Shadow of the Abyss

When he rose, his brow wet with sheets of sweat, his legs trembling, Altair steadied himself, drawing long, elongated breaths to calm his turbulent heart that did not seem to steady itself no matter what he did.

An emotionless voice from the great beyond echoed. One unfamiliar to the Prince's ear. "I shall grant you the Soul of Indomitable Flame to shield you from your Madness."

The voice stirred Altair's mind. Noticing this, Luna shook her head. "Madness cannot be blocked, but it can be appeased for a short period. But in the end, we all fall to Madness. No matter how powerful a god might be, they too will fall."

"Then what is the point?" Altair argued his voice cracking, knowing his fate was sealed. He would forever be the Broken Prince.

"To retain the self as long as possible." The voice from beyond said calmly. "For when the Madness comes, you will wallow in despair, for this is the sin of cultivation. The curse we bear for immortality."

"Madness isn't something to fear but embrace," Lunafreya explained, not to pacify his fears but to allow reality to set in. No God can escape Madness, no matter how strong they believe themselves to be. Madness was inevitable, just as is Death.

Tired, for an inexplicable reason, Altair bore a weary smile, one that soldiers held returning from war. "I see… Can I ask who speaks?"

"Your uncle, Your Father's younger brother, Zariel Snow, The Lord of Absolution," Luna informed him.

Altair scuffed. "How many family members do I have? Do I have an Aunt, as well?"

"You do, and she's the youngest of the three children your grandmother gave birth to. One I don't suspect you'll see any time soon." She said and returned to the matter at hand. "Now. Will you accept the challenge?"

He clenched his fist and nodded his answer.

Luna closed her eyes and vanished without sound, leaving behind nodes of light that faded back into the darkness around them.

Altair stood alert, poised for action, one sword over the pommel of Endmyian, the other by his waist. A ripple soon came from beneath, and Altair lept back, slashing at the lake with alarm.

Water spooned like waves upon the shores, shaking as it began to pull itself up, twisting into form. And as the moonlight struck the strange creature, Altair saw himself in its reflection… a perfect image, from the sword to the blood-stained furs Luna had given him. Even his left eye, which shone a blazing red, seemed to reflect his image.

"What the hell is that?" Altair questioned vigilantly. Off put by the creature that bore his likeness.

[Celestial Doppleganer Lv 14]

Altair took a stance, and the doppelganger mirrored his. The feeling left an unpleasant taste in his mouth. But then, without any indicator of movement, the doppelganger suddenly shot towards the Prince with exuberance in a downwards thrust. The blow came quickly, faster than Altair anticipated, as he parried, stumbling back a few steps with a shaky arm.

The doppelganger followed up with a quick flurry of blows. Each of which Altair parried, slowly growing enraged as he became on the receiving end of Grave of Night.

He had spent years mastering his craft, years molding it into something he deemed worthy of his time. From before he could walk, Altair had spent training his sword under the guidance of his mother. But to see it in the hands of another that wasn't his subject left him enraged.

"Enough!" The boy roared as his sword whirled into arcs of semi-circles. Embers erupted like firecrackers, bathing the moonlit skies, as two swords met. Clashes erupted like the crackles of lighting over the mirrored lake, causing ripples and waves to splash about.

Each blow they shared carried a force capable of decimating boulders to rubble, but neither backed off the other despite such inhuman strength. Altair was viciously aggressive, while the doppelganger matched his aggression in a massive defense.

'Shadow Blade,' Altair thought, and without hesitation, his leg shot up against the stomach of the doppelganger, catching it off guard with a faint. Blasting him into the air as the shockwave parted the lake.

The Eye of Sacrilege spun with light, and Altair's finger suddenly danced through the air as mana shrieked after his fingertip. Hellish intent filled the infernal runes. He pointed towards the doppelganger skidding over the water, coming to a stop with a bleeding smile.

Infernal Cage

A prism of runes flashed around the doppelganger's body as it tried to leap out of the vicinity. Its fingers danced with the golden light of the angels.  Altair curiously watched as the golden nodes began dissolving his runes, to his surprise, but said nothing of it. Only prepared himself as the doppelganger charged, cutting its blade through the air.

Gritting his teeth, Altair dodged and weaved with a tight frown every so often; he parried when arcs of infernal lightning quickly began to trail the edge of the doppelganger sword. Droplets of blood slowly began to drop into the waters, forming the various gashes beginning to line the Prince's body when he noticed a peculiar anomaly.

'The creature had an unlimited supply of Mana.' He thought, knowing he could at most use Infernal Lightning three or four times. The creature wasn't faster than him, nor was it stronger… everything was the same, except for one thing.

He smiled. "What an unfair match."

"It's perfectly fair!" The doppelganger said, matching the Prince's smile. "Pointing towards Altair., as three Blades of Torment fell from the heavens above his head.

Knowing Altair was unable to dodge both the doppelganger's unending strikes and Infernal Bane. The fake crackled with eerie laughter, only to frown as a grunt escaped his lips, and a peculiar sound shone from his rear.

"You misunderstand. From the moment our blades clash. This battle wasn't fair." Altair said, running Endymian through the doppelganger's heart. The creature watched as the 'Prince' he was fighting, and wounding trembled with transparency, filling him with a horrid realization just as the light was extinguished from his eyes.

[Eye of Sacralage - Schizophrenia]

Type: Madness

[Description: Disrupt the mental state of your enemy through the Madness of life.Those who are bound by Schizophrenia will begin to hallucinate all seven senses based on their reality. Should the caster be present, he can mentally manipulate the illusion. ]

Altair grinned, rolling his eyes. " For a doppelganger, did it not come off as strange for me to use Rune Work as an attack? When would I have learned that? You might have my skills, but not my intelligence. Nor the proper insight to use them correctly. What you saw was merely a formation to mask my presence.

All I did was stir you in the right direction." And his gaze swayed to the Goddess stationed over the doppelganger's body.

(A/N: Anyone Seen the Joker Movie? Genjutsu)

Her expression was pale, as if she'd seen a ghost. "Altair… "she began, unsure how to place her words. "You… What are you?" She asked him. "This domain is meant to replicate the past to perfection. This clone was supposed to be the perfect you. That includes your intelligence, not this imitation."

"The perfect me? It's dead." He pointed out, amused. "The only thing this creature seemed to master is the art of dying."

"Shameless wanker…" she held herself back, gritting her teeth. Twice, she failed to push Altair to his limit. And it was slowly getting under her skin. "I swear you're becoming more and more like your Father. Arrogant and shameless."

Altair felt a fester of pride at those words, enough so he puffed out his chest. He didn't know much about his Father but knew he was powerful. More so than anyone he knew.

Luna rustled his hair, unable to keep her anger towards her cute brother, much less her frustration. She was too old for that, too old to give it any more thought. "Your victory came as a shock to many. But we learned something. Your mind is something special. More so than we originally thought.

It's good to know that you can't be copied even by someone at my level. What a shame, though. I'd love to keep a mini Altair by my side." She patted his shoulder, grinning. "Either way. A promise is a  promise."

[Ding]

[Baptism of the Moon has been engaged.] see-more-MVLeMpYr

[Warning]

Without forewarning, Altair was pulled by a mysterious force out of Luna's arms, plunging head-first into the lake. Flames of icy water filled the boy's lungs, pulling his consciousness away as he thrashed around, trying to regain control of his faculties. But as if his body had a will of its own. Darkness came.

The last thing filling his eye was Luna's panicked expression as she reached for him, alongside the webs of darkness casting him into oblivion.

"ALTAIR!!!"

[Baptism of the Moon has begun]

[Presence of the Vale detected]

[Warning]

[Warning]

[Wa!$ING]

[ER$#R]

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