Shadow of the Abyss

The tavern was dreadfully silent before, one by one, many people began fainting. They dropped like flies, foaming at the mouth as their airways began to close.

"milady!" shouted the Tavernkeep, on his knee coated in sweat. "Please have mercy! Give us mercy!"

Ula turned to the Tavernkeep and counted those who weren't affected. She raised her hand to them, signaling to her knights.

As the presence receded, the echoes of gasps resounded through the tavern.

"Do you understand now?" said Ula with a sullen air of superiority.

Neither Altair nor Reina had bothered to even glance at her as they clanked their glasses together, "To the Endless Night!" they said happily, downing their mimosas.

"Damn…, " said Altair, taken back. "That is good. Really good."

Ren was nodding, her almond-shaped eyes glittering. "another!"

"Bastards, " said Ula when her knight's sword weaved past her, blurring like a string of white light; it hissed towards the young prince.

A hexagonal domain sprang from out of the void, clashing with the blade.

The echo of the clash had been thunderous, deafening those below the third circle. Nevertheless, the barrier held, crackling with an endless sea of embers as Ula's knight sword began to grind against the barrier.

Altair's eyes turned to that of blood. A chill unlike anything Ula had ever faced came over her as she leaped away in a blur.

"Retreat!" she shouted, unable to shake the unease within her heart.

"my lady!" shouted Galvan, falling back to his lady's side with Norp. "What's wrong? I—" Exclusive content from m,v lem|p,yr

"That is no second Circle," said Ula darkly. "Who the hell are you?"

"Now you ask?" said Ren incredulously, turning to meet her prince's baleful eyes. "Are we going to kill them?"

Altair was thinking. He'd have half a mind to break her with [Schizophrenia] to make some part of her mind aware of her actions before having her live out her days as a whore. To have her betray each and every person she'd ever loved: Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, even her future children. It would be so easy. One little command and…

'but was there a need to go that far?' he wondered, finding the principle of the matter to be skewed.

He owed this woman nothing. She was just a weakling, a worm that had yet to learn how to bow.

'So why not break her? Why not show her my cruelty?' he told himself. 'No one could stop me. No one would know. Even if they did, why would it matter? I've killed people. I've tortured.

So what's the difference? Is one worse than the other? Does it even matter? I've already tasted betrayal… '

As Altair unraveled into a well of internal controversy, Reina stood to her feet and glanced at the one who ruined her breakfast, Galvan. The stare might have been no longer than half a beat, but Galvan felt the cold steel of a blade lunge through his heart before it was gone. Her valiant eyes were on her princes.

"Art?" whispered Ren, brushing her palm from his cold black hair down his cheeks. "Let's go… no need to let bloodshed ruin our day."

Thunder suddenly caught the nightly skies, and a light rain began to fall. It had been nearly two years since the sun seemingly died. Never To be seen since the day Aria Silvermane perished.

The clouds hid the moon and stars, bringing about a dismal night. Altair grinned at her touch, feeling his rage fall through his fingers like water.

"yes. Let us leave." He agreed pulled to his feet with her aid. He laughed, though his eyes carried no warmth when they met Galvan. Perhaps Ula might not have been guilty of any crimes, but Galvan had. And for that, Altair would never forgive.

He gave the night a crooked grin and left without another word.

Ula didn't say a word as they left, watching in awe at how the rain failed even to touch their bodies. She paled, realizing her mistake, but was far too ashamed to remain behind as people gawked at her.

She left, and the tavern was silent.

The ashen-eyed boy who'd look barely a man was frowning, tapping his callous fingers over the table. He'd been looking forward to finding an opportunity to appear, saving that masked maiden that bode such golden eyes they appeared as though they were stars.

"Draxian," he said to the older guard to his rear. "Track her and—"

"That would not be wise, young master, " Said Draxian, unbothered by the spiteful glare his Master held. "Those two wear the crest of the Old Gods of Noctem's Imperial House," he said, calm like still water. "Despite their low cultivation, they stood up against three mid-tier Fourth Circles. Without batting an eye, forcing them to retreat."

"They still ran," said the Ashen-eyed boy.

Draxian sighed. "Choosing to fight is not the same as running, much less retreating." he glanced toward his Young Master with nary a smile over his hardened extremities. "As the second Prince of Cinder, you ought to know this. "

Vynn smiled, "What I know, dog, is that a prince needs a queen so that she might reign by his side?"

***

In the darkness, they frolic, dancing to the tune of the pattering rain against the cobblestone. Laughing, ignoring the dower eyes of those hurrying for cover, they began touring Vesim in hopes of finding Zag or Thaan; even Iliana would have been a welcomed sight.

With two months left before the new year, Altair felt whatever he could learn would be paramount in what was to come upon the Festival of Chaos.

As the rain continued, the air grew chilly and, by the second day, harsh. The waters had turned to ice, and the streets wore coats of glass. By the third day, a frosted blanket of snow and ice folded around Vesim.

"it's getting cold," Altair was the first to say at the sight of his misty breath. And the goosebumps prickling his flesh.

Ren only seemed to smile, touching her belly full of warmth. "yes. I love it."

"the cold or my cu—"

Ren shot him a long stare that made Altair laugh so hard he nearly toppled to the ground. Eyes along the streets were pulled toward them. She snorted, though her smile never left her.

"jerk…"

Lately, Reina has found herself dreaming of the Serpents Outreach. Every day for an hour, Altair would revisit his kingdom, checking in with his people while making sure to grab new books from the library for her to read. The Palace of Stygians archives were as old and outdated as anything they'd ever seen.

The Ilvairens held no organized system of magic. At least none that Thanatos had told him about. Rather, they wielded magic or the True Source as an extension of their minds.

Something the duo found to be quite interesting, especially when it came to controlling the Essence of the Vale.

However, a question did emerge in recent days. "who created the System of Order for the various sorceries."

"Think we'll find them? Three days and still nothing, " Altair remarked, opening the door to a sorcery shop within Vesim. He'd been looking to create some runes to imbue on their clothing to keep them warm, but required a fire shard.

"Hopefully. I want to try assimilating that blood shard," said Ren.

"And I still got… " he stopped, scanning the room, his eyes focused on a figure in a familiar pristine white mask; she was tall, bearing a feminine physique despite it being hidden by a fur coat. The woman was holding a shard of amethyst lined with intricate runes. But as if sensing his stare, she turned.

"Syris…" Altair wanted to say but broke his stare the moment their eyes crossed. "I still got the Chaos Shard. " he seamlessly continued.

Ren seemed to notice a slight change but did not speak to it, though her eyes did cross the masked woman. She smiled and moved to her.

"Hello. My name is Reina," she said, offering her hand.

"Syris," said the masked woman loud enough for Altair to hear. She'd recognize his cold obsidian eyes the moment their eyes met. Nevertheless, she accepted her hand. Measuring the woman before her.

'... She knows. How?' Altair thought, pointing towards the fire shard he'd wanted to purchase. He stood there awkwardly as the two girls stared at him silently.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"I can explain. "

"Explain what? " said Reina and Syris.

"..."

'what indeed?' he thought. Altair coughed into his palm. "it's been a while. How've you been?"

Syris only stared at him, perking her lips up behind her mask playfully. "And who might you be stranger."

"... The guy who kicked her ass back on—"

"That was a tie, and you know it!" said Syris fiercely.

"no… no… I specifically remember you on the defensive."

"Almost five years, and I see you've learned how to be shameless, " said Altair, feigning shock.

Silvery eyes gleamed fire as her slender hands tightened into fists.