Shadow of the Abyss

Whatever manner of excitement Vaiga or Hilda shared towards their home world had all but curled beneath his iron command. They thought it stupid, foolhardy even, yet as they appeared off the coast of Mount Fuji, each of them was overcome by a strange sensation coiling around the nape of their neck as some intangible countdown began to run.

Hilda was furious beyond words, raising her palm high at the sight of the military arm gunman outside the rift. Several Drones poised for action pointed their Railguns toward the duo, measuring the microexpressions.

One wrong move, and they would fire without regard for intention.

It had taken over an hour for their identities to be confirmed before being shipped off in a star cruiser to the nearest military base to be debriefed. The same could not have been said for Cedric, who'd whisked through the army before they had proper time to call in reinforcements.

From King to Queen, stretching all the way into Genesis, many joined the live debriefing of all that occurred in Yarwin. Neither Vaiga nor Hilda saw the need to mask the events involving Altair.

If the Gods knew, why not their acolytes and allies?

For nearly seven hours, they carried on addressing the festival before the question was asked.

"And what skill, mind you, did Altair Blackwood obtain from the Festival of Chaos?"

***

"According to Ava, the Eternal Garden are both operating at thirty-five percent efficiency," Aurora remarked. "As reported five years ago. 98% of all agriculture has perished. But we've managed to store all their seeds. I've selected a few possible seeds and their effects once they blossomed. But I thought that perhaps you might have a particular interest in one or two I've not listed."

Altair stared at the data pad Aurora offered to him, raising a brow toward the plants that had already been planted: "The Tree of Rebirth, the Pale Tree, and Soul Blossom.'

Name: Soul Blossom

Status: Ready For Harvesting

Effect: Creates a protective membrane around the Soul Flame, with the added benefit of strengthening and refining the souls of Infringement Gods.

Note: Highly Recommended For Mortal Consumption.

"Infringement Gods? Is that perhaps one of the rankings of the Gods of an old Era? How curious.' The Prince wondered, narrowing his eyes. And he said, "It says we can harvest six pedals. I see. Pocket five, and sell one on the System Store.

Have the system store analyze it and sell it at five times its worth… no, Make it ten times."

Aurora seemed taken aback. "Ten times? That's quite a markup."

"It's business. We diluted a single drop of the Caelum Spring a billion times merely to use it to water our plants. Our Springs were made from the wings of an Angel. Whatever the price is… it seems fair."

"As you command."

"As for the rest… what you have written is fine for now. Also, find a person with a high level of skill when it comes to alchemy. We lost our best alchemist. We should find a stand-in until she returns."

Aurora did not disagree. She smiled, running a few more talking points before she was off.

Altair sighed, yawning upon his bed, as Talia ran her fingers over his muscles around the spine. He glanced back at her, sinking further into his pillow. "You got me drooling. You're kind of good at this."

"Oh?" Talia giggled and smacked his ass. "Of course! I'm Master's slave! Hehe, Masters got all the cake."

"... Knight. Not slave."

"Nope. Talia's Master's Slave," Talia said seriously.

'Crazy bitch,' he thought and chuckled. But spoke no more of it. It wasn't his place to correct the mental space of his shadows. So long as they performed to his liking, they were free to feel how they wanted.

Altair yawned, enjoying the way Talia's fingers lightly hummed with the arc of Infernal Lightning, soothing his muscles to no end. As the first user of the lightning, Talia simply loved finding small uses for it, especially when she mixed it with the Hands of the Incubus, which had evolved from the Hands of Nivana.

The skill was downright evil, seeking to enslave those of any power beneath their thrall. It was a skill that forced one to experience the ravages of lust to such a degree they'd lose their sense of self. Although it had healing benefits by manipulating various hormones, ensuring any wound created could be recovered from, much like the Hands of Nirvana.

For nearly ten hours, Altair laid still, allowing Talia to do as she wanted with his weary body, while he sat upon the Black Lake of his Soul, facing Raven, who wore a brooding expression.

"I finally escaped, and you are still chilling in here?" he grinned, wanting to give the little girl a poke on the cheek. He felt slightly bad for her, unlike his other shadows, who had been unaware of the time lost. Raven had been fully aware but hadn't been able to leave his soul space due to the lack of Mana.

"They branded you…" She mournfully mewled, biting her lips.

He touched his right shoulder. "Yeah…" And that smile of his turned dark. "But it's fine. I've planned for them, But enough about such a nasty topic. I will actively need your assistance as my guardian. I need you outside.

And learning about how to use various technology, spells, formations, and more."

".... Sounds annoying."

"True. But I'm sure you'll be more than capable of handling it. Although you'll need to put on some damn clothes.'"

Raven hoisted her naked chest up, cupping a breast, "I will not be caged! Free the nipple!"

"..."

'I swear no one is normal anymore!' Altair muttered painfully. "Look here, you will put on some damn clothes. But you can be as naked as you want in the privacy of your room."

Raven looked as if she were about to cry. "Do I have to wear those accursed foot prisons?"

"... Yes."

"This is animal abuse of the highest order! Bad Master! Bad! Raven shall not be abused in such a manner! I demand a rebellion!"

"Rav—-

"REBELLION!!!!!"

***

It was a little past midnight before Altair awoke to the sight of Talia resting beside him, covered in a layer of sweat from over-exertion. She was snoring, sprawled out over his bed.

He paid her no mind, connecting his Nureolink to his System Store for the first time in a long time. He could still remember the first time he opened the System Store for the first time. He nearly threw a fit at the outrageous prices of most of the items.

The system store had been a universal store that connected everyone within the Myriad Heaven. Whether they existed in a higher dimension or a lower one, all items were connected in some intricate way. Allowing the user to purchase just about anything should they have enough Sols. Explore more stories with мѵʟ

Prices were abhorrent, with a simple Iron Maiden that went for 5 Sols to be 10 or 15. However, due to the convenience of receiving a product instantly, many ignored the outrageous prices, broker fees, and high taxes. Finding that despite the cost, in a matter of life and death, many wouldn't mind losing their life savings.

However, that was not to say there weren't any illegal substances all around the System Store that any of the Prime Worlds struggled to regulate.

[DING]

[Welcome to the System Interstellar Store]

[Current Balance: 1,303,122 Sols]

Authority: Level Two

Quickly sending a message to Aurura to inquire if his current balance was his spending money or funds to be invested, Altair was all smiles, feeling a great sense of accomplishment. When he learned this had been the money, Aurora had invested before the events of Yarwin. He beamed, nearly jumping for joy before he remembered this was barely enough to stay within Genesis for about a Month.

"I'm both poor and rich… Screw this standard of living." He lulled out, falling onto the bed beside Talia.

The little shadow smacked her lips, mumbling, "Noo~ Master… Talia can't eat anymore! Desert!"

"What are you dreaming about?" He asked, booping her on the nose. He chuckled, returning to the system store. He grinned, "Now let's see…"

[Category: Sorceries]

[Sub Category: Darkness]

[Teir 1]

[Shadowscape -1500 Sols ]

[Shadow Prison - 1500 Sols]

[Negative Field - 10,500 Sols]

[Black Fire - 9500 Sols]

[Dark Light - 4500 Sols]

[Shadow of Hecatoncheires - 40,000 Sols]

…

Browsing through the hundreds of dark spells, Altair was blown away by the various innovations that darkness could hold. Especially finding Negative Field spell that inverted space, making up down, and left-right, to the user's sense of direction.

"Fascinating!" he raved. Reviewing more and more spells, Altair had found he could even purchase cultivation if he so pleased. However, the price was heavily absurd.

"So Tier One sorceries include all spells in the mortal realm. Then Tier Two would be the realm after that. Transcendent. And I possess… enough authority to purchase such spells. Oh, I'm going to abuse the shit out of this. I wonder if I can purchase a pimpmobile?

How would that even look? I feel silly even asking that." he snickered to himself, continuing on through the endless list of spells, weapons, armor, martial Arts, and more.

Altair didn't even notice that the sun had risen, approaching the time limit of twenty-four hours he'd given Vaiga and Hilda, until Talia awoke to remind him.

He hopped up with a bloodthirsty smile. "Shall we see if I'll have to burn Japan to the ground? I already slightly destroyed Mount Fuji."