Shadow of the Abyss

As the deluge of Infernal Bolts came from the skies, oxidizing a dreadful miasma into the heavens, eroding flesh and bone, and transfiguring the land into utter ruin and devastation, the winds had turned to blades, and the tears that came from the skies were like shards of knives piercing ever downward.

Monolithic buildings crumbled like clay under the weight of the onslaught. Ancient sentinel trees that had witnessed over seven centuries were set ablaze, their towering forms illuminating the scarlet flashes that had befallen the Heavens and the Earth. No matter how far one stood, infernal lightning came and went, spreading out like the sprawling roots of Yggdrasil.

No matter how much Altair stared, he could never get accustomed to the sheer might of his Pale knights. Each time they were made to battle, the level of control they held over his skills was slowly evolving past what he'd initially granted.

The army of the lich undead servants was melting away like butter on a skillet. Most were made to watch, helpless, before the lightning that carried temperatures surpassing the surface of the sun. Those that could defend found themselves locked down, forced either to duck and weave or use the Arcane arts to survive.

"Damn…" Morrigan sang, feeling the surface of the world writhing like a living thing in agony. Glancing back to Altair, creating force projectiles with his mana, she managed a smile, noticing how, with each invocation of Magic Missile, she saw the string of various elements being added.

'He's getting better,' Morrigan thought as her sword and spear appeared to become a whirlwind of thrust and sweeps, as her footwork slowly began to grow more profound. Each step seemed to connect to the way her sword and spear danced, felling everything around her.

No matter how much Seina had imagined her death at this moment when Altair had used her bait, she never could have imagined how little danger she was in with Morrigan defending her. At times, she was free like the winds; other times, her blade seemed as vengeful as fire and powerful like lightning. It was like watching a work of art.

"Focus, Siena!" Morrigan shouted, a tad bit too late as a force blast, to see Siena torn off her feet and skidding across the earth like a rag dog. She might have died if not for armor. She ate her moan, pulling herself to her feet, only to take another blow from a mace to the face.

"Keep your domain up! Your armor might protect you, but you're taking unnecessary damage!"

Siena, who'd barely managed to catch her breath, did as she was told, but there had simply been too many undead. It didn't matter if she had eyes in the back of her head; her swordsmanship was simply not at the level that allowed her to combat hordes of people.

To their rear, Altair smiled, tossing out spells without reserve, interlocking various elements he'd found to be interesting. Since Elemental Particles existed in the world around them, it was only a matter of seizing the elemental particles in the air into his spells to ignite the Arcane Circle, or so his Omniscience had explained to him.

From fire missiles to ice, lightning, wind, and darkness, Altair had found them to be quite easy to use. More than that, he could feel his omniscience granting him knowledge of easier methods the more he experimented. The only problem was that it was…

[DING]

[Omniscience has been registered.]

[Synergy found between Realm of Spirit and Omniscience]

Name: Omniscience

Grade: SSS → Lv 1

Description: The user enters a state of all-knowing

Masking the surprise, Altair tried not to smile, but his lips couldn't help but curl upwards. And he asked to himself, 'What is the difference between Omniscience and Realm of Spirit."

[Realm of Spirit is a domain where all knowledge exists and can grant a limited form of Omniscience. At the same time, your Omniscience is the state of being aware of everything without the use of the Realm of Spirit. This allows you more control. In the Realm of Spirit, you have no control over what you know, as everything comes crashing all at once.

Your Omniscience can enable you to know everything or one specific thing.]

[Another way of seeing it is that Realm of Spirit is a massive library, and your omniscience is the program that allows you to copy and paste the knowledge into your mind or my archives located in your subconscious with extreme focus.]

'Neat'

[I know]

Altair smirked. "What should I call you?"

[Master may call me anything. I am merely a fragment that shall vanish after you master your Omniscience]

'Then deliver me knowledge about the element of light?' Altair demanded, suddenly feeling a surge of knowledge regarding the element of light. In a mere moment, he seized the light particles from both his body and the air, then fused them into Magic Missile.

Five small orbs as bright as light itself gathered around Altair, blessing the land with a new light source. Swiftly, he pointed towards five of the skeleton warriors, giving Siena a hard time, and willed the light missiles to move.

Magic Missle had only been a first-circle spell. Still, with the inclusion of the elements, Altair had unknowingly turned the simple spell into a second-circle invocation powerful enough to turn bones that were as durable as diamond into butter. He had even barely managed to perceive the speed of his spell before it landed, killing five of the hundreds surrounding Seina.

The more he learned, the more he wanted to experiment, finding spell work to be nothing more than a puzzle to alter the state of raw mana. Arithmetic appeared to be a heavy factor, requiring him to find an equilibrium between how much elemental particles and mana were necessary for a spell. If one or the other were too strong, then the spell would fail, igniting the user.

However, something he was learning was that spells didn't always require the user to pull Elemental particles from the air or his body. He could create them with Mana. The more knowledge he held of a particular element, the stronger he could make the element. All that was required was a proper formula.

"Master," said Tasha by his side. "You're exerting too much Mana."

"I know," Altair acknowledged. "With how pure my Mana is, I shouldn't have to use so much Mana to get the necessary results. But…"

"I know you're still a beginner," Tasha said in a joking voice. "Noobs these days. I swear~"

Altair had the grace to blush, glaring at her teasing face. He snorted, shifting his attention back to the battlefield. They were about a few hundred meters away in front of the ascension gates from north to south and east to west.

All that was left was the destruction of the lich kings' generals.

Just then, Altair heard the voice of his shadow demon reach his ear, "Master… Ravel is acting strange. He paled and said something came up and vanished. I think he teleported. I can't track him."

"I believe it's further proof that Ravel is working with the Lich."Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"Alright. For now, go help your brothers in arms." Altair said, turning to face Raven, defending against any who might approach. "Be on the lookout. There is…" his voice trailed off as his Omniscience echoed.

[Master… you have Omniscience. Just ask where the lich is. You came in contact with him already. He is your past, and you know everything pertaining to it.]

"Don't bloody tell me…"Altair said, opening his eyes wide.

[It's Ravel. He's the lich. The moment you came in contact with him. Your domain touched him. Meaning your omniscience touched him. He might have fooled your eyes, but he can't fool your Omniscience.]

"THAT'S BROKEN!"

[╰(*°▽°*)╯]

Altair had never wanted to punch himself in the face, and then he did now. "Then can I look at his past?"

[You would, but nothing occurred in the last three hundred years]

"Fuck… He was right there." Altair lamented, closing his eyes only to breathe in irritation. Connecting to his Pale Knights to inform them of Ravel's identity. He sighed, suddenly glaring at Tasha. "Did you know Ravel was the lich?"

"Huh?" Tasha pointed to herself. "The lich? How would I know? I wasn't even looking for him. But that would be an interesting cover. That's really interesting.

Especially when since every word he spoke was true."

"Well, now he vanished," Altair said. "Do you have a spell that'll find him?"

"Clarvoince should do the trick," Tasha said. "Want me to teach you, or shall I do it for you?"

"I'll learn it on the next floor. Find the lich."

"A Dullahan," Shouted Morrigan as a blazing horse came galloping through the undead hoard. Azure flames billowed from the beautifully powerful stallion it rode on, wielding a crusty black great ax in one hand; it carried a presence that weighed on the immortal souls of all who lived.

[You are now in the presence of the Dullahan]

[Aura of the Dead is active]

[You will now lose a hundred years of life per hour]