Shadow of the Abyss

As Altair enjoyed conversing with his companions, he couldn't help but feel like an outsider as the discussion shifted towards music. He realized that he had never really taken the time to appreciate the art form and couldn't recall ever having a moment to just sit back and listen.

Since arriving on Earth, his life had been a never-ending series of problems and challenges that demanded his immediate attention, leaving him no time to relax or pursue leisurely interests.

He couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy.

Syris and Talia loved pop. Hilda was a fan of Rock, while Vaiga and Zag were staunch supporters of classical music. Lately, however, Zag had been getting into Hip-Hop and Jazz.

"Surely, Altair," Syris interjected, acutely aware of Altair's exclusion. "You must have listened to music while you sketched?"

The young man shook his head, "Nope. Each time I held my brush outside noise became like static."

"Wow~" Talia sang, " Not even while you two banged. Yall must really like the sound of balls slapping against—"

Syris and Altair bonked her on the head, finding they might need to buy a muzzle for the little witch.

They all shared a laugh, but the mirth was abruptly cut short as a wave of tension swept through Syris. Her eyes darted around the area, her senses extending beyond what the ordinary eye could perceive. Yet, she saw nothing. Felt nothing.

Altair felt her alert state; they all did, growing on guard even if she felt nothing. The spatial awareness of any Celestial was unmatched. For even a part of her to tense ment, her consciousness had sensed something.

The silence blanked the forest bed for a few seconds before Zagreus broke it, "Can I assume you wanted to kill one of these Cambions?"There had been no other reason Zag could think of why he had chosen to idly walk rather than speed through the forest.

Suddenly, the air screamed as Altair sidestepped, swiftly dodging the arrow the size of a titan's arms, penetrating the earth with earth-shattering force, raining debris like shrapnel, and shredding the nearby forest apart. Trees the size of several strong men snapped like twigs following the ruthless shockwave that swept the region.

Altair looked indifferent, untouched by even the dust. The moment his domain caught sight of the stone arrow, the twin sigils in his eyes illuminated sacred light, creating a barrier around him. His eyes fell upon the arrow six times his length, towering over him like a tree. Altair's smile grew predatory.

The arrow hadn't been shot by any mindless creature but by sentient hands.

"Ah, it has been far too long since I last experienced the thrill of a good hunt," he mused, rising to his feet as a surge of energy coursed through his body. The air around him crackled with infernal lightning that trailed his being as if he were a living thunderstorm struggling to contain his power.

With effortless grace, Altair blurred into action, weaving through the dense foliage of the forest with precision and ease that left even the most nimble of creatures in awe.

Altair's frigid, blood-red eyes gazed intently towards a distant forest mound, which rose majestically, towering over the treetops like a colossal mountain. The mound was shrouded in thick vegetation, which concealed a massive stone structure, evoking the image of a fearsome humanoid standing proud and tall, almost 20 meters high.

Atop the construct on its shoulder stood an archer, his small figure dwarfed by the enormity of his surroundings. The archer held an arrow that was almost twice his size, his eyes fixed on a distant target, waiting patiently for the perfect moment to strike. And like his master, the Stone Construct seemed to mirror its master. An arrow poised to strike from its bow.

Another arrow was let loose with terrifying force; however, what he saw next defied all logic and reason. As he watched in awe and horror, a being made of pure lightning emerged from the earth, using the stone arrow as a bridge to leap towards him.

The Archer trembled with fear as a palm snatched him from his construct, barreling his body through the air into the ground until his skull bore the brunt of the force, tearing through trees and stone until it exploded into a paste.

[Tero Hale Felled. Exp Gained]

Altair ignored the crumbling construct, tossing the body towards his left, allowing it to catch the firebolt that exploded the archer's remains into a gore-filled mesh. He stepped through it, his eyes targeting the young elven mage.

By the time she blinked, the last thing that entered her mind was Altair fist penetrating through her skull, skewing her remains until she hung lifeless across his arm, dead.

[Lyndel Fyto Felled. Exp Gained]

He swatted her useless body with unblinking dismissal, swaying his eyes towards a swordsman, a half-elf, standing powerlessly.

Altair raised his bloodied palm, and like a ghost, Talia emerged, invoking a cleaning spell to rid him of blood.

"Master is so fast," she said, glancing back at the others several miles back, taking their time to arrive.

"I'd thought perhaps it was a Sixth Circle, maybe a fifth. Not some Forth and Third Circle warriors." Altair lamented, settling his sight on the swordsman, falling to his knees. Taken by such a degree of fear, words failed him. He'd had half a mind to finish the job but felt it too beneath him.

"Kid," spoke Altair in a commanding tone, his voice resonating with confidence and authority. The swordsman could feel the weight of his words, like a sudden rush of cold water coursing through his veins.

He gulped.

"Why did you attack me? What? Cat got you, tungue? I could cut it out for you?"

"A-A-Atticus…Atticus asked us to attack you," the swordsman stammered, his voice cracking as he tried to maintain any sort of dignity he still possessed. Trying and failing with the warm piss, rolling down his trousers.

Altair frowned and drawled, "And who is he?"

"I… I… I don't know… but he paid us seven hundred Sols."

"He's Kind of useless, isn't he?" Talia mused, lazily sliding Endmyian out of his scabbard, the blade edge carrying Death across its edge. "Should I kill him?"

Altair wasn't sure. He had a name, but that was all. It would be easy to simply kill him and read his soul. Unfortunately, he didn't want the coward apart from his Shadow Army, especially now that he was full up. Even a demon that could only kill was better than a useless man like this.

"Just kill him. And you can eat his soul if you like. Vaiga said she felt full doing so.' Altair said, a little frustrated over the entire incident about his shadow-consuming souls. It didn't seem to do anything. But Vaiga had told him about the desire to continue feeding on them.

Altair allowed it, allowing her to feed on the souls of prisoners each day, but aside from satiating some unknown desire, there had been no real growth in her skills or body. He'd dismissed the matter but still held out hope his Shadows might gain something out of it in time.

At her master's silence, the Swordsman's head was separated from his shoulders in one blinding flash.

[Marcell Tomps Felled. Exp Gained]

"What now?" Talia said, cleaning Endymion with a single swish of her sword over space before sliding it back into its cage.

"We continue—" His eyes tilted towards the shadow that loomed behind him, arriving at such a speed it seemed almost incomprehensible.

Almost

'I've been waiting for you,' He thought, invoking Shadow Cage. He'd gone out of his way trying to kill irrelevant people to make himself appear as if he'd let his guard down.

Unfortunately, just as Shadow Cage was invoked sprawling with tendrils of Darkness, the creature vanished, just outside its range of ten meters, with its inhuman speed.

He winced, "That speed is… ridiculous."

Cambion, or what was left of it, had been a sight Altair would perhaps never forget. To his knowledge, Cambion were creatures said to rival the angelic beauty of angels. Irresistible to mortals and even some gods, they were said to be the only type of True Half-Bloods to exist within the Infernal Lineage.

Due to the power of the Infernal Blood, those whose souls were tainted by the Hells would become full-fledged Demons or Devils. It was only a matter of time before the change took over.

Cambions was different. Due to the physiology of an Incubus and a Succubus, mutations tend to occur amongst the stronger races they copulate with, resulting in the production of a Cambion. Half-Bloods that manage to maintain a perfect perpetual state within the soul.

Such abominations were usually objects of sex that were usually abandoned by their Mother and Father within the Hells, later to be used as Sex Slaves by demons or humans that managed to purchase them from a traveling Devil for a daring price.

Most Cambion did not live long in the Myriad Heavens and were usually hunted down by Malakhs or the Sisters of Silence before they could grow.

Presently, the Camboin was far different from how they typically appeared. This one was all wrong. Mutilated beyond recognition, it possessed one elongated arm crooked like a half-broken ruler, burning red skin stretching into itself like a vortex. At the same time, large boils the size of an infant's head trailed the body.

Indeed, it was an abomination. A hideous creature that deserved death and nothing else.

"Now you'll be more welcome in my Shadow Army," Altair said, unveiling the presence of what seemed like a Demi-God.

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