Runes - A Tale Of The Abyss 47 Chapter 42 - Crack...

The chains slowly lowered themselves but twisted like snakes around the... Arch-Angel.

"Smart move. I presume you don't even know how to use your magic?"

"Fire go kaboom is all I can manage."

The girl snickered and giggled.

"Yeah I get the gist of it."

She slowly composed herself.

"My chains are imbedded with the mana of the gods. You have to reverse it. Contradict it. The power of Contradiction is to create the opposite mana from what you have manipulate its contradiction. Now. Touch the shackles. Feel the mana."

Griff's hands slowly touched the shackles and suddenly all he saw became pure white again.

"That is a divine mana construct. Something only very strong mages and every god can pull off. Listen to me. Concentrate. Don't be lost inside... that'd be the end of both of us."

'I guess I'm not in a position to be surprised that now my life is in MORE danger that it is... I'll attribute that to my idiocy!'

"You can say that again."

"You can read my fucking mind?!"

"Only because you touched the shackles. Forget that for now, minor details! Listen to my voice. This divine mana construct is the artificial terrain or world created to subdue a being of a higher plane, me per se. Everything is mana. Now, contradict it."

'It's not that fucking easy!'

"Nothing is. We can just hope you can before that girl you brought dies of starvation."

Griff clicked his tongue and looked around him. The mana was immensely powerful and gave off a calming... satisfying feeling. It was warm, definitely not the mana he expected to hold such a being in place.

"Yes! You're getting there. Think."

Orderly. This place was orderly, with nothing in sight but pure white and the mana contained in it.

"Bingo."

Suddenly Griff could see hundreds of thin threads of mana circling around him in perfect order like a snake.

Griff raised his hand and squeezed it, managing to hold a thread. This wasn't enough. He held the gate to the entire mana pool here, but now what... contradict?

'Contradict... as in bring chaos? Hm. I mean trying can't hurt at this point as I'll be stuck here if I can't break this thing. Chaos. Disarray. Darkness. The Abyss...'

Griff's eyebrows cracked downwards slightly in anger and pain as he felt a huge jolt of power surge through him. His hair had turned entirely black during the duration of this time.

Slowly but gradually the landscape around him started to have cracks. And the comforting feeling disappeared. Griff's tension was rising. He was going to destroy this serene world...

"DO IT!"

It started small. It was as if glass started to crack, but slowly and gradually the entire world was covered in cracks.

It all... broke down like a glass house. The chaos was... everywhere per se. The white was now nothingness. Pitch black surrounded Griff. He felt a falling sensation as the shattered bits of the white world fell around him.

He looked down. There was... something...

"I guess I can't leave you to die..."

Suddenly he felt an arm latch onto his shirt and pull him full force.

Suddenly he opened his eyes. He was back underground. He was panting and he felt extremely tired.

The shackles were all gone. The woman was standing in front of him with her hands on her hips, smirking.

"You're a cheeky bastard, but I think you and I can get along... I don't have enough power to go outside right now, if I were spotted in this state it's game over."

She slowly walked towards Griff, and her wings extended. The white feathers falling all around the throne room like structure.

Griff was still trying to get himself together after using that magic. He couldn't even stand up properly.

The woman crouched in front of him, holding her knees, and opened her eyes for the first time. Her eyes were pure violet. Griff felt... warm looking at them.

"My name is Arch-Angel Caphriel, Child of Eternal Rejection. Or would you prefer I call you Griff?"

She slowly extended a hand for Griff to take.

"I want to team up with you. A mutual relationship. I can't go outside yet, so I will be taking residence inside your Origin, the place where your mana originates from. Do you accept?"

Griff shook his head and snapped out of the trance.

"Caphriel... damn that name's too complicated. I'll call her Caphy. What do I get in return though?"

She grinned.

"You keep your current life."

"Funny how you say that. Didn't you say you need me? And as you said that girl out there will die of hunger soon without me so you will still be stuck down here... unless you take the risk of going out. I honestly don't know about your problems, and I don't care..."

Caphriel smiled, as opposed to her usually snarky and sarcastic attitude.

"I'm at least glad you aren't a complete fool, Griff. You... managed to surprise me just now. Very well! You have interested me! I'll lend you my knowledge as an Arch-Angel in your search for your meaning in life!"

She extended her hand once more as she slowly stood up.

Griff's face slowly twisted into a smile, a genuine one. His hand reached towards her and he shook her hand.

"I accept... Caphriel."

Caphriel simply smirked and suddenly exploded into hundreds of feathers.

[I'm making myself at home now kid.]

'What the hell.'

[Hey, you gave permission, I did my thing. Come on, we don't have all day! Let's get out of this hellhole.]

Griff sighed with a small smirk.

'I'll be getting the girl first.'

[Good. Come on kid...]

And so... Griff's life suddenly was enveloped in chaos... because of a certain snarky angel.

Chapter end