Shadow of the Abyss

Within the center of the storm, where only black and white seemed to exist, Altair wiped the blood away trailing down his chin, glaring under the shockwave that had nearly torn him asunder. Despite him redirecting the lightning bolt, the force had been a little too great. His Ashen Blood was regenerating him but had slowed considerably due to the refinement.

[Abyssal Lightning has refined Your Fleshy Body]

[Ritual of Infernal Rebirth has Mulitpied all increases by 2]

[Your Strength has increased by 20]

[Your Dexterity has increased by 30]

[Your Mana has increased by 5]

'Son of a bitch!' Altair said to himself, wyly smiling. He coughed up a mouthful of black impurities of stagnant blood and rot, cursing what was to come. He was dazed, the numbing of the lightning lancing up his spine, dancing along the body like fairies beneath the moon. Experience tales at empire

He took in a deep breath, gritting his teeth, as the sixth bolt came like an Immortal Spear from the Ancient Eye, devouring space to their color. It struck with world-shattering force, filled by an annihilating force so radiant it was almost blinding, eating away at the sight of those who dared to glimpse its beauty.

Altair held that honor. Though there was a moment of admiration, there was cold dread as Endymion reached above head, meeting the lightning in a clash of kings. The force took the young Emperor earthbound, herling him through mountains dozens of miles downwards.

[Your Strength has increased by 30]

[Your Dexterity has increased by 40]

[Your Constitution has increased by 70]

"Again!" Altair roared, charred beyond recognition. He stood on his feet that never dared to cave, defiant as an Indomitable mountain. The Mana that was being devoured a mile wide began to expand, stretching to levels nearly inconceivable by mortal understanding.

Ten Miles

Thirteen Miles

Twenty Miles

Fifty Miles

Eighty Miles

One Hundred Miles

Eight Hundred Miles

The range continued to expand to the level where it touched the walls of the first floor. A feat that would normally kill any fourth or fifth Circle, but Altair's body held as the Circle of Gluttony pulled at space, devouring as much mana as was physically possible.

The charcoal that had tainted his flesh shattered like glass, trickling down like sand. The Emperor stood poised beneath the ancient eye, gathering Abyssal Qi to conjure another lightning bolt.

[Second Tarnishing has Begun]

[Heart of Darkness has found resonance within the Lake of Vale.]

[Lake of Vale has moved from Astral Sea into the Heart of Darkness]

Altair ignored all the system messages, reaching a level of focus that seemed unmatched. He couldn't hear anything, nor could he see anything but the Ancient Eye as body and soul prepared for the next bolt.

The Vale stars on his forehead grew, burning like mini stars of flames as the very mana refined became tainted by the Vale.

Altair opened his palm and created a small sphere that was his Spirit Domain.

[Spirit Domain proficiency has increased by 40%]

[Spirit Domain Profiecny has increased by 50%]

[Warning]

[Knowledge from the Realm of Spirit might be too much on Prince of the Vales Soul]

[Spirit Domain Grade has increased several ranks]

Spirit Domain [E → C]

Range: 65m → 150m

Proficiency: 1%

"First, you create a room," Altair thought, focusing his willpower on the Spirit of the Indomitable. The domain in his hand, the size of a ball, began to stretch, causing beads of sweat to stretch down his skin. "Next, you fuse your Aspect into the Room to create a Rule. And finally, you pour the Vale Qi into it to create a vision."

Clutching Endymion so tightly in its grip, Altair took a breath, ignoring the hundreds of notifications clouding his vision. A concept of the dystopian landscape he'd once seen within Yarwin dripped into the calm lake of his astral sea.

"Show yourself… My Rotten Vale"n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!' Thunder roared, its rage of defiance calling forth a bolt of lightning so profound it escaped the minds of mortals and transcendent alike, tearing at the minds of Gods and Divas, burrowing its way through the heavens towards Altair.

However, whatever deafening noise those watching hopped to see never occurred as the bolt splintered off into hundreds of treads around the sphere Altair Blackwood had erected, dancing around its surface as he stood there blankly, staring at the lightning that could not harm him.

"Divide," He commanded, and the lightning divided. "Break," And the lighting was torn asunder, shredded beyond recognition. "Coalesce," And the lightning was whole once more. "Refine"

And the Black Lightning was devoured by the Heart of Darkness beating unconditionally within the Lord's chest. The sound of shattering glass filled the Young Emperor's ears.

[You've Broken in the Fourth Circle]

[Rewards of the Gods have been granted]

[Class Change]

[Prince of the Vale → King of the Vale I]

[Authority of the Vale has been granted]

[You May Now Freely Enter the Vale]

[Authority shall be restricted in the Myriad Heavens]

[Ding]

Altair fainted then and there, on his feet for all to see, blood and lightning trailing his flesh.

Beelzebub laughed, "He's reached that level of Soul Masterly so quickly. And to see him use the Realm of Spirits in battle… The boy reminded me of Mephisto when he was little. A shame he gave up that power… I wonder why?" He shook his head, forgetting about it, as he materialized above Altair. "The damage to your soul is quite grave. You might have created your second domain, but your control is shit.

Nevertheless, you've entertained me. Good luck on your journey upwards. We will be watching." And he was gone in a gale's roar.

Altair never heard it as he stood there until Raven appeared. Only then did he collapse in the arms of his guardian.

***

Location: Unknown

"Did ya see?" a young feminine voice sang, surrounded by a sea of moons that hung over the skies. The winds that were once like daggers became stagnant as Seven Swords of Holy Light stood erect to form an arcane pentagram encircled by the red-haired woman. She was beaming, blushing with a curious glow in her scarlet eyes.

"Stay alert, Ren. You are getting distracted." Said a cold voice from behind. Reina craned her head over her shoulders to Luna and her second Master, Ariel, beaming at her.

"Oh, relax, Luna. You'll need to use the Almighty Element to break through the Heavenly Bind." Ariel sang, slapping Luna on the back. The primordial winced, grimacing in pain.

"Stop hitting me so hard.'

"Hehe. No need to act all coy! Hehe. A little spanking never killed." Ariel said, sauntering over to Ren, looking at a screen of Altair against the Tribulation. Ren tilted her head to Ariel and clutched the hologram as if to say, 'he's mine.'

Ariel giggled. "Ahhh~ to be in love." She poked at Ren's cheeks. "Relax, I don't want your hubby. He's way too young and taken." she glanced at the seven ethereal swords fading away. "You've managed to master Heavenly Blind, but do be warned; it's a very taxing spell we angels use. But with your Infernal Blood, you'll need to be careful, as Heavenly Binds turns into something truly evil."

Ren shuddered, remembering the first time she tried it. She'd nearly killed herself and the world she was hiding out in. She nodded. "I'll remember."

"Please do. Aurelia Snow, the First Nephilim, nearly killed Zariel using that accursed ability. It's not something mortals should wield, but well… Nothing we could do about that."

"I do keep hearing a lot about Aurelia. Was she that powerful?"

"Yes, especially since the Council of Omnis hadn't restricted the blood of Nephilim yet. She once attempted to seize the throne of our Lord Father on the lower realm. With a single reverse spell, she slayed thousands of High-Rank Angels that followed the Law of Concordance. The spell was so powerful it tore at the laws of causality, creating Dead Laws that rendered that time and space unusable.

It's still like that to this day."

"We angels are warriors of our lord. But we don't usually have the desire to conquer ingrained in us, but Fallen is different. They are driven by desire. Lucifer is a prime example."

Ren made a face. "You make it sound like Lucifer, but are you different? Arn't you both Angels?"

Ariel explained, "To be a Fallen, one must be tarnished by at least one of the Seven Sins. It's harder than most think, as there are a lot of psychological changes that need to occur, but on a fundamental level, they change. But you are right. They are still angels, and that allows them to use Seraphic Skills much like a Nephilim without consequences."

"Then, are there any Nephilim abilities?"

"There are a few. All are ingrained in your blood. The first…" Ariel reached forward, lowering the robes that covered her chest to the sigil that shone darkly across her flesh. "The Stigma of the Black Heavens is one. That alone ensures your body will be stronger than any God or Seraphim with the best of Body Cultivation.

We, angels, possess the Law of Concordance that gifts us unlimited power, and you, Nephilim, possess the Stigma of the Black Heavens.