Shadow of the Abyss

Enjoying some freshly squeezed pomegranates from his Heavenly Garden that Medusa had so kindly squeezed for him, Altair's ears perked at the sudden arrival of Raven. He smiled, looking back at the serious-looking woman.

"News for me?" He asked lightly. That was the few times he saw Raven as of late.

"Therion and Alyssa have completed their mission."

"Good. Have the two remain, watching that area for exactly two months," Altair said, and Raven's brow jumped.

"You want to set a lure?"

Altair didn't immediately answer; rather, he beckoned her to ride coach. When she did, he offered her a sip. Only a sip. It was a rather richly tart drink, but he couldn't ask for anything better. It was rather addicting.

Apparently, Hestia had insisted on pomegranates being planted, and Medusa had agreed, as did Thanatos and Zagreus. He suddenly missed those last two. It had been far too long. Needless to say, the version he got did not offer immortality but instead fertility. They were mortal grade and would need time to harness the power of his garden to be fully ripe.

Raven glowed when she took a sip, springing up like a cat. What was intended as a sip quickly turned into a game of cat and mouse as Raven ran. Altair chased, though by the time he caught the girl, her lips were stained red, and his drink empty.

"Bad Raven! That was mine!" He snapped, though there was no anger, only playful amusement.

Raven's eyes bubbled with what seemed like tears. He would not be fooled. "Can Raven have more?" He would not be fooled. "Raven is still thirsty and—"

The readily available bonk on the head quickly turned those teary eyes into glares.

"That's child abuse!" She said, no longer in that child-like voice that could make any man simp. He wasn't about to be fooled again. Raven had been learning all types of things from Tasha, no—Ashara—he had to get used to that name.

Hours into the night, they would often discuss things that made even the Vale King curious, and the man was an indulgent ass who cared only about himself, or at least some of the time. Often, when he was in control, Altair felt the same sensations he had for the women around him within the Vale King. He often forgot the two were one and the same.

"I was going to give Atelia and Noct some. Oh well." he rustled her head and sighed, returning to his carriage. Raven followed. After a while, he added," Therion and Alyssa will probably be spotted in that window of time by another group sent to investigate. Have them teleport to me when they are attacked or before they are attacked.

Raven's tender brows furrowed. "The enemy is sure to bring a Transcendent."

Altair didn't deny it. "That is the plan. I can't imagine anyone being alright losing two units of men."

"Therion did say that if he had to rate their skill with a spear, he'd give them a D+," Raven tacked on.

"Even better. That means that the ones Therion killed were very well trained. Perhaps transcendents in the making. I know I would be pissed."

"Thank goodness we are Immortal," Raven remarked, earning her another bonk on the head. "What was that for!" she practically screamed. Explore stories at empire

"Those I resurrect are immortal; you are not. I'm not sure if it will work for someone like you. Remember, Raven, you are not entirely Forsaken. I didn't create you. You bonded to become my Guardian."

The little minx stuck her tongue out at him and ran away, shooting him one final glare. The girl certainly did have a head on her, but she was still too naive in some things. He hoped that didn't change if everything else had.

Altair sighed, looking up at the cloudless skies, the blinding white hot light, and the greenery around him. Almor was indeed a beautiful place. With such plentiful mana, it had to be. Terra would be the same soon; with so much Mana, life would begin to bloom, and fertility would skyrocket, especially with various blessings from the Greek Gods.

Hestia might not be a god of fertility, but her blessing certainly made people fall in love faster, as many began looking not necessarily for love but to build a family. According to Aurora, marriages have skyrocketed amongst the commoners since they were originally reserved for nobles.

At first, Altair wanted to reconsider the matter of nobles being the only ones to marry, but there was power in freedom. A power in being able to express one's love or affection without being restricted by his regime. The nobles weren't happy about it, but then again, they were never happy about anything, especially when Altair decreed that nobles could not adopt or procreate without permission.

Such things were common practice in Genesis as a means to regulate not just the heavens to maintain a karmic balance but also destructive bloodlines. That was especially true amongst those of a higher lineage that proved nearly impossible to reproduce. According to Medusa, the Medarcs of Genesis had a way to 'aid' in the reproduction of any sort of Genus, so long as they weren't Angels.

Altair himself had found the idea very interesting. He was even considering employing means that would ensure that no man or woman could reproduce without his guiding hand. A sort of fast-acting agent, or genetic alteration to one's genus, that would ensure the loss of one's ability to reproduce until he allowed it.

If he could control the future of noblemen, then he could potentially end one's ability to rebel, especially if Hesita's blessing compelled one to be a part of a family.

This way, no one family could ever get too powerful without his knowledge; of course, the current generation of noblemen would not be happy. However, once they die and the next generation is born, followed by the next, it will become a sort of custom.

Returning to himself, Altair suddenly laughed, realizing it was nighttime. He had been so caught up in his awareness he had forgotten himself.

"The Sin of Pride and Sloth… " He said suddenly, feeling that was the right path.

"And the Sin of Lust and Greed," The Vale King's palatine voice echoed from the back of his mind. "You realize what they mean?"

Altair did. They were of the same souls; even if they were paradoxically split, they were still the same person. They would each feel the other's sin and be governed by whatever sin possesses a higher comprehension and Attunement. A rather fitting dilemma.

Iliana had explained it best to him. "You will either be a master of none or a master of all with the use of the Ninth Form. When one sin rises, one falls, fading from your mind. There will be times when you'll fall so deep into one sin you might lose the ability to use any other sin.

And that's the beauty of Madness, for it will shift your sea of consciousness, altering your personality so that you'll never completely lose yourself in one dao."

It sounded like utter nonsense when Altair first heard it, but he understood it now. He wasn't sure what changed, but its meaning was clear.

Presently, he was under the effect of the Sin of Lust, a gift from the Vale King, held at bay the Sin of Pride that would not allow him to cross a bottom line. It was probably that very pride that had stopped the Vale King from having his way with Medusa or Raven. It was Ashara who had taken up much of his lust during his nightly training.

Neither he nor the Vale King had eaten her up yet, merely stirring the bowl until she begged through frustrated tears. It was hard at first, but neither of them wanted Ashara to be under two masters.

'Yuk, what are you drooling about?" Corsant asked, covering Noct's eyes with her hand. "Don't make that face around my son."

Altair bit back his laugh. The woman truly gave him zero respect when they were in private. He wasn't sure if he should be happy or not. He certainly liked the woman well enough.

"It's good to see you too, Mother," he put emphasis on the last bit. She always hated it when he called her that. "What's up?"

"Food, Tasha made dinner." She said; when Noct bucked from out her grip, landing on his feet, he bounded towards Altair, only to be dropped kicked by Atelia right in the face, crackling like a devil, a laugh she no doubt learned from Ashara. The poor boy skipped across the barren ground as Atellia lunged into his arms.

"Oh dear lord," Altair muttered, looking up at Corsant. The woman wearily sighed, patting Atelia on the head, before shouting at Noct, "Get up! What did I tell you about being on guard at all times? Come on. Don't cry. Go hug your brother so we can go eat."

Noct nodded, wiping away the blood from his nose. Tears were building in his eyes, but they didn't fall. Atelia was really giving him a hard time, but Corsant seemed to like that. She even encouraged it so long as the other didn't have any hard feelings towards the matter.

Altair often found it hard to believe being dropped kicked an all—one of the ultimate forms of disrespect—but Noct truly didn't mind, hurrying to give him a hug, to which he accepted.

"You coming?"

Altair grinned, suddenly thinking of the two Sin of Dao he had chosen, and nodded. "Oh yes."