Chapter 244
Porcelain masks, red flowing robes, and a swirling vortex of crimson that reached the sky.
Seven monsters of ancient power.
The seven elders of the Bloom Moon Requiem sat while floating meditative poses in a circular formation, facing inwards toward a globe of blood that was drawing from each of the thrall bodies their spirits possessed here on Panu. Each of these thrall bodies were slowly withering away, and the original souls to inhabit each of them were now long gone.
Elder Thune and High Queen Nephridi glared at each other through the slits in the masks their vessels wore, the remnant soul fragments of each thrall rapidly deteriorating as the seconds ticked by - sitting almost opposite one another with other elders between them on either side. The tension had been high ever since Allie had killed Lord Justo Barimont, and it’d almost led to a civil war.
That fracture line in the empire was still there, but at least the background assassinations had come to a halt. And now with the introduction of Allie’s new changes, it appeared that Queen Nephridi had bet on the wrong horse.
Kathrine stood wide eyed in the trading compound’s center, watching awestruck as fractal lines shattered the clouds overhead with red, crystalline patterns that bloomed and grew as the vortex continued to pour power into the ritual. She simply didn’t know what to do or how to stop it, and when it was a unanimous decision of all seven…
There was just no stopping it on her end.
Riven and Allie were both going to be very angry. It made Kathrine worry about her upcoming engagement, about whether or not he’d blame her for not being able to stop it.
“You seem bothered, princess.” Elder Thune called from his floating position under the fortress’s shadow. He turned his burning crimson eyes to Kathrine, and she nearly stumbled when his aura slammed into her.
It wasn’t that he was intentionally doing it either. It was just that, even despite his real body being back in another universe past multiversal boundaries, he was simply that strong - and he had to keep the gates to his soul open in order to maintain this part of the ritual. Thus, a passive glance could even kill mere F-grades such as herself if he really put intent behind it.
Thankfully he wasn’t doing so.
“I…” Kathrine righted herself, sweat beading down her face, and she shook her head while straightening and smoothing out her form fitting black dress. “Y-Your excellency, I am merely concerned about the wellbeing of my fiance. I am certain he won’t like what is about to happen to his sister-”
“She deserves what is going to happen. She was the one that so blatantly refused the Blood God’s will.” Elder Thune interrupted her with an uncaring, almost demeaning snort. “Pathetic really. To think one of our own would so flippantly discard what it means to be one of the blood.”
Queen Nephridi, who’d been glaring at the man opposite her this entire time, finally tore her red eyes off of him and turned to look at Kathrine with a little more grace than the other elder vampire elder. “Child… It is not something I enjoy thinking about either. But it is not as if we have a choice, and we aren’t killing her. That in itself is a mercy, considering what she has done. Even if it angers The Scythe, our bloodline - Malignant Prophecy - is the most valuable treasure our empire has. It is what made us who we are today, it is what carried us throughout the hundreds of millenia to become a powerhouse of the multiverse, and it is simply not negotiable. We have committed genocides five times over and waged war on civilizations far more powerful than ourselves to prove to the multiverse that we will not tolerate others to lay hands on what is ours by birthright. We cannot allow our bloodline to fall into the hands of the Phantom Legions now that she has turned, or even the Reapers, and I have no doubt that both organizations are going to be digging in their heels to get to her no matter the cost if we allow this planet to exit integration without some means of a safeguard. Stripping her soul, even at the temporary cost of our own power, is a necessary risk we must take.”
The sky above them exploded in a storm of red as two fractal patterns connected and merged, sending red shockwaves over Brightsville and causing the image of a blood moon to slowly take form over the stars in the sky. It began slowly, but began to grow in size and brightness as seconds and then minutes ticked by.
“And the Blood God wills it.” Queen Nephridi muttered under her breath, turning back around to face inwards towards the globe of red wicking away energy from the seven thralls each of the elders now possessed.
Another messenger ran in, whispering into Kathrine’s ear about Dr. Brass’s repeated requests for information on just what was going on - but again she told the messenger to tell the necropolis it was nothing to be concerned about. It wasn’t as if anyone currently present in Brightsville could stop what was going on anyways, and the sinking feeling she was getting in her gut only grew as-
[Multiversal System Notice: To all creatures across Elysium, let it be known that the return of the Sins and Commandments is at hand. The first of the seven original sins, Gluttony, has been unleashed from the abyss. Other sins and commandments will be released from the abyss over the course of the next ten years as long as they are willing to abide by Elysium’s terms. Let the Eternal War between the hells and heavens begin again, as the origins of angels and demons clash in the cosmos - unshackled, and unrestrained, seeking to return to the power they once had.]
The system notification burned itself into the air in front of her with a shattering, screaming howl. The usual blue hologram text was nowhere to be seen. Nor was the gold lettering of Elite notifications, or the red of Legendary notifications. Instead, it was a deep black that seemed to suck in the very light around her like some kind of black hole ripped in space.
Overhead and across the sky, the flash of a giant black maw screamed in triumph as the very planet rumbled around them. The air quaked, a cold wave of dread overtook them, and the sky flickered - even changing the blood moon’s image in favor of a vast abyss where six other faded entities resided; each of them holding a unique but vastly powerful essence themselves. Just staring up at the maw and the six caged entities caused Kathrine to start seizing, hitting the floor while the floodgates of dark inspiration crashed through her mind and soul. The dark truths of the universe came and went as a fire hydrant trying to be forced down a straw, and it took everything inside her not to cry out as her soul aperture cracked and reorganized itself under the massive weight of an eons-old but mostly forgotten path.
Then the maw, the abyss, and the presence of the six other original sins were all gone - fading away and leaving the world as it had been only minutes before.
The elders all sat in stunned silence, and it was one of the others - a woman by the name of Elder Istiva, who spoke first. “Did we just witness…”
“We did.” Queen Nephridi confirmed with a whisper, still staring up at the place the vision had presented itself while their ritual continued building.
One of the other masked elders began swearing under his breath, and as the seconds ticked by - he voiced the one question that everyone else was thinking, but not saying. “Why would it present itself here?”
The clearing fell into silence.
“You don’t think…” Elder Istiva said slowly, nervously cracking one knuckle with a cocked head, as yet another man began to cackle gleefully at the very idea that it might be right.
“Impossible.” Elder Thune promptly stated. “The chances of that are-”
He was cut off and stopped short of what he was going to say, when a tear in space ripped open before them. All seven of the stunned vampire elders watched in dead silence as a very famous figure from eons past that they all recognized from the recorded histories stepped through, closing the black gate of the abyss behind her.
She was a demonic woman wreathed in shadow that covered her entire body, though somewhat tall for a humanoid, with indistinguishable facial features other than the seven horns around her head that formed a pseudo-crown. The bright white eyes lacked pupils, remaining drooped in a calm and collected manner - as if bored, and the deep-purple pentagram with Gluttony’s maw sigil that drew itself onto her chest was a tell-tale confirmation of just who she was.
She raised herself off the ground to hover up and then over the seven elder vampires, looking down on them and clasping her hands behind her with a satisfied nod. Large black wings spread out from her back, as if stretching them after a long time of misuse - and a long black tail sprouted from her backside to whip about in the air behind her. “Yes… This is where our eyes should meet. With me looking down… on the rest of you.”
No one said a word, each of the seven elders remaining in a stunned state of silence, while her bright white eyes continued to glow - radiating out as two beacons amidst the pool of shadows that created her body.
Her identification information, etched in black flames, was mostly unidentifiable.
[Lillith, Level 1 Archdemon: Unique ???. ???. ???. ???. ???. ???. ???. ???. Commander of the Gluttonous Legions. MYTHIC.]
She gestured to the ritual above them, and the sky shattered. The visage of the blood moon evaporated, and another shockwave radiated across the heavens as the seven elders each snapped out of their surprised trances to abruptly stand.
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“YOU DARE!” Elder Thune snarled, reaching up with the thrall he now possessed - only to evaporate into a spray of blood and viscera when Lillith’s tail snapped forward to make contact.
“Now, now.” Lillith cooed, turning her calm gaze upon the others with wings still outstretched. “I know you are all quite powerful in your own right, I can sense it… S-grade monsters or higher, the lot of you. But none of you are able to impose your true strength here and now, not on this planet, not under the watch of Elysium while Panu is still undergoing integration. There is nothing you can do here now that I have come, so it would be in your best interest to talk - rather than to attempt a poor and petty revenge. Because you see… That girl you were trying to stripmine the soul of - she is now my charge. It may take another ten thousand years before I’m able to match your raw strength as I regain my power, but if you know what’s good for you - you’ll all stay out of my way as I get there.”
***
Riven sat before the great maw, a mouth that swallowed the universe as billions begged, screamed, and died. Planets burned, legions marched on the heavens, and angels were eaten alive by enormous, titanic demons and creatures of nightmare.
"All is as it should be..." Riven heard the great maw whisper into his mind. "This is what our future holds..."
The vision cut off, falling back into the black tattoos that covered his otherwise pale white body - becoming accessible for later.
Notifications flashed through his mind, but they then quickly settled into the background of his status page for him to check later - as ones specific to the quest he'd been assigned popped up as priority messages.
[Chalgathi, The Apocalypse Beasts World Quest, Panu, sub-event has been INITIATED: The Altars of Despair and Hope.
A temporary pocket world for this event has been created. The Chosen finalists of Chalgathi, the Plague Dragon, Chubin, the glass Kraken, and Neckra, the Skeletal Devourer - Have all been sent to this pocket world to compete.
Locations of Chalgathi’s Altars have been marked for you. You will be required to visit all 4 Chalgathi altar sites and activate each of the shrines, as well as acquire 10,000 event points before being allowed to leave this event. Doing so will also give you knowledge of the location of Chalgahti’s Temple, where Chalgathi’s incubation chamber has been hidden.
There are 21 registered Cultists.
* 7 Chalgathi Cultists, 6 Chubin Cultists, and 8 Nekra Cultists
There are 9 registered Non-Cultists entering this event.
* 3 Chalgathi Non-Cultists, 4 Chubin Non-Cultists, and 2 Nekra Non-Cultists
You have arrived at the Altar of Hope, and are now registered as a Non-Culist. Killing other Non-Cultists will result in a decrease in your Event Points. Each participant will have their own set of unique quests that allow them to gain points and level up, only quests will allow level ups and XP gains during this event. Other rules will be reviewed again and in more detail after your first quest is completed.]
[Chalgathi Cowl (Non-Cultist) has been added to your inventory. This is a soulbound item only you can wear for the remainder of this event, it gives you no stats or bonuses, but it marks you as a Chalgathi Non-Cultist to friend and enemy alike.]
[Riven’s Quest #1 of The Altars of Despair and Hope: Other F-grade participants have been either voluntarily or involuntarily dragged into this event from across the multiverse. Unlike the chosen of this trial, they do not respawn 24 hours after death. You have been given the task of defending one of these populations. Your first quest is to travel to the marked quest location and save as many people as you can. Each person that dies counts towards a -1 Event Point. Successfully defending the town from the monster wave will result in +30 Event Points.
>>> Time until monster wave: 15 hours.]
Riven opened his red and black eyes, including the vertical one stationed on his forehead, with a deep inhale of fresh air. The crisp cold flooded his lungs and invigorated him, and it was with a shuddering breath that he let it all out with a slump to his shoulders.
Just what had happened to him?
No… he remembered now. The memories etched themselves into his thoughts one by one, and a deep sadness overcame him when he thought of Snagger’s recent death. That sadness turned to anger when he realized that Gluttony had intentionally let the ratkin die in order to get closer to the lesser god, and he turned his ire upon the symbiotic presence in his soul only a split second later.
“Do not be angry with me, Riven… If I had not done so, if I had not gained the element of surprise and been in such close proximity to the overly confident god, we would have died too. This was the best, and only way.”
A soothing sensation washed over him, and it was as if Gluttony had imposed his will on Riven to calm him down. Despite knowing this, Riven decided this was a conversation to be had at a later time - and he let that soothing sensation continue to massage his anger away while considering just what he wanted to say about all that'd happened.
He had a lot of questions.
“Riven?”
Genua’s voice pulled him out of his stupor, and Riven blinked while coming back to reality.
He stood on a large flat-topped tower that overlooked a forested landscape that spread out in all directions for as far as the eye could see. The sun beat down on him, though his gluttonous ivory armor kept him from taking passive sunlight damage, and he noted that his helmet had been modified to allow his third eye to see through from his forehead. A thin but very well-made cowl made from a smooth black material also covered his helmet, with a dark green trimming and little holes having been custom-made by the system to let his spined central ridge of red feathers from his helmet through.
Jackal remained in its canine form at his side, and he had a different, unfamiliar set of metal greaves on. Beside him were Azmoth, Genua, Athela, and Luke - his other thrall who’d been watching over Len in Brightsville. Fay was nowhere to be seen, but she’d also just died in Deepnest’s explosion and he did a quick set of actions to pay Elysium for her return in 24 hours.
Aside from his minions, there were also 8 other people (some of which had their own minions) standing on top of the flat roof of the tower - with a spiral stairway leading downwards in the very center of the tall building. They all looked sketchy as fuck in his oppinion, a mix-and-mash of wary stares shared between the lot of them - and a good number of them wearing masks or hoods to obscure their faces. Some wore heavy armor, others wore leathers or robes, and one guy wore nothing but a set of boxers with two orange, metal katanas in either hand.
Weird choice of a getup, in Riven’s opinion.
But they all had one thing in common.
Each of them had a cowl on their heads, over the original outfits they’d put on. The 3 Chalgathi Non-Cultists -who were all humans - wore black hoods with green trimming, and had circular dragon symbols etched into the tops. This included the living fashion-statement bearing two orange katanas. The 4 Chubin Non-Cultists wore cowls made of silver material with blue trimmings, and had the visage of a kraken etched into their tops. These particular people weren’t humans at all, but rather three of them were actually lizard-like Naga - with blue-green scales and frills along their necks and heads. They had webbed hands, the upper bodies were humanoid, and their lower bodies were that of a snake or sea-serpent. The fourth Chubin Non-Cultist was actually a mermaid with short green hair and a getup made of stitched scales and seaweed - who quickly changed her lower fish-half into legs and stood upright when Riven’s eyes fell upon her. The 2 Nekra Non-Culstists wore sandy-brown hoods with teal trimming and an etched scorpion sigil, one being a short dwarf woman wearing half a dozen skulls around her waist with multiple undead golems positioned around her - while the second person was actually a dark elf with a black robe and a white skull tattoo covering half his face. The dark elf in particular held two well-crafted wooden wands out to either side, and had a single large phantom hovering behind him protectively.
Dual-wielding wands wasn’t something Riven had seen before, and he found the concept rather interesting.
“Riven!” Genua hissed, coming over to tug on his arm frantically with eyes wide. “Len was left behind! Where is my daughter!?”
This snapped Riven out of his musings, but they were all quickly calmed down when Luke held up a placating hand.
The old elf thrall cleared his throat. “Len is fine, she’s at the manor now and was being taken care of by myself, Tupper, and all the other elf staff on duty. I must say that your daughter is getting along very well with all of the other deathtouched elf children we brought in from the orphanage today - but she doesn’t seem to understand why she wasn’t turned like the rest of them. Keeps asking me about why everyone on that side of the portal, and all the friends she’d made at school previously now have gray skin and neon-teal eyes. I think she’s jealous of them.”
Len had been on the other side of Panu when Allie’s event had taken hold, and the elves of Tereen or the children who’d been orphaned had in many cases become ‘Deathtouched Enlightened’ versions of themselves. They’d kept most of their physical attributes in terms of how they looked, but the coloring was often off and their death-affinities had skyrocketed across the board due to their now technically undead heritage.
“Are you sure she’s in good hands?” Genua whirled around on Luke, tears in her eyes, clasping her hands together in front of her. “I didn’t even get to tell her goodbye! I’m going to be gone for a year or more and I didn’t get to see her off!”
The others on the tower were staring slack-jawed, wary, or even outright scared as they stared Riven’s group down - with Azmoth and Athela’s drider form both making very large and intimidating presences near the tower’s edge.
“Len will be fine, Genua. Tupper is there and I’ll let Fay know to pass along the message to her family, so her brother can then tell Len what happened.” Riven assured her with a firm and comforting hand on his thrall’s shoulder. “We can even have them give us updates that way.”
Athela, who was covered in blood and standing at the height of a small building, turned her large frame around and groaned in irritation. “I was just about to finish wiping out that Russian mafia family before being teleported here! You do realize I was in the middle of an operation with General Bruner from Chicago, right? RIGHT RIVEN!?”
Athela abruptly changed forms into her blood-weaver form, the dog-sized spider jumping up into Riven’s arms and rapidly swatting him on the armored forehead. “BAD RIVEN! SEND ME BACK! BAD-BAD!”
Riven immediately encased her entire body in crimson ice, walked over to the edge as she continued to screech muffled insults through the magic, and dropped the frozen block of spider off the edge while giving her a salute and a chuckle.
Azmoth joined in on the laughter, waving at the disappearing spider as she went.
Her screams faded away and he turned back to the others, before his eyes settled on a single familiar figure wearing another Chalgathi hood nearby. Slowly he lifted an eyebrow, tilted his head, and his jaw began to drop as the woman meekly waved back.
She wore a black leather outfit, with her own Chalgathi-items set having turned into something of a rogue’s outfit with spiked-knuckle leather gloves that went up to her shoulders. Her dragon amulet had remained the same as it’d originally been, her headdress poked out the front of her cowl and looked very native-american-like with the feathers pulsing green energy, while a variety of different small blades were strapped to her upper body and thighs.
He pointed her way. “You’re that Asian lady from the pyramid back in the pre-integration Chalgathi quest. Aren’t you? The one who helped me get up to the top?”
Her smile grew a bit, and she hesitantly nodded. “It’s good to see you again, though you helped me more than I helped you back then. It was a pretty brutal initiation back then, and if you’d told me that you were going to become the most powerful person on this planet by the next time we’d meet - I’d have laughed in your face and called you crazy; Mr. Riven Thane.”