Shadow of the Abyss

The silence beside the howl of the wind had been music to the young Prince as he felt his senses come to life amidst his search for the beast. From his soundless steps across the snow base to the soft felt breaths and pants beneath the snowy fields, he found himself lost in a blaze of silver and the scent of pine.

For a good hour, they searched, bearing the flames of ice searing their flesh without sound and the silent hunger that pressed against the lining of their stomachs. But they were used to this feeling. And knew they could survive a least a day or two without food. The pain was but in their minds. Luna had taught them at least this.

Approaching the second hour, Riena signaled Altair to stop. She pointed over the uneven land beside a looming tree that carried the face of a hideous abomination etched into the bark. Hidden a meter's distance from the tree beneath the moon rested a figure.

"A Hearthtree," Reina muttered as if to convince herself. "First, Mistywood. Now a Hearthtree. Lucky." She turned to Altair with excitement that dwindled the moment he saw his expression. And the twinkling of his left eye.

Lunar Chimera Lv 12

Race: Monstrosity

Strength: 24

Dexterity: 16

Constitution: 20

Wisdom: 15

Charisma: 10

Mana: 10

Resistance: N/A

Weakness: N/A

Skill: Frigid [E], Photon Beam [D], [Sleep [F], [Lions Roar [F], Poison Mist[F], Flame Breath [E]

Description: Blessed by the Goddess of the Moon, the Chimera, a combination of goat, serpent, and lion, has devoured the light of the moon and will forever be blessed by the Darkness and the Light.

"No way… "Altair muttered through a cold nightmare of sweat. "We need to retreat. We need a plan." Pulling at her arm without hesitation, he dragged her away.

[Animal Instincts proficiency has increased by 2%]

Animal Instincts [F]

Proficiency: 70% → 72%

[Divine Sin, Daddy: WEAK!!!!! Be a Man! T-Bag that bitch!!]

[Divine Being 'Bone Ripper' looks forward to your next decision.]

[Divine Being, Titan Fall: You're so dead. What Moon Goddess cast her blessing on such a useless land?]

[Divine Being, Piercing Owl: A bored God, perhaps?]

Altair ran. Not stopping unstill the bone-chilling sensation had left his legs did he stop only to notice they'd returned to the Mystywood, brimming with light. Despite the intense chill, Altair felt himself burning up as he slumped into the snow. Reina peeped her head over his curiously.

"So… You wanna tell me what's going on?"

"That thing would have killed us."

Her gaze intensified as her stare unconsciously swayed to his left eye. She leaned in closer. " And you know this… how?"

Under her suspicion, Altair didn't immediately speak. The Gods were watching. He reached up with a bright smile, unsure how or when he could tell her the truth. His Elder Sister had always said that secrets are power. He needed to hide his skill from the Gods. The less they know, the more he could gain.

"I'll tell you later." He answered.

[Divine Sin, Archeon folds his arms, smiling at your wit.]

[Divine Being, Titan Fall is growing frustrated.]

'They can't see my skills.' Altair realized. He stood to his feet, patted the snow off his small frame, and pointed towards the Mistywood. "First, we need a plan. Can you make a poison? And… bait?"

Reina arced her head high. " Of course I can. What type of question is that?"

"And if you add your blood to it?"

She frowned at that. " My Blood? My Blood is poisonous, but it's a different type of poison. It'll not affect the body like you'd imagine." She said, folding her arms, somewhat wishing for some furs or a thick coat. " My Blood affects the mind. It'll make the beast writhing mad.

Give it enough time. The beast will kill itself. Does that help?"

The Prince hesitated for a moment. "Would this… Madness affects its ability to cast spells?"

Reina nodded. "Madness is a sickness amongst the gods. By injecting a God, especially a Holy God, with Madness, you essentially cripple their future. And there is no cure for Madness. You either deal with it mentally, or it eats away at you till you're dead, or you kill yourself. So yeah.

It'll affect the Chimera's ability to cast spells."

"Holy Shit!"

[Divine Sin Archeon grins upon the discussion of Madness.]

[Divine Being Titan Fall spits at the mention of Madness.]

[Ding!]

[Twenty New Gods have entered Chat]

In the corner of the Prince's eye, he saw his Chat explode with riling questions. To which he ignored. He didn't have time to entertain.

"Chimera's aren't intelligent. They'll eat just about anything." Reina mentioned, and she glanced at him. " We need meat. Fresh meat."

"Ok. You set up camp here." Altair said, resting his backpack of supplies down; he turned his back to her. "I'll go hunting. I'll be back in a few hours; I need time to prepare a few traps." He added, easily scaling a nearby Sentinal. It was his go-to method for finding prey. On the ground, he had always felt blinded.

Whether it was by the grass, bushes, or trees, he felt his senses dampened. In the air, however, he found himself free. He could easily listen to the howls of the winds and the rustles of the trees.

It was always peaceful in the sky.

Finding a pasture in the distance, Altair made out a small crevice through the gaps of snow and ice. He frowned, focusing his eyes, unaware of the mana building within his pupils. Slowly, the vague image began to attune itself to his will, forming into what seemed a cave. He smiled and pushed off the ledge of the branch in a dash of force that propelled him up far and wide.

The winds hissed through his flailing hair as he maneuvered through the various sentinels for a couple of miles, stopping before a crack that could fit a small cub if needed. Iced had formed over the entrance, shrinking with each passing day.

Altair had not been more thankful as he slowly wiggled through the crack into melted snow at the heel of his feet. He winced at the sudden touch of water but pressed on.

"What a strange place…" he paused.

"Any word from the boss?" A man's voice said through chattering teeth. The voice echoed through the cave, reaching Altair, who all but counted the seconds it took to reach him. Instantly gauging the distance.

"Why would I know?" Another said, moaning with pain. " Can you take it easy?"

"Not my fault someone decided to break his leg. You're lucky we found this cave." Came the reply.

"Lucky!" The man hissed with derision. " We got trapped. We are probably going to die here."

The Prince moved without sound from a distance, keeping his back to the walls wet with melted snow. He stayed low. The cave was quite large, housing large stalagmites stretching up to the wall as if to support the ceiling. Altair moved behind one, peeping his head over its edge, catching sight of two men. They were both scrawny as if they had barely eaten in years.

Their teeth were stained yellow, with a couple missing. However, the one that caught Altair's attention was the one with the protruding bone on his leg.

"... There so small. I wonder if Ren can make them seem more appetizing." He asked, gauging the men's worth.

"We ain't dying." One of the scrawny men said, jerking the man's leg straight. The injured man set out a squeal that made Altair eyes turn so wide he thought a woman was screeching. "This cave is cool. Not hot nor cold. It's sure to have something that can help."

"Jay…" The injured man whispered as sweat rained from his brow. He had hope in his voice. " You're not gonna leave me, right?"

"I'll—"

"Infernal Bane"