Shadow of the Abyss

Webs of viens sprang over the Prince's arms through the sheer force necessary to nock his arrow. Pain roiled through his forearm as he bore the burn that came with wielding his hunting bow. He cooly watched a human-shaped head wiggle its way through the bones. One of a woman, stained by the filth around her.

Treads of caramel hair treaded her sublime features that carried a charm that would weaken the resolve of any man or woman.

[Charisma Check]

For the moment, Altair had the bearings of a man bounded by infatuation. His eyes had gone wide as he lowered his nocked bow. When an eruption of bones splintered the air, nicking the boy's cheeks, the woman lunged, her half-naked body revealed alongside the lower half that carried the body of a serpent.

Fast as a gust of wind, the Lamia raised its claw, ready to strike, when moonlight shrieked through the air, cutting through the eye of the scaled woman, shedding the earth with her blood before she could grasp what happened. A bellous shriek crackled, tormented with anguish.

Altair laughed, mentally controlling his Dark Moon Blade. He aimed his bow. "Got ya~ " He teased, releasing the arrow. A boom thundered, bearing the force of a shotgun, knocking the boy off his feet as the arrow tore through the sound barrier, shredding the Lamia's arm to a fine paste. Who had bearly managed to twist her body, trying to defend the best she could.

The Eye of Sacrilege glowed.

[Ding]

Juvenile Lamia Lv 5

Type: Monstrosity

Strength: 12

Dexterity:9

Constitution: 6

Wisdom: 11

Charisma: 14

Mana: 3

Altair tumbled back in a barrel roll, unable to stop the kickback, sounding with laughter, as he hoisted himself up. The tips of his left hand were a shred mesh of blood. But he didn't mind. Not when he'd done so much damage. Not when he'd discovered such a powerful weapon.

The Lamia shrieked, thrashing back and forth, gripping its missing arm. It roared, foaming at the mouth, turning its one good eye towards the Prince, seething with hate.

The Prince wasn't impressed. "Is that all you have to offer?"

"Demon," The Lamia said, surprising the Prince with its knowledge of the common tongue. She hissed at him and, without hesitation, dashed towards Altair at a breathtaking speed. When, all of a sudden, the Dark Moon Blade shrieked through the air, meeting her head-on. Claw and blade clashed head-on, swallowing the Prince's eyes with embers. The boy darted towards the frey.

[DING]

[Dark Moon Proficiency Increased by 5%]

[Multiplyer: 4x]

[Proficiency: 76% → 96%]

A blinding shriek trailed after Endmyian as Altair raced beneath her missing arm, aiming for her chest; his blade became like the harbinger of night beneath the moon's glow, carving through her scaled flesh like hot butter, spraying his smile with blood.

The Lamia shrieked, baring a bone-deep scar over its chest. When her tail came out of nowhere, startling the young Prince. Who pivoted back on the tips of his toes, lifting his sword to parry the tail whip in time.

BOOOOM~

Like a canon being fired, Altair found himself planted into the stone. Webs of cracks splintered the wall, splattered with the boy's blood. Altair tumbled to the ground, falling on one knee, his eyes dazed, consumed by stray light, but his mind was sharp. He could feel several bones broken in his right arm and several on his ribs.

He could disrupt the Lamia's speed with his moon blade, but its power was something else.

"Damn… One attack did this much." He cursed, wiping the blood from his lips. Altair staggered to his feet, staring at the Lamia drenched in its blood.

"Demon…" She hissed. "Evil… Kill…"

The Prince snorted coldly, wielding the Mana from his core. He circled the beast with slow, easy steps, taking his time as the Dark Moon Blade trailed after him. The Lamia held only one arm, a fatal injury to most, bearing a gruesome gash on its chest. Its life was sure to end soon. Altair knew this. But so, too, did the Lamia.

'I could end it all with a single spell,' the Prince thought but did not permit himself to embellish in his more powerful arts. It wasn't enough. He didn't wish to dominate his enemy through spells they could not defend against. He wanted to do more.

[Divine Sin, Archean, commends your courage]

The hot air billowed over the graveyard of decay. Yet it felt cold over the flesh of the Lamia for the first time. She gave a whimpered hiss, relinquishing herself to fate, and dashed towards Altair with all the speed she could muster.

Her monstrous figure blurred, appearing before the boy in moments rather than seconds. Mana flared over her razor-sharp talons aimed at his head. Altair did not move; his mind could react in time, but his body couldn't. Not that it needed to.

Manipulating his Moonlit Blade to intercede on his behalf, the Prince did not appear surprised when the Lamia talons tore through his ethereal sword. Rather, he'd expected it as it slowed the Lamia claw in time for Altair to react. Wielding the night, Endymion swept up the moment Dark Moon Blade shattered.

[Ding]

[Juvenile Lamia Felled. Exp Gained.]

[Ding]

[Grave of Night proficiency increased by 2%]

[Multiplyer: 2x]

[0% → 4%]

Sliced in half from the waist up, Altair calmly stepped through the Lamia as she split in half, her organs spilling out without reservation, decorating the grotesque cave. The Prince glanced down at his sword.

"Next time… I'll have The Dark Moon Blade use Grave of Night. That way…' he coughed up blood falling to a knee, weakened by his injuries. "That way, the Dark Moon Blade will be able to deliver a stronger force. I need more training. My physical body is weak, but my Mana purity is powerful." He clenched his fist, standing to his feet, turning his back to his felled foe. "I need a lot more training.

A lot more."

[Ironia's Ale has increased Con by 1]

Altair gave a wild laugh that sent a chill through the air that echoed through the cave, alerting nearby crows into a state of alarm. Their wings battered away as if to flee the sound. The Prince retreated, baring his wounds like trophies to be had. His action slowly planting an icy chill in the heart of the gods watching down on him.

For they, too, could sense the madness it carried. The scornful wickedness that plagued the air, deepening into the depths of the Abyss, untouched by those of the Myriad Heavens. A dark shadow loomed over the Prince, crowning him its master.

***

In the following days of recovery, Altair meditated on his battle against the Lamia. There had been little he could do with his broken bones, but that did not stop him from experimenting with Mana, especially when it came to his Mana Roots. The sole pathway of allowing Mana through one's material form.

For most to understand, Mana Roots was a unique process that took years, sometimes decades, as no man or woman was the same. 'One's Meridians were like a fingerprint. They are all uniquely different but the same.' Luna had often told him. The Prince's own had been no different, but Altair had not been interested in learning the various paths that were long since memorized the first day.

Rather, he was curious as to how one strengthens their pathways.

The Meridians were quick to be damaged but quick to heal; at least… that's how it was in his body. Altair had learned this days ago, gobbling Mana to purify it. Each cycle had strained his Meridians, causing some to tear and heal in the following hours.

By the third day, as his stomach rumbled for substance, the Prince opened his eyes with a dissatisfied hue. Most of his shattered bones were mended through his natural healing factor.

"How does one strengthen Mana Roots? To withstand higher levels of purity without raising 'Constitution'?" He grumbled, tugging his hair. 'There has to be a way, right? Strengthening my vessel is important, but I don't want to restrict any one stat. And right now, I'm restricting Mana because my body is underdeveloped."

[Divine Being, 'Titan Fall' Can't believe his ears.]

[Divine Being Piercing Owl is shocked by your level of knowledge involving Mana.]

[Divine Being, 'Dragon Eater' believes you're overestimating yourself and claims the body is the ultimate vessel of power in the known Myriad Heavens.]

[Mana Manipulation Proficiency has Increased by 10%]

[Multiplayer: 2x]

[Proficiency: 25% → 45%]

Altair ignored them and began to send Mana into the Eye of Sacrilege, having discovered it brought a calming effect to his thoughts, allowing him not just to perceive the world in a different perception but also gain a deep level of insight into the world around him.

The eye of Sacrilege spun with demonic light brimming with Mana as Altair ignored his grumbling stomach. He fell into deep deliberation, seemingly unaware of the growing lifelessness in his eyes.

A drowning domain of knowledge gathered around the young Prince's soul, pulling him deeper before popping his eyes open with untamed shock.

"That's it!" He sprang up, speaking his mind with a vibrant glow. "Since Meridians aren't a muscle, they don't regrow stronger the more I break them down."

[Mana Manipulation Proficiency has Increased by 20%]

[Multiplayer: 2x]

[Proficiency: 45% → 85%]

"They exist in both the ethereal realm and the material. So rather than cycle Mana at a high frequency, I need to create a new system of Mana to allow the Mana within my body to flow in a perpetual state in tandem with the Circle of Gluttony. It's like compressing data! If I can create a rune that forces all Mana that enters my body to adhere to a set standard.

It doesn't matter how strong my Mana is if it doesn't damage my Meridians."

[Ding]

[Undsterand of Mana Concepts has stepped into the Realm of Godhood. Proficiency can't keep up with Knowledge.]

[Ding]

[Mana Manipulation [E → D]

Ding

[Dark Moon Blade F → E]

Capacity: 2 → 3

New Effect 1: Shared Mind

[Shared Mind: Dark Moon Blade will share the same mind as Altair. ]