Debauchery of a Soul-Eating Wraith

"Alright then," Evian said with his arms folded, "Let's hear it."

[First off, if what you want is the codex of Abyssal symbols, they are within the Decadent Store but will require a premium unlock to make them available for purchase. In other words, they will cost you much more than any spell you've ever purchased has cost you.]

"Is that why you didn't tell me about it till now? Because it costs more?"

[Partly yes. But more because the symbols are useless as they are. The combinations will forever be limited in power and utilization without the most important 'ingredient' of them all]

"And what is that?"

The Assistant struggled to speak and when it did, it meandered,

[… The Abyss is endless as it is ageless. Not even the oldest of the beings that reside within it know all its secrets]

"But you do?"

[In a sense.

No one knows how the Abyss came to be. When creation began for the mortal worlds and beyond, the Abyss already existed. It might have been empty and devoid of all the creatures that now roam it but it existed and for as long as it has existed, there has been a Sovereign;

A stark manifestation of the very nature of the Abyss.

As Eldritch creatures began to come to being, they all, on some level knew this Sovereign. They worshipped it and it, in turn, bestowed them power.

There is much to speak about but for the sake of what you actually want, I'll stick to what is 'Most Important';

'The Word of Law'! A power unique to the Sovereign and the one that bonds Abyssal symbols together to give them their power.

A compendium complete with all the symbols will be useless to you without 'The Word of Law'.]

"And how do I get this 'Word of Law'?" Evian asked with a musing tone and his brows furrowed.

[The only way would be to seize possession of it from the Sovereign and that's impossible.]

"Seize it huh?," Evian said like he hadn't heard the dread tone his Assistant had spoken with.

[You would be mad to try.]

"Hmm, so you say. Where is the Sovereign?" Evian asked.

[… The Sovereign is everywhere and nowhere within the Abyss. It's a constant horror that no Eldritch creature can ever truly escape or avoid succumbing to.]

"How about an answer less vague?"

[… The Sovereign is at the edge of the Abyss. At a region with Abyssal energies so dense, even a Wraith Tyrant would be rendered immobile in a second. Like I said, getting The Word of Law is impossible.]

"Nothing is impossible," Evian said gently.

[Very optimistic of you. But this IS impossible.]

Evian frowned then and let out a sigh before he pulled out of his mental space. There was no need to stay there and continue to attempt combinations that were doomed to fail anyway.

The list of things he had to take care of was getting longer when things should have been far simpler. Alas, in a world like this where strength was so ostentatiously worshiped, Evian's philosophy to do as he pleased required strength to back it up, and to attain that strength, he needed a cut back on how much he spent on the Decadent Store.

Besides, this 'Word of Law' as his Assistant had called it, was looking more and more like a wonderful opportunity the longer he thought about it but how, oh how, was he meant to steal from the apparent Deity of all Decadent beings.

He hadn't even worked on a plan to get the Holy water Astrid had charged him to get.

With yet another sigh, Evian lay down on the bed with Daria tucked under the covers by his side. As though she had felt the depression in the bed's structure as his body reclined, Daria pulled closer and placed her head on his chest.

***

Miles away from Daria's home in a secret location known only to the group that had banded together apparently to bring about the end of the Arcane Church's organized religion, Behran, the escaped Wraith with the ability to Zombify, made his entry.

The hall lacked any ventilation. It looked like some sort of tunnel cut off from the outside world and a lamp was placed on the wall at five-step intervals and although that gave it illumination, it was still dim and danky.

Behran was in his element. Or at least he preferred this environment to the overt brightness of the outside world and yet, the Wraith could not deny that the world of man was far more accommodating than the Abyss.

The Abyss felt natural to a Wraith like him and fostered his growth brilliantly but it was also a miserable place where someone or something was trying to kill you within every meter you walked. To survive the Abyss was to be alert and strike down would-be enemies before they could do so to you and with that very kill, you are rewarded with Essence almost as tasty as a human soul.

Anyway, the human world was refreshingly different. While people valued power and would kill and cheat to achieve their aims, they still pride themselves on civility— At least on some level. It allows them to have an organized government and dial down the deaths which allows for some calm and level thought.

Of course, humans have hardly a choice but to be more civil. Should they even partially adopt the ways of the Abyss for the occasional purges, their numbers would be reduced by more than half in half Decade. Maybe less.

The Abyss can survive and thrive on such indiscriminate killing and harsh 'living' conditions because creation never stops. Eldritch creatures are not limited or at all reliant on human-type copulations to reproduce because their numbers are always refreshed daily. Hundreds of Eldritch creatures are born right from the Abyss with random power levels that are determined by the Abyss itself.

Or more accurately, determined by the Abyssal Sovereign.

"You're back."

Agenon's eyes were closed while his legs were crossed in serenity mediation. He had already recovered from the blow he suffered the night before when his Alternate body destroyed itself but he saw no reason to break his mood of tranquility.

"I am," Behran answered with a small bow, his tone respectful.

"I see none of the Arcanists with you so I assume you failed," Agenon said with a tone of disappointment.

"Evian Stygian is stronger than you said. He's a Wraith Prince, not a Wraith Lord," Behran said in his defense.

Agenon's features furrowed in surprise but they smoothed out soon enough,

"So One Wraith Prince against Eighth Sixth Circle Arcanists, as well as you who can revive their carcasses to do your bidding, and— you still failed," the Wraith King said.

"It's not that simple…" Behran started.

"Oh, but I think it is. Let me guess, after I authorized a plan to end his life with the use of an Ambush, you deemed it fit to have a conversation with him. To reason with him."

"I thought he could be useful to our plans—"

"Ridiculous!"

"Against the Arcanists, he cast spells. Spells that even you would be in awe of," Behran said.

"Again, I say, Ridiculous. What could that greenhorn know of the Abyssal symbols and their composition into Eldritch Spell Circles that I, Agenon, do not."

"He can Phase," Behran said.

"He can what?" Agenon asked, sounding stunned.

"He can Phase," Behran repeated, "I sew it with my own eyes. Every attack the Arcanists threw, passed right through him."

"Impossible," Agenon said. His eyes were now opened and their cold greys were oozing disbelief.

Spells were another matter altogether but to render the material useless and move through it as if it were not there— That was a Privilege that used to belong to the most worthy creatures of Decadence.

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For eons, the Sovereign had been quiet and not held the Worthiness ceremony, tossing the already rowdy Abyss into a deeper slope of chaos so why did the ability to Phase exist again now? And why did it exist here?

'Has the Sovereign finally spoken? But why choose a Wraith from whom I can sense no connection to the Abyss over more deserving candidates? Over me,' Agenon thought, his frown deepening.

He looked up into Behran's eyes and for a second, he considered that he was being lied to only to throw such an assumption aside almost immediately. What he saw in Behran's eyes lacked any hint of dishonesty. The Wraith Lord might have seen wrong but that could be the 'easily' confirmed with a well-executed capture.

"We need to find out just how much he knows. Especially what he knows that we do not. It might help us against 'him'."

Hearing of 'him' caused Behran to shiver and twist his expression but once he returned to normal, he spoke again,

"So you agree he should be recruited. I've seen just what he can do and although he's stubborn, I believe I can—"

"Recruit him? Why would we want or need to do that? We have the most important card in hard and we need not add another to the deck. No, we will capture Evian Stygian, recover what he knows, and get rid of a possible complication.

That's the plan, Behran, and you'll be wise not to deviate from it."

Behran paused and then bowed,

"Of course, Agenon. As you wish."