Shadow of the Abyss

Chapter 373 The Madness Of The King

Shadows beneath the black moved. Branchs shuddered, and the winds whistled through leaves. And wolves howled at the Full Moon, echoed by the pack. The forest went silent; as a star shrieked across the vast expanse of stardust, it vanished far beyond the horizon.

From a branch, Lord Blackwood watched, shutting his eyes, to dream of a Vale beyond the stars. There, he sat upon an ancient throne overlooking the flames. Their numbers seemed endless, yet they were a speck within his domain.

He woke at first light, groggy to the sight of his devil. 'My devil,' he told himself, held down by the weight of his dreams and fatigue. A blemish of blood still rested on her cheek, perhaps from a late-night hunt or the slaughter from last night. He could not say which.

"Good Morning, Master," Tasha said, offering a bow. "Are you hungry?"

Beneath him, Alyssa, Nia, and Therion huddled around the campfire, roasting a rabbit each they'd hunted. The smell alone drained the fatigue from his body, if only for a minute.

In the next moment, he was down from the branch beside his Pale Knights, talking about who was smarter. The Ilvarians or the Ilthads. They happily offered their master a piece, though notably, Therion seemed reluctant to do so.

'It's my hunt,' The Young Shadow thought.

Altair laughed at his knight, who wore his emotions like a piece of clothing. He took a thigh all the same. "It's a Shadow Tax," he claimed, sinking his fangs through the white meat, bursting with flavor. His expression shifted, nearly biting through the bone. "That's… really good."

Nia threw her head up. "Of course, it's good I seasoned it." she sounded almost prideful.

"I didn't know you could cook," Altair expressed, cleaning the bone. He tossed it into the fire.

"She can't," Alyssa spoke up. "I cooked it. She just seasoned it. We caught five rabbits. Care to see what happened to them."

"There isn't a need to disturb the dead once buried," Nia said. The heat in her face almost palpable.

It was a wonder how he did not break out in laughter. Tasha surely did, poking a bit of fun a the maiden.

The fire crackled with bones and firewood.

"So what's next, Master?" Therion asked, stuffing his face before his Master demanded more tax.

Altair wasn't sure, but he knew he had to return to Inka before the next rise. Count Kinvar was sure to have sent out a search party. He had left so suddenly he didn't have time to inform anyone of his departure.

"For now, we'll head back to deal with the aftermath." Altair lightly explained.

"And the Crucible?" Tasha asked. "What about them? They're sure to retaliate."

Nia and Alyssa nodded in agreement, but Altair said nothing on the matter. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but he could feel the Mark of Cain burning with activity, though that wasn't surprising. He expected Elder Grim to be blowing a fuse right now, screaming for his death to everyone with a set of ears. Altair had just about pissed on his face, leaving his fraction crippled.

It was a blow that was sure to affect all of the Crucible. But for now, all he could do was count the days until he was summoned back to the Rotten Lake.

When everyone's belly was full, Therion kicked dirt into the fire before heading south of the Forest of Ema; they followed the Angal River, the same path Sweetmouth had taken to escape.

Nia and Alyssa hadn't much interest in returning to his shadow, enjoying the time with their Master, while Therion scouted ahead. Tasha continued to flirt with the two women and her master as they moved at a steady pace. By the time it was noon, they could see the blistering spires of Inka ahead.

As he suspected, Count Kinvar had sent out a search party that managed to spot them ten miles away from the city walls. Altair was a bit surprised by the looks they had given him. He thought he'd see scorn or perhaps hate. He had, after all, left the battlefield, yet what he faced was admiration that bordered on worship.

He learned from the head knight that he alone had managed to kill more than half of House Vadica. No one had seen it, yet the saber laceration across the manor proved it. Several Ninth Circles were killed, some half a step into Transcendent. They had attributed it to him, awakening his Transcendent Intent, but it still left a sour taste in his mouth.

'That wasn't me,' he thought, his shadow horse, cooly riding through the city walls to the clammer of cries and praise that welcomed him. Men roared, raising their blades to the skies. Women shrieked while those more shamelessly flashed their breasts, throwing undergarments.

Altair waved candidly, playing the part of the hero, with a cold gleam behind his eyes. He marched on, Pale Knights hard on his heel, with Tasha to the rear, her lips curled up.

The parade was nearly three miles long before it ended, and he was brought to the castellan's castle. Count Kinvar, alongside the Castilan, Lord Stilar Kream, welcomed him. They bowed, showing their respects, and before, they were led in for a warm bath, a hot meal, and a comfortable bed, and if he liked a woman to keep it warmed.

That night, Altair stood beneath the window sill, bathed in the moon's glow. It had been a long time since he heard from Lunafreya, his aunt, or Reina, for that matter. Thoughts of her seemed to fill his mind. He could feel her, could sense some force connecting them, yet it was faint.

"I'm so tired," he muttered when he heard a small voice. His voice. 'You have a devil, a Lilm, and a shadow that would throw themselves at you. Forget about her.'

"Go away…"

Something dark seemed to fill his eyes, growing and stretching out from him like a shadow to sit across from him.

'And leave you all alone?' The shadow crackled. Its dark, smoldering red eyes glowing like fire. 'We had fun, you and I.'

"You're not real," he said softly.

'Real, fake, does it matter?' the shadow threw his gaze towards the moon. "What we did was real. The screams. The lust, the fire, all of it." he turned to Altair, rows of white teeth flashing across the black. "You're remembering, aren't you?"

Altair quivered. "What if I am?

The Shadow's eyes glowed intently. "To watch it through omniscience is one thing, but to live it. To feel what I felt, to see what I felt. Ahh! Now, that is something."

"That wasn't me," Altair insisted.

"Wasn't you!" The Shadow mocked. "If not you, then whose name did Tasha scream? Whose back did her talons tear into? Whose cunt did we plant our seed in?"

"It wasn't me…" he continued insisting, his knuckles clenched so tight, they popped.

"Keep denying it, Blackwood! But the memory is there. The sin still lingers.' he pointed to him. 'You and I, we are one. It's why I let that thing live long enough to lead us to Grim's lair. It would have been so simple to end him.

To peel the flesh from off his body, to tinker with his vessels like small pipes. No, he had to live so that others could die."

"So you're an ally, now?" He scuffed.

"An ally? No. I am the you who shall bring forth ruin. I shall be the you, who shall conquer whatever he desires, be they men or women, gods or demons. Yes." The Shadow rose, leaning an arm over Altair's shoulder. "Shall we start with Alyssa?

Hasn't she waited long enough?"

Altair couldn't have driven his fist through the shadow's head as it warped, rippling into shadowy mist.

"Remember me, Blackwood. For I am the Vale King."

[Ninth Form, Aeron, Proficiency has increased by 2%]

Name: Altair Blackwood

Class: [ King of the Vale: Lv 175]

Mana Circle: [Fifth Circle: 55% ? 59%]

Strength: 2850 ? 3000

Dexterity: 3525 ? 3800 Experience more on empire

Constitution: 3875 ? 4000

Wisdom: 4875 ? 5000

Charisma: 4875 ? 5000

Mana: 400

Omniscience Lv 1

Compulsion [D]

Proficiency: 12%

Spirit Domain [C]

Range: 150m

Proficiency: 3% ? 15%

Sword of the Vale [F]

Proficiency: 17% ? 57%

Sword Limit: 2

Dual Cultivation [D]

Proficiency: 12% ? 90%

Desolate Abyss [F]

Multiplier: 2x ? 2.5x

Proficiency: 50% ? 65%

Desolate Descent [F]

Proficiency: 87% ? 99%

Eye of Sacrilege [B]

Proficiency: 8% ? 10%

Fallen Necromancy [D]

[Proficiency: 72% ? 99%]

Soul Storage: 100/100

Foresight [E]

Proficiency: 57% ? 99%

Grave of Night [C]

Proficiency: 69%

Hands of the Incubus [F]

Proficiency: 0.01% ? 80%

Hellish Rebuke [F]

Proficiency: 97%

Infernal Bane [D]

Proficiency: 56%

Infernal Lightning [D]

Proficiency: 78% ? 98%

Rune Work [E]

Proficiency: 11% ? 99%

Sovereigns Gale [E]

[20m]

Proficiency: 47% ? 90%

Vale Manipulation D]

Proficiency: 0.01% ? 50%

Mana Manipulation [C]

Proficiency: 31% ? 60%

Ninth Form, Aeron C]

Proficiency: 4% ? 70%

Soul of the Indomitable [C]

Proficiency: 30% ? 60%

Primal Instincts [E]

Proficiency: 57% ? 99%