Shadow of the Abyss

Altair had not spoken since he began weaving brush against canvas that spoke of the intricate madness of his psyche. Each kill he marked with his brush ebbing the pulse of lifeblood from those slain, encompassing shrill cries or torment, rippling the pooling blood of the soaked sand.

They were being cut down like weeds, butched like slabs of meat. The series of actions in which Alyssa killed seemed entirely predatory. She was the Alpha, and her sisters, the beta, ripe for the picking. Guided by the prescience of Foresight and Instinct that seemed to transcend mortal understanding. she blurred, weaving through bodies like a ribbon of death.

Silia had been made to watch. It was like a cool bath exposing the sadistic tendency of the woman behind her and the young man who allowed it.

When it was done, leaving only silence, Alyssa knelt in the blood of her sisters, tingling with a vibrancy that had taken her by surprise. She hadn't been the strongest of her generation amongst the Amazonian women, but rather a talent that couldn't be wasted. But neither did it need to be fully cultivated.

She had seen the zenith of her ability the day she died and the subsequent revival in her Master's image. It was like a battering ram to her mind, awakening an awareness of her current state.

'I am no longer an Amazon.' she thought, "I am a Shadow, a Knight of my Masters Court.'

Altair lowered the brush, marking how she panted, how she grinned, and said, "How did it feel to dominate? To slay what might have been your future?"

"Empowering," she said in a kowtow. "I thank you, Master! I thank you for this power."

The admission of thankfulness had been something Altair had never heard from his shadows. It made him realize how much they'd actually gained from him. They were stronger, faster, smarter, wielding skills that blurred the lines of mortal or perhaps transcendent understanding. The only limitation being his understanding of the Sword. And yet premonition warned of potential danger.

'If you could kill one, you could kill all,' he thought, perceiving no distinction between his Shadows and himself.

"Lift your head. Good. Do you wish for more power, Alyssa? You fought against Nia before, have you not? Lost to her quite miserably if I remember."

Alyssa felt the sensation of her victory run cold. She nodded.

"Then forsake my style to find your own. Nia possesses a level of prescience that rivals Aurora. Those eyes she possesses are Godly. Foresight, advanced levels of cognizance, and spatial and time manipulation all echo from her eyes. You will not defeat her using the skills I create. She knows my repertoire.

To beat her and those beyond her, you need to call upon your roots. What is your specialty? What is your unique skill?"

At the sudden epiphany jolting through her mind, Alyssa beamed, nearly forgetting herself. "Will do, Master! Using your knowledge, I will fuse the Teaching of my Past into something new… something made only for me."

Altair grinned, shifted his attention to Silia, and said, "Why do you suppose your Queen allowed this?"

"She did not,' said Silia, careful in how she spoke lest she be killed by the Devil holding her hostage. She couldn't take the chance to escape yet. Not when she was so close, her palm pressing against her spine. "Ares, The God of War, seeks to defy the will of Athena. The woman who attacked you is beneath his banner."

"Ares…" Another of Twelve Olympians. "I see. And Ares wishes me dead?"

"That… That I do not know,' said Silia hesitantly. "The two have been at odds since the dawn of their conception."

As the winds fingered the Prince's robes, rustling across his ashen hair, the scarlet tinge across his eyes faded to a charcoal black. He smiled, shifting his attention to Tasha. "You may release her."

Silia tried to contain her relief, feeling Tasha remove her palm from her back. She sighed, offering a bow. "I thank you for sparing my life, Lord Blackwood."

"I'm not a fan of abusing Tasha's strength. Especially since it comes with a price." He glanced at the smiling devil, ignoring her lewd smile. There were still many things he did not know about Tasha that made him apprehensive, and yet…

An axiom of his mother's words came to his mind, 'No Lord shall ever be fully comfortable within his court, said Tenebrae, brushing his hair. "A court is just another battlefield. One fought with words and ideals rather than sword and shield."

'She's too powerful not to use,' he told himself with a snort. 'What matters is giving her enough without giving her what she actually needs.'

"It will seem we got off on the wrong foot, Lady Silia. But Introductions are in order. My name is Altair Blackwood, Ruler of Earth. This here is my Pale Knight, Alyssa, and that lovely lady there is Tasha."

Just then, Tasha rounded to his elbow. She was grinning, teasing the air with her breath. "I could have introduced myself," she said, "I am, after all, a Royal as well."

"I will remember that for the future,' he replied, suddenly aware that she too was a Royal Devil, a creature recognized by the Hells as a higher life form. Fundamentally different from the average demon or devil. Royals typically possessed either the bloodlines from a King or the Authority of one, but never both.

He wondered which Tasha was.

"Then allow me to introduce myself. My name is Silia, Lady of the Celestial Keep. Seventh Guardian to Her Majesty the Queen."

If her guardian is a Half Transcendent, then the Queen is sure to have the Realm of Transcendent, he determined, offering a palm to gesture peace between the two.

Silia felt he had just slapped her with such a gesture. Not only had he indiscriminately slaughtered her Sisters, but he also took her captive. Still, she ate her pride, accepting his hand.

"I've come to guide you to the Temple of Athena, along the Isle of Judgement."

Altair knew the place well. It was a small island towards the east. Every Amazon had to make a pilgrimage on their fifth named day. It was a memory that had been embedded into the bodies of every Amazonian.

"That's a week's travel," said Alyssa calmly.

"A week,' he repeated softly, shaking his head. "We'll travel via the skies. I can't waste a week. It'll take me less than a second if we travel at light speed."

"You… You can travel at light speed?" The mere words seemed almost foreign to her ear, yet as Silia heard herself speak, it felt all the more peculiar.

"Might I make a suggestion?" Thanatos remarked. "I think you should travel by foot or carriage and take in the process. The will of each world is different. Experiencing it allows one to attune themselves to a greater whole.

'He's right,' said Tasha suddenly. "If one wishes to attune themselves to the Hells, they must walk the Nine Hells and feel each of their Nine Flames.'

Curious at what they meant, Altair asked, " What is this Attunement you speak of?"

"I sometimes forget you've not been formally taught," said Thaan. "Attunement is the process of calling upon a higher power without prayer. In a sense, it's the process of borrowing power without a price. Tasha here can attune herself to the hells, in theory accepting 1% of its power. However, that one percent would instantly place her in the Realm of Godhood."

"True. Unfortunately, my attunement towards the hells is not that high. It's not close to a whole number yet.'

"That is ridiculous!" said Altair, stunned.

"Well, the power is relative to the plane of existence we live on, but I would agree. Fortunately, the process is insanely hard to achieve. I believe most of the Kings of Hell have an attunement of Ten percent, while Fallen is fifteen or twenty percent."

Altair looked utterly in disbelief. "And your saying… I can attune myself to the Myriad Heavens."

"Of course. Attunement is a very necessary process. I myself have attuned myself to Primal Death."

"Primal Death?" said Tasha and Altair while Silia stood there taking in the conversation. She'd never heard of any of this.

"Before the Angels Fell, The Father dubbed Azazel the God of Death, Creating the First Ever Reaper, subsequently creating Primal Death, granting all things Life and Death."

"Destined Death," muttered the Prince, somehow understanding the matrix of it all.

"That is correct, "nodded Thaan."Destiny and Death are closely related. Even if you are Immortal, death will find you. It's not a matter of how but when… That is Primal Death. It is the Nexus of the End. All things begin with it."

"Interesting. I didn't realize that."

"Neither did I until the Silver Devil revealed the Eight Form of his Sword, Primal Death. The moment I saw it…" he stopped, still shaking as the image of that blade sparked across his subconscious, cooling his blood. "Anyway… We should go. I'm sure Athena is quite angsty. Despite her wisdom, she's never been a patient woman.