Though they fought fiercely, all of her team including herself fell before the mighty beast they had encountered. The moment that had ended her career had also left her with scar's, both emotional and physical, that would probably never truly heal. The monster they had been fighting was a great black horned juggernaut of a beast standing nearly half of her height above her, about 14 feet. It wielded a greataxe nearly as tall as it was, and likely nearly as heavy. Their human wizard had called the beast a Minotaur, and she had called it their meal ticket. She had been a warrior unmatched, a veteran of many a war across several worlds. She had thought the world of herself, and that had brought the ruin of her four person party, Golden Harvest, as well as her own body.

She had been utterly useless in her final fight however. With the first strike of the beast it had swiped at her with the side of its great axe. The force had flung her and embedded her into a nearby wall. Where she had been forced to watch the action unfold.

The first to fall had been their rouge. He was some small furry creature, the name of his race she didn't know., neither had she known his name. She only called her friends by their names, and so to her he was simply, Rogue. He had died trying to stick his blades between the ribs of the great horned beast which wielded an oversized great axe. His blade had found its mark between the beasts ribs of the beast's back, but had failed to penetrate its iron like skin. With one swift, possibly reflexive, kick the rogue's head had become a cloud of orange mist.

Try as she might, her body refused to move. She was locked into this position. From which she could only watch as her teammates died one by one.

The next to go was their wizard, Charles Smith. He had been the son of a well known blacksmith, but aspired to greater things especially when he learned he was gifted in the magical arts. He had drawn the beast's attention with a few to many high damaging spells. Charles had seen the Minotaurs advance towards him and erected a wall of force between them. This however proved to be an ultimately futile show of resistance. The force protected him but not his friends.

The beast charged their healer, her brother. He was a faithful of (Ender). Dante watched as she mouthed words he could not hear, the only word that replaced them being, Ender. Dante felt that the system's translations had begun shifting to accommodate the name he now had for Ysdaltan's god.

The minotaur charged the healer swinging its great axe. In a moment he would not live to regret, Charles had dropped the wall of force to fire off another high damage spell at the beast. Unfortunately, the minotaur had been waiting for that. The black minotaur dug its cloven feet into the ground coming to an abrupt stop. It turned and with a great heave, the great axe flew through the air, parallel with the ground. As Charles was already casting another spell he had not the time to raise a new wall. Charles' upper body parted from his lower body. The two halves of himself having been thrown back by the force imparted by the great axe. Charles died instantly from the shock.

Something fell from the wall in which she was embedded. Her eyes gazed down only long enough for her to see it was one of her right arms that had fallen to the ground. She was numb as the scene unfolded before her. Her mind simply was unable to believe it.

The minotaur roared as it charged the party healer, now unarmed. He hadn't stood a chance against the superior foe. Try as he might he had been unable to evade the grasp of the beast. No sooner had it grabbed him, than it began to tear him apart. It started with one of his left arms and then left leg. The screams were terrible. Her brother fought with all his might to escape but in the end only hastened his demise.

HIs screams finally ceased when the minotaur placed his head in its mouth and bit down, severing his head. Her brother's body dropped as the black beast swallowed his head with a gulp. Then it turned its attention to her. The beast almost seemed to smile as it slowly advanced towards her. It raised up it's left hand and the great axe flew from across the room to rejoin its master. The black minotaur stood before her, its scent overpowering such that she could hardly breathe.

The monster gave some form of a chuckle as it swung the great axe parallel to the ground just high enough to be her thighs. The great axe swiped through the wall of stone blocks like a heated spear through a fat animal. Apparently a minor expression on her homeworld.

She was flung free of the wall as were a dozen large stone blocks. She landed on her back upon the floor, her three remaining arms splayed out, now missing both legs. A block from the wall that had been flung by the blow crushed her right arms rendering them useless. She tilted her head up ignoring the pain and watched in horror as the beast picked up and promptly consumed her severed legs. "It certainly had a taste for flesh." She had noted.

It moved once more to her and with another great swing of its axe severed her only remaining left arm. When it was done consuming that arm it looked down upon her for a moment. "The damn thing SMILED!" She exclaimed before continuing. The beast retreated into the darkness from whence it had come. "It didn't care enough to eat me! That monster wanted me to suffer alone in the dark until I died!" She was crying now. Dante felt horrible. He knew now it had been a bad idea to ask her about what had happened.

When he attempted to apologize however, the Ysdaltan woman embraced him. "No one has ever treated me as a person like you and (Oscar) have. Thank you!" Her voice was firm though its normal choir like sound had become more jumbled as her story had continued on. Hours passed until someone came and found me, (Oscar). Oscar and the group he was traveling with heard her story and went to kill the beast. Oscar took her out of the darkness and gave her a place to stay. She later learned that the beast had been eaten by a large winged lizard. It had not gone down easy though.

Dante asked her, "Would you like to have your limbs back?" Her expression became one of confusion, "I don't understand. I already have them back don't you see?" She patted him in several places with her magitech arms and wrapped herself around his waist with her artificial legs. "I mean the real thing. If you could would you want your flesh and blood limbs restored?" Dante pressed the question. His line of inquiry eliciting several seconds of silence from her. "Sure but that is way too expensive for me to consider."

Her words sparked his imagination, "Do you mean that there are ways to get them back but their too expensive?" Dante asked, her face becoming one of annoyance. "That's what I said." She plainly stated. Dante produced a blue box with the text description of the spell, Regenerate, handing it to her. As she read the blue box she occasionally glanced up at him. Dante leaned back and laid on the king sized bed. "What is this?" She asked as she turned to face him.

Dante looked at her and said, "I can cast that spell. I would gladly cast it for you if you wanted." Her eyes were wide and her jaw was agap. "I never thought I..." She was stunned that she could not even complete her sentence. Dante waited a minute for her to say something more. Dante mentally kicked himself a bit for ruining the mood. Then again these things were never really as hot as one often imagined them to be.

"I'll think about it. Give me some time. But in the meantime..." She said as her hands began to wander around Dante's form, 'That's more like it...' Dante thought, though he would have never voiced that thought. Kind as he tried to be he was still a guy with desires. Said desires often conflicted. Well, at least one desire was satisfied tonight.

Dante slept after staying awake long into the night. 'I'll go meet my parents in the morning.' Dante thought as sleep embraced him.

There was darkness. At first Dante was unaware of his surroundings, or lack thereof, until he felt like he was falling. Dante's eyes shot wide open and instead of the comfortable bedroom he had hoped for, only darkness greeted his gaze. No sooner had he opened his eyes however did he stop. Where a moment ago he had felt nothing beneath his feet, now he felt a smooth surface beneath his feet. Dante stood from his kneeling position. "Where am I? Is this another construct?" Dante asked aloud, but received no response.

"No this is different. I can see my hud here." Dante commented as indeed his hud was present. His minimap however, simply had text filling it. A single word stating, Disabled. Dante leaned over and tried to touch the smooth floor. His hand meeting only air. "That's not disconcerting at all..." Dante sarcastically said. Even with the darkness that surrounded him he could see his own body perfectly fine. There seemed to be some invisible light source illuminating him from every direction. 'The only way is forward.' Dante thought as he tried to take a step forward into the darkness that surrounded him.

His foot found no purchase, and he was grateful to find that whatever his foot had been resting upon had not disappeared. Dante stood once more upon both feet staring forward into the darkness. 'Is this that unknown road? There is nothing here, it's like a void...' Dante thought, suddenly a new idea sticking to him,"or an abyss." Dante stated. Dante felt fear as he didn't know what it would mean if he was right. Dante hardened his heart and looked down into the darkness. "If you look into the abyss, the abyss looks back into you." Dante said as he gazed down into the eternal darkness below.

Dante's attention was suddenly torn away from what was beneath him as a black figure spoke from in front of him. "You came." The black figure spoke in a language that Dante had never heard. Yet he understood what had been said. Dante out of shock tried to take a step back. Surprisingly his foot found purchase giving him a small sense of relief. "Welcome Dante you are of the lucky few who have been invited to join The Abyss!" The black figure proclaimed. Dante did not respond immediately. This being was definately giving him bad vibes. It reminded him of Lucifer in the lowest circle of hell.

However, his curiosity got the better of him and so he tried to examine the entity standing before him. He felt his skill reach out and then it failed.

No later than he felt it connect with this black figure did the skill simply fail. The entity appeared almost as if they were covered in vantablack. Which is to say, they looked 2 dimensionally black, flat. If it were not for the unseen light source Dante felt it would have been impossible for him to differentiate between the entity and the surrounding space. Dante spoke, "What is this Abyss? Why was I chosen?" Dante asked cautiously. A thought crossed his mind, "Are you the one who called me?"

The figure spoke once more, "Yes I was they who called you here. You have begun to innovate the road of wizards. Many such individuals can be found here. This is partly the reason this offer was extended to you. The other part being, you unlocked light as an affinity. If there is light there must also be darkness. This place is darkness eternal." The figure said. Dante remembered the spells his lady had granted him. He knew the same spells as a level one cleric in D&D. The exception was, he knew all the cantrips a cleric could cast.

"Certainly many more have met that condition. Why choose me specifically?" Dante asked honestly, curious and slightly disappointed with the entity's previous answer. "Many have but few among them have been made this offer. It is proposed to you as you are one who has already stared long into the abyss." The black figure said. Dante carefully weighed its answer when an idea struck him.

Dante tried something he would very soon regret. Dante cast the level one spell, Detect Evil and Good. Immediately Dante felt as if a red hot claws were raking across his brain. No sooner had he cast the spell than the damage from what it detected caused him to lose concentration upon the spell. "What the fuck are you!" Dante screamed as blood flowed from his nose, eyes, and ears. The blood dripped down, striking an invisible platform between his feet where none had been previously.

Dante felt fear of what stood before him. The spell he had cast should not have been able to do him damage. Yet the instant this entity was within its area of effect he felt excruciating pain. Not only that, the spell had determined this entity to be everything. Everything that the spell was supposed to detect, aberrations, celestials, elementals, fey, fiends, or undead. It was detected as all of them. Dante saw that he had lost 10% of his health from what had just happened.

"I am, that I am..." The figure stated simply as they splayed out their arms, holding them away from their form. Dante had no words for the being before him. He was genuinely frightened. 'I don't think it's the system translating this things words.' Dante thought, his fear only growing as his mind pondered the implications. The figure stepped forward until it stood near face to face with Dante. "To walk this road you must be willing to fall." The figure spoke as their form melted away, becoming one with the darkness.

Dante stood for a moment breathing heavily. His adrenaline racing from what had just occurred. "Fall? What the fuck?! Why would I want to fall into the abyss!" Dante yelled in frustration as he then proceeded to wipe his face with his hands. "To learn..." The voice returned for a moment to say, though the figure did not. "To learn? To learn what!?" Dante yelled back into the darkness impotently. "You know the roads, but what you don't know is some of the principles behind them..." The voice spoke back in a whispered knowing voice.

Dante was taken aback, "The principles behind the roads?" He asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. "I knew you were the right choice. Have you ever wondered why some roads are longer than others?" The voice spoke in his mind. Dante waited a moment weighing what it had just done before responding, "I assumed it was because of increased costs, diminishing returns." The voice laughed for a moment. "Yes that is correct but not the whole answer. You see all roads are not as flat as one would tend to think." The voice said in his mind.

"Not a road to walk...but a mountain to climb." Dante said, only for the voice to laugh ever louder giving Dante a mild headache as it did so. "The farther you tread the steeper the road gets. Until eventually you are climbing to the sky. Reaching ever further for ever greater prizes. This place is the opposite at least in a sense. The road grows ever steeper downward. Until the road is a cliff you must descend. The wisest, or most foolish, choose the fastest way to travel, falling." The voice finished its brief explanation.

Dante considered what he had just been told. Dante needed time to think this through so he decided to do something he had been putting off. Dante was about to open his roads menu when he felt himself drop several feet before landing once more upon unseen flooring.

The first is always on the house...

As he read that notice an idea struck him. An idea came from this abyss, this entity. Dante even dared to call it a divine entity of some kind. Dante held the image of a road made of blood in his mind. Dante closed his eyes and took a step forward. His foot found purchase, and when he opened his eyes he found a long crimson road laid out before him trailing off into the dark.

You have taken your first step down the Road of Blood, however you must travel further before you can receive a reward...

Dante smiled, "It was never said the abyss itself was evil. The people in it, maybe." Dante mused for a moment before a more serious question surfaced in his mind. "What are road points?" Dante asked the air, or what he thought was air anyway. He hoped to get an answer and did. "They are potential given a form. You create potential by your actions, when your skills level up. The roads allow you to change potential into action. The weak can become strong, the slow become fast, the student becomes the master. So on and so on." The voice spoke into Dante's mind.

Dante raised an eyebrow at the rather chaty and knowledgeable entity, maybe he could get some very valuable information from him. More valuable than that which he had already gotten. "Who made the system?" Dante asked, wondering what the answer would be, "The system made the system. Those who made...You must dive deeper if you wish to learn that..." The voice cutting itself off as it had seemed to realize what he had been attempting.

Dante held back a laugh as he smiled, 'Worth a try.' Dante thought as he began to walk forward. A few steps ahead of him Dante saw what appeared to be a small crimson orb laying embedded into the blood road. He stepped up and tried to pull the orb up but found it was to no avail. Dante tried to use his new telekinesis to pick it up. This failed, utterly impotently. Dante looked back to where the road had begun and forward to the end, which he could see, surprisingly.

"Is this the reward?" Dante asked but this time the voice gave no reply. Dante frowned after a moment of waiting, and took another step forward over the orb. His right foot hit the ground beyond the orb like any other step. It was not until his left foot passed the orb did it glow brightly. It floated up from its set position catching Dante's eye as it did so. Dante turned to acknowledge the floating, glowing crimson orb. Dante felt no hostility or malevolence from the orb so he reached out and grasped it. No sooner had he done so than the orb had seemed to vanish into his skin. A notice arrived.

The road you walk is stained with the blood of you and your enemies alike, but you will not yield. +3 End...

Dante smiled and then frowned slightly. Dante looked forward, down the crimson road. He walked past each of the next orbs, each only about 5 steps from one another.

Those who would spill your blood are numerous, you must be strong. +2 Str...

For you shall fight until every drop of your blood has been spilt. +20 Health...

You walk towards a robed figure whose identity is known to you...

Dante saw Rosana standing at the end of the road waiting for him with a smile. She stood in the middle of a large circular end point for the road. He picked up the pace.

No longer do you fear the bloody road, instead you charge forward ever onward! +2 End

You have survived a bloody encounter and though you fell to your own demons, you have risen once more! +25 Health...

Dante crossed into the large circle at the end of the road to meet his lady. The final orb that he had hopped over in his hurry to get to her had been the size of a bowling ball. Behind Dante the orb lifted and shined with crimson light before it too raced forth. The orb passed through Dante and arrived at the center of the circular crimson platform, where it hovered at about chest level.

Congratulations! You have completed the Road of Blood I! The Road of Blood II opens to you...

Your affinity for Blood has increased...

You have obtained the Uncommon skill, Blood Sacrifice!...

Blood Sacrifice- For every point of health you choose to give to this skill you recieve 4 points of mana. This skill does not level...

Synergy detected...

Recalculating...

Dante looked to Rosana who simply smiled, and gave a small nod.

Your skills, Blood Sacrifice, Blood Absorption, and Over Heal, wish to merge. Will you allow it?

Dante pondered for a second trying to think of what they would become. What worried Dante somewhat was that the orb was still there. It had not disappeared like the others had. Dante felt he needed resolution, that he needed to be 100% in his decision. So it was that Dante stepped forth to the large sphere hovering before his lady. Dante smiled as he put his doubts and fears aside. He placed his hand upon the surprisingly solid sphere. He felt something stir both within him and the sphere. "Yes." Dante spoke.

Calculating outcome...

Dante felt something substantial move from him to the orb. He saw Rosana's eyes begin to glow as too did the large crimson orb. The orb divided itself into three smaller orbs. The first orb had a symbol upon it of a man from which came a small field around him. 'Over heal?' Dante thought with curiosity. He turned to the other two. Upon one he saw a hand with what appeared to be veins of blood leading either into or out of it. 'Blood Absorption.' Dante thought this one a bit more clear. The final sphere had upon it the symbol of a dagger dripping blood. 'Blood Sacrifice.' Dante was both somewhat concerned by the imagery upon the orbs and fascinated. Were these symbols hints to greater functions of the skills?

Slowly the orbs began to spin around the center between them. Their speed slowly grows faster and faster, like two black holes racing around each other until... they fused. Now the fused obs sprang forth passing into Dante, as he felt what was lost had been found again.

Congratulations! Your skills have fused to become the Rare skill, Sacrificial pool Lvl. 1!...

You have been granted the sub skill, Dagger of Sacrifice Lvl. 1!...

Dagger of Sacrifice- You summon a fine dagger, of mutable qualities, to your hand. Blood spilled by this dagger from living creatures, with blood, causes said blood to fill your Sacrificial pool. Damage increases with level of the skill. Damage dealt to other creatures by this dagger, excluding the user, is spread between their health, mana, and stamina. User may choose what to sacrifice to the dagger. Damage against unwilling targets, enemies, will be reduced if they possess skills that would normally reduce similar forms of damage. Skill requires no mana...

Sacrificial pool- Previous skills effects have been maintained....

Dante was curious why it gave no further information on the Sacrificial pool, but then the answer came to him. Well rather, showed itself. The crimson circle upon which he stood retreated beneath him though he did not fall. The 10 foot wide circle became a 10 foot wide by 5 foot deep, crimson bowl. The rest of Sacrificial pools information presented itself.

Sacrificial pool- Previous skills effects have been maintained. Blood, mana, and stamina mix in the Pool of Sacrifice. Your health, mana, and stamina are now bound together. Your health, mana, and stamina may now exceed their normal limits by a 10 points per skill level. User may only sacrifice directly to the pool via the Dagger of Sacrifice.

For every 4 points of mana sacrificed to this skill you may, immediately, regain 1 point of health. For every point of health you sacrifice to this skill you may, immediately, receive 4 points of mana. For every point of health or mana spent you may, immediately, regain 2 points of stamina.

Every point of the user's health, mana, and stamina that they regenerate over their new, normal maximum, instead fills the pool created by this skill.

Sacrifices from creatures of greater physical or magical capabilities such as blood/health, mana, and/or stamina, leads to greater results. What you spend need not immediately be used. Capacity of skill increases by 10 per level of the skill.

Dante was shocked at the skill. What shocked him more was that the bowl beneath him was beginning to fill with liquid. Crimson blood, mixed with several colors of mana, and a neon green liquid he suspected represented his stamina. Dante looked to Rosana. "Does this skill basically let me trade my health, mana, and stamina around as needed AND have reserves of each for the skill?" He asked with an expression of disbelief. Rosana smiled a wide and warming smile. "Within certain limits of course." She said coyly.

Dante smiled at her as he tried to summon the dagger. He felt and observed in the pool down below that it had begun to empty for a moment. After about 100 health, mana, and stamina had been emptied from the pool leaving it nearly dry. Then a dagger did appear in his right hand. What appeared in his hands was a more traditional, european style, dagger. However, the dagger seemed to be almost ethereal. "I thought this skill was supposed to be free?" Dante asked Rosana quizzically.

"No skill is ever truly free. There is an initial cost to the skill, after that you can summon and unsummon it at will. Imagine it as a bound weapon. Also..." Rosana's speech faltered for a moment before she continued.

"I hope you don't intend to use that on me." Rosana stated as her smile faltered. Dante looked up from the dagger toward roward Rosana before taking a step back from her, "I wouldn't use this on you. But I am going to test it." Dante stated as he directed the dagger to his left arm.

A single line of the daggers description came back to him. 'User may choose what to sacrifice to the dagger.' Dante heard no complaint from his lady but out of mild concern he chose the dagger to take mana. Slowly he pressed the dagger's tip into his skin. The dagger passed through his skin with no resistance. What surprised him was that there was no pain. Small multicolor veins raced up the dagger until they met Dante's hand holding the dagger. Dante pulled back the dagger and found there was no wound. He rubbed the area just to make sure, but found no damage.

Dante looked down and saw that the pool had been filled with more of the mana colored liquids. The amount of mana surpassing both the crimson health and neon green stamina combined. Dante brought his attention back to the dagger. This time he closed his eyes and stabbed the dagger into his arm, his decision unchanged. Dante felt the dagger's hilt, hit his arm. Still there was no pain. Dante opened his eyes and looked down as the multicolor veins of light raced up the daggers blade to the hilt and then his right hand.

Dagger of Sacrifice has leveled up! Lvl. 2!...

He watched down below as mana or varying colors poured into the bowl from holes in the side he hadn't noticed previously. Dante examined his arm to find there was no dagger sticking out the other side. He pulled the dagger out causing the flow to stop. He inspected the dagger and confirmed it was indeed more than long enough to go through his arm.

Next he tried stamina, still there was no pain. Down below neon green liquid flowed into the crimson bowl. Dante grew bold. He dragged the dagger down his arm, but still there was no damage. However, the flow of neon liquid did increase when he did that. Still there was no wound even as he dragged the dagger through his arm. Dante pulled the dagger from his arm with zero effort. Dante hardened his heart, chose for the dagger to take health and pressed the tip against his left forearm. He felt a twinge of pain but no blood came forth. Crimson lines raced up the dagger's blade reaching for his hand.

Dante pulled the dagger back and saw for a moment a drop of his blood upon the dagger's tip, then it was gone. Seemingly it had been absorbed by the dagger. Dante looked to his arm to see a small cut that had already begun to heal. Even the bit of blood that had come out began to be reabsorbed into his body through his skin. Down below a gentle trickle of crimson ceased to flow from the several inlets that allowed his sacrifices to flow into the bowl.

Dagger of Sacrifice has leveled up! Lvl. 3!...

Dante noticed the level had increased again, 'I wonder how long it will take for the main skill to level.' Dante mused as he dismissed the dagger. Dante looked to Rosana smiling and stated clearly, "Thank you for your time but I would like to wake up now please." Rosana's smile returned as she gave a small chuckle. With a wave of her hand Dante blinked from the Abyss, and once more he was embraced by dreamless sleep.