Shadow of the Abyss

Within his room within the Red Raven, Vynn had not been too pleased staring at Draxian channeling his Mana, which slowly whirled into divinity from the God of Cinder so that he might cast clairvoyance.

There had only ever been two ways to cast clairvoyance: through the use of mortal eyes and Godly eyes. For nearly four months now, Vynn and Draxian had been trying with all their might to peer into the ether to find Altair Blackwood before they flocked back to their God, begging for aid.

Vynn didn't like it. Calling upon a god always requires a price. Many asked for favors and others' loyalty. However, some that had ties to demons and devils were all too fond of offering the souls of mortals for their lives. Vynn didn't know if the God of Cinder aligned with the side of Order or Chaos, but he was a little desperate.

Since the Birth of Babels Tower, there had never been a time that a mortal had ever attracted the Tower Master's attention.

Never.

"Well?" said Vynn hopefully, staring as a mist of gold swelled through the blacks of Draxian's eyes, ablaze with a golden flame. "What do you see? Surely it must be something?"

"I… see… darkness," said Draxian as his eyes faded back to black. "I saw only darkness, Eternal darkness in a sort of shadowscape as far as their eyes could see. Same as when I used Mana."

"I-I-Impossible," said Vynn coldly. "That shouldn't be possible. The Lord of Cinder is—"

"A Tower God." Said Draxian gruffly. "The Lord of Cinder of the Eternal Flame. Ranker amongst the Gods."

"A High Ranker," corrected Vynn gravely. "Hells, what is going on? How could he…" As the realization of what this could mean overwhelmed Vynn, he paled. "That means someone is aiding him, one that is as strong as our lord."

"I've never heard of any Lordling with the Surname, Blackwood, amongst the high gods," Draxian remarked, standing to his feet. "

Vynn's fist clashed against the table with a bang, shattering it in half. "Bastards. There is no such a name… Unless… Unless… It's one of the surnames of Old Gods." He said gravely. "Darkness, eh?' and his eyes narrowed into slits. "Wern't there two people we know that bore the crest of darkness on their robes?"

"That crest belongs to the imperial family of Noctem. And you know as well as I do that Noctem has heavy ties with the Hells. We can't make random accusations." Said Draxian hurriedly. "Neither of us have the power to—"

"We'll see," said Vynn, smiling, his mind flashing to the masked image of a woman with deep golden eyes. With a feverish grin, he left his room. Daxian padding behind him, sullen.

***

"This is interesting," Ren was saying to Altair from within the lobby, her head deep within a book that read: 'Physiology of Seraphim.' "Did you know that Angels are infertile?"

Altair looked at her peculiarly. "That book must be really out of date."

'Maybe, but it says that angels cannot give birth with creatures less than what they are." Ren repeated, looking up at her prince with peculiar eyes. "Father said that he needed to enter the Abyss to have me. I wonder why? Why is it that within the Myriad Heavens, such a rule exists, but in the Abyss, laws seem screwed."

"The Abyss…" Altair mused. "Master is from the Abyss. I'm sure she knows."

Ren rolled her eyes. "And where might she be right now?"

Altair shrugged. "No clue… but she isn't in the city—"

"Says who?" said Iliana, appearing like a ghostly apparition with a handsome dark green-haired man by her side. He seemed pale and somewhat skinny, yet Altair could not pull his eyes away.

"Odd. I was sure this one belonged to Arsene. But… there isn't a shred of his Forsaken Bloodline or Aunty Tene's Darkness.

"Told you. Pay up. Two bottles from your Cellar." said Iliana plainly. "Something before Zariels era. If you have any."

Beelzebub pursed his lips in a face that made Iliana want to laugh.

"Yeah-Yeah," he said somewhat mournfully. "and here I thought I'd one-up Arsene. What a shame. Though I must say, you do have some Snow features to you."

Beelzebub raised a finger, and from Altair's throat, a thin strand of blood flowed, falling into his mouth as he squished it around like fine wine.

Altair went red, wanting to say something, but Ren held him, shaking her head.

"You're really not a Snow. Damn. But you're something… new? Or perhaps old." Beelzebub narrowed his eyes with a newfound interest. "forgive the inconvenience, young man. My name is Beelzebub.

And your Father might have sold you off to me in a sense. Though, you ended up with Astaroth. Nasty one he is. I wonder how that happened. How did a boy such as you offend him."

Altair didn't answer. He knew silence was his best bet, at least for now.

Beelzebub tsked, shifting his attention to Reina, and a smile rose over his lips. "A Nephilim. Ever since Aurelia, you're kind has been hopping about like maggots. Though, I wish you luck with the Court of Shadows," he said, turning Reina's eyes wide. "But you are family. So I'll give you two hundred years free of charge on Genesis.

My gift to you. Oh…and I do look forward to the future. Mephisto left his seat, so I figured I'd take over as Tower Master for a bit and see what all the fun is about. Don't die, Altair and Reina Blackwood."

And he was gone faster than Altair or Reina could blink.

Sweat came like a downpour over the two lords as they each fell to a knee, gasping for air. Fear that their souls didn't seem to sense sunk into their bodies, gnawing on bone like ravenous ghouls, stripping them of strength.

"Wow, you two did great," said Iliana, smiling. "And you made Beelzubub interested. I hoped you didn't and would have said something to make yourselves seem stupid. But you chose to play a game with him. Brave."

It was then that Altair remembered his Father mentioned Beelzebub in passing. He gulped, turning to his Master.

"That's… "

"A Monarch of Hell, " said Reina, shivering. "A being of absolute power and authority." she closed her eyes, ignoring everyone present staring at them.

They looked like idiots covered in sweat lying on the floor, but neither Altair nor Reina cared. They couldn't move.

"Yes, he surprised me when he visited, but then again, you two turned this entire planet to shit. So don't even blame me for thinking I led him to you two," said Iliana, grinning. "Though I am looking forward to seeing what all they have planned."

'Fuck' thought Ren and Altair simultaneously.

"is… is he an enemy?"

Iliana merely shrugged. "The Monarchs of Hell can never be allies or enemies. They play the game too well. The most you can hope for is not getting screwed some way or the other. They're old. Older than anything you two can imagine.

Competition isn't something they care about. So you don't have to worry about them killing you outright… unless you disrespect them, though, that'll be hard. Since they care about so little."

Calming his breath, Altair sighed. "Are they all eccentric?"

"What did you think? That They'll all have cold faces and be evil or something? Well, they most certainly are evil and sadistic, but they are all pretty weird."

"evil, how?" said Ren, pulling herself up.

Iliana had to think. "I believe the first bottle of blood wine ever created came from Belfegore, using the remains of aborted children."

"what the fuck"

"I did say evil, right? Why are you surprised? And it's not like he was the one aborting children. Bel says it's quite a delicacy. It is one of the most produced vintage wines in the Hells. So it must be good, right?"

Altair had a spectacular face. "Master… are you tempted into trying it?"

"a little."

"Hells. Just what I need. A Canibal for a Master."

"First off, I'm an Abyssal. And what exactly is wrong with eating other humanoids? You make it sound wrong. You eat animals, and you are an animal. An inferior animal, might I point out? So what's the problem?

Most people I know are quite right about eating humanoids. "

"that can't be right… right? " he turned to Reina, but she just shrugged.

"You're the cultured one," said Ren, struggling. "But I'll tell you something. I need a damn shower. And a bottle of wine."

Iliana studied the two weary faces and focused in on Ren. "When was the last time you saw Luna?"

"Master? Two years, I think, three now. Why." said Ren, feeling as though, despite time passing, she wasn't getting stronger but weaker. Color began to spill from out of her face until she was ashen and her gaze murky.

Altair wasn't in better shape, as he called on Nia and Alyssa to help aid their weakened bodies.

"I'll tell you tomorrow. When you wake up." Said Iliana faintly.

"Art!" shouted Syris, running over. "Ren, what happened."

"sleep." murmured the prince, fainting then and there in Nia's arms.

"Master is now the Princess, and I, Nia, the king," she claimed, holding him up princess-style. "Mine!"

Syris tilted her head, seeing her friends were not in any danger, and sighed in relief. She glanced at Iliana, studying the plain mask cautiously.

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