Shadow of the Abyss

Two days later, towards the far east, north of the mountainous range, Altair and Reina huddled together as the icy winds billowed against their bear bodies. As if shards of ice danced along their bare flesh, Altair felt his crack and blister as more time passed.

"It's getting colder." He said with a smile. He'd love the snow. The Winters on Earth had always been a magical time. From the sweet honey milk, his Mother made for him to the songs that always seemed to bring a smile to his face. Even the cold, unfeely men of the Aros estate would find smiles during this time, warming the barren halls of the estate.

Winter had been Altair's favorite time of the year. And it had remained so even today, as his eyes burned. The Snow was always peaceful, unlike the heat that made his blood boil and his body wet. But the cold. The cold was silent like death and peaceful like a calming dream; it was the lullaby of darkness his Mother often sung to him.

Reina, however, held no such affinity to winter, much less any of the seasons. To her, all she knew was the blood and the constant plague of death, tracing its fingers against her cheek, singing a toon that sounded like gravel.

"Wait a sec," She suddenly said, reaching down to a petal flower carrying the silvery hue of snow. "Yarrow can be used to stop bleeding and help digestion. I think I can make a new concoction with this."

"... Do you just randomly put stuff together?" Altair bitterly questioned.

"Of course. How else am I to expand my skills?" Reina rebutted. She stored the flower, returning to his side. "Alchemy is a complex field. One flower can theoretically make hundreds of different medicines or poisons. It all depends… There exists a large amount of Yin Energy within Yarrow.

So, if we add it to Mistywood, we might be able to enhance its effect if we burn it along with the wood. It might add a new effect to the fire, or it could kill us all, Teehee. It all depends, really. However, I…"

Altair listened as Reina began to ramble as she had done whenever the topic of alchemy came up. Despite being an extremely skilled swordsman herself, Riena's true love lied in the Art of Alchemy. It was a magical thing to see and hear as she connected the dots the more she communicated with him. Her eyes practically glowed the longer she spoke of alchemy.

In turn, Altair found himself asking stupid questions, as Riena would call it from time to time, which granted her insight into many questions that had been plaguing her.

"Where here…" Altair interrupted, falling to one knee with her as the trickle of snowfall pillowed from a nearby sentinel tree that lined the forest. He pointed ahead, just underneath the moonlight, to a thin trunk the size of their arms that glowed beneath the moon. "Is that what you want?" he whispered.

The small tree was hard to miss in a sea of towering trees with large, powerful trunks that had grown for hundreds of years.

Reina frowned, licked the tip of her finger, and hesitated for a moment. "It does look like Mistywood. It's moist enough. But I never heard of it glowing like that." she answered. "It could be a mutation… Which could either be good or bad. I wouldn't know.

It sure does have a lot of Yin energy to it. How'd you know this was here?"

Altair narrowed his eyes, searching his surroundings: "During the past life of one of the serpents. I came here once. It was considered forbidden territory. Due to the existence of a frightening beast." He tightened his fist as sweat oozed from his brow. "It had three heads. One of a serpent, one of a lion, and the last of a goat.

That all seemed to systematically amalgamate itself to a lionlike physique."

"Altair…" said Riena when a chill traced her spine. " That sounds like a—"

"A Chimera? Yeah, I know." The Boy replied. He glanced at his sister-in-arms with a challenging grin. "Scared?"

"As if… But according to our bestiary. Chimeras are poisonous and are capable of spells. You think it's protecting the Mistywood Tree?"

"I don't think so. I don't see or sense it around. But just to be sure. Let's track it."

[Divine Being ' She Who Hunts' peeps upon you with glowing eyes.]

[Divine Being ' She Who Hunts' desires a hunt!]

[Divine Being, 'She Who Hunts,' proposes you hunt the Foul Chimera]

[Sudden Mission]

[Mission: Hunt the Chimera and Eat its heart to gain its spirit!]

[Reward: Bow of the Hunt]

[Failure: Curse of Agony]

[Do you accept]

"... You seeing this?" Reina answered, staring at Altair with wide eyes, passing her hands through the virtual image of the Origin System. "Is this magic? And who is—"

"It's a God that is watching us," Altair answered. And glanced at Riena as she frowned.

"A God? Why are they watching us?"

"No idea. Maybe there bored?"

[Divine Sin 'Archeon' nods at your statement.]

"See?" Altair said, shaking his head. He couldn't be bothered to care anymore if they were offering power. He was taking it. "From what I know, they'll offer mission for rewards."

The winds howled against their cheeks as Riena narrowed her eyes, which didn't bother to hide her suspicion. "That's pretty Sus. Although, I can't say I mind. It's weird, though." She turned to the Prince, leaving the decision to him.

"Then we accept."

[Divine Being 'Bone Ripper' takes note of your existence]

[Divine Being 'Titan Fall' spitts at your arrogance.]

[Divine Being 'Falling Rain' hasn't much fate in your victory.]

Altair ignored the voices of the Gods, noting the new influx of messages from the various gods he hadn't seen before.

[Divine Sin 'Daddy' has entered the Chat]

[Daddy: Fuck it up, Altair. I got money riding on this!]

[Archeon: Lol]

[She Who Hunts: Lmao]

Cheeks growing a tinge of red, Altair looked towards the skies with a flush expression: 'It can't be? Are you really…"

Daddy: "We just spoke. What, you forgot me already? Sup Reina! Your father is quite a talker. This guy doesn't shut the hell up.]

[Divine Being 'Wolf Daddy' Has Joined the Chat]

[Wolf Daddy: BABYYYYYY!!!!!!!!]

[Daddy: See? He won't shut the fuck up]

[Wolf Daddy: Mommy and I miss you!!!!]

[Titan Fall: Children of God, eh? Finally. I was tired of watching weak-ass mortals fight against each other. Let's hope this'll spice things up.]

Riena's eyes couldn't have gotten wider as the message popped over the system chat. Her jaw dropped as she paused, nearly tearing up.

"Papa…" She cried in a muffled tone.

'Its really them….' Altair calmly thought. He patted Reina's head as she looked at him tearfully.

"We got to move… We can't stay still, or we'll freeze to death. Let's prepare." the Prince conveyed in a low, hushed tone.

"But… papa…"

"You can talk to him privately. At a later date. Right now. We hunt." The Prince pressed, pulling her along.