The ascent was silent, save for the rhythmic crunch of Revas's bare feet against the stone.
Mirabelle rested her head on his shoulder. Her body was exhausted, but her mind raced. The bond between them, an invisible chain from her wrist to his collar, gave off a low, steady vibration. It felt like a second heartbeat, slower and darker than her own.
They climbed a staircase. With each step Revas took, crimson butterflies swarmed ahead. They landed on the granite walls of the Abyss, their delicate wings fluttering. Wherever they touched, the rock didn't break. It just vanished, turning into fine grey dust that shaped a perfect, spiraling step.
"You are heavy with hate," Revas mused, not looking down at her. "It's absolutely exhilarating."
"And you are chatty for a weapon," Mirabelle muttered, though she didn't pull away. The heat radiating from his skin was the only thing keeping the chill of the Abyss at bay.
"I have been talking to rocks for three centuries, Mistress. Forgive me if I enjoy the sound of a voice that talks back."
Suddenly, Revas stopped.
The air around them shifted. The silence of the deep Abyss was replaced by a chittering, rustling sound echoing from the shadows above. The darkness seemed to ripple.
"We are leaving the lower depths," Revas noted calmly. "The upper layers are... infested."
From the gloom, eyes appeared. Dozens of them. Pale, glowing yellow orbs. Then came the screeching.
Abyssal Shriekers.
They were bat-like monsters as big as men, with leathery wings that dripped slime and jaws strong enough to crush armor. They clung to the walls, drawn by the scent of fresh blood—Mirabelle's blood.
One of them let out a piercing wail and dove.
Mirabelle flinched, instinctively burying her face in Revas's chest.
"Watch," Revas commanded softly.
He didn't raise a hand. He didn't shout. He simply looked.
The iron collar at his throat flashed red.
A swarm of butterflies appeared in the air around them. These were not like the ones building the stairs. They moved faster and looked sharp, made of jagged crimson light. They rushed at the diving Shrieker.
There was no impact sound. No thud. Just a wet, tearing noise.
The butterflies flew through the monster as if it was made of mist. As they passed, the creature fell apart. Flesh vanished from bone in a heartbeat. Bone turned to powder right after. In a second, the Shrieker was gone, leaving only a faint red mist. The butterflies absorbed it, their wings glowing brighter.
Mirabelle watched, wide-eyed. It wasn't combat. It was erasure.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Revas whispered.
The rest of the pack screeched and swarmed, diving en masse.
Revas laughed and kept walking up the stairs, unfazed. The butterflies spun around them like a wild tornado. Every creature that touched the swarm disappeared in a burst of red light.
Mirabelle felt something strange through the bond. It wasn't fear. It was satisfaction. Each time a Shrieker died, she felt a small jolt of energy from Revas. She sensed his hunger fading. She felt his power flow into her.
It was intoxicating.
She lifted her head and watched the scene. Hot, black blood splattered against an invisible shield just inches from her face. She did not look away. She saw the butterflies eat a creature's wing and watched it fall, screaming, into the dark.
"Kill them all," she whispered. It wasn't a command; it was a desire.
Revas glanced down at her. His eyes flared. "As you wish."
The swarm expanded. The cavern lit up with a blinding red strobe. The screeching turned into a cacophony of death, then abruptly, silence returned.
Revas walked through the falling dust that was all that remained of a hundred monsters. Not a drop of blood touched him.
"You have a taste for it," Revas observed, sounding pleased. "Most mortals vomit the first time they see me feed."
"I told you," Mirabelle said, her voice stronger now, fueled by the residual energy of the kill. "I want to watch the world burn. I can't do that if I'm afraid of a little fire."
Revas grinned and adjusted his hold on her. "We are close. I can smell fresh air. I can smell the stench of 'Holiness'."
The spiraling staircase finally ended. Above them, a ledge stuck out. It was the same place she had been thrown from. The sky was dark; night had fallen.
Revas leaped, clearing the last twenty feet in a single bound. He landed silently on the grassy edge of the cliff.
The wind hit them. It smelled like pine and rain. This was the normal world.
Mirabelle shivered when Revas set her down. Her legs shook, but she made herself stand. She looked at her dress. The white silk was torn and stained with dirt and grime, but she was alive.
She turned and looked back at the capital city of Sanctum in the distance. The tall white castle spires glowed in the moonlight. Fireworks exploded over the palace.
"They are celebrating," she said, her voice dead.
"They think they are safe for another ten years," Revas said from behind her. He stood over her, a shadow in the moonlight. He took a deep breath, enjoying the surface air. "They are celebrating your sacrifice."
Mirabelle reached out and grabbed the spectral chain that connected them. She gave it a sharp tug.
Revas stepped closer, leaning down until his lips brushed her ear. "What is the first order, Mistress? Shall I level the city now? It would take me... perhaps an hour."
"No," Mirabelle said. Her eyes narrowed as she watched the fireworks. "If we kill them now, they die thinking they were righteous. They die thinking they won."
She turned to him, her face cold and calculating.
"I want to destroy their hope first. I want them to know that their 'Gods' didn't save them. I want them to know I am the one who decides if they live or die."
She looked at Revas's bare chest and the iron collar.
"Can you hide that?" she pointed to the collar. "And the eyes? If we walk in there like this, they'll attack."
Revas shrugged. "I can weave an illusion. I will look like a man. A very... impressive man. And the collar will be invisible to everyone but you."
"Do it," she commanded. "We are going back. But not as a monster and a sacrifice."
Revas's form shimmered. His white hair turned a deep midnight blue. The glowing red eyes changed to a sharp, icy violet. The iron collar disappeared, though Mirabelle still felt the chain in her hand. He pulled a long black coat from the shadows and draped it over his bare shoulders.
He looked like a fallen noble. Dangerous, unique, but human.
"And who am I?" Revas asked, offering her his arm. "Your servant?"
Mirabelle looked at the castle, a cruel smile playing on her lips. She took his arm.
"No," she said. "You are the man who saved me from the Abyss. My Knight. And we are going to crash a party."