Shadow of the Abyss

Hundreds if not thousands of meters below, Altair awoke and fainted soon after, unable to keep a clear mind. In a cycle, his consciousness came and went. His instincts woke him of the impending danger, but his body was unable to keep up.

Just then, a faint voice came, stirring the Prince. "Master!" The voice had been so soft, as if it echoed from so far away. \'Master, you must wake up! Syris feed him."

"Feed him? Feed him what?"

"Your blood."

"Screw that! He\'s fine!"

"He\'ll die!"

"I\'ll die! My blood is precious. I can\'t just—"

"Do you want to save him or not? Look at his gut!" Nia voiced, cradling her Master, noticing the way his entrails hung from out his stomach. Bone protruded from his skin, and dirt marred his flesh and injuries alike. He didn\'t look anything like her Prince but rightfully a beggar on the precipice of death.

Syris bit her lips, rather disgruntled. She liked Altair. She liked him a lot. But the act of giving one your blood was sacred to a Celestrials. In her past, blood had been the catalyst for creation. To spill blood in battle was honorable.

But to give it freely meant marriage. Such a tradition dated back far before the Celestrial, echoing from their Ancestors, the High Humans.

"Traditions or someone\'s life…" She thought, her mind coming to a decision. Pressing her wrist within Altair\'s mouth, a tantalizing shudder came as two shards of ice penetrated the skin. It\'s stung, pulsing with a distant trace of pleasure, rattling along the skin. The cold became warmth, trailing up her slender neck.

She felt her blood flowing from her wrist past his lips, and a greater sense of weakness took her, followed by a gentle numbing sensation spreading through the arm. The cold grew sharper, more present, but so did the pleasurable sensation of his lips against her skin.

Syris moaned through her clenched teeth, feeling her breath catch and her heart quicken. She struggled, trying to pull away. But her body refused to listen to her. It moved in on its own, her fingers running hands through his matted hair, clearing it of debris as though she was his lover.

Shame crept through her mind, but Syris couldn\'t stop herself. Her skin felt as though it were on fire. And her loins…

\'Gods… I\'m about to… I\'m about to… \' she thought when Nia jerked her arms out from his mouth. Syris\'s eyes went wide.

"Y-Y-Y-You can\'t die… here," Nia lulled out, collapsing into a dark mist. Returning to her Master\'s embrace. Killed by her injuries.

Altair licked his lips, opening his eyes with a profound sharpness. Nodes of Iridescent light spiraled around his injured body, pulling his intestines back into his stomach. His skin, which had once been punctured by bones and stone alike, began to mend, healing at a visible rate. Syris\'s blood had been so rich with Mana that it managed to pull him from the closest reaches of death.

"You taste good," He muttered.

Syris felt a heat catch in her chest. But still bonked him on the head, biting her lip. "You owe me big time!

Feigning injury, Altair mischievously grinned, "I could treat you to dinner."

"I want steak. A big ass steak."

Altair had to chuckle, "That seems fair. You feed me, I feed you." he tried to stand but fell flat on his face.

"Just rest," Syris said, smiling. "I\'ve shrouded us in darkness. It\'ll be very hard for them to find us, especially with us being so far underground."

"How far?"

"About five miles."

\'So I fled that far,\' the prince thought, closing his eyes. He found peace within the darkness.

As Syris heard the echos of his soft snores, she giggled. Before long, she noticed she, too, could not move. Altair had taken quite a bit of blood, rendering her somewhat immobile. She sighed, resting her head against a stone, creating a gust of air with her Elemental Mastery.

"What a day…"

Just then, another tremor came. The earth groaned, seeking to crush them alive. Syris frowned, creating a small domain free of motion with her Elemental Manipulation. She scowled, ignoring the weakness in her body, and snatched up Altair.

He had been so much bigger than her, nearly consuming her with his large frame. It was awkward to move, but after nearly half an hour, Syris managed to pull him beneath the castle walls.

She winced, the burden of her aching muscles spasming out of control. Maintaining a dark shroud powerful enough to mask oneself against the Soul Kings had already tasked her reserves; adding to the loss of blood and Earth Manipulation, Syris had nearly wiped out all her Three Circles.

Looking over at Altair, she said, "I want two steaks. Two big ass steaks."

***

It was weeks before Reina woke, her loins throbbing greatly with the seed of her lover warming her belly. She couldn\'t move but found the strength nonetheless through the use of mana, easing the fatigue of her weak muscles. By her side, she found Altair in dried blood and dirt, with a letter attached to his chest.

\'I\'ll leave cleaning him to you.\'

Syris

\'How long was I out?" Reina wondered, giving her precious prince a light kiss over his bloodied lips. She stood up, wrapped in robes she didn\'t place on herself. She stepped onto the balcony, counting the Watchers in the skies. The once two hundred and fifty had dwindled by about fifty. The eight hundred Soul Kings, however, was far less than it once was. Nearly two hundred were lost.

"I wonder who all died on our side?" She shook her head, turning towards her Prince to his sleeping face, and watched as his eyes opened and swayed towards her. He grinned, studying the curvature of her robed figure, his eyes mounting with lust.

The memory of her soaked cunt, on his lips was still fresh in his mind.

"Ready for round—"

"Can you even move?"

"That\'s why I\'ve got you. You got enough moves to make up for my lack of mobility."

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Ren had the grace to blush. She tipped toed towards him and smiled. "You really have changed, haven\'t you."

"Good or bad?"

\'Not sure,\' she admitted faintly. Observing the way the glint in his eyes dimmed. "But I don\'t mind. It\'s still you. Still my Art. Now tell me all that happened?"

Recounting the battle between Ignus and himself, Altair told her about the surprise attack of Ser Glynn and Roxas before long his encounter with Syris. He had been bedridden for nearly two weeks, finding his soul exhausted beyond belief with his last battle.

Ashen Blood might have mended such exhaustion, but Altair didn\'t wish to be surprised by another attack once again. If he were, he\'d need all is Mana, at least until Reina awoke.

"Two weeks," Ren muttered, so overwhelmed she blushed. "You fucked me into a coma."

"Please… if you say it like that. People might think it\'s a flex." Altair said. However, he didn\'t seem happy about it. The loss of control had not been something to be proud of. "Anyway. Can you protect me?

I\'ve no idea where Thanatos and Zagreus are. But this level of soul exhaustion runs quite deep."

"Leave it to me!" Ren gave him a thumbs up. She watched her prince slowly close his eyes, allowing his Ashen Blood to activate.

And she thought. "I wonder what Art tastes like now that he has Ashen Blood?"

She shook the thought from her mind when a soft knock echoed through the door. Syris entered with a slight surprise gleam in her eyes.

"Ah. You\'re awake."

Ren\'s eyes turned blood red then, while her voice carried the echoes of death, " This Glynn, did you find him?"

Shaken by the bloodlust passing through her bones, Syris instinctually shook her head. "He\'s gone. Tasha even confirmed it."

"And you believe her?" Said Ren darkly.

"I\'ve no reason to doubt her. Do you?"

"She\'s a devil. That is more than enough reason. But… it\'s unlikely." She shook her head, folding her arms. When her personality switched, her voice became like sweet honey. "I heard Art bit you. How was it?"

Syris chagrinned. "Alright, I guess," she lied, too ashamed to admit the truth.

Reina saw through the lie but didn\'t press the matter. She gestured her in, patting the bed with a warm smile.

"I see. Then… what say you on journeying with Altair for a while longer?"

"A while longer?" Syris looked a bit taken aback. "What do you mean?"

Ren lifted her lips, turning to perhaps her only friend. "Well…"