Shadow of the Abyss

Chapter 216: The Black Lake

From the darkness, they emerged like apparitions, their gray faces cold as a Winter's breeze. Silent like a shadow, they moved in tandem with each other.

Nia had been the first to arrive like a mirage of fog, catching Halvic off guard by the wrist with her spear.

Halvic returned to himself then, pulled by awe from the fog that clouded the mind. He thundered a wail that shook the earth, lifting dust from below, when he saw the glint of a spear's tip twist towards his throat. He panicked, reeling back to Alyssa's knee, cracking his skull open from the rear, propelling forward.

Tears pooled like hot tar from his eyes as Nia's spear entered through the mouth, running him through without hesitation. He stiffened, gargling over the blade that did not quite kill him yet.

Try as he could, he couldn't understand why he didn't sense anyone. He couldn't sense his foe's footsteps, her spear, or the one who struck him from behind.

The pain came like hot flashes through him as a cold numbness began to spread.

"the dagger," Aurora said, noticing the way Altair's bloody palms struggled to hold it. The blade was writhing, trying to escape, trying to run her master through. She darted forward, snapping Halvic's severed hand off the blade grip for her to take hold of.

She frowned then, her ears catching a whisper, a soft, gentle command rippling through the depths of her subconscious.

"Kill Him"

With both hands clutched around the blade's grip, Aurora felt a thin veil of fog begin to cloud her mind.

"Kill Him," The voice hissed.

The fog within the mind thickened, seeking to obscure the mind until only a lifeless gleam swelled through her pupils.

"KILL HIM!"

Aurora lifted the dagger high and ran it down, piercing her own heart. A hushed groan echoed from her lips. She smiled and, with her last breath, as blood pooled from her mouth, said: "Don't touch the dagger."

And in a gush of blackish flames, she vanished in a gale. Leaving the dagger to fall where it may.

"Nia," Jorm drew forward, his eyes like two great pyres of yellow flames. "Stand guard outside. See what none of us can see. Talia go with her. You've permission to burn this entire palace to the ground should the need arise. No hesitation.

I'll carry his majesty. Lady Alyssa, you'll handle the guarding of the Prince while my hands are tied.

The Amazon clapped her palm against her chest. "I understand. Leave it to me," she said in a solemn tone.

Jorm nodded. And he thought, "We cannot bring our lord to the Serpents Outreach not without risking that he might lose out on the prize. But we also cannot stay. If there is one assassin, there are bound to be more."

He glanced at the strange dagger that led to their mage's death and kicked it away beneath one of the weapon racks hidden from sight.

Cleaning their master of blood, the Shadows all stared at the strange marking that bounded their Prince's chest before clothing him with the cloths within Drupnir.

They left ten minutes later. A group of one hundred hurried towards the closest tower, killing a few stragglers who ignored the summoning.

***

'Danger!'

Tensions whirled the mind, stirring the black lake as it rippled: He had to get out. Had to return to the material world.

Trying to recall the lesson of his mother ingrained in his bones when a memory came to him.

'If you are ever in panic, my little Prince. Think of the Endless Night. Think of the skies woven by the very hands of the Abyss herself. Feel its cool, ephemeral nature that guards you beneath the night." Tenebrae whispered, smoothing her finger through her son's long black hair.

A trace of tears came from the corner of the Prince's eyes as a sense of calm swelled through his Astral Mind. He sucked in a deep breath, trying to will himself to return. To Will himself awake like he'd done before.

Still, he remained. Locked within the deepest regions of his mind. He frowned, pulling the distraction of the unknown out of his mind. He peered down at the Black Lake, finding himself unable to break his eyes away.

He tilted his head, reaching down towards the waters when a palm caught him.

"Master, you shouldn't," A strangely familiar voice echoed. "You're not ready yet."

Altair turned, wondering why he didn't feel startled, much less afraid. The voice was soft. Comforting as if she had been by his side since the beginning. He stared at the woman whose beauty seemed to transcend mortal understanding.

She had amethyst eyes so sharp they seemed unreal, as if they didn't belong amongst a mortal kind. Hair of smooth black silk curled down her naked shoulders, hiding her breasts.

"Master?" the woman said, tilting her head in confusion.

Altair unconsciously cupped her cheeks, pulled in by the aesthetic eyes that bore a crest within its depths. His crest. His mark.

"Raven?"

"Of course? Don't you recognize me?" Raven asked. She leaned into his palm only to brood at the missing warmth. She hurried up to her feet, pressing her palm to her hips in a triumphant pose. "It is I, Raven Blackwood! Guardian of the Vale!"

'... Raven... No... that's not your name..." He muttered, feeling an ache rise from out of his mind. He groaned as the sensation rang louder and harder through his skull, distorting his thoughts. It was like someone was hammering a nail into his mind.

"H-Have we met before?"

Raven looked at her master as if he was the biggest fool. 'Of course! We met in the Vale! Master sure is dumb."

The Prince winced, "That's not what I mean... before that? Did we ever meet?"

Raven shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I know only the Vale." And her fingers pointed down towards the Black Lake, "And that is the Vale. If you enter it... I'm not sure we'll ever return."

Altair groaned as the dull sensation faded. "I see. Then... why are you naked?"

She looked down and then up to her Prince. "Is it wrong to be naked?"

Unsure how to answer, he said, "Depends if anyone is around."

And she pointed at him. "But you're naked. And I'm around."

"... That I am."