The Abyss stretched endlessly in all directions, a suffocating expanse of chaos where the concepts of the sins of gluttony, greed, lust and wrath twisted even the landscape into unnatural shapes while the residents were embodiments of this chaos.
Above, the churning sky pulsed with hues of dark crimson and black, fractured by jagged streaks of green lightning that split the air with deafening cracks in this particular world’s landmass. Rivers of molten shadow carved through jagged obsidian terrain, their blackened edges steaming as searing heat met the glacial winds that howled across the desolation.
The air carried the cries of tortured slaves’ souls that died miserably, their wails rising and falling like an eternal dirge that wormed into the minds of those who listened too closely.
At the edge of a massive precipice overlooking an endless chasm of writhing shadows stood Nalzerak, a captain in the Dragal’s Abyssal Legion. His tall, angular frame was swathed in armor fashioned from blackened bone and metal, its polished surface etched with runes that pulsed faintly with emerald light.
His pale skin stretched tight across his sharp, inhuman features, giving him a deathly appearance that contrasted with the faint twisted smile he was sporting, curling his lips to expose sharp, and uneven teeth.
His emerald eyes glowed softly as he gazed into the chasm below, where shadowy tendrils seemed to reach out for him, as if hungering for his presence.
Behind him, a host of Abyssal soldiers stood in eerie silence, their grotesque forms arranged in ranks that stretched into the distance. Each creature was subjected to the Abyss’s corrupting power, their bodies warped and fused with fragments of shadow and bone. Some bore jagged blades where arms should have been, while others had multiple heads or limbs that moved with disturbing synchronicity. However, they all seemed to belong to the same initial species of Nalzerak, as they bore similarities. The most obvious similarity was their shifting shapes and flickering forms gave the impression of a mirage that Nalzerak naturally exuded. However, the fear etched into their twisted visages was quite the contrast as they stood at attention, waiting for Nalzerak’s next orders.
Nalzerak’s smirk widened as he felt their unease. The captain’s command relied on the principle of fear. The Abyss was no place for loyalty born of camaraderie, for its very essence demanded dominance and submission. Fear was a blade sharper than any forged metal, and he wielded it with an artist’s touch as he could easily, silently, kill any one of them before they’d even notice their heads separating from their bodies.
A low rumble rolled across the landscape, a sound that resonated deep in the bones of all who heard it. Nalzerak turned his gaze upward, his expression shifting to one of interest.
The sky above began to fracture, a jagged tear forming as sickly green light spilled forth. The rift pulsed with an otherworldly energy, and the shadows at its edges writhed as if alive.
The Abyssal soldiers quickly dropped to their knees as a towering figure emerged from the rift, its form wreathed in flame and molten metal.
The General of the Dragal Legion stood over ten feet tall, his armor radiating an oppressive heat that caused the air to shimmer. His helm was fashioned into the likeness of a beast, its maw open in a silent roar that revealed eyes of blazing crimson light. His body quickly landed and slammed on the ground, with any speck of dirt and dust melting quickly before reaching his armor. Each step he took towards Nalzerak sent tremors through the ground, the molten rock beneath his feet hissing and bubbling as it cooled.
Nalzerak dropped to one knee, his expression one of an even greater fear and terror than that he instilled in his subordinates, even as his twisted smirk lingered. The General’s presence was suffocating. This General was a being that stood only below those Abyssal Princes and enigmatic Princesses that were the children of the mighty and ferocious Dragal that ruled this collection of universes.
"Captain Nalzerak," the General’s voice rumbled like the grinding of mountains, each word carrying the weight of unyielding authority. "Step forward."
Without hesitation, Nalzerak quickly rose and moved toward the General, his movements fluid and deliberate. His emerald eyes glinted with amusement as he knelt once more, lowering his head in feigned humility. "You honor me and my weak, pathetic slaves with your presence, my lord."
The General’s gaze bore into him, the heat of his molten form intensifying. "A task has arisen that requires your… skills. You will leave the Abyss and enter our next assault on Nexaria. There, you will eliminate a puny, but special, mortal whose existence threatens to disrupt our plans."
Nalzerak’s twisted smirk faded slightly, replaced by a flicker of curiosity. "A mortal? Surely a lesser soldier could handle such a task."
The air grew heavier as the General’s eyes flared brighter, his molten armor radiating heat that singed Nalzerak’s skin even from a distance. "You dare do better to know your place, Kharthi trash. This mortal is obviously no ordinary being. His survival until now has drawn the attention of the force from above. You will erase him completely. Leave nothing behind."
Nalzerak lowered his head once more, though his grin returned. "As you command, my lord."
The General stepped closer, towering over Nalzerak as his voice dropped to a menacing growl. "Should you fail, pray that you die and the mortal somehow manages to disappate your entire soul. For you shall not find refuge here and I will wrest your soul fragments from the path to hell and throw you into the reincarnation pools to turn you into a larvae to feed to my graboid larvae."
The twisted smile once more faltered for a brief moment before Nalzerak lowered his head further. "I would not dream of disappointing you, my lord."
The General’s burning gaze lingered on him for a moment longer before he stepped back. He quickly shot a small, reddish orb from seemingly thin air, towards Nalzerak, which was quickly absorbed into the Captain’s head before the General’s form jumped up and vanished into the still open rift.
As the portal closed with a deafening crack, the oppressive heat dissipated, leaving Nalzerak alone with his soldiers.
Rising slowly, Nalzerak flexed his claws, his expression one of satisfaction. "Lassim," he murmured, savoring the name like a fine wine. "A dual parasite wielding mortal… Quite the desperate lot, those weak challengers to the Dragal’s conquest? This will be... entertaining."
~~~
Nalzerak’s emergence into Nexaria was marked by a tear in the fabric of reality, a jagged rift that spilled forth shadows and Abyssal energy. The Sun Sect’s ruined capital sprawled before him, its once-proud spires reduced to smoldering rubble with scars of lightning scorch marks and paralyzed Sun Demons still fresh on the ground. The air reeked of ash and blood, an intoxication smell that Nalzerak inhaled with a whimper as the Captain stepped forward. He didn’t care that the ground was littered with the corpses of Lightning Sect cultivators, their lifeless forms frozen in grotesque poses, or the ash and limbs of the dead Sun Demons from the battle still raged on.
The captain moved through the devastation like a phantom, his emerald eyes scanning the battlefield with detached amusement. He relished the echoes of death that clung to the area, the faint remnants of souls still lingering in the air.
With a flick of his clawed hand, he seemed to see and grab something intangible and invisible to nearly all except the Heavenly Gods, before he quickly absorbed it. It was the essence of a nearby soul, its anguished cries fading into silence as its energy invigorated him and caused the shadows and mirage around his figure to grow more distorted and helping to further camouflage the Kharthi from anyone’s detection.
He passed through the ruins, his movements fluid and deliberate, pausing only to examine the markings left by the battle. The name "Lassim" echoed in his mind as he focused on trying to find his target from the mental image and description the Lord General gave to him. The soul he absorbed seemed to have a small amount of information on the rising lowly sect member that had begun making waves with his assaults on the Sun Sect’s outposts and defensive points. Nalzerak’s grin widened as his excitement mounted as the hunt to assassinate the mortal began to take shape.
~~~
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Nalzerak’s pursuit of Lassim spanned weeks, his path marked by destruction and death as he allowed his urges to exist as he roamed the Southern Continent in search of his target. Yet, the Kharthi captain became distracted when his hunt led him to a remote island, shrouded in mist and covered in dense ivy and vegetation. The island’s atmosphere was suffused with an otherworldly energy, a resonance that Nalzerak recognized immediately as the presence of Auracite. A unique mineral that housed souls and their essence, an expensive delicacy, almost candy-like, that he knew sparsely grew on his planet of Karthas.
As he stepped onto the island, the shadows and mist seemed to welcome him, parting before his advance. He moved through the dense ivy jungle, his senses attuned to the pulsating energy that drew him deeper into the heart of the island.
The cavern he discovered was a treasure trove of Auracite, its veins glowing faintly as they pulsed with stored energy. Nalzerak ran a clawed hand over the crystals, his grin widening as he absorbed the faint traces of souls trapped within and even took a few to toss into his mouth and slowly suck on. The memories of the dead beasts they had absorbed flashed through his mind—fragmented lives and shattered dreams of the need to reproduce fueled his insatiable hunger.
As he fed, Nalzerak’s musings on the memories of the dead were interrupted by the approach of his prey. He dissolved into the shadows, watching as Lassim entered the cavern and began collecting the Auracite.
The captain’s emerald eyes gleamed with malice as he studied the mortal, noting the fusion of mana that coursed through him and the otherworldly gorgeous soul that radiated like a bright, shining light of Azure, Violet, Black and Gold colors, all swirling and twisting like a kaleidoscope. It was pure beauty to the special soul vision of the Kharthi Abyssal Captain.
When the bearkin appeared in the middle of his admiration, Nalzerak observed the following battle with keen interest, analyzing Lassim’s techniques and the remarkable fusion of energies he wielded. The way his soul moved in battle was almost causing him to drool with delight. As the mortal dispatched the beast with ease, Nalzerak’s twisted grin widened further..
"Fascinating," he muttered, his voice inaudible over the hum of the crystals and collapsing cavern.
As Lassim departed the island, Nalzerak emerged from the shadows after escaping the collapse too, his gaze fixed on his target.
The wide twisted smile continued to widen, showing his sharp and uneven teeth even further as he whispered, "Found you."
Nalzerak lingered at the mouth of the now collapsed cavern for a moment longer, his clawed fingers tracing the jagged rocks around the entrance.
His thoughts were consumed by the encounter he had just witnessed. Lassim’s fusion of mana and soul that surrounded him pulsed with such otherworldly beauty.
It was clear the mortal’s soul had been touched and was no longer just something a mere mortal could innately wield. He now began to understand the threat he posed to the Dragal, that much was certain.
It fascinated Nalzerak. Though, not in a way that dulled his intent to assassinate the boy. This kind of fascination was merely the precursor to understanding, and understanding would allow him to best quickly kill his target.
His attention returned to the rubble, the faint emerald glow of his eyes the only light as the mist-shrouded jungle seemed to retake over the sounds and silence left behind by the collapse. The Auracite was too delectable to pass up. Yet, the General’s order and threat to turn him into larvae food echoed in his mind.
He would kill the boy, that much was certain, but he’d already waited several weeks and now he knew where the target was heading. It’d also be easier to track him now that he’d seen the shape of Lassim’s soul. Why hurry and return back to the Abyss when there was still an entire feast of delicious Auracite sitting in a pile in front of him?
Nalzerak chuckled to himself, the sound low and rasping, as he picked up another chunk of Auracite while he imagined his prey’s potential reactions.
Would Lassim flee when cornered?
Or would he fight with the desperation of a cornered beast?
Nalzerak hoped for the latter. It was always more satisfying to break and disperse a soul that believed it could triumph.