Shadow of the Abyss

Chapter 349 Nox De Nier I

Alyssa's sudden death had not gone unnoticed, leaving Nia and Jorm to charge forward; now that Raven stood over her Master, her Glaive raised high, seemingly prepared to run him through.

Nia herself was taken aback by the sudden surge of speed, propelling herself past what her physical limit could achieve. She tackled Raven as Jorm took hold of their Master, retreating towards the Ascension Gates below. Despite the ruin, it alone stood untouched.

"Raven! Get ahold of—" Nia's words were abruptly cut off as a powerful knee struck her in the abdomen, stealing the air from her lungs. The impact was so intense that it sent her hurdling through the air, the force of the shockwave carrying her for miles. Meanwhile, Raven, her attention fixed on her Master, moved with a speed that defied comprehension, a blur of light energy hurtling towards Jorm.

Jorm could feel her approach; it was sharp like a blade. He felt cold, conjuring his spear that whipped out to cross against Raven's. The light in his eyes dimmed as he was forced to watch his arm turn to bloody mist, smearing his face.

"Morrigan!" Jorm roared. Unfortunately, Raven's Glaive seemed to spin into action, sweeping towards his throat. The blade's edge rang against Morrigan's sword, and her spear drove towards Raven's heart. It missed as she tilted her body mid-air, sweeping her leg out, to Morgan's surprise.

She tsked, mirroring Raven's leg sweep to counter. The clash sent Jorm barreling across the earth, forcing him to hold onto his Master. Without thinking about Raven's strange behavior, he bounded towards the Ascension Gate at a speed that allowed his image to become murky at best.

"Raven," Morrigan shouted, noticing the lack of reaction across her hollow husk. Her expression shrunk, recognizing the Fifth Form, and she said, "The Hollowing. Fuck. I—" she paled, with a shaky laugh, parrying the near-killing blow that seemed to defy mortal comprehension, blending into space aimed at her heart and throat. "God damn it! Get ahold of yourself!"

Raven didn't respond as the King Domain expanded, lining her vision with millions of nodes all connected to her for nearly several miles. She vanished, to Morgan's surprise, catching Jorm by the second step she took, diving her Glaive into his back before he could sense her arrival.

Jorm drained of color, opening his King Domain to use Sovereign's Gale, but was shocked to see every node he could push himself to was missing or rather sealed by Raven's understanding.

"Rave—" Severing him in half without the slightest hint of remorse or hesitation, his sea of consciousness returned to the Vale, leaving Altair's limp body to topple to the ruined realm.

Raven tilted her head, her hollow eyes shimmering a deep amethyst hue as she took a step towards him.

"Sorry dear, I'll be taking him," said Tasha, appearing before Altair and Raven with a single palm pressed at the center of Raven's breast. She gave a light push that violently launched her into space before she could react. "I'll see you on the next floor," she said before lifting Altair into her arms and arriving at the Ascension Gate in a single step.

"But I'll be first to have a taste." She smiled devilishly before she began her ascent.

To her rear, Seina followed, glancing in the direction Raven had vanished. Despite not seeing her, the essence of the Vale had never been so dreadful; it made her blood ache with each pulse of her heart. She gulped.

"What the bloody hell happened to her?"

"The Hollowing," Morrigan explained, hurrying behind her. "Let's move before she does something I can't explain."

"Is she that powerful?"

Morrigan glanced at her and said, "Those that walked the Fifth Form are all monsters that have reached the zenith of martial arts. Merely entering the Hollowing allows one's battle prowess to triple. If we fight... I'll be forced to kill her. So for now, we run."

Hurrying up the Ascension Gate, Seina saw a small speck of light pierce the atmosphere before she vanished from the Third Floor.

****

Just then, a soft groan echoed through the room, stirring the windows, which began to crack as a tremendous aura began to billow off the young Master's body. His eyes opened, revealing the depths of something older than matters of life and death.

"Good Morning, my Master," said Tasha, falling to one knee. "I hope you're doing well?"

Confused, Altair stood up, tilting his head, unsure why his head felt as if someone had hammered at it with a battering ram. Light itself seemed more blinding than ever before as he closed his eyes to cope.

"Close the blinds," he softly wheezed.

Tasha moved to obey, glancing at Altair or, rather, the scrawny body of Nox, slowly being altered by Altair's Soul.

In the darkness, Altair's black eyes turned scarlet as he sighed, burdened by a weakness that left him feeble. He lifted his hand, noticing the absence of one of his rings.

"I have Draupnir with me," Tasha explained, slowly helping him up. "These types of rings are not used in this world, so I took it off before your identity was exposed."

More confused, he glanced at Tasha. "This world?"

"The fourth floor of Babels Tower, well, that's a misnomer. We are technically on the Twentieth Floor."

That alarmed the young emperor as all the weariness was drained from out of him. His eyes grew sharp, shimmering with danger. "How long was I out?"

"A Month," said Tasha. "You were experiencing Soul Exhaustion. So there wasn't much I could do. Gram helped lessen the effects, but still..."

In a single moment that seemed to constitute a mere instant, Altair cycled through the information of his Shadows faster than he could blink in regard to the state of his empire. He sighed in relief, leaning his head back against the bedrest.

'They're not here yet,' he thought, throwing a glance at Tasha. Wrapped in golden white robes. They didn't suit her. Not that he was one for fashion.

[Master, you need time to recover. It would be best if you didn't abuse your Omniscience anymore.]

Altair ignored his inner voice, glancing down at his scrawny body, forced to ask, " What the hell is going on? How'd I become like this?"

"Well, for starters. Your name from now on is Nox."

Altair blinked, more confused than before. He was struggling to stand up when a notification came across his pupils.

[Soul of Nox De Nier acquired]

[First Transcendent Soul Acquired]

"What the bloody hell is going on?"