Shadow of the Abyss

With one palm on Shadowclaw, those that belong to the stars and Babels Tower all locked onto Altair's group.

"This isn't the time!" The Time Lord, Ragnar, shouted, wielding his silver cut glaive in one hand. "We need to take down these Pillars first. Killing one another can come second." He added, above his head, carrying the number identical to that of Altair and his team.

Ragnar hadn't been too certain how Malzeen, as he knew him to be, was able to quantify how everyone was graded but figured it had to be based on bloodline or at least potential. Time Lords had been one of the top ten of all mortal races within the Myriad Heavens. Their ability to manipulate space and time was second only to Celestials.

"He's right," said Zaros, whose eyes were as red as blood. Pale as the moon with sharp, distinctive features. He had scales protruding over his throat, trailing up and stopping at his cheek. "Lord Malzeen said they were Soul Kings! We need to exterminate them before anything else."

Altair narrowed his eyes. "Two intelligent people. How rare." He mused, glancing down at Tasha trembling like a maiden on her wedding night. He smiled. "Is he talking to you?" he smiled, watching a quiver ripple through her, bringing a smile to his face. Altair pulled his gaze away.

If a battle between Tasha and his team broke out, he was sure they'd lose. The Ilvarian had categorized the Demons and Devils as the most powerful race of their time.

"Lord Malzeen." Thaan shouted, " Might I ask how long this Festival of yours might last?"

"Six Months," said Beelzebub calmly. "And… are you a Shadowborn?"

Thaan seemed a little surprised. "I am, how'd you—"

"There was a Shadowborn on the Silver Devils team. Cenn, they called him. Tene had created him. Quite a specimen." He said, smiling. "I prefer them more than Shades."

Thaan narrowed his eyes and shifted his attention towards Altair. "What do you want to do?"

Altair stared at the pillars in the distance. "It would be too easy to simply destroy them. I figure that'll be outside the Realm of possibility. I'm sure that—"

"ALTAIR!!" Thundered Cedric, flying towards Altair like a feral beast, his spear seeking to run him through. The winds tore, and the veranda they stood on turned to rubble from the visceral power Cedric generated.

[Ding]

Name: Cedric

Race: Silver Dragon

Str: 1130

Dex: 906

Con:743

Wis: 643

Chr:514

Mana: 176

Altair didn't react much, while Cedric was indeed stronger. His Mana was severely lacking. That would be his in.

An eruption that turned the Red Raven into rubble exploded, tearing Altair off his feat as Cedric's spear shattered the barrier he was in, losing nearly two-thirds of its power. The Prince slid Shadowclaw from its scabbard and flashed his sword towards Cedric the instant his spear broke his barrier.

"Die," Cedric roared, erupting with all his Mana. His wrist flickered, twisting the spear so that it met with Altair's sword. Unfortunately, just when Cedric's spear was seeking to engage Altair's sword, the Prince's blade vanished.

Blood gushed from out of his chest in a geyser, spraying over the ground where they landed. Startling everyone present as Altair Mana painted the skies. "Your body is a little hard. It's a shame I don't have my original sword. It might have severed you in two."

Cedric staggered back with a horrified expression, clutching his chest. The wound wasn't that deep, but Altair had still managed to slash through a few bones. "Your Mana… How high is your Mana?"

The Prince gave a bloodthirsty smile as his shadow grew long. "Peak of the second Awakening," he said when two Bappets emerged from his shadow. Slightly changed burning with the flames of Mana. They roared, wielding the madness of their master. Arcs of infernal lightning tore towards the skies like mad beasts, terrifying the land as the Mana they bore frightened everyone around them.

Bloodstain electrical arcs thundered as the two beasts hammered at the ground with their great swords. They moved, opening up the King's Domain; they both used Sovereign Gale to move, arriving before Cedric in the blink of an eye. Their blades mirroring [Grave of Night] to perfection as their blades clashed.

Cedric might have had superior stats, but his skills with the blade could not be compared to the skill these two Bappets wielded, empowered by the Infernal Lightning.

Ember rang out like flashes of light, sending shockwaves throughout the skies and on the ground as they flashed around the city, moving at speeds that made the speed of sound seem irrelevant.

"Release us, Master," said Kirr greedily.

The Prince did, allowing his pale night alongside an army of Demons at his rear to rise from out of his shadow. He stared dead at Cedric, whose expression turned pale when he saw all forty of his shadows thundering with Infernal Lightning.

Kirr had been the first to move with Sovereign's Gale. One second, he was there. The next he was before Cedric combatting the two Bappets; when he arrived, cleaving his blade down, Kirr vanished once more. Just as Cedric prepared his sword to parry, he was behind him, startling him as his sword cut across his back.

Everything had happened so quickly that Cedric couldn't even catch his breath when several other shadows appeared. Nia arrived with her ability to manipulate her perception of time. Her dual pupils shone like endless stars, manipulating the concept of time to reveal his weakness faster than a blink of an eye.

Her spear roared with a horrid power arcing into a blade, shrieking into a ribbon of plasma arriving on his shoulder, boring a gaping hole in his arm the moment he turned to confront Kirr.

Cedric was blasted off the ground, skidding over the earth like a stone.

"Nice!" Kirr gave a thumbs up, twirling his blade towards Cedtric, who caught himself a few seconds later.

"How…How… How are all your Mana so powerful?!"

The Prince didn't answer, summoning his grimore. He glanced at Ren, who nodded, and then Aurora, who took his grimore with a warm smile. The World of Shadows Grimoire shook for a moment before recognizing Aurora as Altair.

"I will not fall!" shouted Cedric, erupting with all his Mana when he suddenly froze as tendrils of shadows sprang out from beneath his feet, freezing him.

Aurora gave a chilling grin, "Shadow Cage."

Cedric's eyes went wide when he saw Reina emerge from the shadow with [Broken Moon], her sword barreling through his chest in an upward arc. Ice chopped through many of his ribs, blasting him through the air, where the Prince welcomed him.

"Bet you didn't see this coming," Altair asked, as his foot gently pressed against Cedric's head. The Prince smiled, applying Necrotic Flame to his Mana.

[200 → 400]

A/N: 2000 Minimum Con to defend

Desolate Descent

The Realm howled as the Vale bore form out of subspace like a terrifying demon hounding the skies with presence. It tore the fabric of space, twisting its nature.

As if a teardrop had descended through the skies, pillars of Vale Qi spiraled out of control, twisting the land to dust. The skies tore apart. Clouds turned to ethereal vaper perishing before the eyes of gods and mortals alike. The Vale whipped out in a lion-like roar, splintering all of Vesim in a purgatory of damnation.

So horrid was its power that the tectonic plates of yarwin moved and shattered, bleeding molten rocks forming beneath its surface, spewing hundreds of meters into the air.

Altair smirked, using mana manipulation to stand on top of the magma as though it were water. "Pathetic," He said, clutching Cedric, whose eyes had popped out of his skull. He had managed in time to triple his constitution, but it was a little too late.

"D-D-Don't…" mulled Cedric weakly.

Altair sneered, snapping the neck of the man who hadn't taken him seriously. Had he used all his strength in the first place, none of this might have happened. Altair's Mana had been powerful, cupped with his ability to Manipulate Mana; it had ensured that he had one hundred percent control of how destructive his Mana was.

[Cedric Felled. Exp Gained]

[Soul of Cedric Aquired]

Watching the body of Cedric turn to ash, Altair kicked out of the abyss he'd created, pulling with magma and out towards the city.

There were hundreds of eyes on him, but the Prince didn't say a word to them. Rather, he smiled, glancing at his shadows, pointing towards the onlookers.

"Slaughter them all. And bring me their souls. Spare none."

"What are you—" Before Ragnar got his question out, blood painted the ground in a geyser of red as Altair's Pale Knight flashed through the city, reaping life.

The Prince stared at Ragnar with a look that could only be described as disdain. "It was a smart move. Unfortunately, the lives of everyone present will serve me better in death." he smiled devilishly, turning to Beelzubub. "Do you have any objections?"

The Monarch of Mythos bellowed into laughter.

"None!"

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