Shadow of the Abyss

At attention within her chamber, Tania stared at her lean figure in the mirror as she had done many times before. Trying her best not to meet her gaze, she picked off various strains of linen from her uniform as she had done every day. Tania had never been pretty, not like her elder sisters, who were praised for their beauty and talent.

Tania's face was narrow to the bone, but her eyes were wide, granting her a most unpleasant nickname.

"You got this!" She said to herself with some spirit. Smiling to herself, she rushed out of her dorm to the Serpents Outreach without delay. Arriving thirty minutes before departure, she frowned at the sight of armed men draped in black, fitted with metal visors and guns.

'The Black Scourge…' she dreadfully thought with a shudder of terror in her step at the sight of Crossed Shape Coffens engraved on their armor.

"Tania…" Tunan relayed beside the scarlet portal. He turned to her, bearing a grim expression. "Forgive the sudden mission, but the situation has degraded to this, as you can see." He expressed with alarm and approached her. "I'm sure you recognize one of our black ops units."

She nodded.

"Good. Then I'll not keep you. Your mission is the destruction of one of our breeder factories. And the retrieval of Mr. Altair. You've reviewed the dossier?"

"Yes. Sir."

"Then you know. The parameters of the Serpents Outreach have not changed. So, we can only send in First Circle Warriors below the age of fifteen. You'll be the captain." He said, narrowing his eyes. "Your second in command… Is…"

"I'm here!" A loud voice thundered as a large grizzled man roared. Nearly similar to that of a lion, Dillian Aros approached, standing well over two meters tall, armed with an obsidian glaive on his back. He stopped beside Tania. " Good to see you, Hammerhead."

"That'll be enough, Dillain," Tunan remarked with ice in his voice. He'd not have any of it today. "She'll be your leader in this mission. You'll both be connected to the NAV. That way, we can monitor everything. Should I see any form of disrespect?

I'll have your fucking head. Clear?"

'SIR!" Dillian shouted, saluting Tunan with a hint of dread tracing his heart.

Tunan shifted his gaze to Tania. " Failure isn't an option. If you can't retrieve Altair. You are to kill him. Clear?"

"Yes, Sir."

"The Black Surge will obey your every word. Use them well. And sacrifice them should there be a need."

Tania nodded, feeling a new type of pressure on her back. "I won't fail you."

…

…

…

The day Altair awakened, a coldness trickled from his young eyes, fueled by a resolve that brought a bittersweet smile to Luna. He hadn't said a word, but Luna could feel his anger, his rage towards the world around him, and his despair.

"Even angry… You should smile." Luna reminded him.

Altair said nothing. He merely lifted Reina, who hadn't regained consciousness, and left. Through the sea of blood and death, Altair stepped through the ocean of his creation without emotion.

"What will you do about these slaves?" Luna asked, following behind him.

He glanced at her and the caged beast, locked in their depravity: " I don't care." He conveyed stepping out of the factory. Luna's frown deepened, but she didn't say a thing. Even as the days continued to fly by, Altair did not speak.

As if he had lost all semblance of emotions, he did nothing but care for Riena during this time. Forgoing training and social matters, the boy stared into the crescent Moon for a week. At first, he hadn't noticed it. But as the days continued to pass, Altair noted the absence of the sun. Something he couldn't even be bothered to bring up to the Goddess of the Moon.

To his rear, Luna didn't make an effort to communicate with the boy. Rather, she gave him his distance. Despite his lack of words, Luna could feel his turbulent aura, which was once cheerful, now full of gloom.

"Hmmmm… I'm Hungry." A soft voice echoed as Riena opened her pale blue eyes. She smiled, turning her head to her Master. " Hiya, Master!"

The Goddess of the Moon grinned. " So you awoke. It's been a week. It seems Infernal Rage is still too much for you."

Reina foolishly grinned. "Yeah…" And she paused, glancing around for a certain fellow. She tilted her head, finding the camp empty: "Where's Art?"

"He—"

"Ren!!" A bright, childlike voice echoed, catching Luna off guard. As a young boy raced down from the mountain, opening his arms and taking her into his embrace. He held her firmly as if scared to let her go. " Thank goodness. I thought you'd be sleeping for a month."

"Hehe! All the hugs are mine!" Reina bragged, shooting Luna a side-eye.

However, the Goddess did not notice as she stared at the young prince. It was as if he'd become a different person entirely, bearing a rich smile. The aura of gloom was gone, as was the lifelessness his eyes portrayed.

'... There becoming eerily similar. Will he follow Mephisto's path as well?' Luna thought, tracing her fingers through his hair. She saw the coldness gather in his eyes but smiled at the boy's fangs. " Are you ready to train now?"

"I feel like I'm missing something," Reina interjected, leaning close to the boy. " And what's up with your eye? Why is the left one red?"

"It's my Sharingan."

"Your what?"

He smiled mischievously like a witty fox. " We should watch some anime together. Such a shame it went extinct after 2024."

"Hmmm." Puffing her cheeks out at the misdirect, Riena rolled her eyes: " Whatever. Can you at least tell me about the factory? It smelled funny—"

"I could, but I'm sure big sis has much to tell us about what happened," Altair explained, turning to Luna. "The Sun hasn't risen in seven days."

The Goddess folded her arms and gave a stern nod. "This is your first trial. Prepared by myself… and your Father. I'm sure you know why?" she asked as a way to test the boy's mask. And yet Altair did not look surprised, nor did he seem bothered to her dismay. He merely kept up his innocent smile as if her words were air.

" Right now… I've engraved all Monsters within the Serpents Outreach with the Qi of the Moon."

"Qi?" Altair remarked at the odd term.

Luna nodded. " I'm a little old school. So, I call it Qi. But you know it as Mana. I don't have time to keep up with each era's cycle of names. The Moon is a vital source of Yin Qi: in fact, It's the biggest source of Yin in creation." She rustled the boy's head as he pursed his lips with irritation.

She smirked. "Serpents tend to have a huge affinity to the Moon. Meaning their stats may double or even triple. And if that wasn't enough, many of them will begin to mutate."

Surprise took hold of the dou as they shot up.

"This Dungeon was originally Blue," Altair remarked. " What color is it?"

Luna narrowed her eyes: " Will that help you?"

Altair paused, backing down as he shook his head. " No." He closed his eyes, opening them with a calmer expression. " And the prize at the end?"

Luna grinned: 'Monsterious, as well as dangerous. As it stands, you two have a seven percent chance of success."