OLD Chapter 205 (UPDATE AS OF 11/23/23 - These original chapters 195-210 will be pushed out to another future part of the book or recycled. New chapters starting at 195 are being posted after the original 210, and these original chapters will soon be removed. For now, skip ahead to the NEW Chapter 195 past old 210) (Patreon)

Chapter 205

Fay stared blankly at the wall, eyes unfocused while her master Portus clambered over her on the bed and violently slapped her hard across the face without provocation.  She whimpered involuntarily, holding the bruise with her hands and trying to remain small, but otherwise avoided eye contact and kept her mouth shut.

“Good round.” He said after pouring himself a drink.  The incredibly handsome, incredibly cruel man gave her a predatory wink.  He stroked his short and neatly trimmed beard, eyes lustfully tracing her bare body.  “You aren’t as into it today as you usually are.  Why is that?”

He turned around to look at her, but Fay had quickly realized responding to his pokes was a good way to get hurt.  So she just remained blankly staring at the wall, unmoving, like a slug as the sting of his slap reverberated across her blue skin.  It was a survival mechanism for her, one that she’d very quickly learned, and she truly regretted acting on her emotions to take the first contract presented without looking it over.  She’d just… she’d wanted to get away.  To get away from Riven, from Athela, from her family… she just wanted to start over.  To find someone who truly cared about her.  Yet here she found herself, hurt and alone, in a contract that would likely last for many years if not decades to come.

Perhaps she should have just died back there with Athela the first time around.  Demon slayer blades were incredibly hard to find, and she doubted this idiot would get his hands on one even if he wanted to - so despite wanting to die, the best she could hope for was that he got tired of her.  That, or she hoped he angered someone else stronger than him in the criminal underworld of this backwater planet so that they’d kill him for her.

A knock at the door interrupted his ogling, and the small-time crime lord walked over and opened it - revealing a bald, well built cronie in the hallway dressed in form fitting combat robes, waiting with hands in front of him in a dark hallway.  “Well?  What is it?  I’m busy.”

The henchman bowed again.  “Apologies, Mr. Portus.  I’ve just received word from our contacts… a very high profile person of interest is landing here soon.”

Portus stroked his neatly shaven beard again, a very common habit of his, and his green eyes narrowed.  “A… high profile person of interest?  From off world?  That’s very vague.  Who would I even know from off world?  Anyone in the syndicate that has connections to our off world counterparts is far above my pay grade.”

The henchman looked uncertain, then his eyes flitted over to where Fay lay like a log, naked on the bed.  “Uhm… Yes.  I’m not entirely sure of all the details, but this particular man… he specifically asked for you.  And he told you to bring the succubus… he asked for her by name.”

At this, Portus’ eyebrows raised.  He turned to look over at his new toy, frowned Fay’s way, then glanced back at the hired man.  He opened his mouth to reply, frowned even more deeply, and cleared his throat.  “That doesn’t make any sense.  Why would someone off world be interested in the demons I choose to summon, how would they know I had contracted a succubus, and why would they know her by name?  Where are they from and who are they?”

Reluctantly, the bald thug’s eyes shifted to the succubus yet again.  “Uh… You may not believe this.  If our sources are correct, the man’s name is Jalel.  He did not give me a last name, but his ship bears the signatures of the Blood Moon Requiem.   He is a vampire, bearing the crest of a noble house from their empire, and the upper bosses of the syndicate are very worried that this will draw up a worldwide alarm and call to arms should the government find out.  The bosses told me to bring you to them for a talk, right now, without delay - and told me to get you to bring your demon too.”

Portus’ face went pale, and then paler.  He stiffened, and his eyes became saucers.  “The Blood Moon Requiem.  Did I hear you right?”

Slowly, the bald man nodded.

Portus turned back around, walking over to the bed and yanking Fay up by her long white hair with a violent tug.

She let out a cry, and then it was muffled as he pinched both her cheeks with one hand and shook her head back and forth rapidly.

“What kind of trouble are you bringing to my doorstep, whore!?” Portus asked with a sneer, throwing her head back down to the bed and slapping her for no good reason whatsoever.  “WHY would the Blood Moon Requiem, or someone that hails from there, be requesting you BY NAME!?  WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT TROUBLE HAVE YOU BROUGHT UPON ME!?”

He slapped her again, causing her to yelp and cry, but the next statement was infused as  a contractual command.  “Tell me!”

Blood trickled down her lip, and Fay sniffled with another whimper before sitting up and straightening herself when he backed up - arms folded expectantly.

She lowered her eyes, heart thudding in her chest and not knowing what to think.  Was this… Had Riven come to save her?

Who was Jalel?

Why did she recognize that name?

She blinked, wiped away another tear, and took in a deep breath to answer his command.  “I do not know who this Jalel is, though I recognize the name.  I am a lowly succubus, nothing more. As for why they may want to talk to you…”

She hesitated.

“Spit it out, before I get angry.” Portus glared daggers at her, fingers fidgeting as he gripped his own arms tightly and tried to remain calm.  “One does not just get random requests from citizens of the Blood Moon Requiem, Fay.  One especially does not involve themselves with the nobles, it’s a good way to get dead.  When they come, worlds die.  What do you know?  Am I in danger?  Is this planet in danger?”

She hesitated again, then shrugged and finally met his eyes.  “You might be.  I might be as well.  I’m not sure… It depends on if it’s one of Riven’s friends or enemies.  He has both in the empire.”

“Riven?  Who is Riven?” Portus repeated.

“My last master, the one…” She choked back her words, lowering her eyes again as tears began to well up underneath them.  “The one I fell in love with.  He is a prince of the Blood Moon Requiem, so whatever the reason they are asking for me - it is likely related to him.”

The hired thug’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets at the word ‘Prince.’

There was a significant pause in the conversation.  Meanwhile, Portus let out a wheeze, and if he nearly choked up vomit.  It took him a few minutes to get his body to stop shaking, and sweat began to bead down his face as his eyes hit the floor.  “Oh fuck…”

***

Riven’s fingers traced the carvings on the wall leading to a set of double doors.  The carvings here and on the large doors themselves repeatedly bore images of three dragons eating one another.  The rest of the runes and images made little sense to him, but the image of the dragons…

The image sang to him.

Athela rested a hand on his shoulder, then her chin came next, and he turned to meet her red eyes as she looked up at him with worry.

“Don’t look at me like that.” Riven said with a warm smile, cupping her cheek in one hand.  “I’m fine.”

“You’re fine if I say you’re fine, twirp!” Athela whispered under her breath, shooting Thale, Allie and Clone Riven a glance before getting up on her tiptoes and kissing him - then jabbing him in the stomach and making him double over.  “And don’t you fucking dare dismiss me like that again, damn it!”

Despite her teasing grin, her lips trembled and the finger that she jammed into him shook.  It was a far cast from the Athela Riven usually knew, and he gave her a guilty smile.

“I’d do it again.” Riven said, glancing over his shoulder at the three figures sitting in deep discussion at his back in the middle of the ancient tomb.  Grabbing her hand and bringing Athela around a corner where the room spread out into a more spacious area, he set his basic wooden staff against the wall and pulled Athela into a hug.  “This is an order: If you ever sense any of the commandments or their affiliated power in weapon or in spirit, you will immediately travel back to your nether realm no matter what kind of danger I’m in.  I won’t lose you again, Athela.  No matter what.”

The contractual commandment was set, and he felt it solidify as the demonic woman tensed in his embrace.

He felt Athela’s grip around his waist clench, and she glared up at him in the dark with tears forming under her eyes.  Claws extended from her fingers and her hands dug into him as she angrily bit her quivering lip, drawing blood.  “You’re a f-fucking jerk.”

Despite the pain in his side, Riven smiled.  Pushing her slender body up against a wall, he pressed up against her - his nose grazing her ear as he let out a chuckle.  “Do you remember back when we first met?  How sassy you were back then?  I didn’t realize you’d turn into such a stunner.”

He saw her blush through the patches of white across her otherwise pitch black skin.

“I was never sassy.” Athela promptly responded with a snort, releasing the claws that were digging into his sides but still maintaining a haughty glare.  “I’m the definition of anti-sassy.  I’m an anti-sassy spider princess, remember that.”

He sputtered another soft laugh, his nose coming up to nudge against hers while her face turned a deeper shade of red.  “Well you certainly are a princess, I’ll give you that.”

She stuttered a reply, breaking her face away to the side to avoid him with a snort.  “Don’t you dare try to seduce me, you fiend!  Just because you have dreamy features and a rather nice sword doesn’t mean y-you c-can…”

Athela shuddered when his hand came up inbetween her legs, and she closed her eyes.  “You shouldn’t be doing this right now.  Not here.”

“I might die soon.  Why not here?” Riven asked, peeling back the thin but sturdy chitin layer that covered her body - revealing a softer, more human flesh underneath.  Grinning, he whispered into her ear.  “So I’m dreamy eh?  And what was that about my sword?”

His hand began to move, and Athela groaned.

“Just shut up and don’t stop.” Athela whispered back, eyes still closed and fingers tightly clenching his skin.  “I’ll be pretty frickin pissed if you stop.”

Putting his forehead against hers, he gave an amused hum.  “As you wish.”

***

Clone Riven was… having a hard time coming to terms with his own self.

One one hand, he was Riven.  He knew it, he could feel it, his other half even agreed with him; he could even see the shared soul structure they both had.  But he was both more and less than his original, and that very much bothered him.  It was like this new body was both old and new, born and evolved, the same and different.

He turned to glance through the visor in his helmet, towards the corner where Athela and his other half had gone for some privacy.  He frowned, as this brought up even more of the differences between the two halves of his soul.

Because though his main body, and the half of his soul that incorporated it, had chosen Athela - the part of him that maintained his sin body would have chosen Fay.  It was like he’d shoved the pieces of himself that favored Fay here while segregating the pieces of himself that favored Athela in the other half, and he hadn’t done this intentionally.

This… brought up a lot of concerning questions, even aside from the massive guilt he felt at having let Fay go.

Just where was the line drawn between individuality or duality - and unity?

When he was one soul, undivided, he controlled both bodies simultaneously without issue.  But the work of one soul controlling two bodies was somewhat of a chore, so he’d resorted to maintaining both bodies - one with each half.  And though it was a short time of doing this, he could both see and feel the differences in both his mind, and even his status page.

It wasn’t permanent, nor was it a solid state of being, but he could see the stat points begin to drift one way or another between his two bodies based on which half needed them most.  And what was even more interesting, was that those stat points were amplified.

Clone Riven watched his strength, endurance, and agility begin to drastically increase through his sin body, while his intelligence and willpower spiked with his other half.  These spikes of stat points were always reverting back to their original forms, but when they spiked it was by two, three, or even four times what the original stats were - while the same could be said in reverse of the stats the other half was utilized.  Clone Riven’s Intelligence and Willpower both drastically dropped while his main body had them skyrocket.

So… why was that?

Pleasure soared through him and he had to block out the sensations his other side was feeling just twenty yards away around the corner, and he silently thought about going over there to join in for double the fun at the urging of his other body - but quickly shut it out when a pang of guilt overcame him.  Guilt that again, he realized this half of his soul preferred Fay over Athela - while the soul incorporating his main body preferred Athela over Fay.  He could say that both parts of his soul cared for both of them at a massive degree even now, but this split… this sense of duality also led to his battling wills over the subject to separate just like his different aspects of power had.

Shit.  Was he undergoing some kind of multiple personality disorder now?  How was this even possible if it was him in both bodies?  That didn’t even make sense, and the other half of him agreed - equally confused about it but too engaged in strenuous physical activity to put as much thought into it.

His purple eyes flickered with light, and it wasn’t for another ten seconds that he realized Allie was calling his name.  “Huh?”

“Riven!” Allie hissed, shaking Riven’s Clone body with one gauntleted hand.  “Snap out of it!  Have you paid attention to ANYTHING Thale has been talking about?!”

Riven scratched the back of his neck where Messenger’s armor was weakest.  “Uhm… no.”

Allie facepalmed, and the undead with black eyes across from him gave a low chuckle.

“It is ok, you didn’t miss much.” Thale said with a shrug, the large gray pauldrons of his shoulders lifting up and down with the action - teal green skin shifting underneath the heavy plates.  “I essentially told Allie the details of  how I came to be here.  The short version is that I don’t remember almost anything prior to waking up in a sarcophagus.  Snippets of memories remind me that I am in the abyss, and I remember a woman with red eyes laying me to rest for some kind of task… but I can’t remember what that task was or why I’d agree to do it.”

“Vampire?” Riven asked curiously, head tilted to the side.

Thale hesitated, then sighed.  “I honestly don’t know.”

Riven and Allie exchanged glances.

“The demon did say something about our mother.” Allie said slowly, deep in thought and nervously fidgeting with her hands.  “But why?  And that talk about the deal with the sin of Wrath?  The warning not to betray Gluttony?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.” Riven said with a shake of his head.  “No idea.  Regardless, it appears we’re trapped in here without a way out or in.  That door won’t budge, and we’re certainly not going out the way we came.”

Riven gestured to the double doors with the symbol of the three dragons eating each other in a circular pattern.  “We could always try to blast our way in.”

“Won’t work.  I’ve tried.” Thale stated somberly.  “Unless you’re far more powerful than me, and I doubt it as our auras are rather similar, it won’t budge.  I tried for nearly three days straight before I simply gave up.”

Clicking her tongue in irritation, Allie stood up and stretched.  Walking over to where one of the ancient skeletons lay scattered across the stone floor, she began to move her hands in a gesturing pattern - producing teal colored light that radiated out and then into the skeletal fragments.  Pieces began to come together, and the skeleton began to shudder and move.

“I can’t manipulate the higher leveled creatures in other grades, but these are fair game.”  Allie gave Thale and Riven a wink.  “Might as well get to it since we’ve got nothing better to do.  At the very least this is a needed break, and we can take time to clear our minds and think about what our next step is.”

***

The wreckage of the tomb was all rather old, ancient even, with thick layers of dust over much of it.  Thale had still been orienting himself to his surroundings and hadn’t explored the entirety of the walled-in area even despite having walked around for hours, and the tomb - though closed off - was rather large with multiple expansions to it.  Avoiding Athela and Riven near the double doors to give them some needed privacy and alone time, Allie took this time to get to know Thale better - while clone Riven sat in meditation concerning things regarding what he called ‘the conundrum of duality.’

Thale seemed like a nice guy after all, even if he did appear rather lost, and he’d made no aggressive motions so far.  If anything she was sure Riven would be there in an instant should fighting start, but based on Thale’s demeanor she doubted that’d be a problem.

“Thanks, put it over on the pile.” Allie said with a smile, motioning towards a rising stack of old artifacts they were sifting through while they dug through the tomb.  Her black and teal mana writhed around her hands as one by one, ancient corpses of human, angelic and demonic origins all began standing with pale lights in their eyes.  The skeletal minions were far superior to the ones back on Panu, having some of their old body’s traits, and the quality of these beings were just over the top in comparison to what she usually worked with.

Though they were still F-grade, the skeletons of these creatures were infused with different dormant aspects that lit up when they were raised from the dead.  The demonic bones mostly created from varieties of horned, semi-humanoid fiends and gargoyles had varieties of green and crimson veins running through them.  Sometimes the bones were even black.  Their armors were rusted and worn down but a couple of the pieces were in good enough condition even if damaged to put into Allie’s spatial sack, while the angelic bones glittered like mithril and often streaks of bright white and gold cracks tracing their surfaces underneath armor similar to the stuff she’d found outside on the way up the cliff face.  Most of the angels were humanoid in nature as well, and smaller, but a few of them were winged dog-like creatures too; and she ended up capping her limit at four hundred of the creatures and excluding her drake Tyranus from back on Panu.  She’d had to get rid of all her other skeletons, but she’d not had that many to begin with after the battle for Dawn’s capital.

And these skeletons were far better anyways.

The rest of the skeletons were broken down, their pieces going into her spatial sack until it was almost entirely full, and she greedily smiled at the massive collection of demonic and angelic pieces she had to work with.  “I can’t wait to create something unique with these… perhaps a supercharged bone golem!?  Will the two different types refuse to merge with one another?  I wonder…”

“Probably.” Thale said from the side after stashing a large and intricately made vase with different runes etched into its side.  He set it down on their pile, one of many things to go through, and turned his head.  “Then again, even despite the foundational pillars setting boundaries there are always ways around them if I’m remembering correctly.  It’s what my gut tells me.”

Allie eyed the man, watching him remove his helmet to reveal slicked back silver hair.  “Just what kind of undead are you anyway?”

“Draugr is my race.  Deathknight Champion is my class.” Thale replied without missing a beat.  His large armored frame stepped forward and handed her a tablet.  “I think this would be of interest for you, since it seems to respond to you more than it does me.”

Allie’s eyes narrowed underneath her skull mask, and the soul shards in her item set whispered out loud to her as she took the chunk of stone from the undead warrior.  The markings were etched in a language she did not understand, but she could feel the inherent undeath in the item.  It was like a deep well of swirling, self replicating death mana was contained in the runic language, but no outwards signs of that power were visible to the naked eye.

[Ancient Tablet: ???]

Frowning, she glanced back  up at him while her undead minions mindlessly mulled about.  “What is this?  I can’t get a read.”

Thale chuckled and closed his eyes for a moment, sighing loudly and putting his hands on his hips with a stretching motion of his back.  “You keep asking me questions like I’ll know the answers to them.  Need I remind you that I have less of a clue as to what’s going on than you do?  What I do know is that every time I’ve walked by you, the tablet vibrates.  It hums for me, but it outright shakes for you.  There should be a reason for that, but I’m unsure of what or why.”

She looked back down to the thick stone tablet in her hand, turned it over, and then back to the front again.  “Huh.  It looks like a piece to a larger carving.  Is there any spot on the wall that this could fit into?  Where did you find this?”

Thale pointed to one of the stone coffins a ways back, and she trudged ahead - bone boots scraping against the stone ground until she came to rest her eyes on a corpse.

There was nothing special about the corpse.  It was actual human rather than angelic or demonic.  It had no other items inside, and there was nothing else about the coffin that was of interest.

“It was clutched in the skeleton’s hands.” Thale stated, hands on his hips.  “Not much else to see though.”

The tomb abruptly rumbled, and the ground began to shake as dust and dirt fell from the ceiling.  Then a grating noise began to echo from the first chamber they’d entered into, and Allie’s eyes widened.

As one her entire undead entourage charged ahead with her in the middle of them, sprinting back to where she’d left Riven and heart thudding in her chest.  Turning two corners and coming to a quick halt, she watched as the double doors with the golden emblem of the three devouring dragons begin to open - and the rune lit up with bright light.

Riven was there, standing with his hand outstretched, crimson mana flowing out to intertwine with the gold of the door, and as the doors swung open to reveal a brilliant white light - Riven disappeared with a flash.

Allie screamed out and tried to reach him, but soon the light enveloped her too - and before any of them knew it they’d all disappeared from the tomb, leaving it silent and empty behind them as the doors slammed shut yet again.