Shadow of the Abyss

When the Prince returned to the entrance of the cave drenched by the snow,  he paused, finding Reina beside the fire. She looked bored, playing with the chard wood, muttering away at her new arch enemy.

"Big dummy! Baka! How dare he leave me behind. Ren is strong. Hmph. Just because he got tall, he think he can bully Ren?

Mega Ultra Stupid Dummy. Punch to the nuts!  Big Head! Stupid face! Ren will kick his ass one day!"

A rare, genuine smile branded the boy's lips as he watched her shadowbox the air. He coughed into his palm, making his presence known. Renia practically leaped up like a startled cat, mechanically turning her head to him, and trembled.

"A-A-Altair?! W~w~when did you get back?" Ren stammered with a wry laugh and glanced around suspiciously, unsure if he saw her messing around. She patted to the seat near the fire a little eagerly. " Have a seat. You're all wet with snow. Come get warm."

The Prince accepted. By her side, he sat, allowing the fire to warm his bones. "I'm sorry. " He whispered, prodding at the fire with a branch. Embers danced through the air like fireflies. "I just didn't want you to see who… or what I was becoming." he glanced at her with a sour expression.

"I don't even recognize myself anymore."

"Altair…" she muttered.

"And I don't want you to see me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like the broken prince I am." He told her, his gaze spirling with a darkness that seemed to crown him. Loneliness coiled through his heart, deepening the sinking despair as he chuckled lightly. Unsure what to even say anymore.

"Do… Do you know what a Nephilim is?" Reina asked him. Her voice was soft as if to lessen the pain she sensed in his voice. The boy shook his head, turning to her. "It's a tainted celestial body. A stain on all that was pure, according to Master.

My Mother was an Angel, a seraph of some unknown order, while my Father was an Ancient." she explained, "That makes me a Nephilim since my Mother slept with someone outside her race. To the Angels… I am filth. And to the Ancients, I am… a traitor. I was born a traitorous filth. At least to them, I was."

The boy's eyes went wide, but before he could protest. Reina continued, sensing his fury. "So I get it. Altair, I get it." she smiled, cupping his cheeks, tears gathering in her pearly eyes. "You are not alone. You got me." she giggled, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"So don't let other people define you. You are not broken."

He trembled, tears gathering in his eyes. 'You are wrong. I am broken.' he wanted to say, but the words became caught in the back of his throat, unable to leave, as Reina's warmth pressed against his shoulder, tugging at his bleeding heart.

Altair finally found his words. " Thank you." He said, and for the first time, he felt shame. Shame of words he hadn't meant, for he knew what lay beside her was a monster dressed as a man.

***

When dawn broke the next day, the storm had faded, leaving behind wreckage in its wake. Altair woke, drowsy, having fallen asleep for the first time in a year. He glanced around, his muscles somewhat tight from the cold yet oddly relaxed.

"Morning." He said, finding Ren packing up camp.

"Oh, you're up!" Reina said warmly. She turned to him, tossing her bag pack onto her back. "Morning. Did you have a good night's sleep?'

"Like the dead…"

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She smirked. "I could have slit your neck, and you wouldn't have woken. Guess you were tired."

Beneath the boy's shadow, the ever-vigilant Fallen Shadow watched, smiling in darkness. Their Master would never be defenseless.

"I'd have made breakfast, but—"

"No, it's fine. Let's finish this trial and get the Hell out of this dungeon," Altair quickly said, snapping to his feet. "I'm sick of being in here. Let's go."

Setting out on their journey once more through countless feet of snow, the children trekked through frosted winds, dense woods, and inhuman monsters for the next few days with little sleep or rest.

The day would begin with Ren praying to the Gods for a steed, finishing with Altair bonking her on the head each time as he carried her on his back until they came upon a stone temple within a large clearing an hour's walk.

The Temple was large, as it was old, resembling a cathedral carrying runes that glowed a moonlit hue bleeding an ancient aura, one that felt familiar.

"So this is the center of the dungeon…" Altair murmured, inspecting his target with glowing eyes. "It seems... oddly average.'

"Indeed. I thought it would have a larger mana density since it was the focal point of the dungeon. But it's pathetically normal." Ren agreed, onto the boy's back. She lept down, summoning her Hunting Bow in a flash of ethereal nodes of light. "I got your back."

Altair nodded and began forward without an inkling of fear but rather a confidence that came from those he'd slaughtered. For miles, he journeyed forward, frowning when the Eye of Sacrilege trembled, perceiving the intangible. He stopped lifting his palm to what seemed like a barrier: one invisible to the naked eye.  A domain of sorts that seemed to cover all of the Temple and then some.

Suddenly, the barrier rippled like water on a lake at his touch.

"Guess this is where it officially begins," Reina said, unable to see it like Altair, but her perception had picked up on it.

"A path of no retreat," The boy inferred, treading his fingers over the domain barrier that rippled like water. He glanced at Reina, ten meters away with her bow poise for action and Ice resting silently on her back. "You ready?"

Renia gave a solid nod. "You bet your ass I am."

Altair shifted his gaze back to the barrier and stepped through, pausing as the once silvery moon turned to blood, bleeding a scarlet hue. The air was foul as sin, carrying the scent of brimstone into what seemed like a hellish purgatory. Ash rained from the heavens like snow, painting the earth black.

Around the Temple, Altair and Riena saw. A small army of monsters, their bodies bleeding profusely at every angle as if just recently slain. Yet the stench they carried implied they'd perish months if not years ago. Their bodies festered with rot, carrying a plethora of diseases. From lion-like monsters, serpents of variety, humans, and strange spirits.

Altair counted every one of them, finding them to be all manner of beings he'd killed before.

"What… what the hell?" he said, startled by the rancid filth before him.

"Is that a Chimera?" Reina shouted, frowning, her gaze landing just outside the temple entrance to the undead beast standing guard at the temple entrance like a dog.

Altair's Eye of Sacrilege glowed. "A chimera would make a fine mount," he said, unable to mask his excitement. "How awesome would that be? Play our cards right. We might be able to upgrade the snake portion into a True Dragon."

"Are you bloody insane? Can't you see it's dead?" Ren pointed out. "Wait a sec... How do I feel about this? No... no." She shook her head and glared at the Chimera in the distance: "What I don't understand is how this is related to the moon."

"It's not… it's related to my Father." The boy said with fire in his heart. He grinned, accepting the challenge. "Luna did say he helped create this trial."

[Divine Sin, Daddy nods proudly at his spawn.]

[Divine Sin, Archean is growing more and more curious about your identity.]

[Divine Being, 'PIercing Owl' frowns, unable to sense a demonic bloodline from you, nor anything from the Nine Hells.]

[Divine Being 'She Who Hunts' states you are neither a Demon nor Devil, but something else. Something new!]

[Divine Being 'Watcher' leans in with popcorn.]

[Divine Being, 'Devouring Wolf' whistles at the army of two hundred. And demands you watch out for his daughter.]

With a grin cold as the morning snow, Seven Moonlit Swords twisted the scarlet moonlight into a blade black as the deepest night of the Hells, cold as ice, bleeding deadly sword light. They rose into the air, awaiting to pass judgment.

[Divine Being 'She Who Hunts' cheers for your victory!]

[Divine Sin, 'Archean' awaits to see your progress!]

[Divine Being, 'PIercing Owl' prays for your survival.]

[Divine Sin, Daddy, is worried he is going to lose money betting on you.]

Altair stepped forward towards the army of two hundred, dark flame-like mana billowing around him, chilling the putrid air with death. When his presence, a force of unending might fell upon the dead. And as if the hand of god appeared, dozens dropped to their knees, buckling with untold fear.

"Arise"

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