Prince of The Abyss

Chapter 362: The Shadow and The King

"You know you don’t have to be that mad at me, I only killed you and your friends... well, I guess that’s a bit much, isn’t it. But everyone deserves second chances." Freedom laughed, nudging his shoulder with his elbow. Aether just ignored him, just walking by his side as he guided him to the castle."Come on, Aether, we’re both Vessels, we’re supposed to be friends!" He didn’t even believe himself, so how was he supposed to believe him when he was saying this? Vessel of Freedom, The One Lost From the Path, Life. The person he despised most... as much as he let go of his past, when someone like him comes in his face, he really can’t forget it. What had happened, he had expected everything, their deaths, and he had stopped trying to get revenge, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t have this guy with him all his life. On the contrary, if there came the chance to kill him, he would take it.

Lilith pouted. "Come on, I know you want to kill me, but you don’t have to make it obvious."

’Ups... might have let body express my thoughts.’

Aether continued to follow Lilith until they reached the castle. It was... big, really big, gigantic if he had to say, but after seeing the inside, he had to say, though the castle where he had lived inside as a child was better, and he wasn’t trying to be biased... but he probably was.

Lilith let him go through a door. "This is the room where the most important Nobles and the King usually sit. Well, see you at the Academy," He smirked. "Aeth."

Aether frowned, but before he could say anything, the bastard had already run away. Turning back to the door, Aether sighed before opening it.

Inside, there was a big table, one taller than wider. With many chairs. How many of these Nobles were there? Aether’s eyes wandered at the head of the table, where a certain man stood.

For a moment, he almost failed to recognize him, which was strange, after all, a Breaker should be easy to recognize.

There was no crown resting upon his head, nor armor covering his body. The King of the Blue Rose wore only a dark coat over a simple shirt, the clothing neat but entirely unremarkable. It was difficult to believe that the man standing before him ruled the City.

But at the same time, with the strength he had, who would dare challenge him? Why would he wear armor? His body was stronger than most armor; he didn’t need some cheap thing protecting his body.

His hair, black with strands of silver running through it, had been pushed back carelessly, revealing a face marked less by age and more by exhaustion, after all, since he was a Breaker, he was far away from dying, he didn’t even look so old... which was probably not true, funny how Avius looked older, but who knew if he was. Faint lines rested beneath his eyes, and several old scars crossed his hands as they rested against the table. How many battles had he been through... and since all the scars on his body would have been gone when he ascended, it meant that he had gotten all of them after he became a Breaker... what had he fought, to gain them. What could have hurt a Demi-God? Had he tried to become a Devourer and failed?

...

He wasn’t particularly imposing.

He wasn’t exceptionally tall.

He carried no weapon.

And yet, the entire room seemed to revolve around him.

But what would you expect from something that isn’t even human anymore? Or maybe it was him, the reason why he didn’t seem that intimidating, maybe it was because of himself. After all, his father had been the same as him; he had gotten used to living around a Breaker.

His eyes slowly moved toward Aether.

They were calm.

Too calm.

There was no hostility within them, and no surprise at his arrival, well, probably because he had been the one who commanded him to come, but still, it was interesting to see that he had expected him to come. It felt less as though a king had turned to look at him and more as though a father had simply acknowledged someone entering his home.

Though he had to say, he felt something; he wasn’t intimidated, but he did feel a bit nervous.

He understood why nobody challenged him.

Strength was not written across his body, nor displayed through weapons or armor. It existed in the quiet certainty of his movements, in the absolute confidence with which he stood at the head of the table.

As though the entire room had already accepted that, no matter what happened, the man before them would remain standing.

The King smiled. "It’s nice to finally meet the child of an old... acquaintance. How has life been, Aether Moirai?"

Aether frowned. "Hell, because of you." He sat down on the chair far opposite him, putting his feet on the table. Seeing this, the King shook his head, but laughed. "Did you parent’s not teach you anything? I would have expected more, after all, with how great a person your mother was-"

Aether quickly cut him off. "Don’t you even dare mention her."

The King raised his arms to defend himself. "Alright, fine, I won’t."

Rolling his eyes, Aether groaned. "Why did you even call me here? Why did you want me to attend your Academy?... Why did you suddenly not want me dead?"

The King rested his head in his palm. "I won’t lie to you, since I see no reason in doing so. At first, I wanted you dead because I knew it would destroy the morale of your kingdom, and it had worked wonderfully; you would hate to see what it turned into. But then, after I realized that you were the Abyss Vessel, I wanted you gone as fast as possible, after all, I know what your God is capable of... but after hearing you ever survived a battle with Lilith, even while being a Class under, and even managed to come back as a Seeker. I was surprised."

He lifted his head, and for the first time in a while, he seemed serious.

"Though my surprise wasn’t the factor that made me make this decision. Aether, you’re a smart child. What do you think of the fact that all the Vessels suddenly awakened?"

Aether was surprised by the sudden question, but he quickly turned to answer it. I was weird, it really was, if all five Vessels had suddently awakened after so many years, all at the same time, there had to be a reason for it, why else would it suddently change, after all... if he had to say, he had Awakened the Abyss’s powers the moment he read that book on his birthday, the one without a continuation... he thought that because the story inside matched the events he was going to live through soon.

Which... did make him wonder what would have happened if he hadn’t read it, but it wasn’t the time. If all the Vessels had awakened like that, it had to mean that the Gods had gone out of their way to choose and give their powers to them.

They wouldn’t do that if nothing was going on.

Aether turned back to the King, ready to answer his question. "Well, it’s weird, and I don’t think it’s meaningless, if I had to say, something is either happening, or will soon happen, something we don’t know about, only the Gods."

The King smiled, happy with his answer. "Exactly, something is happening, and this has only gotten more and more obvious... so I thought, if the Abyss also awakened, there has to be a reason for it... and since I had all the other four under my control... I wonder why I shouldn’t also get the fifth?" A devious smile curled on his face as he finished his sentence.

Aether frowned... finally, he knew why he was here, why he had been called. The King wanted to tame him, to use him as a weapon as he used Lilith and probably all the other Vessels, even his daughter.

...

Though he wasn’t going to make it as easy as he thinks it’s going to be. He’s going to make the process hell until he finally gives up. And when that happens, it will already be too late.

Aether smirked. "To tame me? I must tell you, your majesty, it won’t be easy."

The King chuckled. "I would have never thought it would be easy. You must know, I think really highly of the Forgotten."

Aether got up from his seat, seeing no reason why he should continue this conversation, but before he left, he needed to say one last thing. "The Abyss is pretty outdated. I prefer Fallen Eden, the third name of the Abyss."