Shadow of the Abyss

"So things have gotten that complicated," said the Reverend Mother.

Syris nodded, gripping a Holocube in her hand. The virtual image of the Reverend Mother was visible, her arms poised behind her back. "What do you think is our survival rate? You are past the realm of Transcended, after all. I suppose you would have a better understanding of my situation than most."

The Reverend Mother cracked an old, aged smile beneath the porcelain mask. She'd half a mind to tell Syris to abandon the festival. But she knew the girl well. Knew her stubbornness like the back of her hand.

"By yourself, you've no hope of survival. Your best bet is to use the Ninth Circles as shields."

Syris lifted a brow. "How?"

"Force a battle. Send word to various locations."

"Betrayal?"

"Survival," said the Reverend Mother darkly. "Lasting Six Months isn't very likely, even with the Watchers guarding you. Remember, the more ruin befalls Vesim, the fewer places there are to hide. Most of these Soul Kings are sure to have one-hit kills beneath their belts. That's how they fight. A drawn-out battle will do the Soul Kings no justice. They'll go all out on their first attack."

Syris couldn't deny it, recalling a week ago how a few hundred Soul Kings managed to down a Ninth Circle within a spacial isolation barrier. By themselves, they stood no chance, but in packs… The thought made her shudder.

"I've already contacted Lyain. She's been instructed on her mission. You, however, are to be careful. But I will say you should not get your hopes high, m'lady. Remember, those of the Hells never truly deliver on what they promise. A S-Grade Skill might just waste your time."

"Altair said the same thing," said Syris softly. And a part of her refused to believe it. What was an S-Rank skill, if not the skill of peak gods? Even if the skill was useless to most. Could she not synthesize it with another skill?

"The boy is smart," said the Reverend Mother. She glanced to her left, then signaled to an aid off-screen and said," Inform the council of the madness in Baefor. Have them look into Soul Kings. I'm sure they'll be interested in some of these old faces."

Syris carried on then, seeking some wisdom from the Reverend Mother before she placed the holocube into her Drupnir Ring. She sighed, looking up towards the southern castle. Even from where she stood, the tremors of Altair's wild thrust shook the ground.

She felt a heated flush rise to her face, "Sex Fiend," She bemoaned, puffing her cheeks. Ridding herself of the peculiar sensation crawling up her skin, she left to prepare herself for war.

***

In the bed plundering Reina's depths of her bottomless worth, Altair found something quite interesting besides her cunt, fueling his insatiable desire. The blood that flowed down through his veins was writhing, warming his body until this cold, desolate night seemed warm. Vapor steamed from his pores as his blood began to consume his mana.

The weariness of his soul state began to clear, allowing the mind to enter a state of extreme awareness, unlike anything he'd ever known.

[Ashen Blood has removed all Negative Ailments]

[Ashen Blood has Removed Mental Exhaustion]

[Ashen Blood has Tempered the Soul]

[Ashen Blood has made Soul more resilient]

Sinking his fangs into her neck, drawing on all of her lifeblood, sweet geysers of nectar exploded through the back of his throat as Altair couldn't stop himself from savoring every last drop of blood.

"Art…" Ren weakly muttered, fainting on the spot, awakening a few seconds later in a simulative explosion of the senses. She moaned, having never felt so dominated in all her life. He was swallowing her both mentally and physically. Congnitive words failed her, leaving animalistic howls to echo.

Through blurry eyes, she threaded fingers through his hair, unsure what had gotten into her prince. When she pulled him from her neck to gaze into his godless eyes, she grinned a smile, one of the proudest smiles that knocked Altair from out of his lust-filled state into reality. Ren keened over onto the bed, spasming every few seconds, faint.

Altair shook, suddenly awakened to the many bite marks he'd left over her breast, shoulders, and thighs. He paled at the sight of her shallow breaths, unable to understand how she could still smile.

The shame that shook him had been so terrible his vision grew cloudy. "What have I…What have I done?"

In a hurry, he slit his wrist, placing it into her mouth, waiting with bated breath for the color to return to her ashen complexion. The color never returned, but Reina did manage to reopen her eyes.

"You're still hard," she teased, still feeling her inside writhing against his manhood.

"... I almost killed you."

Reina snickered. "I'd have lived. It's just blood. My heart would create more. If I lose too much blood, the worst that'll happen is me fainting for some time. I'm not human.

It's fine if you suck me dry. "

Even as she said that Altair did not care, looking down at her ravaged body, he felt all the more confused, somehow aggrieved with himself, that he felt guilty but excited all the same.

'Is this the new me?' he wondered, pulling out of her, fighting the urges to keep on going.

Name: Altair Blackwood

Strength: 603 → 605

Dexterity: 611 → 613

Constitution: 632 → 632

Wisdom: 648 → 649

Charisma: 600 → 601

Mana: 250 → 251

"Are you alright?" He kindly asked, allowing her to feed upon his blood. He watched her lovable head bounce in agreement.

"That's good…" He muttered, glancing down at her dripping… he closed his eyes, his breathing growing erratic and sharp.

[Soul of the Indomitable Proficiency has increased by 2%]

[Soul of the Indomitable Proficiency has increased by 1%]

[Soul of the Indomitable Proficiency has increased by 3%]

[Multiplier 2x]

[Proficiency: 14% → 26%]

Feeling the soul of the Indomitable, allowing him to clear his mind to pierce through the fog of despite, Altair winced, feeling he could think clearly again; the sensation plaguing him had not decreased.

He still felt burdened by guilt, lust, and excitement. Even the anger he felt for his master seemed drowned away by these three emotions. He sighed stringently. "This is going to—"

Clutching his Warhammer, Ren grinned mischievously. "Ready for round two?"

Altair forced a smile. "Why don't you recover first."

"But it's so hard. Why?

"Ashen Blood," He answered, brushing her naughty hand away.

[Ashen Blood]

Passive: Tethers the Body to the Ancestors of Old, granting Inherent Memories and lived experiences to the user.

Active: Through the Will of the Abyss, the user's blood shall mend the rift between Eternal Damnation and Eternal Life.

"It seems I can't get fatigued so long as I have mana. I think it'll heal all injuries and more, too. Its description is pretty vague." Altair said mildly. When Reina licked her lips of his blood, the color slightly returned to her ligaments and face. She pushed him back onto his back, mounting him in a hurry.

Altair expression turned to pleasure in but a moment, groaning at the stimulative sensation of her insides. She was even sweeter than before.

"I like that you are no longer gentle with me," she said, pulling a leash form out of Drupnir and clipping it onto her collar before pulling out a strange liquid. "Remember the birthday gift I promised you. Do you know what this is?"

"Ren, I don't think this is a good idea… I might…"

"It's lube."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"I love that silence," she said, falling into the sweet embrace of her devil.

***

Barreling from out of subspace into the far reaches of space within the sector of Baefor, a large star cruiser warped just outside the atmosphere of Yarwin, carrying the emblem of Astral Prism of Asteria. There, they saw dozens of Transcendents and various deities hovering over the planet's gravitational field.

Jin tilted his head, noticing a familiar banner that hung in the far distance on another battleship.

'The Norse Gods… is Freya here?' he wondered, shifting his attention down towards the burning planet.

Even from high in space, he could see the flames of war down below, to the world being savaged by demons.

"What in the world happened here?" Said Sabine, commanding the captain to run a few scans of the planet.

"Category 12 Demons are running amok. Nothing to worry about," Roxian remarked, giving the panel on his chair a few taps. He frowned, looking back up, hesitated to say, and said, "We have also picked up on Two Nephilims. Origin Unknown."

Jin felt a little excited. "Two? Now, that is a catch. What gender."

"Male and Female."

The Prince of Asteria snickered, opening his palm, conjuring an intangible domain that spanned the entire realm below. He frowned then and, before anyone could stop him, teleported in an iridescent glimmer before the Fallen upon his throne, attended by the First Man and Archangel.

"Uncle Gabriel, Uncle Beelzebub, and… I'm not sure who you are." he cupped his hands, greeting them all the same. "How are you?"

"Jin?" Said Gabriel happily. "Father in Heaven! You got tall!"

"This is Zariel's son?" said Adam, measuring the young man.

And he thought, 'He kind of looks like Altair.'

"If it isn't the little troublemaker." Beelzebub grinned a frightening smile. "How are you, boy? How's your mother?"

"Like you don't know she's sealed with Father," Jin mouthed off, folding his arms. "Why are you here, uncle? You're not a—"

Cut short, a pyre of flames erupted into a burning glory in the distance, swallowing the horizon in red. Jin whirled to the battle below when he froze at the sight of the few hundred Soul Kings rising into the skies.

"What… what in the world is this?!"