Shadow of the Abyss

To the far west of Ravine Fort, El'von bore a tight frown at the two Sword Maids barring his path. He could count on one hand the number of people who'd dared to cross the path of a squad of Trow. And the two before him was not one of them.

"Nia was right," Talia said, savoring her lips. "They were here."

Vaiga grimaced and slid Shadowclaw from its scabbard. The blade appeared to dim the sun, shrouded by the aura of the Hells. "Shut up and draw your sword," she said sharply.

Talia took no offense to her words, gliding Endymion out of its cage. She grinned savagely.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

It had been a while since she had gotten the chance to bathe herself red, and she would not miss such an opportunity, Talia decided.

El'von had but ten men, including himself. Five in the fifth Circle, three in the sixth, one in the eighth, and lastly, one in the Ninth Circle. To anyone facing such a lineup of Trow capable of fighting one Circle above their stage was a horrifying thought. Yet to the Pale Knights, their Circles made little difference.

"Who are you!" El'von had questions. From their direction, he knew that they came from Ravine Fort, though he could not recall their faces. An oddity, he realized, studying the pair of faces that was sure to bring ruin to any kingdom with their beauty.

To his credit, he managed to dodge the sword he nearly ate, but not the knee to his abdomen. El'von's body twisted like a bow, barreling across the earth like a ragdoll through several trees before he regained his awareness. He stabbed his feet into the earth to stop his descent, coughed up a mouthful of blood, and looked up at the scene of red.

The five-fifth Circle Trow were dead. Butchered like cattle beneath the blade of a mad woman screaming,"die-die-die" as she chopped away. Even dead, Talia did not stop her madness.

It had all happened so quickly that before El'von could grasp the situation, he heard another pained cry that turned the whites of his eyes bloodshot.

A Trow was on his back, legless, eating Shadowclaw's obsidian edge. The look on his face permeated fear and dread.

"BROTHER!!!!" El'von howled like a feral beast bounding forward.

Vaiga sighed, jerking Shadowclaw from the Eighth Circle Trow towards the charging ninth while Talia dealt with the rest.

***

Similar situations echoed from the north and south of Ravine Fort, with many Shadows leading the enthralled villagers toward those who once hunted their master.

Under Nia's direction, the villagers were to be used as bait or cannon fodder to kill any Ninth Circle and Eighth Circle Found. Cedric and Kirr led the Northern front, while Hilda, Aurora, and Jorm took the southern front.

By the time the Trow realized they had been struck on all sides, it was Isgar who forced himself to light the skies ablaze in the hopes his fellow brothers would know to retreat. Slightly injured from the life-and-death battle with those of the Shadow Tower, he had returned to his camp to find the blood heads of his men pressed on pikes.

Not only had he lost Nox De Nier, but the prisoner who was sure to die in a few hours had managed to escape.

Isgar bellowed a cry that tore the bark off the trees. Speaking into his communication talisman, he was not able to contact his men, but despite his best attempts, the line was silent. For nearly half an hour, the line was silent before someone's voice resounded through the talisman.

Telyon, his second in command, desperate voice rang. "Isgar! Isgar! We are being hunted! We need you! The Ko'vak are hunting us!

Ahhh!" An explosive noise ended the communication.

Enjoy new tales from empire

"Bastards!"

****

Altair had only ever been certain of two things: His morning wood and the coming of night. Now, it appeared there were three things: listening to Nia's report by his bedside.

"We have captured one Ninth Circle. The rest that managed to escape are currently being hunted like dogs." Nia explained. None of the villagers she had sent out had survived, but that was well within her calculations. All they needed to do was delay for Vaiga and Cedric, the highest cultivation-ranked shadows, to come through.

"And Tasha?"

"She should arrive in an hour. The one they called Isgar is sure to go mad when he learns we have hunted all his men. Once he does, he'll rush to Ravine Fort, the place where he felt the presence of his lord, in the hopes of asking for guidance from his patron. Tasha will be waiting for him, formations set so she doesn't have to go all out to kill him."

Altair was impressed. Nia was a masterful Tactician. Although she had no talent in politics, she shone on the battlefield, unlike anyone else.

"What type of formation?"

Nia shook her head, " Tasha wrote it. She said my Dual Pupils should be able to keep me from making mistakes when drawing it across the Ravine Fort. I just finished it."

Altair portrayed a smile that didn't quite meet his eyes, studying his Pale Knight, trying to ignore the small voice echoing from his soul.

'Bed her! Make her yours before she breaks the sire!'

'Enough! Go away.'

"If she managed to strike her king, how long until her discontent turns to treachery? Nia proved that she has the power to challenge the Sire. You must make her your concubine!" The Vale King shouted, hard and proud.

Altair closed his eyes to shut the Vale King out. After a while, when all was silent, he opened them to see the concerned face of his Pale Knight.

'How much of that is due to the sire or her love for me?' he wondered, unsure if it was the Vale King who asked or him.

'Nia… Do you love me?" The Shadow flushed, and Altair shook his head. "Not like that. As your ruler. Do you love me?"

The Pale Knight touched her chest in relief. She nodded. "I do, your grace. You gave us earthlings… freedom. Women are no longer breeding farms. They have the right to choose.

Even if it might take a long time for the culture to change, you gave us freedom. You tore asunder the corruption of nobles and created a new one in your image. Odd, some of them might be the Acolytes of the Twelve Olympian Gods who are doing amazing jobs for the people.

"Master, in fifty, no twenty years, I'm sure everyone on Terra, myself included, will shout your name. So yes. You are loved."

The door to his room opened as Talia stepped in, smiling and bloody.

"Hiya, master!"

"Talia, do you love me?"

"Yup! Having Master's baby is a dream of mine!"

"I mean, as a king."

"Same answer!" the crazed shadow exclaimed, throwing her arms around her Master's neck. She squeezed. "You saved me from a life of hell. How could I not love you?"

"Wait a sec!" Nia said. "What are you doing here? I sent you north."

"Everyone is dead. I thought Trow was supposed to be strong. Why are they dying so quickly?"

Nia rolled her eyes, unsure how to mention that their mana was so pure that it rivaled many Ninth Circles. She sighed, pulling her arms off her Master before dragging her out of the room.

Altair smiled, waving them off. Struggling to stand, he stepped out for a second to get a feel for his surroundings, though that sense of adventure quickly faded when he found Mark gripping his cock, smiling fiendishly towards the skies.

"This is definitely Tasha's work. Damn. Is he still conscious?"

"He is…" Elena's voice echoed from behind him. "Tasha said he was to be her new toy. He is conscious of everything. The Enslavement of his people, the brutal assault of the Sisters of Sepith, and now, the death of his people."

"Hells…" Altair stared at the boy. He was shaking, tears of blood running down his cheek.

"Is this my fate if I go against you?" Elena asked darkly. She bit her lips, trembling every time she recalled the contract she signed. Tasha's voice returned to her each time.

"You're stupid, aren't you." she'd said with a simile that left her cold.

Altair didn't bother to explain his devil's cruelty. It was impossible to control her natural instant, and so long as she didn't do anything wrong to his people, Tasha was free to inflict all the cruelty she wanted.

She was a devil, and such cruelty was her nature. He couldn't change that, and he didn't want to change it.

'Perhaps you just like them mad,' The Vale King's voice returned. "The madder they are, the sweeter their cunt.'

Elena could only tremble, falling to her knees. A cold realization overwhelmed her senses at the smile playing on his lips. Her world seemed to crack at the man who seemed to take enjoyment in the cruelty before him.

She staggered back, the cracks in her world growing all the more vibrant.

"Nox… Nox… please… "

The Vale King pressed a finger to his lips, tasting the succulent fear emanating from her. She was nearly ripe for the taking.

"No one is going to harm you. No one, so long as you obey." He drew in on her, his piercing gaze managing to strip her bare. "Obey me, and you shall live a life worth living… fail me, and I shall break you beyond repair."

Elena gave a crooked smile, her heart thumping fiercely in her chest. She could hear it. "Y-Y-You won't kill me?"

"Kill you?" The Vale King's scarlet eye bore through her fleshy body to the fragile soul flame writhing like a fragile lamb. "Death is by far the kindest thing I can do to you. Wouldn't you agree, Tasha?"

On one knee, Tasha's fiendish smile met her eye," I greet you, Vale King!"