appeared as if a wolf had savaged her neck. It had already begun to heal, yet it unnerved him how easy it would have been to kill her by accident.

"You almost look guilty, " said Syris, brushing a few strands of hair from his face. "why is that?"

"Would you like to feel what I feel?" he asked her, expanding his domain. "it's… it's hard for me to express every last emotion in the moment.

It's extremely taxing managing the three or four on the surface. And there are hundreds." he reached a hand across her temple, extending his spirit inside of her to watch as a stream of tears racked by a profound sense of guilt and hate came crashing down in a flood of emotions.