Prince of The Abyss

"You know, this thing was able to harm me, true, without any armor, but my body is probably stronger than your armor, so I suggest you leave. Who knows how strong this thing is," Keres said, summoning a blade in his hand.

Aether looked at the Harbinger to see if he was sure, but he didn’t wait long. If this thing was as strong as Keres considered it, even if he stayed, he would do nothing to help him... the thing was... that he really hoped this wasn’t because of him, because of his curse.

He really hoped his leaving didn’t cause Keres to die.

Aether nodded, before turning around and dashing towards the exit; veins dashed forward to catch him, but before they could, Keres cut them down with his blade... He hadn’t even seen him turn around, but swing his blade...

It was insane, just how fast he was.

’He’s not considered the strongest person outside of the Kings for no reason.’ Aether ran through the darkness, not looking back once. And there seemed to be a reason to worry, as he could hear Keres laugh and his blade being swung.

Did he enjoy fighting? ’I guess at his strength, fighting isn’t that big of an inconvenience.’

As he got closer to the exit, he could sense the monster trying to catch him, veins rushing towards him at a very fast pace, faster than he was. He needed to hurry up, and now. So he pushed harder, his feet moving harder than they ever did, and yet the veins only got closer and closer.

As he got close to the exit, the veins were already inches behind him, but the bad was that the way was also blocked by the very same monster. He cursed as he ran, continuing to run, using Erosion to pass at the last second, just as the monster was about to catch him.

Rolling on the ground, he took a deep breath before getting back on his feet, just in time as the veins burst through the cracks in the wall and, towards him, summoning his bow, he shot towards them, but the monster evaded it before hitting him right in the stomach and pushing him away, stopping him by the sand. Aether looked at his chest, where his mantle had been completely ruined, and his stomach burned slightly from the acid, blood flowing out.

’Damn it!’ He said, putting a hand on his stomach, before getting up on his feet.

It hurt; it hurt a lot more than he expected. He felt his stomach burning, like a flame had started inside it, and not a friendly one.

Clenching his stomach, he sensed the monster attacking with Eden, quickly turning away from it and trying to lead away, but it caught his foot at the last moment, wrapping around it, as its acid started to dig into it, melting him.

He groaned in pain as it raised him into the air, holding him high in the sky... it wasn’t going to let him go...

And yet, not long after, he found himself falling, not because it had let go, but because the acid had destroyed any connection between his leg and foot.

He hit the ground, which made his bones shake, but nothing that bad... well, considering what happened to his foot. He started in terror at his severed foot, blood flowing like a waterfall out of it.

And it wasn’t done just yet.

He was about to scream, but before he could, it slapped the side of his stomach, knocking him into the water as it washed over his body, getting the blood off him. Looking at his stomach, it was drenched in blood, and his mantle was now separated into two parts: one on his upper body, and the other that was falling down into the water.

It was close to being destroyed, so he made a tough decision... he was probably going to die, but... if he didn’t, he wanted to have it with him.

Even with it, it wouldn’t help that much.

He tried getting up, but he just fell back, face first in the sand; blood continued to flow from his stomach as his body lost almost every little bit of it...

Killing him.

...

After Gravewalker took effect, Aether awakened once more... yet this time... he felt completely fine, getting up to his feet.

... ’Wait.’ He looked down at his feet... which were both there.

’What the heck?’ But as he was more confused than ever, the monster was still not done with him, its veins coming for his face to finally end it... But the moment it touched his body, as it made contact with his face and ripped through it... his face just grew back.

Aether touched his face. ’Don’t tell me...’ He said, grabbing his blade and swinging it at his own arm, watching Abyssal Matter from inside keep it connected to his body...

’My body... it’s... what?’

The monster continued to attack him, but each time it did, the Abyssal matter kept growing back... the only problem, he felt his essence run out, and quickly. He had no idea why his body had suddenly changed into what it was now... well, rather, he had a very good theory.

It was his ability, but the thing is that he had no idea how long this was going to last, since he knew it wasn’t forever.

’But what am I even supposed to do? It’s much faster than me, and I definitely can’t fight back... do I just have to endure this and hope that the ability doesn’t stop, or that I don’t exhaust all my essence?’

It sounded horrible, and it wasn’t, but at the same time, it really was the only thing he could do at the moment.

He took a deep breath, releasing all his relics. As he put his weight on his footing, he stood still, didn’t move to waste any energy, while the monster kept attacking his body, slicing it over and over, as it kept reconnecting itself and growing back... it was a very weird experience.

’Am I even a human at the moment? Or something closer to a shadow?’

But... as much as he wanted this to last forever... it wasn’t; he was seconds away from losing all his essence.

He cursed under his breath as he felt his ability stop working, as his body suddenly... well, he really didn’t know how to describe it, since it was just how your body normally felt, not hollow, like it had been before.

...At quite a bad time, since the monster’s veins were inches away from his face.

He closed his eyes, preparing for whatever came next... but nothing came.

Opening his eyes, the vein on the ground, not moving.

"You’re alive? Good. I’ll admit, I’m very surprised, but also impressed." Aether looked back at the stone wall, where Keres was now standing... completely unharmed.

Aether’s jaw stood wide open as he just stared at the Harbinger.

Keres tilted his head. "What? Don’t tell me you seriously thought I was going to die." He scoffed. "Who do you think I am?"

...Did he think Keres was going to die? He knew he was strong; true that he didn’t really know how his powers worked at all, but he knew his reputation, so if there was one person he wouldn’t have to worry about at all.

It was him.

But at the same time... his curse really made him fear for another’s life, no matter who they were.

"I... kinda did, but I have a good reason for it. It’s a curse of mine... it kills everyone that’s around me, so sorry I was scared you were going to die like the others."

...

...

...

Keres burst out laughing, slapping his knee. Aether stared at him, his eyes wide open, as he just started laughing like a maniac.

"Sorry... but I can’t... A curse? Oh, and put it on you, an evil witch?" His laughter got worse as he walked towards him, almost limping because of it.

He rested an arm on his shoulder, wiping a tear from his eye, as he finally stopped. "There’s no such thing as curses, dumbass. It’s just coincidences and being stupid with your decisions.

I’m not saying it’s not something that hasn’t happened to you, or that isn’t something that regularly happens. A lot of people die, and even more in this place."

He smirked, backing up slightly. "But it’s definitely not the fault of a curse... It’s probably just your fault, really."

Aether opened his mouth, trying to say something to defent yourself, but Keres stopped him by putting his finger to his mouth. "Grow up; I’m not making a joke to mock you; it’s the truth. Accept it, or leave and continue to cry like a baby about it."

...

"And even if it was a curse, set by fate itself, it would have no effect on me.

I’ve long broken out of fate’s order."