One With The Abyss

"Well..." 

"That was a fun twenty eight minutes." I said as I looked around at the carnage I had unleashed in this town.

Of course it was hard not to look around at the carnage considering I had quite literally painted the town red with the blood of human-kind. Over to the left was the man who I had exploded from the inside by pushing air into his lungs like a balloon until he popped.

On top of that building was the woman whose body was pulled into pieces.

Below her was a large number of soldiers I had killed 'Vlad the Impaler' style. Of course only one of them was still alive like that psycho would have left them since it was very hard to both impale them and keep them alive when they were running around screaming and begging for mercy. He'd die soon too obviously, but he'd suffered a tremendous amount before that - he was definitely the unluckiest of the soldiers who had come to fight me. Really makes me glad I’m not as cruel and psychotic as someone like Vlad the Impaler.

The hundreds of body parts currently decorating the general store belonged to a human with a rather cool talent:

[Unlimited Clones]

[Create an unlimited amount of copies of yourself]

On its own it was already quite a fearsome talent as hundreds of himself kept attacking me, each dividing and using skills to attack me with increasing numbers. If I wasn't as powerful as I was I'm sure it would have been a bother to fight him - strangely the clones didn't even disappear after I turned them into paste or contemporary art pieces, but whatever.

On its own it was good, but fused into [Abyss] it was exceptional. Now I could send out clones of myself in any shape I wanted, they lost a lot of power compared to the real body, took a lot of energy and thanks to my rather... abnormal state of mind occasionally gained individuality and tried to kill me to claim my place as the original. All those issues could be overlooked though thanks to how useful the skill was.

Painting the rest of the city was much easier as I just sent out clones of myself as dragons to kill any other human I could find. Soldiers, men, women, children: All dead. And now every inhuman was gathered and looking at me as I stood over by the fountain.

(A/N: Violet is gonna kill every human. Her insanity stops her from feeling empathy for them in any capacity, even the children. I won't go into any detail about kid killing, nor will I write about her having done anything all that bad to them, but she is still a child murderer.)

They look a bit scared... Must be the shock of being free. I projected into the psychic link I had between Abby and Relly.

Uh... I think it- Relly began speaking, but was cut off by Abby.

Just leave it.

Wonder what that was about. Anyway, onto the bigger picture.

"Sup Inhumans!" I called out to the crowd, they all flinched slightly at the noise. If I was capable - or if I had one - my heart would have bled in seeing how much each of them had suffered, "I'm starting an uprising."

"I'm gonna kill every human and wipe their empire from the face of this planet." I yelled out, laughing with joy at all of their shocked expressions, "Basically you're all free to go."

With that I clicked my fingers and the collars around their necks vanished into thin air, chatter ran through the crowd as it happened. Tears of joy and cheers in my name rang out. It felt good to be appreciated and I was glad they got over their trauma so fast.

"While you are free I'm look for help." I yelled out, silencing the crowd, "Sure I'm strong, and my good buddy Relly here is strong too, but we're only 2 people. On the other side, the humans have an army."

"What I need is people willing to fight with me when the time comes."

More cheers.

"I will bless each of you with the power to resist the human's holy light! Use it to grow stronger and free more inhumans as I not only do the same, but gather generals as the foundation of my army! Charge along these lands and take back what rightfully belongs to each of you, do so under the rule of the King of Ruin!"

As I finish my speech I activate a mass [Bestowal Ceremony]

"WELCOME TO THE ABYSS!"

Abyssal energy swirled around each of the inhumans present, increasing the strength of each of them and granting them resistance to the holy light, but doing nothing more than that. Most of them became something called [Abyss Touched], Abby telling me this is the lowest rank among abyssal creatures, with Rellania having the highest rank of [Abyss Noble - Duke]. When I asked about myself, she simply reminded me that I am the abyss and that I need not limit myself to the ranks within it.

Though there were a few standouts among the inhumans:

[Kralzart]

[Lesser Abyssal Lizardman]

[Talent: {Prideful Rage}]

He was an exceptionally tall scaley fellow that looked to be quite strong. I figured he had more affinity with me than the others since I had [Origin Dragon Tongue] and lizardmen seemed to be very far descendents of dragons - it likely created some kind of higher affinity between us.

[Ila]

[Minor Abyssal Gnome]

[Talent: {Perfectionist Eye}]

This was my first time seeing a gnome and it was rather underwhelming. She really just looked like a smaller human with tanned, bronze skin; I think I was expecting to see little men in bright red hats running around and she kind of disappointed me. I didn't know why she was more aligned with the abyss, but it was nice to see that she was.

And the last of (and the most unexpected of) the impressive ones:

[Petar]

[Lesser Abyssal Pixie Goblin]

[Talent: {Millenia}]

I was quite surprised by the little fella to be honest since I was quite familiar with pixie goblins as they were mentioned in one of the books I had found.

Pixie goblins were only distant cousins with most goblin races, as you could likely tell from how not ugly they were. Pixie goblins were around the size of human toddlers, exceptionally weak and very cute. In the book it explained how many humans (and even other races) had kept pixie goblins as pets for quite a while since they were so cute; this fad didn't last long however, thanks to one crucial aspect of the pixie goblins: Their 7 day lifespan. The only reason they're not extinct is since they breed at an ungodly rate; reaching full maturity in 1 hour and having a gestation period of 10 minutes in a womb that can carry up to 5 children simultaneously - not to mention their virility.

(A/N: If you get the reference then let me know)

However, it seemed someone in this city found quite a gem among the pixie goblins:

[Millenia]

[Sets your lifespan to exactly 1000 years. Years lived: 0063/1000]

The talent seemed a little grim as the poor fella could see the exact amount of years he had left, but still; quite useful for a pixie goblin.

I made sure to copy all the talents this lot had - besides Petar's since I wouldn't touch that with a 10 foot pole at risk of shortening my lifespan - and sent them on their way.

"Now go and take back the land in my name!" I yelled out, "Tell tales of the King of Ruin! That all inhumans who seek me will receive power that can resist the greatest weapon of the human race!"

"We do as her majesty commands!" A unanimous chant echoed through the city street and the beginnings of my abyssal army spread through the land. I know that soon enough I'll have legions of them ready to truly begin a war, but Rome wasn't built in a day and nor shall my own empire be!

Relly and I watched as they charged out, already showing themselves as a cohesive unit that trust one another completely

Hey does the bestowal mess with their heads. I asked Abby.

A little. She responded. They become loyal to you and trust one another as fellow abyssals, but nothing more; and in all honesty the excessive loyalty wears off after a bit and plateaus on a normal level.

Cool.

"Well..." I said, "Let's go check out what's in that fancy house."

I turned and began walking away with Relly following after me.

"Huh?! What do you mean, Vi?" She asks as she begins to walk besides me.

"There's something in there and whatever it is I want it." Relly still looked a little confused, more so as I warped space around us and we appeared in front of an old looking bookcase. It was fun watching her look around in shock as the scenery had changed in an instant, but I got over that and placed my hand on the book case while melting it with acid magic to reveal a passage downwards.

"What is with these mysterious places and having a creepy spiral staircase." I huffed as I had gotten enough of this over the past 8 years.

The walk, thankfully, didn't take too long and inside was nothing more than an office. I was bummed as there was little of value down here, just books on the true past of the human empire; records of experimenting on inhumans - useless shit like that.

In my anger I set everything ablaze; only to find a single item that wouldn't burn. Being an innately curious person I picked up the slip of paper, only for my anger to burn even further as I looked to find it was a letter from someone I rather hated.

Find an inhuman with a talent for to be a battery

Send a reply when this is done

- Malleca

"That fucking bitch..." I mutter, Relly flinching slightly as my anger seems to get the better of me; luckily I manage to get a hold of it and control myself through proper breathing. Unfortunately, that breathing was actually wind magic that made the burning fire around us quite a lot hotter.

"I'll send you a reply alright." I muttered, as I began writing my own letter, making sure to find an adequate gift to send with it.

---

Human Palace of Arcadia; Archmage Malleca's Office

Around 8 weeks after Portia's Banishment

Malleca sat in her office while looking over some magitek blueprints the mechanist hero had sent her, finding that despite the girl having initially seeming unused to violence and war she definitely had a knack for building weapons.

The specific blueprint Malleca was reading now was for a machine that looked quite a lot like the gnome's airships; only more suited for weaponry than regular cargo.

She's coming along nicely. Malleca thought as she okayed the budget for sourcing the parts for her machine. Though most of them are quite excellent as well after their second talents came in.

It was not a well known fact among the public, but gaining multiple talents was a possibility - though only through extreme labour. This fact had only come to light around a century ago after the humans had managed to get the information out of an ancient dragon they had captured - torturing the beast was exceptionally hard thanks to its nigh-impenetrable scales and ridiculous magic resistance, but human ingenuity always finds a way.

This was the true reason humanity would, on occasion, summon humans to their world as heroes instead of simply training powerful natives. Where a native would have to undergo intense trials and tribulations to gain a second talent, the [Otherworlder] title simply granted another talent after enough time had passed making them ideal candidates for the empire's purposes.

Each of the heroes had awoken their talents and as was typical they synergised quite well with their original talents.

Most were fairly simple, but there were a few standouts that Malleca had ensured would receive better training.

The heroes Rose and Olivia already has high expectations as they had shown exceptional progress in their training; these expectations were met upon their secondary talents awakening:

[Mind Link (3): Link your mind with any object]

[Clairvoyance (9): Able to perceive and understand everything around you]

(A/N: Just writing the max potential as we're not actually looking at the talents just remembering them)

Olivia's [Clairvoyance] talent was a very well known one thanks to its exceptional abilities, furthermore it allowed her to use her future sight any where around her as opposed to just from her point of view as it had done previously.
At first Malleca had not understood the value of [Mind Link] until Rose had brought out a machine she called a 'Robit' or something similar. Even Malleca had not fully understood the explanation of how it worked, but with her new talent Rose was capable of directly controlling the robit; a creation she claimed she could mass produce and grant powerful weapons to just as easily - Malleca was overjoyed to find that one of the least combat-capable heroes was now fully equipped to head into battle with potentially infinite bodies.

Of course these 2 weren't the only impressive ones.

The hero's teacher also achieved an amazing talent:

[Invasive Species (8): Fuse into plants and take full control over them. Able to increase combat ability and regeneration by absorbing other plants]

With a talent like this she would be unmatched when facing the fae inhumans as they all inhabited forested areas; with an ability like these she would be able to remove the only advantage those knife-eared demons had over the humans: Terrain.

There were Gabrielle, Alex and Stacy as well who had found themselves with quite good talents.

(A/N: If you don't remember these people then open up ch22 for clarification)

[Unquiet Mind (6): Hear the thoughts of those around you]

[Glacial Warrior (7): Become immune to the cold and able to create armour/weaponry from glacial ice]

[Sealed off (7): Trap both yourself and a target inside a sealed off pocket dimension until one of you dies. All of the user's abilities are greatly empowered while inside]

These 3 powers were exceptionally powerful, especially when their previous talents were taken into account; but even they didn't match up to the crown jewels of the heroes. 

The 2 heroes who Malleca knew would lead their empire into greatness. The Titan and The Radiant (as the soldiers and common folk had come to call them).

Ursina was already powerful, even the actual giants they had captured for her to fight eventually couldn't match her in strength and her secondary talent only increased her dominance:

[Primordial Giant (10): Able to alter size at will and coat the user's body in primordial Steel]

This was an incredible power that improved her strength by leaps and bounds. As she grew to greater sizes, so too did her strength grow allowing Ursina to level cities with a single finger; but even that didn't match up to the secondary ability.

Primordial steel was one of, if not the most, durable materials in existence. It was synthesised by creatures that existed even before the Great Titans who are considered to be the first ancestors of the giant clan: The Colossi. In legend they are said to be large enough that entire civilisations could be built upon their toes, but one day they disappeared from the face of the planet along with the divine dragons to exist only in legend.

All that was left from their legacy was primordial steel that became safeguarded by the Great Titans until they found a being capable of smelting it into weaponry as not even the fire of a True Ignatius Dragon or Vermillion Phoenix could so much as change its temperature.

And now, the humans could wield it upon their hero.

Malleca did find it unfortunate that the boorish hero's ego was further inflated, but nonetheless it was a great increase to their power and she was certainly one of the strongest heroes they had summoned in centuries.

She would have been the strongest of course if not for the final of the impressive heroes: The Radiant.

[Elysium (10): You are light and all that is within]

This was not understood at first, and when Malleca believed she had understood it she found she was wrong.

Her initial impressions led Malleca to believe this was simply a slightly more powerful version of the skill [Corpus Lux], underwhelming her as it was rather dull compared to Marigold's initial talent, but this was not the power she held.

Marigold had become light, not having a body made of light - she had become all and any light in existence. This amount of power was unfathomable and the moment Marigold was able to fully control it Malleca believed there would be none who could contend with her. She even lacked the only real weakness of [Corpus] talents as she had no core to shatter or damage.

(A/N: I suppose it proves they really are related. A yin to her yang if you will)

Malleca was beyond happy at the sight of this; even with the supposed dark one coming she believed the monster would stand no chance. She worries of course, Olivia had been in isolated training for a while, claiming "My talents are synergising and I think I'm getting something like a vision" which was almost never a good thing. Malleca knew from experience that visions did not come in times of peace.

"Still... I'm certain we will prevail." She muttered before looking around as her mind wandered to more important matters, "When is that damn count going to send the inhuman. He sent word he had found a suitable demon and was simply waiting to collect her."

As she said that, a light above a strange looking cupboard in her office came on.

"Finally..." She muttered, opening the door. Unfortunately, it was not the inhuman she had been expecting and instead something more troubling, "Perhaps I've spoken too soon."

Malleca looked with thoughtless eyes at the count who had appeared where her deliveries would... Or at the very least, the pieces that would have made up Count Trelloff's body had they still been together. And atop it all a piece of paper with a single sentence, signed with a large purple kiss:

Suck it, dickhole ~ Sincerely Violet Nox, The Dark Lord and King of Ruin.