Shadow of the Abyss

"So," said Reina, staring oddly at the frothing Ale in front of her and then to Altair, who'd slightly altered his mask to allow him to eat and drink without issue, sipped his beer. "What are we going to do now?"

"We've got two months." He replied, listening to the idle gossip about him.

"Has there really been no word on Altair Blackwood?" Said an Ironblood to his group as one of the tavern women brought them a few.

"Nothing. But… I heard the crazy bastards of Noctom went to Earth and tore open the barrier to send in their legion.'

"You're kidding."

"Led by an old god… someone by the name of Fray or something, ripped open the portal seal and flicked off the tower before sending in her people."

"... Brah. What did the Arbiters say?"

"What can they say?"

"Now everything believes Altair Blackwood is somehow related to Noctem. No way that—"

"Cap! No fucking way. How can some Earthlings be related to Noctem? Noctem is one of the Four Prime Words, while Earth is—"

"Utter rubbish?"

Reina snickered, glancing at her Prince, smiling. "Have you ever been to Noctem?"

"Can't say I have," said Altair, somewhat annoyed. He couldn't say much for the humans that inhabited Earth, but he had found the planet itself had tons of potential. After all, Earth was one of the four planets that housed Babel's Tower. "But we ought to visit—"

The door of the tavern was thrown open with a thunderous bang, silencing the hall. Eyes turned to the seven men. Despite the heavy stench of hard liquor in the air, Altair nearly felt his head begin to spin from the pungent stench of the seven ashen-haired men.

"beer, " said the tallest of the all, bore skin as dark as soil, lined with several inkvine scars around their arms and throat. Neither handsome nor pretty, carrying hardened expressions.

"Alekis," said one of the Ironbloods, darkly.

"Have you ever heard of them before?" asked Ren, sipping her Ale. "They seem strong."

"That's because they are. Alekis are known for their unique ability to disrupt pheromones. And despite not being able to control that innate ability. Fighting them tends to be nightmares." Altair said as the seven took up seats beside them.

"pheromones, eh? I can imagine," said Ren, somewhat intrigued. She studied the men for a bit, slowly losing interest as she began noticing her drink felt a little stronger than usual. She chuckled, knowing their pheromones were slightly affecting her.

"Forgive us if we've caused you harm, " said Truin, the leanest of the seven Alekis, to Ren and Altair.

Ren grinned. "A stronger brew is always welcomed," she said, cheering with Altair.

The seven Alekis seemed surprised but cheered along with them as the tavern once more began to come alive. Music began to play, men began to sing, and women danced.

Altair and Ren left some hours later, wobbling over the cobblestone streets of Vesim, their faces flush with the warm feel of whiskey and beer.

Through a back alley, they ventured, their heads spinning within the other arms.

"We ought to drink more often !" said Ren, happily. "Do you remember the last time we got drunk… we went on a hunt."

"We hunted a Chimera, "

"We should do it again."

Altair hosted her up into his arms like a princess. "shall we hunt a dragon."

Ren gleefully flashed her teeth. "you and these dragons." she said almost accordingly.

"Feed a man and get him a dragon. And your man will always be there for you. always."

With a gale of laughter, Ren kicked her feet through the air. "Is that all it takes? Some good food and a Dragon?"

"I think I speak for all men. Yes. In fact, just get us a dragon, and it's going down. He'll impregnate you then and there."

Ren had never laughed so hard as they went from inn to inn before landing on a small, secluded cottage a little old, with a hint of a funky smell.

Ren hadn't been a big fan. She liked the outdoors, liked looking at the moons and stars, but for a bit of privacy, as she rode her Prince like a Valkyrie Queen that night, she didn't mind.

The following day, as the alcohol was sweated out after late-night wrestling, they awoke the next day groggy and more tired than they'd fallen asleep.

"Do you think that rune of silence worked?" Reina asked, clothing herself, flushed by the aching of her loins. It had been Atlair's first time warding his room with a Silence spell rather than a Protection one. He'd learned much about Runes and Spell from Thanatos but lacked much when it came to practice.

"I was pretty drunk," he said, amused by how red she became. "guess we'll see."

Ren instantly kicked him out to test the waters, sighing in relief when he returned with a thumbs up. The rune had lasted.

Due to the ethereal nature of the mana, Altair had found mana could coexist in just about anything if the frequency of the mana matched the frequency of whatever they desired. If the frequency of the mana were too high, users would run the risk of destroying whatever they sought to inscribe. If the frequency of the mana were too low, it would dissipate, unable to retain a set form.

During breakfast at a more high-end Tavern, Altair nearly screamed when he saw they had pancakes on the menu when a chatter amongst the rich once more began to sound.

"So it was done by Freya… I've never heard of her. Who is she?"

"No clue, but seven immortals were killed, and their heads delivered to their families. They said Freya didn't even need to raise a hand before—"

"bullshit!"

"It's true. I heard that a few high-rankers went to Genesis to petition that this Freya be jailed."

"And? Stop with the dramatic pause."

Altair turned to a young couple dressed all posh as though they weren't in the midst of a Hell Tide.

The man, a golden-haired Young Master, snickered. "When Genesis heard who they were trying to arrest. They turned livid. I heard that even the Chancellor turned red with rage."

"Bullshit."

"Darla, I keep telling you to stop speaking like that! And it's true. The eight Rankers were later exiled." said Jay grimly.

"Horseshit!"

"Do you think that Frey and Freya are the same person?" Ren asked, buttering her warm, smokey bread.

"Altair shrugged. "no clue. But it seems whomever they are. They care little about rules set by anyone."

"It must be nice to be powerful," said Ren, feeding her Prince a piece she'd broken off.

"said as though we aren't monsters ourselves," he said with a cunning smile. "have you gotten used to that essence yet?"

At the mention of Vale Qi, Altair and Ren became rueful. The essence of the Vale had been something of a nightmare to these two. Altair had been sure if he or Reina hadn't had almighty resistance, they would have been dead. The power held by the Vale had been something of legends and myths. It was an essence no mortal hands could wield.

The duo groaned before two orange blood mimosas came and, soon after, the main course.

"Yours taste better…" grumbled Altair, brooding so hard his dark black eyes seemed to twinkle.

Reina had never thought Altar looked more cute than he did now.

He looked at her, happily blushing as she ate a sweet congee the color of snow.

"We've got two months. We ought to go looking for Thaan and Zag."

Ren became slightly deflated. "I guess, though, I do like having you all to myself. I miss the Palace of Stygian already. I—"

"Excuse me," said a young thing with sultry-colored skin and bright blue eyes that shone like sapphires. Tall with jet black hair laid a palm on their table. "Might I ask when you'll be done?"

Ren lowered her spoon, turning to the eye-catching young lady with two men stationed behind her. All three were in the fourth circle.

"I do believe my fiance and I might be another hour or two," she said irritably, unsure if this young woman was intentionally being rude or if she was just ignorant. Either way, Reina was very much dissatisfied, especially since she wasn't a worker at this establishment.

"Any way you can leave now?" the sultry woman asked, tossing a small parchment onto the table. A few nuggets of metal shone the Genesis logo over it.

Planey, Ren lifted the parchment to hand it back to her. "Go away." She said dropping the parchment, whether the woman caught it or not, wasn't Reina's concern as it fell onto the floor, unloading its contents.

Ula had the grace to blush, feeling the tavern turn silent. Dozens of eyes turned. In all her nineteen years, she'd never felt so ashamed. Even her guards turned red as they snapped back, unfolding their Presence.

Cracks instantly splintered the wood and shattered dozens of glass, lifting the debris into the air as they glared.

Altair's frown curled into a devious smile. "Ren, I never knew you had that bad bitch in you."

Reina's golden eyes fixed themselves on her Prince, and her lip perked up. She'd wanted to say something when Ula's slender palm struck against the table, seeking to turn it into dust.

But to her shock, all that echoed was the ringing of her palm against wood. She shouted, unsure what happened, but had been quick to make her discontent known.

"Do you have any idea who I am, you Second Circle worms?" She said, so flush with rage it never seemed to occur to her how two-second circles were able to withstand the Presence of a fourth circle.

Though quite a few were quick to notice, one being a young ashen-eyed boy whose eyes seemed especially drawn to Reina, hidden away by her mask.

"Now, who might she be?" he said in a posh, nasally voice.