Shadow of the Abyss

The aura of the dead had been something Altair had not expected. Had he not had an average lifespan, then he might have been forced to retreat. Still, the idea behind the aura of anything withering away his life force did not sit well within his gut. He'd initially wanted to conjure a barrier but held off as his omniscience began to explain the aura of the dead to him.

If he wanted to block the Aura of the Dead, then he'd have to have the holy blessing of his god or a holy object.

Altair didn't believe it. And he would be right, but due to the limitation of his Arcane Arts, he was limited in what he could do as a mage.

He cursed, riling himself up and preparing to use the blood of the Nephilim, when he suddenly felt the headless Dullahan somehow manage to spot him. Every hair on his body became erect when he saw the undead pull the crusted great axe from his back. The world's dim light waned to a deep black beneath that blades edge.

When the Dullahan moved, azure nodes of light rose from across its being, allowing it to phase through hordes of undead around it like they didn't exist. As if it had taken up the properties of a ghost, it arrived ten meters before Altair when Raven charged with her Vale Glaive.

The spark of their blades crossing ignited land into a sea of flames that tore down dozens of buildings faster than one could blink. Raven fell on the weaker end, forcing her to retreat several feet. She smiled with a trembling arm.

"Master, I got this—" She stopped, lifting her head towards th heavens as six magical circles nearly as large as the city themselves showered the heavens, slowly blending in a complex amalgamation of runes and sigils. In the blink of an eye, the magical circle condensed to nearly two-thirds of its size, pulling the mana from the heavens and the earth until it ran dry.

Altair glanced at Morrigan, but when he saw her mouth, the words, 'I'd just dodge,' he sighed, knowing he had no choice. He wasn't even sure if this world could handle a sixth Circle invocation. If each tier of magic doubled the higher one went, Altair was sure this sixth circle spell could kill even a ninth circle.

A/N: 2^6 = 64x [x=Mana Attribute]

Once more, the Ring of Grimoire faded as he took in a deep breath, calling on the aspect of rule. Presently, the rule of one still applied: He could only invoke a single word he held a true understanding of when calling forth his aspect.

"Find the bloody mage!" Altair shouted to his Pale Knights, applying a coat of Vale Qi to his blade before he took the skies in a blinding flash of eldritch light.

Below, Tasha watched, unaware that one of her scarlet eyes had turned gold. She shuddered, feeling his domain begin to expand nearly a hundred meters. Her heart jumped when she felt the aspect of his blade beginning to trace the edge of his domain.

"My Lord is ever full of surprises," Tasha whispered, unable to pull her gaze away from Gram. She could feel the authority of his Aspect threatening to overflow.

At the zenith of his ascent, Altair held his sword with both hands, opening the Sword Path in time to perceive the motion of the terrible Sixth Circle spell that nearly crushed him into particles. He winced and laughed at the same time, tasting the Angel of Death, Azazel blade on his throat.

The notion of death had never been so powerful in his mind that he nearly. He shook his head, suddenly alarmed as the world came to a standstill.

[Psionic Mind has Granted Focus]

[Perception has been multiplied by 2]

[Psionic Mind has Granted Insight]

[Psionic Mind has Enhanced Foresight]

Startled by the sudden change in his latent ability, Altair didn't have time to think as the invocation ignited.

"Spear of Indrda," Came a voice from the heavens.

The magical circle shattered into millions of small nodes, shrieking to become a blazing spear the length of the mountain. For over seven hundred miles, everything was lit ablaze, turning into molten rock.

The once ancient city that had stood for well over seven hundred years crumbled as a spear fell like a raging bolt from the heavens, so blinding for a mere second that Altair felt he was on the surface of a sun.

He smiled savagely, invoking his rule upon his blade edge in accordance with his Rule of One.

"Counter"

A thunderous ding rang across the world as Altair struck something intangible as if it were tangible. In a moment that seemed to constitute hundreds of years, those with the perception to perceive what occurred saw the spear shrink into a fine point ball before redirecting its ferocity back at the heavens.

As if a new sun had risen in the skies once more, a new dawn was born, as the lightning shrieked into space, seemingly never prepared to fade.

The Gods all watched, overwhelmed by the sheer might held by one boy. Even Iliana, holding the bloody head of the Dungeon Master, was laughing. "You'd not be my disciple if you couldn't do as much. But I'll teach you how to direct such power next time at your opponent no matter where they are hiding."

Altair sighed a deep breath, feeling a surge of soul exhaustion creeping up into his mind. That one attack had taken nearly half his everything.

The mana of heaven earth was sucked dry by the sixth circle spell leaving Altair to use Mana shards that he'd not used in a while to sustain the Circle of Gluttony.

Just then, Therion's voice entered his ear. " We found the mage."

Altair saw through his eyes just in time to see Alyssa savagely slamming the skeleton mage into the earth with her arm. Ruthlessly, she began stomping, invoking Desolate Descent with each step.

The mage had the foresight to invoke a Second Circle Barrior, but it shattered into nodes on the first strike. The earth caved into an endless chasm, seeking to reach the core of the world as Alyssa continued until she saw a system notification of the Skeleton Mage.

[Ildroma Calidoma Felled. Exp Gained]

"Die Motherfucker!" Alyssa roared, crackling with laughter as a geyser of molten rock struck her, pushing her hundreds of meters up on the surface of the world. Her yellow eyes glowed. "Did I do good, Master!"

"Very," Altair answered, smiling. He shifted his attention to Nia, locked in battle with a dual-wielding spearman. Her dual pupils manipulated her perception of time as she whipped around the flat plane around them.

With most of the undead being felled by the Spear of Indra invocation, there were few survivors. Something Altair wasn't too happy about.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"All that free Exp Gone. Well, whatever. I've already made it to the Peak." He glanced down at the Dullahan Raven was facing. Raven had never been a Fallen Shadow. He'd confirmed that much, having once tasted her blood in a dual. She was something else entirely but still held many of the attributes of his shadows, which made him curious about her true nature.

She was strong—stronger than him if she had ever used her unique skills—but she had refused to do so even if he had commanded her to. He was sure at least one of them would die if they battled to the death. But it still bothered him that he had never seen all her techniques.

[Divine Sin, Daddy, commends your Aspects, asks you return home to spar]

[Divine Sin, Archoeon, demands to know who Divine Sin's daddy is]

[Daddy: I'm your father, bitch!]

[Archeon: Piss off]

[Daddy: I'll be in the second hell, pull up!]

Altair chuckled. "Father, stop trying to ruin my patrons. He's helped me a lot. Devil or not." He glanced at the other messages, noting a couple thousand gods inviting him to join their sects or world. He ignored those, spotting Athena in the comments.

[Divine Being, Piercing Owl, has a message from the Titans]

Altair narrowed his eyes, curious where she'd been all this time. He'd an inkling it was to meet with the Titans, but ever since she met up with Mephisto, he felt that it was merely an excuse.

"Whatever it is… I'll find out the truth soon," he thought, connecting to Therion, and he said, " Now all that is left is to find the lich. I'm sure he's one of the few to survive."

"No problem, Master," Therion exclaimed, brushing the molten rock off his shoulders like it was sand. "But master, can I request something?"

Altair lifted a brow in surprise. "You want to request something? You're not even six months old. What could you request?" he calmly asked, knowing that Therion was akin to a newborn in many ways.

"I want to know if you can purchase that spell. The one that nearly wiped out this planet."

Altair nearly toppled from the sky, only to explode into laughter. He knew how expensive Sixth Circle Spells could be constant over a million Sols at a time. But he didn't need to purchase it, for his omniscience had already dissected the memory of the spell.

He'd all the knowledge inside his mind; all that was lacking was the experience and Mana necessary to cast a Sixth Circle Spell.