Prince of The Abyss

Kade smiled, looking at his victory... he had done it... he had really killed all the goblins on his own. All the effort he had put in hadn’t gone to waste.

It was scary to think just how much he had improved. Before he went on this journey, he hardly knew how to grip a blade, and the thought of fighting a monster... was horrifying.

And yet, seeing Aether fight, alongside training with the blade when he was alone, he managed to get a basic grasp on swordsmanship.

Looking at his body, he was covered in blood, some of it was his own, while most was from decapitating goblins... what a ruthless method he decided to use. Now that it was over, he couldn’t understand how he had done it like it was nothing.

But his body had, as his hand was still shaking.

...

But more importantly... at the end... he was able to use his Will.

He didn’t know how he had done it, really; he just did the same thing he did before, using the method Aether though him... and there was another river he hadn’t seen before, one that apparently led to his sword.

But was it possible? He had never seen something like it before. A Will user using their power on a weapon, it was unheard of.

And yet, it had saved him. If it weren’t for it, he wouldn’t have been able to get through the goblin king’s shield, and Aether couldn’t have helped him.

”You know we could have probably sold that shield for some good money.”

Kade sighed, turning around, knowing well who was behind him.

”You did well, good job... but what was that thing at the end?”

Kade glanced at his weapon, whose blade had broken in two from the impact and intensity of the clash.

”I... don’t know. Its unheard of for someone with a Will to do something like this...” He had done something forbidden...

Aether chuckled. ”Then you’re the first, how cool is that?”

Kade’s eyes widened. ”What do you mean, cool? What if it’s something illegal in the culture of the Will users? What if I have broken a taboo?”

Aether rolled his eyes, flicking his forehead.

”And why should you care... You aren’t one of them. You’re different, special, you shouldn’t have to listen to what others think. Plus, I think it suits you well. After all, even after awakening, a Will-less heart is with the blade, so with it, you can still follow it.”

...

Kade didn’t respond for a while; he hadn’t thought about it like that. Ever since his so-called awakening, he had thought of himself as just another Will-user... not as something... special.

...

”Yeah... maybe you’re right.”

...

...

...

’Why... was Kade able to use his Will on his sword? Why was he the only one to do so?’

That was a question that kept ringing in his mind.

Even if he hadn’t been born in Demon of Dread, he knew that no Will user had ever done something like this before; the closest thing ever done had been when a fire user had created a sword entirely from their element... and that user later became the Master of the Fire Will... well if this story was even true since he learned it from a drunk inside a bar while Kade was getting healed.

Really, if you think about it, the only people who have done something like this, Kade and the Master, had one thing in common.

Late awakening, none of them had awakened at birth, but rather because of their strong flame, they were able to create a Will to serve them.

... And he had a good theory on why this was.

A Will-less who later awakens, isn’t born with the instinct to use their powers, they don’t know how to use it, which is why he had to give his method for Eden to Kade, since the principle of Eden and a Will were similar... but what if this was the reason?

Someone who is born knowing how to use their Will doesn’t understand how they use their power; they know how because they were born with that ability. That is why they don’t know how to use it on something other than their bodies, outside their bodies, not on other objects.

Someone like Kade, who understands how his powers work, might be slower at first. No, he is slower than a normal Will user, but at the same time, because of his knowledge, he is able to use his powers on other objects.

Plus, even if it might not seem like it recently, the heart of a Will-less is still with the blade, so it might also have some influence and importance to this theory, but who knows? He wasn’t some specialist in Wills to know everything; he was surprised he was able to figure out the things he knew.

But enough of how... the boy had done something great, something his master had to be proud of. He really hadn’t expected it, he believed, but he wasn’t sure he could do it... what a bad teacher he was, to not even fully trust his student.

Kade had improved a lot; it was evident. From the first time he trained him in the moutains and now, he was a different person...

And the most evident part of it was when he ripped the head of the first goblin... something so brutal, he was sure that if it was him from not a long time ago, he wouldn’t have done it. He had grown not only physically, but also mentally.

You could say he had grown up.

He had gotten injured, but even then, they weren’t that bad; nothing they couldn’t fix with some of the bandages they had decided to sacrifice some food for.

Plus, they also helped him with his hand, so it was overall a good investment.

With how frequently they got injured, he knew they were going to need them, and it seems he was right.

...

Though there was some bad news.

Kade had broken his sword, which meant that they were... You could say defenseless, he could still fight, but if there were a lot of enemies, his hand wouldn’t allow him to fight for that much time.

Luckily, he had spoken with some shadows around this place, and there was a small human village not far away, and while it was not in the way of the shard, they had to stop at it. It had an Inn, which was good, but it was useless, since they had already spent the night sleeping in the goblin village, so it was morning, and by the time they got there, it wouldn’t turn night.

What the village, and was important, was a shop where you could sell and buy, one that wasn’t that well-known, so it wouldn’t have connections with other high-end shops... which had given him a very good idea.

...

...

It didn’t take them long to reach the village, around two hours of walking through the forest and some hilly plains, which had some beautiful viewpoints.

At the gate, Aether told Kade to wait and be ready to leave immediately, since he didn’t want to waste that much time... there was also another reason, but he was going to tell him later about it.

With the village’s size, it wasn’t hard to find the shop, since it was one of the biggest buildings in the place.

And yet, before he entered, there was another thing for him to do...

Aether held his hand out in front of him...

Summoning his mask.

How long had it been since he had used it? Last time, if he remembered correctly, it was to trick that old mage. He hadn’t expected to use it in this book, though, after all, why would he have to mask his identity in a book where no one knew him?

But it seems its time has come.

Aether put the mask on.

[Identities]:

1-Elpis Thusia

2- ------

3- ------

It was a bit nostalgic seeing this screen; it reminded him of all the memories he made in Frozen Crown... most of them weren’t good memories, but still... There were some good ones.

”Sorry, Elpis, but I will have to borrow your body again, I hope you don’t mind.”

As the mask did its work, he found his body changing. It felt weird, maybe because of how much time had passed since he had last done it.

...

Entering the shop, Aether had taken off his mantle... because it had a very important part in his plan.

”Greeting, I would like to trade this mantle, which is also a very powerful and light armor, for a powerful blade.”

The sealer’s eyes widened as he saw it. A mantle made out of such a powerful material allowed it to protect its user while not taking away the flexibility and speed of the one using it.

”I see, well then, I suppose you wouldn’t settle for anything lower than this.”

He said, taking a sword from behind him.

The blade seemed to be made from a beautiful and powerful metal, one on the dark grey side, probably one specific to this world. The blade seemed powerful, but nothing special, yet at the same time, this was a small shop, so you couldn’t expect that much.

”I’ll take it.”

...

...

Outside the shop, Aether dismissed his mask.

He knew he had gotten scammed, after all, his mantle was worth a lot more than this shitty blade.

...

But at the same time.

The mantle was a relic.

Aether smiled while the mantle suddenly manifested back on his figure.

...

In reality, he had been the one who had scammed the shop owner.