Into the Abyss and Back

The faint sound of water dropping on stone reminded Venus that she was still alive, or at least, her mind was. For the moment, though, she could not remember where she was, or how she had gotten there. It was like she was standing in a vast empty void that somehow lay within the essence of reality itself, with all the sensations and stimuli of the real world trying to break through the dark void and reach her. And it seemed that, in any case, sound had, for she could very faintly hear the drops as they hit the hard floor, but she could sense nothing else. Were those voices she heard? It was impossible to say. She tried moving, but as she was, Venus couldn’t even tell whether she had a physical body.

How had she gotten here? After reaching a bit with her mind, she began to remember. She had been planning to partake of another mission, with the thoughts of saving enough to open a mechanic shop in the Ace of Spades, to serve three major reasons. Firstly, it would give her an extra stream of income when she wasn’t off wandering Fiore on the lookout for missions and the likes. Secondly, it would keep her near her guild, in case the guild needed her services. Thirdly, she could practice and refine her engineering skills. She’d initially thought about opening a restaurant, but machines were so much more fun than cooking. So she’d traveled down to Motor City, one of her favorite cities in Fiore, to see if she could find something interesting. Her first time in that place had been fun, and she hoped this time would be even better.

She had come to Motor City, and found a lodging place, wherein she would spend the night. The next day, Venus would set her sights on getting a mission. However, at her hotel, she had seen someone bearing a tattoo that looked incredibly identical to the mark of the cult known as the Ascension, the cult from which she had been running of late. Sensing trouble, she had evaded the person’s notice, and had hurried to her room, only to feel a stinging pain at the back of her neck as soon as she had closed the door. A poison dart! She had found herself on the floor, the world spinning. Just as Venus’ vision darkened, the same woman with the Ascension tattoo stood over her, gloating as she had passed out.

It all came back to Venus now, and with the knowledge that she had most likely been captured, her panic seemed to bring her closer to the waking world. Yet something seemed to be shielding her from waking up.

”Welcome to the abyss, child,” suddenly whispered a very strange, otherworldly voice, which seemed to echo in the void darkness around the Demon Slayer. Slowly, what seemed to be a glow formed in front of her, and a shape appeared, cloaked and veiled in darkness, with glowing eyes.

”I must confess this is rather a boring existence if this is death,” Venus quipped.

”No, you are not dead,” came the reply. ”Your mind simply wanders in the space between worlds.”

”And how did I get here?” she asked.

”By the workings of a meddling fool whose work has been rather… unsatisfactory,” the strange being answered. ”I am here to offer you a partnership of sorts, and I know you will most likely be inclined to refuse my offer, so I will allow you to see why you should not.”

As the being spoke, it began to fade, and whatever had been holding Venus away from coming to consciousness began to slip away. She tried shaking her head, and she was able to, albeit sluggishly. The sound of voices was becoming more distinct. Then a sharp slap across her cheek brought the world into painful clarity, and Venus saw herself staring into the smiling face of the one she hated and feared.


WC: 667 words

”Tenebrys…” Venus said, horrified, although with the poison in her bloodstream, her words were slow and slurred. The demon laughed. ”I’m so delighted to see you can recognize me, Venus dear,” she cooed into her former student’s ear, before grabbing a fistful of the girl’s silver hair and yanking her head painfully backwards. It was then that Venus realized she was suspended from the ceiling of wherever she’d been placed, her hands chained above her head. As the demon still held on to her hair, Venus remembered that Tenebrys always enjoyed when her victims showed fear or allowed her to ride their emotions. Venus decided not to give her that satisfaction.

”I’m flattered that the base filth that you are could make the effort to travel to Fiore just because of me,” the silver-haired girl taunted, chuckling to make the verbal barb sharper. If she remembered correctly, Tenebrys hated being insulted. The blow to Venus’ bare midriff confirmed that the demon hadn’t changed. But it wasn’t Tenebrys who answered. ”We’re not in Fiore,” came another voice, this one masculine. Venus’ eyes widened in surprise, as Tenebrys loosened the cruel grip on the girl’s hair, allowing her to lower her head and see the man she only knew as the Circle Duke standing before her. Circle Duke, because he owned the Circle, the bloody arena in which Venus had spent two long years of her life. Of course, the name fit better, because of the man’s stomach. If she was in the presence of the Circle Duke, it could only mean she was in…

”It can’t be…”

”Oh, but it is, my little squealing rabbit,” said the demon, running a clawed finger gently down Venus’ smooth neck, careful not to break skin. Despite the razor-sharp claws on her hands and feet, the demon Tenebrys could be considered rather beautiful, if one paid no heed to her indigo skin color. ”We’re in Desierto. I sense you trying to struggle. Don’t, please. Your bindings were designed to hold you and suppress your magic. And no tricks of contortion or escape artistry will help you, because you’re bound too fast.” Venus surmised that she had either been out for a long time, which was unlikely, as hardly any substance could induce such a long bout of convenient coma, or Tenebrys and her allies had managed to transport the Demon Slayer to the desert country by some unconventional traveling method. Venus locked eyes with the duke, who was fingering his mustache.

”You are yet to pay for the murder of my nephew,” said the rotund man. ”You mean that pig?” Venus replied with a laugh. ”I did you and the entirety of Earthland a very big favor when that hairpin in his throat saved him from wasting the air he was breathing.” The duke strode towards her, his arm upraised. At that very moment, Venus lashed out with her right knee, catching him square in the groin. He stumbled backwards and fell over, as Tenebrys giggled like a schoolgirl. The demon had been careful to not stand directly in front of her within kicking range, Venus noticed. It was annoying to see that Tenebrys knew so much about her.

”You shall suffer for that, you Midian slut,” the duke roared, leaping to his feet and still cradling his loins.

”Be a good little piggy and shut the hell up!” the demon spat. ”Of course, she’ll suffer. You can do whatever you want with her, but you can’t kill her, which, I’m sure is what you want. Nothing thrills you except blood, and in that, you’re even worse than me. But if it’s suffering we’re talking about….”

Tenebrys trailed off ominously, as she positioned herself in front of Venus, but slightly off to one side, to prevent the mage from striking with her knee. ”You know, before, I believed that I had to preserve your sanity while working on your corruption, get you to become evil by yourself, with a little coaxing from my end, of course. But now,” at this point, she reached and grabbed Venus’ hair again, jerking her head once more, ”now, I really don’t care. Since you know I want to make you evil, all you’ve been doing is being careful about your choices, right? So that you’ll remain the good little girl you are. But how good can you be, when you’re insane, I wonder? Because you see, I now realize that madness is a sort of taint of the soul. So I’m going to break you, though I know you have a very strong mind, but everyone has a limit, darling, and I’m going to find yours. Then slowly, taking my time, I’ll push you past it. And when your mind breaks, your delicious body shall be all mine! Did you think the duke’s sewage pile of a nephew was depraved? You don’t know the meaning of the word, baby. Just wait until I’m started with you.”

The demon licked the side of Venus’ neck, then yanked her hair brutally once more, before letting her go. ”I’ve missed that trademark sound of yours, that gasp that translates into a moan when you’re in pain. You’ll have to teach me how you do it. And I’m sure you will; I believe we’ve got a lot of time to learn from each other don’t we?” Tenebrys walked to the door, followed by the duke. ”I’d have loved to start your… ah, therapy today, but my investment in you, which currently beats in your chest, has made me rely on an implanted mechanical heart which can't keep up with my physical exertions and thus often renders me tired. So I’m off to have a good night’s sleep. I suggest you do the same. Goodnight, love.”


WC: 961 words

Total: 1628 words

With that, the two left, and Venus was all alone. Then she began to feel darkness closing in on her vision once more. She fought it mentally, but it was like trying to stay awake when the body and mind were fatigued. There was blackness again, then once more a glow, and the strange dark creature hovered before her again. ”Now you know you are in trouble, you must agree to an alliance with me,” it said.

”No idea who you are, no idea what your alliance is about, and most certainly no idea if your alliance will do me any good. So, if you can’t give me a better explanation, the answer is already no,” Venus replied, getting irritated. The fact that she was chained and helpless somewhere did little to help her mood. The creature paused for a moment, then Venus perceived that it sighed. ”I forget,” it said, ”You humans are afflicted with the inability to see minds. This is the Abyss. It is a space between worlds, and is mostly undetected by beings of the worlds which it pervades. My name cannot be pronounced by such a tongue as yours, but I may be called the Chronicler, the Primeval Scribe, the Dweller in the Abyss. I see and know whatever goes on in this space and almost infinitely so much more, and I bear rule of its contents. I am a collector and curator of all sorts of things, the foremost being knowledge. Often times, I am approached by beings who desire my power, and as is fair, I offer a trade: use of my knowledge and power, in exchange for a boon: my death.”

Venus rolled her eyes. ”If you so want to die, why not just kill yourself?”

”Because mortals are fortunate in that they die easily, and they have the faculty to kill themselves. Oft I have met fools who asked for the secret to eternal life, and the paths on which they set themselves ultimately led to their ends, and most often by their own hands. I cannot kill myself… and I cannot lie. I lack the agencies with which to do so. It may sound strange to you, but lying or killing myself is as strange to me as you possessing the ability to grow a second head at will. You are simply incapable of it.”

”I suspect so many people must have courted your favor, Chronicler,” Venus said. ”So why hasn’t any granted you the death you seek?”

”Because,” came the reply, ”none yet possesses the knowledge of that which can cause my demise, except the one I unwillingly serve, that which dwells below, the Abomination of the Abyss. It is an Other, what some of your folk call an Elddritch god, but it is one of the oldest things in the universe. It currently sleeps, and will not be awakened until I have chronicled some truly great event, at which point it shall awaken, and I shall seek my death from it.”

”So where do I come in?” Venus asked, not really still understanding much of what was being said.

”Tenebrys I am sure you know. She came to me many long years ago, seeking power to ascend beyond her current state and become divine. I, for my part, was privy to some information which I knew she desired, so I gave it her, because I believed it would be of mutual benefit to the both of us.”

”Which is?”

”That a being of three natures had the potential to tread paths of unnatural power. Of course, Tenebrys desired this power, and we struck a deal. I would tell her how to become a being of three natures and thus transcend her original state, becoming a Dark Goddess of the Moon. She would, using her power, achieve a great feat that I would chronicle, and thus meet my end. So I taught her a few tricks and told her what to do…”

”…and gave the term ‘messed-up life’ a new meaning for me.”

The Chronicler shook its head. ”Tenebrys had different means by which she could go about becoming the Dark Moon Goddess. I am not responsible for her actions. In any event, you are now a solid part of her plans. But her intentions seem to have changed. Tenebrys no longer has the desire to fulfil her part of the bargain, surmising falsely that with my death, my power will disappear, and she desires to hold on to my power, which is not hers to keep.”

”How do you know Tenebrys wants to double-cross you? Though being that demon, it’s not something below her.” Venus inquired, to which the Chronicler replied, ”Nothing lies to me, and nothing is hidden from me in my realm, not even thoughts. When Tenebrys was last here, when she came to whisk you from where you were captured, she had to pass through here to save time and secrecy, for as I said, the Abyss twists between worlds, and if one knows the secret, space and time do not matter here. So as you were conveyed through here, I laid my hand on your mind. Which is why I could speak to you. Your body is where it is, but your mind is here, in the Abyss. I can teach you how to walk the Abyss, as well as call forth what lies in the deep, as long as you give me your word that you will accomplish the task of performing a great feat, so that the Abomination can be wakened, and I can die.”


WC: 912 words

Total: 2540 words

Venus truly had no idea as to how she would do that. ”I’d have agreed, if only I knew how to ‘perform a great feat’,” she replied. The Chronicler nodded. ”When you were brought through the Abyss, I sensed that you are one who honors her word, so that is all I need: your word.”

”But wait, if the Abomination awakens, what will be the repercussion?” Venus asked, feeling there was more to the matter than the being was telling. Even if it was unable to lie, it could surely hide the truth, couldn’t it. For a moment, the being was silent, then it said, ”I feared you would ask, and I must tell you. It could mean the end of your world.”

”Then we don’t have a deal.”

”There is another way,” the Chronicler said hurriedly, ”but it comes at threat of great cost. You may choose to slay the Abomination, but to do so, you must venture into the deepest portion of the Abyss, and find its home. But I fear that if you come before it, it will sway you into becoming its servant, as it did me, many ages ago, for asleep, it still speaks, muttering strange and forbidden things. But the tripartite nature of your being may well give you resistance to the Abomination’s will.”

”I’d rather kill it, if you please,” Venus said. The Chronicler turned toward her, and Venus sensed that she could feel hope growing within the shadowy being. ”None till now has promised the Abomination’s death. Will you promise to slay it, if you can? Remember, you cannot lie to me here.”

”To be honest, even if I said yes, I don’t know how I could,” the Demon Slayer confessed. The creature nodded. ”That is enough. I will spend all my time seeking the expanse of the Abyss for knowledge which will aid you to kill it, for just as I cannot kill myself, I cannot raise a hand against the Abomination. And that knowledge I will pass on to you, if and when it is found, while you will prepare yourself for the time you will stand before the Abomination to slay it. For now, I will leave you with the ways to walk the Abyss. It is not at all like the magic you are familiar with, so the spells on your bonds will not be a problem.”

”If that’s the case, Chronicler, we have a deal.”

”As a boon, I shall return you to where you were abducted from,” said the Chronicler, as his shadowy form began to fade, ”once you have freed yourself from your bindings. And do not fear Tenebrys following you; her agreement with me is null and void, and she will soon realize that the power she has since tried to hoard isn’t hers to keep. But be warned, in as much as we have agreed on a deal, I am no friend of yours. And so that you don’t get too comfortable and forget our arrangement like Tenebrys did, I shall come from time to time to… persuade you to complete this quest as soon as possible. My hand remains on your mind; I can, and will find you from time to time, especially when you’re asleep, for then the mind wanders the Abyss in dreams. And when I come, I will often not be friendly….”


WC: 564 words

Total: 3104 words

The sound of water dripping on stone made Venus aware that the darkness before her was that of the cell in which she was restrained. A lot of things swirled through her mind, secret knowledge she knew she was unaware of before, and suddenly, Venus knew how she would free herself. She concentrated, and cryptic writings in a dull glow suddenly sprang into existence around her. For a moment, she thought she felt lighter, then her bindings seemed to dissolve. No, that wasn’t it; Venus had passed right through them. The Demon Slayer rose to her feet and looked at her hands, as the cryptic writings faded away. Whatever these new powers of hers were, they had rescued her, for the time being, although she was yet to fully understand them. Power always came with a price; hopefully, the price of this would not be too great for her to bear.

The sound of a key furtively turning in the lock of the door of her cell ended Venus’ introspection. Quickly, she darted behind the door, just as it opened, and the Circle Duke walked into the cell, followed by two guards. Of course, on seeing the chains empty, all three were shocked, and before their wits could be recovered, Venus sprang, catching the duke’s neck in a vice-grip, while wheeling him around so as tom use him as a human shield. One of the guards drew his weapon, while the other ran off screaming at the top of his lungs.

”Now would be the best time to get me out of here, Chronicler…” Venus thought frantically as her sharp ears picked up the sound of many feet approaching. Then she felt the hair on the back of her neck begin to rise, as about half a dozen guards with Tenebrys in tow burst into the prison room. Venus quickly threw a glance backward and saw behind her a strange portal hanging in mid-air. Pushing her human shield away from her, she made to enter the portal, but the Circle Duke, still eager to ensure that Venus received the punishment he desired for her, tackled her in an attempt to prevent the Demon Slayer from escaping. However, he did not know that as a Demon Slayer, she would be physically stronger than he’d expected, and for Venus’ part, she was desperate to escape. Without bothering to knock him off her, Venus stumbled backwards, and dragged the man into the portal with her. The last thing she heard from the cell in Desierto was Tenebrys shrieking in rage as the portal closed.

Venus felt strange, like she was in water, although it felt thinner, and she was able to breathe. The darkness of the abyss The Circle Duke looked around himself frantically. ”What have you done to me, you Encan witch? Where am I?”

As if in response to his question, the Chronicler appeared before the two, and said, ”bringing this one here was unnecessary.” Venus shook her head. ”I don’t think he minds; he came of his own accord.” Ignoring the shouts and rantings of the duke, the Chronicler replied, ”I have always found human beings strange. Moments ago, he wanted to cause you great harm, now you say… never mind.” A similar portal to the one Venus had entered to get into the Abyss opened behind her, the sight of the room she had been abducted from visible from beyond the portal. ”Your assailant may leave with you.”

”Not nearly likely,” Venus replied. ”He may stay here until he turns blue in the face, but I don’t want him following me.”

”You brought him here.”

”Did I now? Well, consider him a gift. You’re a collector of things, you said, right? Then consider him free for collection. Let's just say he’s my ‘thank you’ to you for getting me out of that cell. Do with him as you desire.”

The Chronicler nodded, and began to fade, along with the duke, who tried to move, but couldn’t. His insolent words changed to pleas for clemency, reminding Venus of how she was the Angel of Mercy in the Circle, among other words which he hoped would secure his escape from an unknown, but probably not very pleasant fate. For a moment, being ever the compassionate one, Venus paused, feeling that her decision to give the duke to the Chronicler was a little cruel. Then she remembered all that had happened to her before, during and after the events of the Circle, events that the duke had been a ready party to, ignoring her own pleas for mercy back then. Iny any event, the world would be a better place without the Circle Duke. Without a word, she stepped through the portal, back into the normalcy of the room in Motor City. Morning had just arrived, but Venus didn't feel ready for any mission. She would rest, then return to the Ace of Spades. To everyone else, nothing had probably changed. But for Venus, the change was not a bit quantifiable. She just kept hoping that her deal with the Chronicler would not be a damning one.

Only time would tell.



WC: 860 words

Total: 3964 words