Prince of The Abyss

The Demon dashed towards them, making them separate; that way, it was going to have a harder time. Turning its head towards Aether, its claws came inches from his face; the only reason why they hadn’t hit was because of the purple string wrapped around its foot.

But it did teach him something... that it was much faster than he was.

He tried running away, but to no avail, as seconds later, it caught him by the foot, lifting him up in the air, before slamming him into the ground. His eyes went white for a second from the shock on his back, but they quickly looked onto the claws coming for his head.

Sena quickly stepped in, swinging her Katana into its claws to redirect them from Aether. The demon turned towards her, but once it did, an Arrow hit its head, making it stagger back.

Aether took a deep breath, making another arrow before firing it. But the monster caught it, crushing it like it was nothing.

’Well, that’s not fun. I put effort into making that.’

Sena backed away; she knew that in this fight, if she fought it head-on, she had little chance of surviving, and since her armor allowed her to be harder to spot, it allowed her to sneak in whenever Aether needed help.

The demon locked eyes with Aether, making the boy stagger, trying to run, but as much as he tried moving his leg, he couldn’t. Looking down, a hand had come from under the ground, holding him in place. ’An Underworlder.’

Seeing that there was no way to break away, Aether raised Voidpiercer, trying to block the Demon’s claws, and it had worked for a while; he was able to fight against the pressure of its claws... at least until he heard a small crack, which instantly told him that he needed to stop before the blade broke.

Using Erosion, Aether passed through both the hand and the Demon, turning back and thrusting Voidpiercer into its back as his body turned back into a physical entity. The pain from Erosion came in, but he pushed through it. ’I’m really lucky that it doesn’t have the same effect it had when I was a Reader, or I would have been dead.

Taking Voidpiercer out, Aether stepped back, as the Demon turned around... but it was faster, managing to catch his foot once more. And this time it wasn’t going to let go. It slammed him into the ground over and over again. Not giving Sena any time to jump in.

Aether tensed himself as his body started screaming at him.

Raising him in the air, the demon put his strength into his arm, prepared to slam him hard to break his back. But before he could, Sena jumped in, only to be caught by the neck by the demon’s other hand.

As the demon’s hand clenched around the girl’s neck, he threw her into a tree with great force, leaving her out of the battle for a while, as she just stood there, not moving.

Turning back to Aether, he was met by another arrow, but this time, he expected it, dodging it.

’Shit.’ He thought before he was also thrown right into a tree, head first.

The contact was brutal, almost breaking his skull, and blood had already started flowing heavily on his face, as he turned to see the Demon slowly walk to him.

He was already close to being out of Essence, and both he and Sena were already in bad condition. Things couldn’t be worse. But... there was some hope, as the Demon suddenly stopped, as if he had suddenly felt pain... which confirmed to him that the poison was working.

Getting back on his feet, Aether faced the Demon, clenching Voidpiercer hard in his hand, to the point the hilt ripped the skin from his palm. Running hadn’t given him anything good... he was going to fight.

He dashed forward, trying to take advantage of the state it was in, but the monster wasn’t going to make it easy, swinging his claws around, making it difficult for him to find an opening without being hit.

...

But at the same time... that was exactly the type of thing he was used to.

Aether let a claw rip his chest, as he thrust the Voidpiercer into the Demon... but it seemed as if this time... it hadn’t been a good idea... as he had gotten way more damaged than it. He had hardly stuck the blade in, while the claws had dug deep into his skin, making him bleed and ripping his armor completely from his chest, leaving it vulnerable.

And it wasn’t done. He tried pulling the blade out, but it wouldn’t come out. As he watched, its other hand raised to swing down at him, he used his chains, trying to bind it, but it just broke through them like it was nothing.

’Shit!’ He raised his hands, trying to defend himself; the claws completely disassembling them with deep cuts, cutting multiple veins and muscles, to the point they just limped to his sides. He couldn’t move them... at all.

He stared in terror as the beast grabbed his sword and threw him away alongside it.

It seemed as if they were losing, and they were... but at the same time, just looking at it, he could see that the poison was getting worse and worse for it... they just had to survive for a little longer.

Aether looked at Voidpiercer, who had landed on the ground near him, nearly broken. He crawled over to it as the Demon approached slowly. He twisted his limping body so that his soulless arm would have contact with the hilt, and once it did... he felt stronger... ’I see you’re also quite enraged, huh?’ He chuckled as the blade’s rage came upon him, giving him the strength to force the remaining muscles inside his arms to work.

Gripping the hilt of the blade with the remaining strength he had, he looked up, only for his face to be sliced by the demon’s claws. He felt his lips being cut in too, as it just barely missed his eyes.

He groaned in pain as the Demon crashed him against the debris of the house that had been broken from the explosion... it was desperation, the poison, it was becoming too much for it...

The Demon stood frozen for a second, giving him time to get away.

Catching his breath, he saw Sena get up on her feet.

...

...

But then he saw the Demon raise his arm towards her, as a sparkling red ball of light started forming. His eyes widened in terror, as she was completely oblivious to it.

His body tensed, as he used all his remaining strength, pushing his body to move, as he jumped in front of Fate, a beam of energy piercing right to the side of his stomach.

The Demon suddenly fell, the poison killing it.

[You have killed a Seeker Titan, Demon of the Underworld]

[Your knowledge grows stronger.]

[You have killed a Reader Echo, Underworlder-]

[You have-]

...

...

’We did it?’ He smiled, turning to Sena.

But...

The girl looked terrified, pale like a ghost, as she just stared at him.

’Huh?’... he also felt weirdly light.

Looking down at his chest, Aether saw a hole at his side, near his hip. There was nothing there, no skin, no muscle, just blood coming out.

...

’Oh...’

He thought, before his body fell.

Sena rushed to him, catching him before his body hit the ground. "Aether! Don’t you dare die on me right now!"

[You have changed the ending of "Fall of the Guardians"... your reward will be granted soon... do you wish to leave now, or see the epilogue of the world you created?]

Aether chuckled, blood flowing from his mouth as he did. "Come on, you know I don’t die this easily..." But for some reason, he didn’t believe it. He didn’t believe himself.

Sena frowned. "No, goddamn it, shut up, you damn system, it’s time!" She screamed at the Codex. Turning back to him, she looked desperate. "Just last a little longer, I’ll buy some potions from the Codex’s shop."

The world around them started to disappear, as they found themselves in a white room.

[Measuring the amount of sync given-]

"I said to shut up!" She screamed at the Codex.

Aether chuckled at her reaction. "I’m telling you... I’m fine, don’t... waste your money... I’ll get through it."

...

And yet, as he spoke, his vision got worse and worse, until he was close to blacking out... he realized... he really was dying.

And Sena saw his face change. "Damn it, stay with me!"

But he couldn’t hear what she was saying anymore.

...

[You have gained a new Ability-]

...

...

[You have died]