Shadow of the Abyss

The Earth trembled beneath the feet of the Aros men, sending them into a state of alertness. On the day's journey ahead of them, they could see a large pillar of golden light paint the skies alongside the roar of a lion. The beast sounded wounded. And despite the distance, Tania could still hear the pain in its voice.

"What the hell are they fighting?" Dillian said as the pillar of light began to fade into nodes of light.

"That was at least a Tier Two spell," Tania remarked grimly, her fist tightening. "No way it was the kids doing. It had to have been a monster."

Dillian frowned. " Hammerhead… Monsters that can cast are rare."

"I know." She hissed. And she looked down at the message from the God Archeon. It was the first time a God had contacted her, the first time she'd seen a message within the System. However, from what she knew, it never said 'Divine Sin.'

"Do we…" Dillian started.

"Shut up and let me think," Tania demanded, clenching her fist so tight she nearly peeled the skin off her palm. She glared at the message.

[Divine Sin, 'Archeon' smiles and is willing to offer help for a price]

She sucked in a deep breath and whispered. "What is the price?"

[Divine Sin, 'Archeon' smiles deepened and is willing to grant thee power for the price of Altair's head.]

Tania's expression paled to that of a ghost as she trembled, stepping away from her team for a minute.

"I… I can't kill him it's…"

[Divine Sin, 'Archeon' is willing to grant you the power of Infernal Lightning and change your appearance for a mere promise.]

"A promise?" She stammered.

[Ding]

Infernal Lightning [D~SSS]

Attribute: Infernal, Lighting

Description: Found only in the Nine Hells, Infernal Lightning is the strongest variant of the Element of Lightning, possessing no equal in terms of destruction. Capable of striking down gods with ease. Due to its power, Infernal Lighting will be passed down through blood.

Tania gulped hard. She'd never seen such a powerful skill, nor did she know any that was capable of going past the limit of 'S Rank.' Not even the originator of House Aros had ever made his Phoenix Flame reach A Rank.

'With this…' she thought, sucking in a long breath of air: " With this… I might be able to join the main branch.'

"I accept… I accept!" She shouted, but no response came. "Hello!" she called through despair. " Hello!

[Divine Sin, Archeon laughs at your bravery]

…

…

…

Resting for twelve hours, allowing the snow to numb their wounds, Altair glanced at Riena, sleeping softly. He couldn't find sleep today. Not that he minded. Sleep was something he wasn't very fond of. 'Why sleep when meditation offers more?' He'd often ask his Big Sis throughout the night.

From the moment Altair had discovered how to manipulate Mana, he fell in love with the cool array of energy coursing through his Mana Roots, or Meridians as Luna often called it, to set in her ways to change.

The energy he held was calm and far more pure than it was on the outside. He hadn't noticed it before, but while the outside Mana was plentiful, it was tainted with impurities. He could only imagine how impure Earth was lacking in quantity and quality.

"Nevertheless," he smoothly said, with a bright grin. " Not only does Infernal Bane no longer take half my mana, but I can finally use Dark Moon Blade."

A/N: Stats in Chapter 16

Altair childishly grinned with butterflies in his stomach. He brushed his fingers across Reina's cheeks with a giddy smile, stirring her awake. "Ren, it's time. Wake up." The Young Nephilm moaned, peeping her pale eyes open. She stuck her tongue out, turning away from the Prince.

"Lemmie, sleep."

"The Chimera is probably half dead, you know. Can you imagine all the food we'll be able to eat?" Altair mentioned. "All we've been eating is snake jerky. I don't know about you, but I've never had a chimera."

"... It's poison, you know." Reina kindly reminded him, turning back to him. Wrapped from head to toe in bandages like Altair, she pursed her plump lips, annoyed.

"Then I guess I'm dying because I'm sick of eating snakes." He argued, lifting her into his arms princess style. He smiled. " Shall we? Or are you too injured?"

"... I'm good, just tired," Reina said through a weary yawn. "I still have a few broken bones that still need healing, but I can fight. That said…" And she grinned. " Carry me there. I am your super weapon."

"I can use Mana now, you know." Altair reminded her.

"And I've never used Mana to fight you." She countered, grinning foolishly. She closed her eyes, releasing another yawn.

The Prince was amused. "Oh really." He tightened his grip around her, pulling her closer to him. "Then shall we have a match?"

"After the hunt," Reina promised him, peeping her icy eyes open, consumed with a challenging gleam.

The two laughed for a bit. Altair placed her back down, knowing he could not lift her and her greatsword, Ice. Reina knew it, too, as she hopped up, giving her numb muscles a flex. She lifted Ice to her back and nodded to Altair.

"Let's go."

Returning to the scene of the crime in a matter of half an hour, Altair and Reina said nothing at the pure devastation as they made their way towards a large crater over ten meters long, still blistering with heat and ash. At the center, Reina rested her eyes upon the head of the serpent that appeared as if its head had been blown off.

"Master… Can you put this snake head into your dimensional storage?" She asked, not waiting for an answer. She turned to Altair, focused on the tracks of the wounded Chimera stepping out of the wreckage.

"It's heading back to the Heart tree," Altair said, glancing in the direction the Chimera chased him hours ago. He glanced up at the grey skies with a peculiar thought in mind. "Reina… yesterday we saw smoke a two-day journey away. A day without sleep or rest. Shorter if spells are involved."

"You think they'll attack while we fight the chimera?" Reina inquired, frowning. She glanced in the direction of the smoke still billowing into the skies. "It's not like they wouldn't know our location. Do you want to lay an ambush?"

"No… I don't think we'll be able to defeat them." The Prince admitted. "I'm sure they sent one of their elites, fully equipped with various tech. We'll stand no chance. For now, let's keep up the hunt. One problem at a time."

Riena stared at him oddly. "Your lying. I think you are planning something."

The Prince gave her a short, mischievous smile: "We'll see. After all, the Gods can't be trusted."