Shadow of the Abyss

"Let's just find the lich and kill him. I'm tired of this floor," Morrigan grumbled; not bothering to find the entrance to the tower, she opened up a new pathway with a fireball.

"Hells." Altair paused and shook his head, brushing the debris off his shoulder. He followed after her. Morrigan had already begun to complain about the grotesque statues exposing those conquered and those Felled by his hand. They were grand though Altair otherwise, who held an eye for art though otherwise. Morrigan seemed to share that option, for she destroyed every last one for dirtying her eyes.

By the time they'd claimed halfway up, Seina and Morrigan had created a game of who could destroy what, hoping they didn't have to climb to the top and the lich might come down. Tasha had even recommended defecating on the statue, though Altair quickly tossed out the idea, bonking her on the head.

"I was just trying to help!" She'd said in her defense before they resumed their journey.

After an hour, Altair considered taking Tasha up on her idea. They began to notice that despite how much they walked, the distance between the highest point of the tower never arrived. They could feel they were still at the center of the tower.

"Anyone good with Formation?" Altair asked, figuring it was a trap of sorts.

"I'd rather die than study that bullshit," Morrigan admitted, reminded of the times she tried. Ten cycles she wasted before tossing it away in a burst of anger. Stomping it into the dirt until the evidence of her failure was dead.

"I'm good at it," Siena said as Tasha agreed, saying," As a Lilm, I am proficient in all Professions. Formations were a part of my training."

Jorm, Nia, and Alyssa remain silent in his shadow, enjoying their outing free of the hellscape of paperwork and Aurora's constant barrage of work, somehow piling up day after day. Conquering a tower was perhaps the most freeing thing they'd done since their Master's escape from the Lake of Rot.

Altair couldn't blame them. He, too, felt the pain of never-ending paperwork but couldn't do much about it. At least not yet.

"Let's just blow it up!" Altair said. "I don't want to be here longer than necessary."

"That might fuel the Tower, my Lord." Tasha intervened, sliding to his rear moving her fingers along his shoulders.

The tension he didn't even know existed seemed to ease itself from out of the very marrow of his bones. He nearly toppled to his knees.

"Lord in Heaven~" Altair mewled.

"More like Devil of the Nines." Tasha corrected.

"You should have told me you were this good."

"A girl needs her secrets," Tasha revealed. She leaned into his ear and whispered. "Just wait until you see me in bed."

"Umm, can you just destroy the formation?" Morrigan shouted. "If I see one more statue of this dipshit dick riding himself, I'm going to puke."

'What does dick riding mean?" Seina asked.

"It's a form of eating someone's shit," Morrigan said. "And I mean that literally."

"The lich eats other people's shit?"

"...."

"..."

"..."

"Oh my lord, you're so innocent," Morrigan said, unsure how to explain her idiom. She'd been kidding, nearly forgetting her young age. Patting her head, she forced a smile and said," I'll tell you on the next floor. Tasha, can you…"

"Let me finish. Master is taking a break."

She rolled her eyes. " Just fuck already. Why all the foreplay."

Tasha's ears perked, "You poor girl. You've never been fucked properly, have you."

In all her hell cycles of life, Morrigan had never been so taken back, offended, and embarrassed. In truth, she hadn't much care for matters of the flesh. She'd experienced it a few times but thought it was overrated. It didn't help most of her lovers were killed the next day in battle. It had gotten to the point where Morrigan had simply forgotten she was even a woman.

She'd lived for the elation of death, to look out at the oceans of blood; she'd fought day and night, oftentimes years, to mold such things into being.

Matters of the flesh simply had no place in her life.

Her mission with Altair, while distasteful, wasn't anything more than a small trial. Nothing she hadn't faced on the battlefield. Still, Tasha's words stung more than she wanted to admit.

"Now, Now," Altair said, forcing himself to brush off Tasha's dexterous fingers, expressed, "We are all allies here. No need to mention her sex life. Such things are private."

"Quite right, Master," Tasha said with a smile that said, 'It's not like I said anything wrong.' She moved past Morrigan with a victorious expression before gauging the formation around them. Her eyes glowed for a second before a strange sigil formed in her eyes.

Off to the side, Morrigan coldly watched when she heard Altair's voice reach her," Are you alright?"

"I'm not a whore…" She said.

"I never said you were," Altair remarked, unsure where that came from.

She hesitated, adding, "I've never been someone that ever cared about sex. It's just not for me."

Altair looked at her, startled to see how insecure she was about the topic. Despite her words, she looked like a frightened lamb. Honestly, he wasn't sure how to proceed.

"When we…" she bit her lip. "When we have sex… I… I merely hope you won't hate me afterward."

Before Altair could question what she meant, the clanking of metal chains shook the tower, rustling dust clouds, maggots, and other small critters from the ceiling above. They barely had time to invoke a barrier to defend.

"Master, you weren't even watching!" Tasha complained, puffing her cheeks out. "I even went slow to show you the basic mechanics!"

"Sorry! I got distracted." Altair glanced at Morrigan and brushed against her shoulder, whispering, "Come talk to me after this is all over. I'm now a little curious about your past. I'm even more curious about what you looked like in your last life."n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"It wasn't anything special."

"Said every hot, insecure girl," He teased, quickly asking Tasha to explain all she did. Secretly using his Omniscience to review everything in more detail than she could ever explain. He feigned a sense of knowing and listened to every bit of her words before deciding against looking into Tasha's past. He didn't think he was quite yet ready to experience the hells.

Something told him that only pain awaited him if he did.

After another ten minutes of travel, they slowly entered the common room, startled to see several men, women, and children sprawled over the ground. From the way their bodies rested, they appeared dead. Tasha seemed to confirm their deaths with a glance, frowning as she looked and studied the bodies surrounding the fireplace still burning.

"Did he kill them around the fireplace?" she wondered aloud.

"Everyone has a story," Altair said, in time to see Morrigan lit the bodies aflame.

"And everyone deserves a grave, be they on the battlefield or off," she said with a darker-than-average voice.

"You don't like Necromancers, do you." Altair noticed. "That hole branch seems to disgust you."

"I've lived my life on the battlefield, Altair. I fought side by side with countless men, women, and children. Enemy or allied. They are fated to become one with the ether. Necromancy breaks that rule. In every war I joined, there have only been a handful of people I know who truly enjoy the concept of war.

To never be able to seek some sort of rest in death is a type of hell no man should experience."

"I say otherwise. Fuck 'em," Tasha coldly remarked. "The dead don't deserve my pity. For that matter, neither does the living. I believe the second monarch said it best. 'The phrase I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy is a stupid idiom for someone who never learned to truly hate."

'... why does that sound like something father would say?' Altair thought, masking his smile.

"The dead don't deserve respect. They're dead," Tasha continued. "It's why we cultivate and why we strive to be the strongest."

Just then, Nia pulled herself from Altair's shadow and said," I stand with Morr on this matter. Despite being undead myself, I am against the idea of bringing one back from the dead. Enemy or not. Some things in life should be sacred."

"Technically, you aren't dead," Altair explained. "More like you were reborn in my image. It's a little hard to explain my Fallen Necromancy. But the more I learn about actual Necromancy, the more I find out how different it is from what I do. From all I know… you can have kids if you want. Shit… I think with enough time, I can even give you an actual lifespan."

"Don't try to pardon your crime master. I'm still mad you killed me."

Tasha slapped her ass so hard she blushed. "As far as I can see, you've filled out quite well in all the right spots. You seem to age along with your Master."

"T-T-Thats assault!" Nia cried, snapping a trembling finger at her.

"Then tell your Master. I'm sure he can punish me all night long," she shamelessly insisted.

Nia's expression only seemed to redden before she snorted, returning to her Master's shadow, though not before shouting, "Bitch!'

"Ahh~ Hostile work environments are the best…" Tasha raised a hand. "Who's with me?"

"Ummmm… Are we still climbing this tower?" Siena hesitantly asked.