Shadow of the Abyss

Altair was at a loss for words as he watched Zelos raid an entire restaurant. He was in tears, nibbling on a kabab. Snot oozed from his nose as he gnawed at the meat.

"You've no idea how I longed for this," he whimpered.

Puzzlement turned to astonishment, " Are you sure you're an Archon son? You… you seem… to normal."

Zelos rubbed his eyes. "Archon son though I might be. You probably had a higher beginning than I did."

There was a story there, one Altair could see but held himself from inquiring about. Prescience warned that such a topic might sour the meal. Instead, he happily ate alongside the stranger, who appeared to have reconnected with an illicit lover.

"You must be Thanatos," Zelos remarked, looking at the God of Death beside Altair. He looked curious. "I learned a lot about you in school. What… What was it like to have Nyx as your mother? And Erebus as a Father. Greek Lore was my favorite topic back in high school."

At the mention of Erebus, Thanatos lips thinned. "My mother was kind, having taken it upon herself to learn from Night Mother herself by studying the Eternal Night."

"Tenebrae taught her personally?"

Thanatos shook his head. "All born of the night possess an inherent connection towards the first Primordial of Darkness. One merely needs to attune themselves to the Endless Night."n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Zelos made a wry smile. He lowered his kabob. "Lucky them… I wish…" He shook his head. "I—"

'You're a reincarnated soul, aren't you? ' Altair said, aided by a preexisting knowing in his conscious mind. "There is no way an Archon son like you would have visited Earth, and I have not heard about it. Mother told me about people like you—people who are killed and are allowed to reincarnate with their memories."

Zelos didn't deny it. "It's quite an open secret within my House." he shrugged. "But that's right. I am a reincarnated soul. Although I came from a time far, far in the past, where things like holograms or interstellar travel were a thing of fantasy, not reality." He dripped a bit of tzatziki sauce on his kebab, biting into it with a satisfied expression. He moaned.

"And it's really one of the biggest reasons I don't want you or this world to perish."

Altair glanced at the servants that bore the sigil of the burning sun on their chest and shifted his attention back to Zelos.

"Who killed you?" Thanatos asked with a perplexed expression. He seemed to already know but wanted confirmation.

"The universe's greatest killer. Truck-Kun."

"Of course," Thanatos rolled his eyes. "That kid… I swear, when she discovered that power, she went on a killing spree."

Altair turned to Thanatos. "Killing Spree? Kid?"

The God of Death nodded. "Oh yes. Truck-Kun is just a big kid whose power over Rebirth was so great and comprehensive that it revolutionized the Myriad Heavens. She got so powerful that the One actually acknowledged her power of forcing someone through reincarnation."

"How strong is this Truck-Kun…" Altair asked.

"Bottom of the Omnis Ranking," Zelos said, munching away. "She's powerful—insanely so—but it's not her combat prowess that alarms people. It's her inability to die."

Thanatos nodded. "Yep. You can't kill her. She's literally unkillable. The most you can do is seal her up, or she'll just be reborn."

"Excuse me?" Altair said.

"If you cut her arm off. Reborn. And she'll be whole again. Cut her soul in half. Reborn. Chop her head off.

Reborn. Use a Primal Death spell. She'll have to be reborn more than once. But she'll be fine." Thanatos remarked, stretching his head at the sheer absurdity of her ability.

"That's ridiculous," Altair said, unable to believe what he was hearing. He nearly spaced out. "How the hell does one fight that?"

"You don't. In fact, no one wants to fight Truck-Kun because each of her attacks has a percentage of pushing you through the wheel of samsara. It doesn't matter how strong you are. She'll force you through reincarnation, granting you a wish or two, then send you on your way."

Zelos nodded in agreement. "There are a few Corpos on Genisis that are currently doing the same. It's quite a good investment. Even my family is involved. What's funny is that humans, despite being useless, are the most sought-after souls since their Soul Flame can acclimate to any known species amidst their reincarnation. They aren't necessarily restricted like other races."

"But… Isn't it dangerous to just reincarnate someone like that? What if they turn on you?"

"Ideally, you want them to grow stronger than you," Zelos remarked. "That's the hope anyway. You've heard of devil deals, right? Each person who Truck-Kun kills signs one of those. She cuts out betrayal before there can be any hope of—"

"Truck Kun, is a devil then? A fallen perhaps?" Altair asked.

"No. Truck-Kun is a Forsaken. Kinda. I'm not that sure." Zelos remarked, stretching his head. "I ought to ask her. But she has an insane relationship with people like Lucifer or Mephsito or whomever.

They treat her like a daughter or someone. Hella weird. Having a few devils by her side isn't unusual."

Thanatos nodded, recalling his father, who treated the little girl like his own. He'd even gone as far as to pat her head. Something he'd not done for his blood daughter. Not that Melinoe was as affectionate as Truck-Kun. It still left the underworld reeling.

"That's wild," Altair whispered.

"Well, unlike most, Truck-Kuns Isieki's contracts are actually quite freeing. She doesn't have a slave contract like my family employs. She just grants your wishes and sends you on your way. It's a pastime for her. Rarely does she actually gain an actual good soldier."

Altair made a face. "You seem... quite close to her."

"She did kill me." Zelos seemed to see the irony, opening up with a laugh. "Well, that's true. She's kind of awesome. But more than that…" he leaned close as Mana coalesced across space, trapping sound from entering or escaping around them. "She is your Aunt. She's a fucking Snow."

Again, Altair found his mask cracking. The more he heard about his family, the more he began to understand the level of power the Surname 'Snow' commands. His father was a Monarch of Hell, his Aunt was the Universe's Greatest Killer, and then there was his uncle, the so-called Lord of Absolution. And that wasn't to mention their wives.

He suddenly felt he was drowning, pressed against the bedrock of the ocean by an immeasurable weight of expectation.

Zelos lowered the wall of silence, a sly grin cutting across his lips. "I'm jealous. They all seem to love you."

"How do you know all of this?" Altair asked. "Surely they wouldn't just tell you all this without a certain level of trust."

"My Master doesn't believe in trust. As a test, that bastard had me running after their ass to try to uncover something. Your uncle literally tried to toss me into the Nine Hells. He's a major asshole."

"Yup," said Thanatos. "That sounds like him."

Zelos made a face, reeling from his first meeting with Zariel, and shuddered, shaking his head. "I'm not sure who's worse, though: Your father or your uncle. One doesn't give a single fuck about anything but his woman, while the other is so orderly if I don't sit properly, I risk being cast into Hell. At least Jin is cool."

"Jin?"

"Your nephew, the Acting King of Asteria. You should reach out. He's told me a lot about you. It seems he saw you fight five years ago. He was impressed. Like me, he's a transcendent.

So you better catch up. We're trying to build ourselves up before war erupts with Arcadia." Zelos said, wiping his mouth. "Which brings me to the actual reason why I sought to meet up with you. I've already aligned myself with your brother and sisters in Arcadia. Your sister is a baddie, by the way. Izalith, Vesyrn, Crowe, Jin, and I have all decided to align ourselves to create a sort of organization.

Much like your father and his family and friends did. Our parents and Master can't help us much due to the Shadow Proclamation, but who knees them when we have each other."

"You… You have been to Arcadia?" Thanatos asked. "And you're alive?"

Zelos nodded. "I'm a merchant. I go where there is money. Vesyrn of the Black Suns and I have quite a business relationship. And are drinking buddies. That stoic bastard is quite funny when he's fucked up."

Thanatos's expression froze for a while before he asked, "Just… Just who is your Master? There is no way the Silver Devil or the Monarch of Darkness would have you near their children if you weren't close."

Zelos lifted his lips. He didn't look at Thaan but glanced at Altair. "What do you think? Who do you think my Master is."

The Emperor didn't even so much blink as he said, " Zero. You gave it away when you said he doesn't believe in trust."

Once more, Mana coalesced across space to form a domain of silence, impenetrable to even the ears of the Gods listening.

Zelos clapped. "Correct. I am Zelos, the Tenth Member of the Order of Chaos. Your personal Assassin for the right price." he grinned a cruel, red smile, his blood-red eyes glistening a sinful heat. Experience new stories on empire