Shadow of the Abyss

By the time Alyssa and Therion had caught up to their Master, it was a little after midday. The sun was glaring as if to burn all beneath its glare to cinders. They found him nonetheless in the shadows of a tall sentinel, resting in Tasha's arms. Elena was there, though she scowled when she saw the two knights hurry forward with several Blackcloaks on their heels.

'More pretty women,' she thought. It wasn't fair, she knew, but she had always thought Nox would wait for her. He always had. Even when they were children, he only ever had eyes for her. Not once had his gaze ever swayed or his heart ever wavered.

It had been a thousand years, and while no one expected Elena to wait on Nox, she never thought, weeks after his awakening, he would fall into the arms of another.

'That's probably the reason why he was so heartless to me,' she thought. He was almost unrecognizable to her, even if he looked nearly identical to what she remembered. Almost. Perhaps it had been her imagination, but he seemed taller, stronger, with an aura of authority she found hard to refuse.

"You guys sure took your time," Tasha said in a teasing voice. She glanced at the knights behind the two shadows. A thin veil smile thinning her lips. The men of house De Nier all looked pale, wet, and tired like mortals after nearly a day of travel. When they left Inka, the Castilan had insisted Altair take fifty Blackcloaks to clear out the Golden Fork.

That seemed almost impossible now with how weary the men looked.

"What's wrong with them?"

Therion glanced back at them, a frown tight on his lips. "No idea. They all claim to be fine, but…" Even a fool could tell something was wrong. Their faces were drained of color, and the whites of their eyes a beat to yellow. "Whatever it is, we didn't have the time to investigate."

"You have time now," Tasha said, looking at him. "Master will not be pleased to see his men half dead."

Therion made his discontent known but could not refute her despite how much he disliked her. Sometimes, he wondered why his Master treated her so much better than some of his shadows. She was certainly stronger; no one could refute that, but when it came to intelligence, Therion felt they were equal.

Of the fifty men that had ridden along the Fork, there was not one who wasn't pale, shaking either from the rain that had long passed or something else. Therion searched them down to their briefs, frowning the more he investigated each man, finding nothing. They were all seventh Circles and higher, but for them to experience the sickness of the elements like mortals seemed unlikely.

When one fell off his horse, it was Alyssa who ran after him to see him scrambling to his feet, reaching into his cloak for this flask of water. She snatched it from him and gave it a sniff, followed by a taste. It didn't smell sweet or sour, and it tasted like water. Purified water.

"Master is going to be pissed."

'The Shadows…' Altair muttered suddenly, shivering. "Crown…Shadows. Shadows Shal'al G—" Blood trickled from his nose, and before anyone knew it, he went silent.

A dream of a lantern that bore no light yet held the darkness at bay, a lake, and an image welcomed him. One of his fathers, of Arsene Snow, walking alongside a strange void of darkness. It was so dark the night seemed to move. Tenebrae shone across the darkness, her warm smile pulling him into the lake of twilight, into the embrace of the Black Moon.

'Shal'al—"

Tasha frowned, sensing for the first time how weak her master had become. He was growing even weaker. 'What is going on? This isn't normal soul exhaustion.' she told herself, gesturing to Alyssa over to tend to him instead.

"I'm getting worried; he might need a doctor," she said… and her gaze trailed to the Blackcloaks. "Or blood."

Elena felt something was wrong. Felt it down to her marrow, every part of her screaming a wretched cry to escape in that single moment. Predestined death cut across her eyes as the devil moved, gripping Gram that had appeared in her palm in an eldritch arc of light. Elena had never seen a woman move that fast, nor had she ever seen a sword move like that. Never thought it could.

Therion was the first to shout, demanding what she was doing, but Tasha ignored him. By the time he finished his sentence, blood had painted the earth and grass. Even for someone who had lived most of her life on the battlefield, Elena paled.

Alyssa was oddly silent. Read the latest on empire

Slowly, the blood, a river of small beads, rose from out of the bodies of the dead like raindrops, condensing into a small pool in Tasha's two hands. She knelt, offering a small prayer to Grimory, speaking in Infernal. The blood turned bright with the invocation before returning to its normal shade.

A lifetime seemed to trickle away before the blood gathered in the Lilm's palm, and by the time anyone had realized it, Tasha was already pouring it down her Master's throat. Black tendrils flashed across his face, dancing like shadows across his pale flesh before vanishing.

"You're a Shadow Priestess!"Elena said.

Tasha nearly guffawed. No one had ever called her a Priestess. She was a pet, a toy for her Master's pleasure. The mere idea she was anything other than that was… amusing.

"Not sure how you jumped to that conclusion, but it does give me some ideas on how to pleasure my Master. Perhaps he might like a Priestess he can punish all night." she blushed like a maiden, cupping her cheeks. "Master is so—"

"Hot…" Altair muttered, breaking out in a cold sweat.

"What's happening to him?" Alyssa asked, laying him beneath the shade. She glanced at the devil, lost in her own world for a minute.

"Soul Exhaustion," Tasha lamented. "Master is simply too strong for his soul to handle. It's rare, but it's just something that happens."

"How rare?" Therion asked.

"First of all, Soul Exhaustion is an affliction for Gods. Mortals aren't meant to be affected by it. Can you guess how many system skills Master has at C rank or above? The rank meant for God's? I can't tell you, but he definitely has a few. That takes a greater toll than he realizes.

Then there is the backlash of using Transcendent Intent ten times to kill several Ninth Circles a few days ago. Honestly, it's a miracle he could still ride. And you ask how rare. It's practically unheard of."

Therion looked like he ate shit. "Then how do we fix him!"

There was a grim silence before Alyssa spoke up. "Nia."

Tasha looked at her, realizing. "She is heading back to the dutchie. She could call for the Medarc."

"But it'll take three days for her to—" Therion was saying before they looked at Cloud beside their Master.

"Master's shadow steed," Tasha mumbled. She would have liked to make the trip herself, but… with her master in such a dire state, it was best not to leave him unattended with just his shadows and a woman whom she did not trust quite well.

"The creature can fly," Therion said. "If we send it to Nia, then perhaps she might be able to bring help before the next rise." he glanced at the others, sharing similar thoughts.

"I'll tell Nia," Alyssa said. "Who would have figured her getting in trouble would be so much help."

Therion was in agreement, taking Cloud by the reins. He whispered his mission deep within its subconscious. The shadow stallion neighed in an acknowledgment before taking off in a trot, picking up speed until it blurred.

"Let's find somewhere to stay," Tasha said, then glanced at Therion. "Can you clean this territory of monsters and bandits? I'd rather Master wake up with good news rather than the news we sat on our ass while he slept."

"Why can't you do it?"

Tasha's brow scrunched. "You are a hunter by nature. At the same time, I am the strongest present. Alyssa is a warrior trained in all forms of protection. We can protect Master without you. Stop complaining, or I'll put you down and make sure you don't ever rise. I could, you know.

You, Shadows, aren't as immortal as you think. "

Therion expression turned red. "Master would never forgive you!"

"You are but a shadow. A thing he picked up on a whim while I am of royalty. A concubine. A toy built so he will never grow tired of using and breaking. Are you so sure?"

"Enough the both of you." Alyssa cut in. "What is going on with you both? What's with the hate?" She glared at the two of them, rubbing her temple, and sighed. "Therion, she's right. Go out and hunt, but be on the lookout for assassins. I suspected some were hiding as various Blackcloaks, but since Tasha killed them all, there are bound to be more incoming."

Reluctantly, Therion obeyed, swinging away but not before shooting a murderous stare at Tasha.

"Bitch," he muttered, leaving.