Crown Of Blasphemy: Rise Of The Legendary Villain

The little thing peered at him, with its black beady eyes, and as Mr. Valen stared at the thing, he felt his hair stand on end.

'What-? argh!"

Mr. Valen was forced to cut himself short as the thing moved, faster than he could perceive and as it did, pain exploded in his system.

The pain was sudden, so quick that Mr. Valen could not help but grunt, his breath hitching as he inhaled too much of the sulfuric air within this confined space.

Quickly, Mr. Valen looked at the source of the pain, and his eyes widened when he saw it; his pinky finger was missing, gnawed off by the beast.

Like a startled animal, Mr. Valen looked around, to his left, then to his right, but he could not find anything.

"DisGusTing SpAwn!"

A strange, almost fluctuating voice spoke, its tone dripping with malice, and as it spoke, Mr. Valen felt his mind shake, his senses trembling.

It was then that a familiar feeling overwhelmed him, as though something was tuning him, as though something was playing with his senses, his sense of smell to be exact.

It was frightful.

There was the smell of sulphur, the smell of foul vapour, the smell of laboured sweat, of embedded minerals, of blood, of ash, of smoke, of heat, of lava, of blood—his blood, ohh god the feeling was maddening, painful, frightening.

And Mr. Valen was forced to clutch his head and kneel, his form trembling, trembling as flashes of painful memories flashed in his mind, memories of his time as a lab rat in that cold, lonely factory, memories of time he had no control.

The being's voice then spoke again, that fluctuating tone echoing in his mind. "HiS BlOoD MaDe YoU. HeR's WiLl UnMaKe YoU! SuBjEct 01!"

"Valen! What are you doing?" Cerberus' voice sounded out, prompting Mr. Valen to raise his head, only to see the armored man staring down at him. The pain had stopped.

"No, it's nothing I-I'm sorry," Mr. Valen stuttered, his heart pounding in his chest. "I-It's just-I just realized, I've lost everything-"

To his words, Cerberus remained quiet, but he did not move, as though he was waiting for Mr. Valen to finish. "My father was murdered, by thieves and-"

"Weakling! So what if you lost everyone? What can you do?" Cerberus interrupted, his tone grim, his eyes narrowed to slits under his helm. "Since you were not born with wealth or talent, use what you have to claw your way to the top, to not die a nobody, to be remembered."

«Is that his philosophy?»

With those words, Cerberus turned back, walking down the tunnel, Mr. Valen following close behind him, deep in thought.

'What was that thing? That beast? Has it been following me all this time,' he thought, his eyes narrowed. 'His blood made you. Her's will unmake you. What is that supposed to mean?'

Looking upon Cerberus' dependable back, Mr. Valen raised a brow, choosing to forget about the whole thing for the moment, but it remained at the back of his mind.

«What? Yes, I know I don't have a father, but I couldn't help it.»

Mr. Valen kept pace with Cerberus, his mind a whirlwind despite the forced calm on his face.

The phantom pain of the severed finger was already fading, replaced by the familiar, unsettling itch of rapid cellular regeneration.

He subtly flexed his hand within his ragged sleeve, feeling the nauseating writhe of tissue knitting itself back together at an impossible rate.

Bone, tendon, nerve, skin... By the time they reached the tunnel's mouth mere minutes later, beneath the grime, his pinky was whole again, indistinguishable from its siblings.

'His blood made you? Who is he? Is he talking about intelligence, the substance that aided my birth?' The possibilities were vast and terrifying. 'Her blood will unmake you? Whose blood? Sophia? Calista? Some unknown her wielding power over my very existence? Is it a valid warning or merely the ramblings of a hostile entity, but it seemed to know me.'

Meanwhile, Dynatós, who had walked slightly ahead, cast Mr. Valen a glance, his shoulders hunched, as though he was afraid to step outside without supervision.

Cerberus, on the other hand, remained silent, his armored back a wall of grim duty, but his mind was full. 'His family was murdered huh, that's tragic, he seems like someone who's clawed himself up from a dark place, who's had to do things they're not proud of, much like me.'

With that thought, Cerberus took a glance at Mr. Valen's expressionless face, 'Yet his recovery from such a visible breakdown is unnervingly swift, even now I...' he took a look at his trembling hands, the same hands he'd stabbed Olga with. 'I guess he just hides it better, I'm almost compelled to ask what he's been through.'

Though Cerberus was suspicious, he filed it away, simply another inconsistency in the puzzle that was the High Scioness's peculiar slave.

They stepped out of the oppressive heat and stench of the volcanic tunnel into the cooler, rain-slicked air of the caldera ledge.

The downpour plastered Mr. Valen's dark hair to his skull, washing some of the grime from his face but doing little for his tattered clothes.

Zephyros dominated the space, a titanic silhouette against the storm-grey sky. Vlorine sat perched near its head like a queen on her throne, radiating impatience, while Sophia stood nearby, her posture regal, yet she searched the tunnel mouth anxiously.

Calista stood statuary beside her, the Veiled Oracle's blindfolded face an unreadable mask, but she was watching.

As Mr. Valen emerged, Sophia's eyes brightened, relief suffusing her as she observed his appearance. 'he's unharmed, that's good.'

But there was something about him, a tension in his frame she hadn't seen before, a flicker behind the usual empty deference in his eyes that vanished too quickly to name.

'Did something happen in the mine?' Sophia thought to herself her eyes narrowing slightly.

Suddenly-

"You try my patience," Vlorine snapped, her voice cutting through the rain. "Aboard. Now." She gestured impatiently towards the giant bird she sat on.

In response, Cerberus grunted and strode towards Zephyros, leaping onto its form before scaling onto its back.

Dynatós followed clumsily, wide-eyed with terror at the proximity to the monstrous bird. 'What is this thing? I've seen mounts but this is just a beast!'

Sophia, upon seeing Dynatós' hesitation, approached him, her form drenched yet graceful in the rain. "You must be Dynatós, you will be in my care from now on."

"Y-yes m'l-"

"It's High Scioness to you," Sophia interjected, mellifluous yet cold, her change in tone causing Mr. Valen to raise a brow.

Drawing closer, she whispered to Dynatós, her form gentle. "What you have to offer is priceless, if I find out that you're lying to me, I'll have you punished."

Because of his proximity, Mr. Valen heard every word she uttered, his lips curling slightly. 'In the end, she's just nice, being nice doesn't mean dumb, her execution lacks subtlety though, yet it is effective.'

And indeed was effective on Dynatós, prompting him to stutter, "O-of course High Scioness."

"Let's depart," Sophia nodded as she walked past Calista, Dynatós following behind her, helping her up the giant bird. He had taken to his role quite quickly, unlike some people.

Calista, however, didn't move. Her head tilted fractionally as Mr. Valen approached, puzzling him slightly.

"You seem… unsettled, boy," she stated, her voice devoid of inflection but carrying an undeniable weight. "The depths disturbed you?" She asked.

The question was casual, yet it felt like a probe as though she had sensed something in him.

With no time to think, Mr. Valen's gaze met the blank space where eyes should have been, his own expression unreadable. "What do you mean?"

At his words, Calista held her stance for a heartbeat longer.

'Those blindfolds seem dense, I'm sure she can't see me in the conventional sense,' he thought, uttering not a word. 'Am I getting so sloppy that everyone can see through me? Or is she just exceptional?'

Calista's gaze, on the other hand, drifted toward the entrance of the tunnel.

There had been a spike of… something… profound terror, perhaps, or existential dread… emanating from the tunnel moments before.

It had vanished as quickly as it appeared, but she sensed it lingering on Mr. Valen.

'It can't be it right? No, no it can't be, we still have more years,' Calista thought before stepping off the ground, emerald wings appearing behind her as she launched herself into the air, landing gracefully on the large bird's back.

Mr. Valen was the last to go, and as he prepared to leap, he noted that Sophia was offering him a hand; with that, he reduced the force of his leap so as to accept her help.

As her fingers brushed his newly regenerated ones. He felt a jolt, highly unrelated to the contact 'her blood will unmake you.'

The thought was intrusive, jarring, but as he met her concerned gaze, he forced a small, reassuring smile. "Thank you, My Lady."

Sitting atop the giant bird felt odd, its rain-slicked feathers offering a dim yet soft feeling beneath him.

Quietly, he found a spot near Sophia and Dynatós, slightly behind Cerberus, he noticed this bird were a few black rings connected to long sturdy chains, which was in turn imbedded in the birds feathers as odd as that sounded.

Seeing how everyone was holding onto these rings, Mr. Valen decided to copy as well.

Vlorine, from her vantage point near the head, uttered a sharp command. "Up!"

With that command Zephyros shifted, its muscles coiling like titanic springs beneath them.

Then, with a thunderous downbeat that sent sprays of water and loose rock flying, the colossal creature launched itself into the stormy, black sky.

The ascent was violent, a lurching climb through turbulent air.

Mr. Valen gripped the black rings, his knuckles white. Below, the volcanic mine entrance shrank rapidly, becoming a dark maw in the mountainside.

He stared down at it, not with relief, but with cold apprehension.