Chapter 103 Voice Of The Abyss

Abyssus was a lonely spirit. Having lived in the darkness his entire life, he had gotten used to having no one to speak to. The spider queen that ruled over the Dark Abyss Spiders was not enough to serve as entertainment. She was rude and lewd, and irritated Abyssus.

After getting bored of interacting with her, Abyssus had retreated into the core of the dungeon where he was born. An unknown amount of time passed as he slept within the familiar embrace of darkness. He slept until he was awakened by a sound that he was vaguely familiar with.

Laughter.

He had heard laughter before whenever the spider queen, Acromantula, mocked his predicament.

'Laughter? How can I hear laughter within the core?' He wondered to himself as he roused himself from his slumber. Peering out of the dungeon core, his vision showed his a clear view of the Core Room from above.

'What is this creature? And so many more behind him!' Fascination bloomed within Abyssus as he watched the skeletal figure turn to the creatures behind him and ask.

"How do I look?"

'He looks powerful.' Abyssus thought just as another figure went down on his knees and said the same words. Abyssus was fascinated as he watched the beings respond to the armored skeleton with reverence.

'They revere him. He commands them...' Abyssus realized slowly. 'Wait! No one can get into the Core Room without defeating Acromantula!' With a start, Abyssus remembered the instructions that had been imprinted onto his existence at his birth.

'ACROMANTULA!' He boomed as his mind reached out to the spider queen, only for the other end of the link to come up empty. Acromantula was gone. That meant he was finally free!

Happiness. A new emotion, but one that he somehow knew well enough, bloomed within his form as he realized that he could finally be free.

'But... How?' His happiness diminished somewhat when he realized that he did not know what to do. A new realization dawned on him. 'I must... follow?' He realized.

With that realization came a flurry of unlocked thoughts and emotions. New instructions from his maker poured into him, and he understood how to proceed.

"Well done, Undead!"

For the first time since he had awoken this time, his voice physically boomed out loud, startling the undead and his servants.

"Do not be frightened! You have already cleared the dungeon, and you have proven your bravery! Now, you may claim your true reward!" Although Abyssus had spent most of his existence sleeping to pass away the time, he was actually quite powerful. Although the power he could exert was not the same as the power others could.

As he spoke, he began to exercise his control over the dungeon core. The white, spherical orb began to tremble, and a black dot appeared in the center of the white sphere, slowly spreading. In seconds, the white had been overtaken, and black dominated the trembling sphere.

"W-what's going on?!" The skeleton that was wearing the Abyss Set questioned, turning around. Abyssus watched with growing fascination as the soldiers around him suddenly seemed to be absorbed by him, and he turned to run away.

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?! I HAVE YET TO GIVE YOU YOUR REWARD!" Abyssus boomed and used his authority to seal off the portal that led out of the Core Room. The white portal vanished just before the undead was able to reach it.

Crack!

Just then, the the sphere finally shattered, and black smoke exploded outwards, swarming towards Leon.

Fire and wind whipped around Leon as he tried to fend off the approaching cloud of darkness, but it was all for naught as it slipped in through the nonexistent cracks of his armor.

"Gurgh!" Fire burned through Leon's chest as the smoke drilled into his core. "No!" He willed, but nothing happened. The black smoke dug into him mercilessly, before disappearing a few seconds later, leaving Leon writhing and turning on the floor.

'He feels pain, but this pain is good. Only through this shall he grow strong enough.' Abyssus thought as he felt his consciousness shift. He felt the burn too, but he did not feel it like Leon. He was a different being from Leon, so he felt things differently.

Black fire engulfed Leon as he lay writhing on the floor. The reason for all this pain was unknown to Leon, but it was clear to Abyssus. The two of them were merging to become on. Well, not one, but more of a master, servant connection. Abyssus would serve his new master, Leon to the fullest of his abilities, while Leon's growth would in turn grant Abyssus new power. It was, in a sense, a symbiotic relationship.

Minutes passed as the black fire slowly calmed down, melding into the Abyss Set. A small portion of it merged with Leon's core, and when it was all over, the pain finally washed off Leon.

"Urgh..." With a groan, Leon slowly came to his senses. He wearily raised his head and looked around. He could not see much. The whiteness was still there, but he could see fragments of a glass like material scattered around.

"What... Happened?" He asked himself as he held his head, sitting up. He pulled off the visor from his head and tossed it to the side, but instead of clattering on the ground, it morphed into a dark liquid and flew back to him, merging with the rest of his armor.

"What?" He gaped at the armor.

"A perk of the Abyss Set." A strange, but very familiar voice said within his mind.

"YOU!" Leon jumped to his feet, startled. It was that same voice he had heard before the sphere broke and the black smoke assaulted him.

"Indeed, it is I. We are now one, and I shall serve you until eternity." Abyssus replied dutifully.

"NO! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Leon boomed and a frightening aura spread out of him. The ground beneath him cracked and splintered as it was exposed to his considerable might.