Chapter 265
“OH GODS!” Athela cried, dramatically flopping onto the floor with a splat - as the blood she was covered in made a woman-sized smudge on the floor around her. “I WANT TO DIE! A PRINCESS SHOULD NOT BE SUBJECT TO THIS KIND OF BRUTAL TORTURE! PHYSICAL LABOR IS FOR PEASANTS, NOT A PRINCESS SUCH AS I!”
Lillith for her part, stepped over Athela’s prone form and quickly joined Riven at the ornate round table of food where he was already starting to eat from - surrounded by servants of various demonic races.
“For one as melodramatic as her-” Lillith pointed over her shoulder with a hiked thumb in Athela’s direction underneath the candle light of a chandelier. “-I’m surprised at her level of competence. Her family has sent a very humble request to meet with me, and after today’s displays - I very well might indulge them to congratulate them on raising such an excellent young woman.”
Riven stopped chewing on the bread he’d been eating and looked over Lillith to where Athela still lay face-down on the floor. He chuckled, shaking his head - then winced at the recent wounds he’d acquired from the arena just earlier that day. Despite his vampirism, his healing was significantly reduced when dealing with cursed attacks. “Is she doing alright then?”
“More than alright. She’s a real talent.” Lillith stretched her right hand over the table and plucked some fruit and freshly chopped meat from a display, putting them on her plate. “She just needs the seriousness of her position impressed upon her. I think she’ll do nicely once she actually applies her skills regularly to protecting you. Speaking of which, how is the mana zone technique coming along? Have you found the items and people I asked you to find yet?”
Riven gave a half-smile and shook his head, looking around the dining hall. Inwardly he continued sending out monotonous pulses of mana - interchanging what type of mana he sent to throw off whoever was still hiding from him. “Not exactly. I’ve found two of the five people, and no items.”
“Where are the people you’ve found?”
Riven pointed to the ceiling direction above the chandelier, and then to an empty seat to Lillith’s left. “Those two.”
The swamp weaver spider above them loudly cursed, unveiling herself from stealth as a horse-sized six-legged monstrosity before it skittered out of the room grumbling. Meanwhile the chair next to Lillith saw a blue-haired, red-eyed, robed woman with a single long black horn protruding from her head materialize - while holding a cup of tea to her lips.
The horned woman sipped her tea and put it silently down on a porcelain plate, nodding approvingly. “I was worried you weren’t going to find me, considering I am the closest to you in proximity I should have been the easiest. Well done nonetheless, it is an honor to help serve the Reincarnation.”
Politely nodding to both Riven and Lillith, the stranger silently got up and left the room to follow the arachnid out.
Lillith gave him an approving smile to match the previous woman, folding her arms over her chest and leaning back in her large cushioned chair. “You’re getting better over these past weeks, and quickly. But tell me… you noticed those two because they had blood affinities - didn’t you?”
Riven raised an eyebrow and rested his elbows on the table over a steaming hot bowl of refined soup that a servant had just set down. “Yes, you’re right.”
“To be expected, I suppose.” Lillith sighed, inspecting her black fingernails one by one. “Your Blood Subpillar is of course your highest affinity, so the mana there is more eager to do your bidding. The others in the room are not of the blood affinities though, so you’ll likely have a harder time finding them. However you are still not allowed to leave this room until they are found. Understand?”
Riven rolled his eyes. “Yes mom.”
The archdemon slowly turned her head and raised an eyebrow his way. “Excuse me young man?”
Riven chuckled at the barely hidden amusement on the corners of her lips, and then he nodded. “I mean yes, oh dark goddess of shadowy violent ends - I will obey thine orders to the letter!”
“Now that’s better.” She crossed her legs and waved a hand at Athela who was still nearly passed out on the floor behind them. “Athela dear? Are you alright?”
Only a low groan escaped Athela’s mouth as she mumbled something under her breath.
“I do believe she gained from over exerting herself against abyssal creatures. Servants? Please help Athela to Riven’s room for a bath and bed. She did well today and deserves some time off.” Lillith snapped her fingers and four humanoid demons quickly went to pick her up, before bodily carrying her away through the next hall. “Now Riven, whenever you’re switching up your mana pulses, try circulating the mana through your core a few times before actually pushing it through your pillars. Doing that will enable you to concentrate the mana for a quicker and more potent burst, and makes the mana more sensitive when using it to scan your surroundings.”
“Circulate it through my core…?” Riven muttered to himself, confused. He cocked his head to one side. “I’ve never really tried that before. Like, recycle it and keep it stable internally in my soul realm? What would be the point in that?”
The blank stare he gave Lillith caused her to laugh, and she put one hand over her eyes while shaking her head. “Oh my… Gluttony is certainly being lazy if he hasn’t told you even this much. Just… just humor me. And try it.”
It almost looked like she was embarrassed.
Closing his eyes and folding his arms, he took time to evaluate his internal soul realm. Cracks still remained along the pillars that’d once been shattered by Elysium’s powerful strikes, from when he’d used his bloodline prophecy one too many times and suffered a tribulation. Those cracks radiated with the sin energy used to repair the pillars, along the pillars of Unholy, Shadow, Blood, Infernal and Death in equal amounts - but above all, the Sin Subpillar that’d once been an alternate core shone brilliantly in a deep, almost black purple.
He ignored the sigils representing skills, the bridges of black and red that criss-crossed thousands of times over between his shadow and blood subpillars - the beginnings of his soul lattice, to focus on the bright white core that supported all the pillars in the very center like a brilliant globe.
There, in the center of it all, he began to summon mana to do his bidding.
Like a factory lit aflame, the soul core went to work producing energy. It was a pure, raw energy - one that hadn’t yet been converted by his pillars into type or function. It was not mana, divinity, or stamina - but rather it was the basic ingredient to all skills.
He built it, and built it, and built it. Over and over again he watched the pure, raw energy circulate like a building vortex until his body began to hum with power yet to be let loose as more and more was produced. Not pushing it through his core like he was so used to doing had put him in new territory, and although the act was a simple one - he didn’t really understand what the point of all this was.
Yet he trusted Lillith’s words and experience, until that same white, radiant energy radiating from his core enveloped his very body as the room began to shake. And then as it continued to make contact with the universe around him, that same radiant white energy began to turn into an ever-changing multitude of colors.
His eyes flicked open, gazing at the swirling, powerful yet simultaneously peaceful cloud of raw power around him.
“Good.” Lillith commented, staring at him with an intensity he hadn’t seen before. She steepled her fingers and leaned closer. “That multi-colored light around you that you’re seeing now? Only you can see it, no one else in the room can visualize that power. Remember that. Now, release it… and when you’re done, immediately cycle to the next pillar. And then the next, and the next, until you’ve returned to the original.”
Riven kept eye contact and continued under her instruction. This time, when he pushed energy into his pillars for another pulse of mana - the energy kept some of that raw, wild nature that sent tingles down his spine.
The first pillar he sent it down was the Death Subpillar, and with an invisible pulse of mana he swept his senses across the room.
Still nothing in terms of the three remaining hidden people, but he did pick up on one of the items Lillith had hidden.
Curiously reaching over the table and fumbling for a bit, he grasped a cold metal object. Upon contact, the object materialized and brought it over the table to hold in front of his face to inspect with interest. It wasn’t anything special, just a fork, but this fork had been imbued with some kind of Death aspect that’d allowed it to go unseen for the entire time he’d been sitting here at the table.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“An aspect similar to how phantoms innately blend in with their surroundings.” Lillith commented smugly while Riven set the fork down. “A personal favorite of mine. Do you see how much more the mana reacted to your probing task when you circulated it beforehand?”
Riven nodded, lost in thought.
“That kind of thing can apply not only to simple tasks such as this, but you can actually empower skills the same way. I’m more than certain you’ve intentionally charged skills to build up their power before, to make them hit harder or fly faster. Perhaps go farther. But…” Lillith held up a finger. “Circulating your energy before actually pushing it through your pillars allows it to become… Eh… how should I say this? Adaptable? Yes, adaptable. It is more adaptable to your will, and retains some of the wild flair that it would otherwise lose out on if you pushed it through a pillar too early. Because of this, charging spells, or any type of ability really, can be made better by the very basic and simple concept of circulating your energy before pushing and converting it through pillars. When you push it in too fast, it becomes somewhat rigid in its nature. Now, can you think of any reason why this couldn’t be used in a real battle? Any specific scenarios?”
Riven’s jaw had dropped, and he barely caught the end of her sentence. How had he not discovered this already? It wasn’t as if it’d been some kind of elusive secret, he’d just thought it natural to create the spell and then build it up afterwards. But doing that in reverse, by building it up prior to release, made mana manipulation all that much more potent.
He’d have to try this out on the battlefield.
“Riven?” Lillith prodded, amused.
He snapped out of it. “I-I’m sorry, Lillith. I did not mean to ignore you, I just… I just can’t believe I overlooked something so simple. To answer your question… I assume that in a very fast paced battle, I wouldn’t be able to keep circulating the mana. I’d need to buy time to do something like this, because the process is far slower than building a spell externally - rather than internally.”
She nodded sagely. “You are directly on the mark. Creating a spell and then firing it, even if you take time to charge it on the outside, is far faster than building it internally by rotating it in your soul core. You wouldn’t be able to do this rapidly, and releasing any kind of skill will automatically expel the energy you’ve been rotating - so this is yet another downside. If you are forced into switching abilities, you could inadvertently release the wrong spell at an amplified level and deplete your energy reserves on something you’d rather not - while needing to start over on the spell you’d initially wanted to cast. So tell me, what does this imply when fighting enemy combatants?”
“It means that if I am able to determine that they’re rotating their mana, I can force them into acting in a way that dispels their energy gathering on something useless.”
“Precisely. But how do you tell whether or not they’re actually acquiring power internally, when most can only sense external power buildup?”
He paused. “Wait, does this mean I can unleash high-power attacks out of nowhere with little to no warning against enemies? Like a surprise attack, without them realizing I’m building power?”
“Yes and no.” Lillith stated flatly. “Yes for people who don’t realize what to look for, and no to people who do. Now, that being said, I will repeat myself - how do you tell whether or not they’re actually acquiring that power buildup internally within their soul core?”
The room went silent, and Riven frowned as he glared at the soup bowl in front of him with furrowed brows. “I have no fucking idea.”
Lillith responded with a cackling laugh. “Well at least you can admit when you’re lacking! Perhaps you should ask Gluttony. He’d be better at describing it than I am.”
***
Gentry nervously glanced at the two ELITE class devils walking on either side of him. Huge, hulking, winged creatures with red skin and black horns - they each stood inbetween two and three times his height with enormous claws that gripped halberds that made his jade scimitar look like a child’s toy. They were also each at the pinnacle of what was allowed to remain in the descent, in terms of power and level, and walking here with them had been something of an obvious irritation for both archdemons.
But hey. At least he got that escort like he’d been promised after weeks of waiting, even if Riven had completely forgotten about it for a time.
Wiping sweat off his forehead and finishing the trek to what he thought was his sister’s manor on the third floor of the descent, he approached the gate where two dozen drow cultivators were wordlessly sizing him up - along with the two escorts he’d come with. In the backdrop was a three-story mansion made of dark gray and black stone similar to everything else that was built down here, but the sigil on the gate was familiar to him and was displayed in the same jade green that his weapon was made out of.
Sighing in relief, he glanced at the baren surroundings of the third floor his sister had set up on - before turning to his escorts. It was a land of ashen hills, with black skies and minimal life. Certainly not the prettiest place to be.
He bowed low in a sign of respect. “Thank you for the time and patience you have demonstrated to bring me here, great ones. I will not forget the kindness Gluttony’s Reincarnation has shown me today.”
One of the devils didn’t even acknowledge him, and just turned around to start walking away. The other one snorted in annoyance, and replied with a deep rumbling voice: “Try to survive, dark elf. The dangers are only greater the farther down you go, and not having the strength to proceed even to here makes me question why you came.”
Gentry winced, then nodded. But he didn’t know what to say to that, and just stood there - embarrassed, until the devil turned to follow the other.
“Gentry.” A familiar female voice called out to him, and he turned around to see that none other than his elder sister had come to the forefront of the group of drow elves. She had immaculate robes on, long white hair done up in a set of three separate ponytails, and was dressed in dark blue cultivator robes similar to his own. At her side were two jade scimitars just like his, though hers were chipped and worn - and she motioned for him to come closer with a hurried wave of one hand.
He’d never seen his older sister in person. He’d only very briefly communicated with her through waystones with his parents from time to time, incredibly expensive ones at that. Most of their communications had been through their mutual parents, as time spent talking over such methods were limited. So the fact that she’d so quickly picked him out by name and knew who he was… it was a little bit odd. He’d almost guessed that he’d need to convince her, but that hadn’t been the case.
Still, given the way she was warily looking around at the barren landscape and shooting the two devils glances as they took to the dark skies with large flapping wings - something felt off. He quickly hurried over and was about to greet her when she abruptly grabbed his wrist and pulled him in close.
“Are they the only ones that took you here? Are there any others?”
Gentry’s brow furrowed in confusion, irritation, and surprise as he yanked his arm back out of her grasp as the other drow men and women standing nearby gazed at him. “No!”
“No what!?” His sister pressed, hissing under her breath as she watched them begin to go. “Hurry and answer!”
“No, there aren’t any others! Why?! Is something the matter, Asha? This is certainly an odd way to greet family for the first time.” His frown only deepened when his older sister gave a curt nod to one of the other cultivators standing in front of the manor, and that man quickly picked up a stone from his pocket and began speaking into it.
Genty was about to say something else to try and clear up what exactly it was that was going on here, when an explosion echoed across the barren landscape and a scream lodged itself in his ears.
He whipped around, and to his horror and building confusion - he saw what could only be described as an enormous, writhing mass of green slugs, worms and leeches of astronomical size reach up hundreds of yards into the sky to snatch one of the huge devils in a vice grip.
Blood sprayed.
Muscles tore.
Bones snapped.
He watched in disgusted awe as he saw the swarm of creatures rip and tear the gigantic demon to shreds as it screamed and cried out in agonizing pain as it was eaten alive, until it was swallowed whole by the pillar of flesh that's consumed it - only a single red, clawed hand sticking out and trying to drag itself back out before that too disappeared amidst the swarm.
The other devil had not been idle during this time, and was engaged in a frantic duel with other pillars of flesh created out of the swarming, sickly green creatures that dug into the demon’s red flesh and began burrowing as he created cascades of fire to wipe them away. The devil swooped and dove, dodging chain-lightning strikes from some of the flesh pillars only to be caught by others when they missed - and were flung back.
The sky itself seemed to explode with green haze as a multitude of grotesque, gigantic, bloodshot eyeballs snapped open in the clouds - and the very ground all around the devil exploded into motion as a creature of astronomical proportions unveiled itself from where it’d been buried.
Despite the devil’s own large size and prowess, it was quickly crushed and contained - being dragged screaming into a writhing mass of flesh that clicked and hissed with sin energy.
The eyeballs then turned to Gentry, and a feeling of overwhelming dread overtook him as his body went rigid with fear.
“Greed… The great sin of Greed, is moving. I don’t know what friends you made or how you know Gluttony’s Reincarnation, but you need to do everything they tell you to do. Tell them everything they ask of you and don’t hold back, or it won’t just be us that die here in this forsaken realm of the dark.” His sister, Asha whispered as if trying not to be overheard even though the monster was so far away. “And that one you see swarming in the earth and sky, the one digesting those two archdemons? That is the one they call ‘The Gambler.’”
Gentry’s face went even paler. His mind was racing, and it was hard to digest what he was being told. Had he really somehow gotten involved in a struggle straight out of bad fairy tales? Ones that involved two of the great sins? Here? Him?
He let out a shuddering breath. “The… The one the storybooks talk about?”
Asha’s rigid face became grim, but she kept her words to a low hiss. “Yes. Tell them whatever it is you know, and perhaps we will live to tell the tale.”
Before there was time for him to respond, another unfamiliar voice called.
“Drow boy… Gentry, I believe?” A hissing, reptilian voice shouted out from where the others had gathered, and it took all of Gentry’s willpower to turn around to the voice that’d addressed him. There, standing in the doorway, was a blue-scaled naga. He was very scarred, had a dorsal fin marked with holes and tears, and had a prosthetic purple eye on one side. He bore a spear of bones with notches all over the weapon, and wore a silver hood with blue trimmings depicting a kraken on the top when he bowed his head.
“It is a pleasure to meet you Gentry.” The naga stated slyly, righting himself, and letting out an aura of sin that smashed into all the drow there, as a pentagram of deep purple light tore open on his chest with the sigil of two clawed hands closing in on a world. “My name is Netithi Bluskish, and my new patron - Greed - wishes me to hunt down a very particular person here in the descent. I’m hoping that you can help me, and in turn you will be helping yourself… I know that the Gambler can be very, very persuasive if he needs to be. So I was hoping that you’d enlighten us on the details of where you’ve been these past weeks, and just who you got to know.”