Chapter 313
Chapter 313
A flat mirror began to rise out of the sacrificial altar. By the time it reached the height of a dozen feet tall and half as wide - the mirror began to glow. Soon the reflection disappeared, and in place of Riven’s team staring back at themselves - it was filled with two individuals that Prince Narzkal Rantali immediately recognized.
“Hello mother! Father!” The golden-clad vampire prince proudly waved, puffing out his chest and smiling wide at the two people who were obviously related to him.
They were both blonde just like their son, donned white and gold formal clothes, and wore tall golden crowns trimmed in marble. They had very pale, red eyes, and smooth, attractive features just like most vampires. Both smiled proudly with brilliant white fangs at the forefront of said smiles, and they both waved back to reciprocate their son’s enthusiasm.
“Narzkal, my son!” King Rantali said to his son with a boisterous laugh. “I can’t believe you’ve made it so far! Floor 22! We’re so proud of you my boy!”
His mother clapped excitedly next to the king. “Narzy, my little baby boy! You look ADORABLE in that golden armor we bought you! I hope you stood out amidst all those other scions from around the multiverse, it was the flashiest we could find!”
Prinze Narzkal Rantali went a bright shade of red in embarrassment, and shot Riven a quick glance. He then cleared his throat as the vampire knights behind him tried to stifle their laughter. “Mother… I told you not to call me that in front of my friends!”
“What?! Narzy!? But that’s always what I call you!” Queen Rantali frowned. “Are you embarrassed of your nickname? Perhaps I should just call you nagle-tooth like I used to-”
“Mother!” Prince Rantali hissed, nearly turning purple under the growing amounts of suppressed laughter from most of the group now. “Stop it! You’re doing this on purpose!”
The queen’s frown broke into a sly grin. “I would never!”“Don’t belittle your mother, boy!” King Rantali exclaimed with a frown of his own, though it was obvious he was in on the joke by the way he was trying very hard not to break the smile by the way the corners of his lips were twitching. “Show respect to the woman who raised you like a good nagle-tooth!”
Riven snorted rather loudly, pulling his hood down slightly and looking away to hide his amusement if only a little bit.
Prince Rantali however, looked mortified. “I’m about to hang up this call!”
“You wouldn’t dare!” The queen said with a raised nose. “I’d take away all your toys. Now, dearest Narzy, have you made any good connections with the other scions of promising factions out there? The Abyssal Descent is an opportunity that should not be squandered, I hope you’ve made some political ties! Who have you teamed up with here for the 22nd Floor? And was there anyone else in the upper floors that you managed to speak to that we’d like to know about?”
Prince Rantali took in a deep breath and slowly released it while a vein pulsed in his forehead. “Yes… Mother. As requested, I’ve reached out to promising people in good faith.”
“Aside from that man who supplied you with the black phoenix stone for your fiance? The one you talked about in your letter?” The queen asked with both eyebrows raised now.
Prince Rantali winced. “I… have attempted to establish connections with others aside from that man. Unfortunately most of the scions here believe themselves to be… better than us. Too good to associate with a small kingdom from the 70th universe when most are from earlier universes with far more powerful ancestors.”
His father the king let his smile fade to a more stern, tight lipped expression, and the older man let out a long sigh. “To be fair, that isn’t entirely unexpected. It may be discouraging, but my great grandfather went through a similar experience when he, the first of us that profited from the opportunity Elysium presented to our sector of the universe, traveled into the descent. Your mother and I went together and the same thing occurred. That’s alright, as long as you try your best.”
“He has really great parents…” Riven muttered under his breath to Athela, who nodded in agreement. “Damn. I’m a little bit jealous.”
“But tell us more about the man in your letter! You said he was another vampire - is that right!? Always good to stick together with our brothers and sisters in blood!” The queen exclaimed, trying to cheer her husband and son up with another excited clap of her hands. “And what about these fine people!? You managed to group together with another team in the descent in order to make it here, as is obvious by the people standing next to you! Who are they?!”
Prince Narzkal Rantali seemed to brighten up, and he even straightened a little bit. “Yes, well as I described in brief: the black phoenix stone was bought by this man after he learned my fiance has blood rot. I couldn’t even get inside the trading compound and was being refused entrance until he showed up to help. I know I didn’t give many details because I wasn’t sure about how it’d turn out, but I can say that I truly have made a friend.”
Prince Rantali smiled Riven’s way and motioned for him to walk forward. “It happens to be this man, and I can’t speak highly enough of his character. He also lives a rather exciting life! Riven? Do you want to introduce yourself?”
Flushing slightly, it was Riven’s turn to be embarrassed. Nevertheless he took a few steps forward to be in line with Prince Rantali and bowed low at the waist. “Riven Thane, it is a pleasure to meet you both.”
King Rantali leaned forward slightly in his chair. “I was wondering whether or not it was you! You’re running around with one of the esteemed priestesses of the Blood God, so it was only fair to assume.”
“Are you a pureblood?” The queen asked curiously, tilting her head to the side. “Your eyes are telling, young man. They glow rather brightly.”
Riven politely smiled. “I am.”
“Ah. Your kind is rare. What an honor! And you were able to pull the strings to save our son’s lover?”
“I did.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, where is it you come from?”
Riven paused, wondering how he should answer that. Then, grinning at Prince Rantali, he got a rather devious idea. In this place, they weren’t able to identify him anyways - and it would be rather fun to fuck around “I’m currently hailing from an integrating planet, and only joined the multiverse two years ago. I am no one noteworthy, I’m rather poor, and merely got lucky enough to find an opportunity to come here through Elysium’s integration trials.”
Both the king and queen were both surprised and obviously a little bit disappointed by this proclamation. They’d already said they’d hoped their son had made some political connections here in the descent, and it was obvious that they’d been expecting Riven to be someone of importance. Being from an integrating world meant he had no political connections at all.
“Oh… I see.” The king replied, leaning back with a sigh - but he was quick to bring on a warm smile after that and nod enthusiastically. “Well it makes sense that you two would find each other then! Some of the older powers in the multiverse can be rather snobbish, but I’m surprised to see a pureblood such as yourself coming from an integration world.”
Prince Rantali for his part, gawked openly at Riven’s blatant attempt to swing things in the wrong direction.
“Still, it is a fine thing what you did for our son!” The queen exclaimed, though a bit of the excitement she’d had was obviously diminished. “How did you manage to get him into the trading guild if you didn’t have connections?”
Riven shrugged, and then let out a dramatic groan while kicking the bones around his feet away as if in a place of despair. “I… I may have seduced one of the workers there on your son’s behalf. It was a terrible experience, truly. But I did it out of the goodness of my heart for a friend in need! It was an ogre woman, about three times my size and with a little beard. She wanted to sleep with Narzkal Rantali here but… then he threw me to the wolves. The poor ogre didn’t even buy me dinner first.”
“You don’t say?” The queen looked shocked. “Did you at least get something for your troubles other than helping our son?”
The rest of the party was dead silent as he replied. They were either shocked, confused, or in Athela’s case - stifling laughter with tremendous effort.
Riven let out another exaggerated sigh. “I’m afraid not. I wasn’t even compensated for my efforts by your son, and after the ogre was done having her way with me-”
“HE’S A LIAR AND A BASTARD!” Prince Narzkal Rantali half laughed - half yelled, pointing an accusatory finger in Riven’s direction. “He’s a prince of the Blood Moon Requiem, and is the Reincarnation of Gluttony! Mother, Father, I swear to you that I did NO such thing as throw him to the mercy of some brutish ogre woman! I would never!”
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Dead.
Silence.
Hung in the air.
Prince Narzkal Rantali seemed to have realized what he had called Riven, and paled. “I… I may have misspoken there.”
“A liar and a bastard? Misspoken? That’s quite the tall tale you’ve made up on the spot, Narzy.” His mother gave him a scathing look with arms crossed underneath the bosom of her gold dress. “I truly hope for your sake that you didn’t actually make this blood brother of ours sleep with a troll to seduce your way inside. What did you promise him in return? Did you do it, and if you did - did you really give him nothing at all for his troubles?”
“Not a troll, an ogre.” Riven correctly solemnly, feigning a shudder. “Her thighs were like warty green tree trunks, she nearly snapped my back.”
“I TAKE THAT BACK, HE’S STILL A LIAR AND A BASTARD!” Prince Narzkal Rantali roared, yet again pointing a finger in Riven’s direction. “He did not seduce any OGRE!”
“Troll.” Riven corrected.
“You just said-”
“I’m not the one that makes the rules here.” Riven shrugged.
“Well WHATEVER it was you didn’t sleep with, you’re still a prince of the Blood Moon Requiem and you’re Gluttony’s reincarnation!”
The king and queen weren’t buying it one bit, and shot each other wary glances. Perhaps they thought their son may be going crazy.
Riven took a sad glance at the unamused vampire royals in the mirror. “King and Queen Rantali, I hate to be the bearer of bad news… but I do believe your son is starting to lose his mind as a side effect of the last floor. When we encountered the suns to help our soul lattices grow-”
“I am not losing my mind!” Prince Rantali exclaimed. “He’s just joking! I promise you that’s who he actually is!”
“Would the reincarnation of an original sin joke like that?” Riven asked casually, giving him a knowing look. “Come now Narzy, we’ve had this discussion five times already. You’re a friend, that’s why I slept with that troll for you. But you need medical help and a dao expert to help regain your mind.”
“HE’S THE REINCARNATION-”
Riven cut him off with a raised hand and once again turned to the mirror. Both of Prince Rantali’s parents wore very concerned looks and were whispering to each other while staring at their son. “I am not the Reincarnation of Gluttony. What would the chances of that even be? One in many trillions, or worse? He is merely confused, severely so, and as I said - he is losing his mind due to whatever happened with the last floor. King and Queen Rantali, it is my belief that your son needs to withdraw from this place before he truly dives further into madness and loses himself entirely.”
Prince Rantali’s jaw dropped, and he threw out his hands to either side before spinning around on the rest of the group. “Hey! All of you! Tell them the truth!”
The vampire knights stared dumbly at the prince, then at Riven, then to the prince, and then to the mirror with their king and queen displayed ahead of them.
One of the vampire knights stepped forward. “I believe… that your son is going mad.”
“BRUTUS YOU LITTLE BASTARD! THIS ISN’T FUNNY!”
Riven could see the twinkle in the knight’s red eye as he cleared his throat and sadly shook his head. “It is as our new friend Riven here says. We all believe that the young prince here as taken the brunt of a dao insight too strong for his mind to make sense of, and that his mind is breaking. It would be wise to demand he come home so that he can proceed with treatment as already suggested.”
Prince Rantali spun on his heel, looking utterly betrayed at all the others who maintained straight faces. “Kara! Stop this nonsense here and now! I helped you out earlier when you confided in me, right? Kara tell them!”
Kara looked away in shame, turning completely around.
“He has ARCHDEMONS as minions!” Prince Rantali exclaimed, pointing at Athela, Fay, and Azmoth one by one. “They literally worship him! You should have seen the way they treated him inside the compound where I got the black phoenix stone! Even Lillith of the Black Skies was there!”
Dead.
Silence.
Once again.
“And where is Lillith now?” Riven asked calmly. “Surely you could point her out for us.”
Prince Rantali stomped his foot. “She’s trapped on Floor 50 because Elysium put her there!”
Riven slowly turned to the mirror, frowning with a shake of his head. “I am a warlock, yes, but I am certainly not worshiped. My demons regularly insult and threaten me, and it is only through my sheer Willpower that I am able to maintain control over their puny, pea-sized minds.”
“Ok that’s just going too far, you little shithead twirp!” Athela said, jabbing Riven in the side as he yelped.
Fay smacked him in the back of the head with a humph.
Even Azmoth swatted at him with one of his wings, making Riven dodge out of the way to avoid being burned.
“Be still, foul creatures!” Riven exclaimed - but this time putting the contracts he had to use all simultaneously for the first time… ever?
Yeah, ever.
All three demons immediately froze, unable to break the bindings of their contracts as Riven wiped his hands off from falling on Athela’s face. He inwardly cackled at the wide-eyed glare she gave him and the muffled cursing, and flicked her on the forehead before turning around to bow once again.
“As you can see, they hold little to no respect for me. That certainly isn’t how Gluttony's Reincarnation would be treated by demonkind, and the imaginary Lillith is nowhere to be seen. Your son is going mad, and I feel like it is my solemn duty to let you know as his friend - so that you can try to convince him to go home before it is too late.”
Prince Rantali’s parents remained silently whispering to one another for a short while, before Queen Rantali rubbed the bridge of her nose and let out a groan.
“Narzy… Perhaps it would be best to have you come home, just in case they’re right.”
“They’re conspiring against me! This is just a joke!” Prince Rantali insisted. “They’re just being ridiculous!”
“No, son. It is you who are being ridiculous.” The queen stated, but put on a loving smile anyways. “Come home, and we will get you a dao healer. I’m glad you’ve made such good friends, dear - because it truly does look like your mind has been broken. That’s alright though! You did very well getting to the 22nd Floor, and we are very proud of you and your accomplishments!”
“B-But… But I…” Prince Narzkal Rantali was truly at a loss for words.
Riven nodded in agreement like an old sage would, hands clasped behind his back. “Yes, Narzy. Indeed, indeed. Although, perhaps we-”
A moment later, a very large pop-up notification appeared for the entire group to see - cutting Riven off mid sentence.
[Floor 22 is near completion. Your team has accepted the following audiences:
High Queen Nephridi, of The Blood Moon Requiem, Universe 10
The Unholy Archbishop Prek An-Gash, of The Church of Gluttony, The 9th Circle of Hell
The Court of Emperor Adali, Ruler of Purturis, Universe 70
King and Queen Rantali, of the Vampiric Kingdom of Garth, Universe 70
You will have a short time to speak with them one at a time, before Elysium offers these outside influences beyond The Abyssal Descent a list of potential buy options they may purchase with Elysium Coins.
Warning: The Vampiric Kingdom of Garth, Universe 70, only has 8 minutes remaining to speak. Please hasten and have your audience select from their listed options to potentially buy, provided courtesy of Elysium.]
The thing was, this notification was large enough for everyone there to read it at a distance. Including King and Queen Rantali, who began to slowly lose their composure as their eyes widened and their jaws became slack.
“Gig’s up boys.” Riven said in defeat, as the area around him erupted with laughter - the loudest of which were Prince Rantali’s own personal guard.
“Fuck’n bastards.” Prince Rantali spit, glaring at Riven with arms folded over his chest. “Not funny. Not funny at all! Do you realize how disappointed my parents were going to be with me if I didn’t acquire at least ONE noteworthy acquaintance outside of my kingdom!? I’d be ruined! Ruined, I say! They were even questioning my character with those expressions of theirs, thinking that I made a fellow vampire go and sleep with a troll just to get inside a trading guild!”
“Would you have done it though?”
“Probably.”
“Always figured you were the type of man to like trolls.”
“I MEANT that I’d make a fellow vampire do it for-”
“Yeah, yeah. Just don’t tell your fiance. I don’t know how she’d take it, knowing that you were into her and also into trolls. Kinda gross, but you do you homeboy. You… do… you…”
***
Queen Rantali gleefully laughed alongside her husband on the other end. “It was a genuine pleasure meeting you, Riven Thane! But are you sure you don’t prefer some kind of title?”
“Riven’s fine, thanks.” He replied with a wave of his hand. “I don’t need any self-aggrandizing stuff like that. Sorry about the joke though, I just couldn’t help it. Call it a personality flaw.”
“I hope to see more of that personality flaw in future years.” King Rantali said with a chortle. “Please feel free to come visit if you’re ever in the area. I’m not sure you ever will be, but this meeting is certainly one that I will always remember. Enjoy the gift! And try not to pick on my son so much, he’s a bit fragile.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence…” Prince Rantali muttered.
Both of his parents waved and called out to their boy with love and affection, and in the next instant they were gone.
“Nice people.” Riven said with a fond smile at seeing the two older vampires leave. “I like them. Tell them I said that when you get back.”
“Oh I’m sure they’ll be head over heels about it.” Prince Rantali grunted in irritation. “It would have been nice if we could just buy these bonuses ourselves instead of relying on our elders. That way I wouldn’t be so thoroughly embarrassed right now!”
Riven was about to think of something witty to say, but a new notification appeared for the billionth time that day - and gave him pause.
[Your time with King and Queen Rantali, of the Vampiric Kingdom of Garth, Universe 70 - is now over.
King and Queen Rantali have bought your group the following:
Abyssal Spirit Guide (3 million Elysium Coins): A spirit guide that has walked the halls of the descent for a long, long time. The spirit will remain with you while descending, and can guide you to the fastest possible routes to further levels. Faster, however, does not mean safer.
Proceeding to the next audience: The Court of Emperor Adali, Ruler of Purturis, Universe 70]
“Oh… Kara?” Riven said, motioning her over. “I think yours is up next…”
Kara was already nervously biting her nails and stiffened at his words, when a new mirror ripped out of the sacrificial altar to appear hovering just like the first had done. Only this time, instead of two happy-go-lucky vampire royals: there was a bunch of very stern, very angry-looking dark elves in a boxy room at a circular table. They all wore elegant cultivator clothes, had either lavender, blue, or pale gray eyes, and different shades of silver or white hair. Tea cups were simmering on a few plates in front of different occupants of the room, with different assortments of meats and pastries alongside fruit trays. It was rather bright, with large windows in the painted wood of wherever it was they sat, and despite the room mostly being full of men - it was a woman who stood up to speak first.
She was stunningly pretty, of middle age and had a very tight blue dress that hugged the curves of her body. With her hair pinned up and long ribbons drooping down past her hands from where they’d been tied at her wrists, she pointed a slender finger in Kara’s direction with a snarl. “What did you do with my daughter, you wretched bitch!? Where is Zafima!? Why is she not home yet!? And how are you still alive!?”