FVN Chapter 317
Chapter 317
Chapter 317
Chapter 317
When Riven had asked his great grandmother about a means to bring Kara back to Panu from the Abyssal Descent, the old vampire had raised a skeptic eyebrow - but had answered all his questions concerning possible outcomes.
His staff would not work regardless of the Portal Master trait it had because it could not cross universes.
“It would need to be within the A-grade at least, and your staff is still an F-grade item.” She’d said with a shake of her head. “You could try it, but I guarantee the portals will fail.”
He’d then asked about the potential of hiring Kara onto the guild hall. To this, his grandmother gave a half-shrug. “It is possible. As long as you’re willing to keep her confined to your guild hall’s borders then I’m sure Elysium would allow it, just like you contracted Fay’s brother - but you’d need to pay the system fee as well as the regular pay to the hired servant.”
“Any chance I could have an escorting ship pick her up?”
Nephridi snickered. “We could certainly do that, but not for someone like her. The ships we have that are able to transcend galaxies alone are more valuable than her life ten thousand times over, and you’re speaking of sending a higher class vessel - risking it and the crew against the dangers of the outer dark - and blowing through blockades of fighting religious factions that’ve quarantined your world to drop her off? No, I think not.”
Riven had completely forgotten about the blockades. He’d been told once a while ago that battles frequently occurred around Elysium’s barrier surrounding Panu, usually between entire armadas of various factions that both supported and opposed Gluttony’s return. He could only imagine that it’d gotten worse or would get worse considering Allie’s timely ascendancy. But he was also somewhat removed from the entire thing in many aspects as - should he and Allie succeed in Panu’s conquest - they’d likely be moving the planet anyways per Elysium’s prize.
The armadas would only be a concern if Riven and Allie failed in their attempt. He was doubtless that The Blood Moon Requiem would intervene alongside the Church of Gluttony and the Church of Wrath in full force should that happen and an escape attempt be made off Panu - but that was still years away.
How long did it take to cross between universes for the best ships available anyways?
He honestly didn’t know.
The talks continued on for a time and He came to the conclusion that the guild hall way of bringing Kara over by hiring her would probably be best, though the distance fee would no doubt be astronomically high. Even he may have to raise some cash if the distance was too great, his grandmother told him, but it was otherwise possible. She did however say that he’d been rather stupid for putting up 3 billion for an F-grade mortal, and chided him thoroughly for it before buying him an item to help him descend and then disappearing as the communication lines were cut. It was unfortunate that Elysium limited their buys to only one item, and didn’t allow Riven his own access to buy anything else from the external options. But by the time she left, the rest of his team was up and about, having recovered from the archbishop’s potent presence.
[Your time with High Queen Nephridi, of The Blood Moon Requiem, Universe 10 - is now over.
High Queen Nephridi has bought your group the following:
Map Layout of All Shortcuts up to Floor 45 (5.2 million Elysium Coins): An addition to the Abyssal Spirit Guide you’ve already been gifted: this 3-dimensional map shows all paths to shortcuts downwards into the floors below. This map will burn up and destroy itself after finishing Floor 45.
The Unholy Archbishop Prek An-Gash has bought your group the following:
E-grade Abyssal Cultivation Array (12.7 million Elysium Coins): An array that draws on the powers of Sin, the Abyss, and all the branches of the Unholy Foundational Pillar to help expedite your cultivation. Drastically improves your foundations when creating your Soul Lattice to move into the E-grade. This device will shatter once your ascension has completed.
The Court of Emperor Adali has bought your group the following:
1,000 Tickets to the Abyssal Descent (These tickets have been directly removed from Emperor Adali’s spatial bag and have been transferred to you, cost averted): These tickets allow entry into the Abyssal Descent, one ticket per person.
King and Queen Rantali have bought your group the following:
Abyssal Spirit Guide (3 million Elysium Coins): A spirit guide that has walked the halls of the descent for a long, long time. The spirit will remain with you while descending, and can guide you to the fastest possible routes to further levels. Faster, however, does not mean safer.
You’ve completed Floor 22: Ocean of Wrath. Proceeding to Floor 23: The Silent Chamber.]
Before Riven knew what hit him, he and his friends were all standing in the next floor. A tall totem shrine twice his height with unholy green light was the only source they could go off of to see into the surrounding darkness, and a circular stone carving in an otherwise perfectly smooth stone floor was projecting a barrier around the shrine with flickering wisps of gray. Outside the circle and beyond the barrier, bodies numbering in the many dozens lay in various mutilated positions - some of them very old, and some of them very new.
But his eyes, even with vampiric sight, could not penetrate that deep black curtain in the depths of their surroundings. The land appeared to just fade away, there was no sky, and soon enough a system notification hailed the start of the next event.
[Floor 22, The Silent Chamber, is now open to you. On this floor, the cursed enemies you encounter will be unkillable. They will not know where you are unless you make noise, and are completely blind. Your goal, along with each member of the team that is not a minion, will be to find soul lattice enhancement pills hidden in the outer darkness. Each of your members will need to collect their own set of three before moving on, you cannot give pills to one another. The only safe zone is within the barrier surrounding this altar you currently stand by. Good luck.]
The notification snapped closed, and he turned around to view the rest of his party.
Along with the abyssal spirit floating off to his left holding a cube that projected rotating three dimensional images. It appeared to be a wraith of some kind, though was made out of black abyssal energy instead of the normal kind of plasma seen with most undead.
“It appears you’re still with us, Prince Rantali.” Riven said with a smirk as the other prince looked around dubiously. “You look like you just came out of a bad nap.”
“Don’t think you’re funny!” Athela remarked, snapping her own notifications closed with a scowl and putting her hands on her hips. “You were the only one that managed to stay awake through the last two encounters, weren’t you!? That’s so unfair!”
Riven shook his head. “I was knocked out by Prek as well, but I did recover far faster than anyone else and spoke to High Queen Nephridi. Elder Thune has been labeled a heretic and a traitor, so there’s that, and Kathrine was saved by Allie.”
“Oh good! Yay! I’m glad Kathrine’s alright!”
Prince Rantali grunted and interrupted Athela’s cheers. “I wish I’d been able to speak with your grandmother, she’s a legend both figuratively and literally. Damn it all...”
“And what will you be doing, master?” The deep booming voice of Barktarus the bone-wraith devil asked while spreading his wings with neon-teal membranes stretched between bones. “What are your plans as Jebil and I take to the fields of battle, and Amelia leaves with Gluttony’s envoy?”
The Wrathful Lion turned to stare at Allie, who’d remained quiet next to Mara this entire exchange. “Allie and I have some personal matters to attend to before anything else.”
***
The city of Mandon was still in a state of needing repair after Rippenvire’s invasion over half a year ago, but it’d come a long way. The multi-layered city still reached into the skies to inspire those who looked on it, and the top layer in particular where the previous King Arthur Brix lived had been especially tended to. The man was no longer king, but labeled as the very first Duke under Allie’s banner in the new status quo of the Thane necropolis - while all other nobles had been reduced to Barons and Counts. Realistically the entire power structure of The Thane Necropolis was still in the making, but knowing that they retained some form of nobility made many of the old rich families of the region of Dawn less upset about being integrated into the greater power.
“Are you feeling alright?” Lady Shovi Lucio asked her youngest son, coming to stand next to Lahn on the balcony overlooking the sprawling flower gardens that’d been planted only two months before after the catastrophe and ruin had been cleaned up.
Lahn let out a long sigh, eyes sad as he stared out across the fields of brilliantly colored flowers with teal eyes and pale skin. Adjusting his well made suit, he tapped one of his boots against the stone railing and leaned over to stare down the fifty foot drop. “The flowers are a rather nice reminder of how things used to be. I’m amazed the alchemists could come up with a way to retain the greenery by adjusting the genomes of death-attuned plants, it’s almost like the attack on Mandon never happened.”
Lady Shovi Lucio raised an eyebrow and tussled his now brown hair. “Did you not like the silver coloring?”
“I like my original brown better. Bought the dye from a vendor in Angor’s Midtown two stories below.”
She smiled, but brought her own silver locks in front of her to stare at them. “I personally like mine. Fits the red dress I have on rather nicely! Or so your father tells me.”
Lahn tried not to grimace at the mention of his father. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw his asshole of a dad and his two siblings, Parius Lucio and Linela Lucio, mingling with the crowds of people. They were almost all deathtouched enlightened here, meaning they didn’t look all that different from when they’d been alive aside from the color changes, cold flesh, limited pain and Death attunements they now possessed. Most of the mortal humanoid races had gone this route, including their old enemies - the Tereen elves in the conquered neighboring province, though the humans of Dawn had adapted better to their new reality than the undead elves had.
In fact, many of Dawn’s people were outright optimistic about their futures.
“With the Thanes protecting us, why even have an army in Dawn?” He heard one noble say while laughing and drinking from crystal goblets further into the open-air ballroom.
“It’s only a matter of time before this war is over.” Another man in tight fitting victorian garb said in agreement.
“Panu will be ours, and we’ll be at the top of the food chain as early adopters.” A woman in a ballgown enthusiastically nodded in agreement.
Lahn turned away with a grimace, catching his mother’s stare on the way back to look at the flowering fields. “I’m truly alright, mother. Just down.”
“Is this about Allie abandoning you again?” Shovi asked hesitantly, already knowing the answer. “You’ve been on five dates just in the past month, Lahn. I did like Allie, and am disappointed, but you’ll find someone else who is just as good.”
Lahn tried not to scoff, and his hands gripped the railing hard. “She showed me love even while I was ill, mother. I just thought... I just thought that she was different. That’s all. Even after her return from wherever it was she’d gone to, she still hasn’t come back to see me days later. She’s forgotten about me. And I was fool enough to think that maybe, just maybe, she’d want to at least give me closure.”
Shovi’s eyes fell, but she reached out a hand to grasp her son’s own and squeezed. “She may have left... but I’ll always love you, Lahn. Always and forever. You’re still my baby boy.”
Warmth spread in his chest, and he let on a gentle smile that replaced the ever-present scowl he nowadays had. “Thanks mom. I know you will, and I’ll never forget it. You’re the best parent I could ever ask for.”
The sound of a bell ringing caused everyone to turn around and the laughter to subside.
The now Duke Arthur Brix wore a wide, brilliantly white smile and stroked his colored brown beard that was neatly trimmed on his face - casting glances over the crowd while standing atop a raised platform in the back of the ballroom where an orchestra was setting up string instruments. “Hello everyone, and welcome to my humble house! I hope you’re all enjoying the party, but I wanted to let you know that we’ll be clearing out the dance floor soon so that our younger members of the nobility can get to know one another better. At the end of the night, married couples will also be allowed to dance and I hope to see you there as I will take to the dance floor too!”
His eyes cast to Lahn with a twinkle. “My daughters are looking for suitors and I can’t have them childless forever! They may not be princesses anymore, but who cares when they have the faces of angels!”
“DAD!” One of the young women nearby exclaimed before punching him and hiding her face in embarrassment.
Laughter erupted from the crowd before he waved his hands for silence again.
“Now, now, before I get murdered by my own family!” He laughed while raising a crystal glass up in the air. “A toast to the recovery of our dominion! May Dawn flourish under the Thane Necropolis’s rule. Long live Riven and Allie Thane!”
Lahn’s jaw clenched, but he lifted his glass anyways. “Long live Riven and Allie Thane.”
There was a loud cheer, and soon the floor was cleared as music began to play.
A very pretty young woman, the daughter of the duke, started making her way through the crowds in a green dress that hugged her hips. She only had eyes for Lahn as other young men tried to stop and talk to her, but she brushed by them with a growing smile.
“Here she comes!” Shovi whispered excitedly, prodding her son forward. “This’ll be the third time she’s approached you, Lahn! She’s strikingly beautiful, go talk to her and maybe you’ll get another date! The last one was fun, yes?”
Lahn’s heart lifted slightly at seeing Aurora approach, and his eyes softened. The cold steel cage wrapped around his heart began to loosen up, and a smile played at his lips as he remembered the first kiss he’d shared with the previous princess. “Yes... The last date was rather fun indeed.”
Chugging his glass of wine, he shoved it into his mother’s hands and winked. “Wish me luck!”
“Oh you don’t need it, but good luck anyways!” Shovi giggled as he made his way through the bustling crowds to leave her behind. “Good luck Lahn, you’re a genuinely kind person and deserving of happiness. I truly hope you find it.”