Shadow of the Abyss

The sting of death was still on Altair's breath as he absently stared at the young noble before him—Sven Loregale. He had gotten too comfortable, too prideful in his power. And it had nearly gotten him killed. It was almost a miracle he survived. In that infinitesimal instant where life led to death, Raven's aura surrounded him, and he was by her side. Teleported in the same manner of distortion in which he can summon his Forsaken.

He breathed before amusement touched his lips—It was almost comical—dying in such a manner. One trained by an Abyssal General and Child of a Monarch of Hell to perish in such an ill manner was an affront. Then there was Ashara; she was in oblivion. Her mortal body might not have been able to withstand such a blast, but her immortal soul was a different story. If her soul had managed to sustain considerable damage in the blast, then she would have no choice but to return to hell to recover, assuming she even survived. Immortal or not, the Kisner XZ Mark Titan had been theorized to slay demons of the Hells.

'NO! She is a Royal Devil… At most, she is in a critical state!" Altair assumed, seizing that tainted well of power that was never so far out of reach came to him like a vicious torrent. Motes of light, blacker than the deepest night, began to flicker across the corporeal realm, coming and going as if it was not to be, seeking to consume all that it wasn't. Strangely, neither Sven nor his attendant Avarda appeared to notice.

They merely stared at him and not at the strange essence beginning to shriek into his being.

The Essense of Sin

He knew it to be true but could not quite understand what it represented. The physical representation of the seven Sins was now attempting to push the boundaries between the metaphysical and the corporeal realm.

"Master?" Raven whispered beside him, tilting a worrying eye at him.

Could she, too, not see what he was seeing? That truly intrigued Altair. Raven was an entity far beyond his understanding, existing probably alongside the conception of the Goddess of the Night, possibly even before, guarding the Vale in its entirety. And while she had only just acquired sentience, it was a peculiar thing that she couldn't see what he was seeing.

"I am well," he told her, taken back by his voice. It was sonorous and sharp, more so than he intended, full of pride and something else.

Everything thereafter happened in a hundredth of a second, with Avarda taking off in a blinding flash of eldrich light. Thunder crackled, striking air as Altair tilted his head to the side, dodging the sharp dagger by a tenth of a centimeter, using the smallest possible movement to gain the advantage.

The expression of Avarda was something he would paint as a reminder of the fear he commanded. It was priceless as his palm gently pressed against his opponent's belly.

"DODGE!" Sven roared a heartbeat too late, bounding forward like a feral wolf.

"Enma," Altair whispered half to himself as all the stars in the azure skies drained of color. The sigil in his eyes burned with the sinful glow of his soul, invoking the spell from the World of Shadows Grimoire into his palm.

Again, the motes of Sinful Essense began to flash, kindling around Avarda like a small flame. Instinctually, Altair seized that Sinful Aura and felt his eyes turn to saucers as his Omnipotence awakened on its own.

"Godshattering Star." The words echoed from his mouth as billions of mathematical calculations began to evolve Enma, employing the dao of Darkness, the Sin of Sloth, and Pride together.

Cracks fractured space, spreading hundreds of miles to connect the Heavens to the Earth before it vanished and, with it, the remains of Avada. Not even a mist of blood from a ninth Circle remained as everyone stared blankly at what had occurred. Even the Transcendent Knights were watching with open eyes.

Cold sweat licked Altair's back as sudden understanding overwhelmed him. The Sin of Sloth, he had been channeling, had accidentally stolen or connected Avarda Enlightenment to his own, suddenly allowing him to evolve his own Spell.

[Avarda New Fordes Cam Del L Jarva Felled. Exp Gained.]

"What a broken Dao," Altair said, forging a sword out of Vale Qi to defend against Sven's spear thrust. Embers spew like a hammer against tempered steel.

"I'll kill you!" Sven roared, igniting his spear into flames that seemed to have been wrought by the sun itself. It burned so brightly it was almost blinding.

If Altair was perturbed, he did not let it show, as Sven's spear bounced off his Vale Sword, just as a volley of lightning black as Evernight spewed from the cloudless skies, seeking to turn Vastroph into a calamity. Everywhere the lightning landed, be it stone, women and men turned to vaper. There simply was no exception.

Vastroph was caught in a storm of such proportion it seemed as if someone had invoked a Ninth Circle Spell.

"Madness! You possess the Dao of Lightning, too!" Sven barked, whirling his blade, commanding the Dao of Wind to fend off the infernal lightning. He was a whirlwind of power, blurring to the naked eye.

Of course, Altair wasn't using just his eyes to see, but every sense he commanded, formulating hundreds of battle combinations based on Sven's combat prowess he had observed through his Omnipotence. Lightning curved like a brush on paper, spilling through the microcosm of the corporeal realm, seeking to tear it asunder.

Pillars of indomitable might stretch far beyond the heavens, raging like a cascading sea, burning the city as flames and destruction began to consume Vastroph. Formations target forth only to be torn down by the power of the lightning of hell.

Sven, while surprised, remained untouched, bounding forward through the maelstrom just as predicted. Suddenly, his spear tip began to glow with a golden hue no different than that of the burning sun, which had lost its light in that fleeting moment when the Godshattering Star emerged.

Altair narrowed his eyes, sensing the Dao of Wind and Destruction merging into each other. Unlike most that control one Dao, Sven commanded Six, two of which were on a level he had not yet touched quite yet in any of his Dao.

"Still…" Altair smirked, bounding forward, meeting Sven's named attack head-on.

"Golden—" Whatever Sven was about to scream died in his throat when Altair channeled his Aspect, redirecting the explosion backward.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Blinding radiance governed Heaven and Earth when all of a sudden, all Forsaken appeared from out of nowhere with their fingers aimed towards the sphere of light.

"ALTAIR!!!!!" Sven roared, tearing open his redirected attack, revealing a brutal laceration across his chest, pulsing with mountains of blood. He ate his words again, spotting all of Altair and Ravens Forsakens.

"Enma!" They all invoked in unison, employing as much Vale Qi they could muster without distorting the Second Level Spell being cast at the Seventh Level.

"You'll destroy the planet!!!!" A nameless Transcendent screeched.

'Then let it burn,' Was all Altair thought when he gave the mental command. If Ashara was sent back to Hell or worse, she died, then he had every intention of letting this world be her grave. He was done playing the nice king.

"LET IT BURN! BURN! BURN! BURN! BURN!!!!!!" The Vale King bellowed from the back of his mind, bearing his fangs like a beast.

"ENOUGH!" Perhaps one of the most powerful voices filled with Authority beyond his understanding thundered through Vastroph, seeking to disperse the mana of the world.

Unfortunately for the nameless voice, neither Altair nor his Forsaken used Mana, but rather Vale Qi, not that they had any intention of listening.

The world drained of color as everyone under the Heavens saw the flicker of Primal Death wielding his scythe.

For nearly a thousand miles, darkness consumed the realm, World Refinement be damned, as it could not properly restrict the power of a mortal wielding some unknown Qi. And at the epicenter, Altair stood pointing his Vale wrought sword, staring at the strange golden light protecting Sven. A Godly Armement, no doubt. But that didn't matter. Altair had no intention of killing through the use of his forsaken but with his own hands.

He smiled, raising his sword and invoking the Aspect of Rule. He spoke not towards Sven but the power threatening to destroy the realm.

"Devour," and it was gone.

[DING!]

[Divine Blood of the Nephilim has begun to Awaken]

[Divine Law is seeking to seal you!]

[Wawrning! Arbiters of Babels Tower are watching!]

[Divine Sin, Second Infernal Monarch Screams, 'That's my boy!' over and over]

[Divine Sin, Seventh Infernal Monarch rolls his eyes at the Seconds, reaction]

[All Infernal Monarchs are aware of Altair Blackwood Snow]

[All Fallen Angels are aware of Altair Blackwood Snow]

[All Angels are aware of Altair Blackwood Snow]

[You have been recognized by the Myriad Heavens]