Shadow of the Abyss

Chapter 425 Six Months I

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 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."