Shadow of the Abyss

The creature, if it was a creature, did appear human, yet its aura was the furthest thing from it; it grinned, portraying pristine teeth and fangs. Long, disheveled black hair masking those iridescent red eyes.

Syris had told him about the assassin but had not been able to comment on his appearance due to the bandages and cloak they wore. But seeing his gaunt appearance, Altair found some semblance of him felt intimidated. As if what lay before him wasn\'t a part of the universe he inhabited.

"Altair… Altair… Altair,\' said Teivel camly. "How I\'ve been looking for you. For just a boy, you are like an elusive blade of grass in the winds."

Altair resummoned his shadows. He hadn\'t much choice now that it was a two-on-one battle. And with Teviel being a Fifth Circle, he needed all the powers he possessed to survive even if the minds of his Shadows were fractured.

"I\'m going to enjoy Defiling you."

"..."

"Pause"

"What?"

"Brah… that sounded hella Sus."

"Masters! Booty is Talia\'s!" The crazed Shadow shouted

"Protect your booty, Master!" Said Kirr sharply, clutching his ass.

"Goddamn rapist!" whispered Jorm grimly.

Altair\'s face was stone.

"You know… I kind of hear it," said Roxas, glancing at Teivel, looking somewhat confused. He didn\'t get it. "He means you sound gay."

"Ahh!" Realizing the misunderstanding, Teivel chuckled eerily, "I wonder what face you\'d make if I were talking about matters of the flesh." He lifted his lips, flashing his fangs. "But I speak of matters of the Spirit. Each of us… You, me, demons, devils, angels… all of us are created in the Father\'s image.

The Prince listened, allowing the Circle of Gluttony to absorb more and more of the Mana within the air. He could feel it dissipating at a rapid rate with the death of Yarwin.

"To Defile the Soul pulls you away from the Eternal One. It strips you of his protection, leaving you to see the Truth of this False Reality."

"And what is it you see?" Said the Prince calmly.

"The—"

"Teivel,\' said Roxas coldly. "Do not break your Oath."

Through narrowed eyes, Altair watched, glancing towards Reina alongside Syris and the young Lordlings battling against the other four Soul Kings. Towards the north, standing outside the atmosphere, he saw Tasha covering the entire world with her Mana, holding the planet from fully falling apart.

But even so, he could still feel he perhaps had a week left before Yawin became utter ruin.

"Oi! Where are you looking?" Roxas asked, standing inches from the boy, piercing his spear toward his chest.

Altair didn\'t show much reaction, allowing the Infernal Shield to hum to life and forcing the Blood Spear to glide across the iridescent barrier, diminishing most of the impact to dust. He was sure at his current level that his mind could not keep up with Roxas\'s speed. But he didn\'t need to.

"Tsk." Roxas lept back, pointing a finger towards the Prince, inscribing a rune of infernal origins.

Just then, Teivel lunged at him, conjuring several afterimages. Nia moved to intercept but was easily pushed back, unable to properly move with her mind still split. The other shadows were the same. Still, they had managed to at least slow Teivel\'s passage, giving the Prince enough time to veer Shadoowclaw toward the Difles One\'s throat.

The blade missed, catching barely an inch of flesh, when from Roxas\'s fingertip, a blinding discharge of light lit the horizon. Stones turned instantly to vaper beneath its radiance, spanning the range of an entire mountain.

Altair\'s expression was cold, flashing Shadowclaw out with the Aspect of Rule on its edge, absorbing the blast in a single instance, enriching Shadowclaw\'s base power to unparalleled heights. The black blade blazed, seething a luminous radiance, peeling the flesh from off the Prince\'s arm.

Viens Mana peered from the boy\'s meridians, illuminating the way it cycled through his body. He vanished, crossing space at a speed that seemed nearly instantaneous; he was above Roxas, cleaving Shadowclaw down, discharging the energy he had just absorbed with reflection.

Light exploded in a pillar, cutting through floating magma and stone alike, the blow catching air as the man, whose movements seemed to match light itself, dodged.

\'He can\'t move constantly like that. And light only moves in a straight line. So… I need to predict his next move," the Prince thought, sling-shotting himself toward Roxas with the use of his lightning.

Nia, who\'d slightly recovered mid-air, opened the King Domain, marking the several points to move, choosing behind her master, as Teivel emerged in an iridescent flash, wielding a blood spear in his hand. She crossed the distance faster than one could blink, intercepting Teivel.

"Stupid bitch!" Teivel mocked, channeling all five circles into his blow; he grinned fiendishly, suddenly becoming astonished by the way his blow veered off track by her spear. Nia\'s God\'s Eye locked onto the Defile\'s One\'s weakness, channeling her next move mana.

"Devouring Night"

Hundreds of lacerations caught Teivel by the time he could retreat, startling him by the way a spear could move. He glared when, from his rear, Kirr and Jorm came, having acclimated to their split minds.

\'I\'m still not at the level of a Soul King,\' Teivel thought, sensing them through his domain. He cursed when he suddenly saw Syris emerge from out of nowhere; the dagger in her hand had already plunged through his chest, barely missing his heart.

"Damn you," he cursed, sensing the retreating Shadows.

"Art said you\'d remerge. And that his Shadows would make an opening." Said Syris coldly, creating a barrier around her. "Ever wondered what Nuclear Fission looks like from inside a person?"

Attempting to the fusion of electromagnetism from within Teivel with her innate skill, Fusion, Syris fiendishly smiled, cutting the process short.

"Bitch!"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A helix of light poured over the land as radiation surged, ravaging nearly a hundred miles. Empowered by her Mana, the radiation grew in power and stature, atomizing everything around her.

"Fuck…" said Roxas, conjuring a barrier, as spear and sword clashed in a free fall down into the ruined depths of Yarwin. "Shit… that\'s Void Step! How does she possess that movement art!"

"Oi! Pay attention!" Altair shouted, lashing Shadowclaw out, sending Roxas flying through a pool of magma.

His eyes darted up towards some of his Shadow, perishing at the reaction of fission above, and thought, "A worthy sacrifice. Even if that doesn\'t kill that bastard, it should have paralyzed him for a while."

Altair smiled and followed after Roxas, darting through the magma, shielded by the searing heat with his infernal shield, when he suddenly felt a blow ripple across the barrier the shield generated. The blow was so strong and unexpected that the barrier shattered as Roxas launched himself up at light speed, sacrificing his right arm.

\'I got cocky!\' Altair thought, seeing Roxas penetrate his barrier. It was too late to dodge, much less defend, against the spear piercing his chest, exploding out the back in a wet baptism of red.

Blood Thorn

Altair felt every vein in his body turn to thorns exploding out of his skin in an amalgamation of the flesh. He plummeted, appearing no different than the roots of a tree. But alive only due to the Ashen Blood, mending his injuries faster than he could think. He was whole in a few seconds, with two-thirds of his Mana gone.

\'Light and Blood. Are they the only two powers he possesses?\' He wondered, panting. He had realized long ago that Ashen Blood might heal all injuries, including mental fatigue, but it also generated a lot of mental fatigue. If he abused his ability to heal, he might just end up fainting mid-battle.

"Give it up, Altair," said Roxas, holding himself up. "You can\'t keep this up. Withdraw your sword. I don\'t want your life. Our lords want to meet you."

Altair didn\'t want to hear it. He charged, vaulting off the bolt of lightning, forcing Roxas on the defensive.

The battle continued….

Blow after blow, slowly growing weaker as the days continued to slip through their fingers, Altair and Roxas fought, neither gaining a hand on the other.

The Defiled one sighed some days later as they stood glaring at the other, dismissing his blood Spear; he reached into his robe and slid a Golden Dagger form out of its leather scabbard.

"Altair…" Syris cried weakly, nearly half her face peeled of any skin. "Don\'t get hit…" hopping down from the various floating rocks, her reserves nearly depleted. She stopped beside him. "That dagger is…"

"I know… I can sense it, too. If I\'m hit… something bad will happen."

"Indeed," said Roxas, "unfortunately for you two… You can\'t stop me. Not as you are now."

Altair raised a shield, placing Syris behind him. "How much longer?"

"Five more seconds. Thaan, Zagreus, and Ren are currently holding back by the four Soul Kings, but—"

Just then, Roxas lunged forward, his speed paling in comparison to what it once was, but after nearly seven days of battle, neither could display much power.

Still…

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Cutting the boy\'s consciousness into thirty-two segments alongside his power in a last-ditch effort, Altair could only gape in shock as the golden dagger grazed his cheek, drawing a bit of blood.

"CONGRATS!" Beelzububs voice boomed.

[New Skill Aquired]

"Eh?"

"See you in the Lake of Rot," said Roxas as a back orb nearly twenty meters wide in diameter swallowed Altair whole.

"Welcome... To... the... Abyss..."