The Guardian gods-Chapter 263

Ikenga frowned, the gravity of their situation sinking in. "So, what do we do now? We can’t summon the dead, and our divine powers are resisted by the realm itself."

Keles nodded, her face still pale. "She warned us about our actions here. The abyss does not tolerate ignorance lightly. Every step, every action must be calculated and respectful of the ancient rules governing this place."

Ikenga looked around, his mind racing. "If we can’t rely on our usual methods, we’ll need another way to navigate and gather information. Perhaps we can find an ally among the inhabitants, someone who knows the lay of the land."

While Ikenga was thinking that, a resident of this abyss layer was already staring at them. A minotaur with four eyes and four hands could be seen standing on a hill, its nose twitching, trying to catch the sweet scent looming around.

It soon laid its eyes on Ikenga and Keles. Confusion flashed across the demon’s eyes as the scent and its inheritance memory told it that those two were gods. "What are gods doing in the abyss?" the demon thought to itself as it licked its lips.

He didn’t immediately act but kept watching. It took some time before it concluded that the two were lost or rather didn’t know where they were going.

Ikenga, feeling an uneasy presence, turned his head slightly and caught sight of the minotaur. He nudged Keles gently. "We’re being watched."

Keles subtly followed his gaze and spotted the creature. "What do we do? It might be our only chance to get information."

Ikenga nodded. "I agree, but it doesn’t look like it wants to talk. Look at its mouth drooling."

Keles considered their options, glancing back at the minotaur whose eyes were now locked onto them with a mix of curiosity and hunger. "Let’s try to communicate first. If things go south, we’ll have to defend ourselves."

With cautious steps, Ikenga and Keles approached the minotaur. "We mean no harm," Ikenga called out, his voice steady despite the tension. "We seek guidance and information."

The minotaur’s eyes narrowed as it disappeared from its place, only to reappear mid-air between Keles and Ikenga, its palm open, ready to slam them down.

As one of its palms was about to touch Keles’ face, her features turned to shadow, the hand passing through her. At the same moment, she counterattacked by placing her hand on the minotaur’s stomach. She was instinctively about to push the minotaur’s soul out when she remembered her last encounter. Like a ghost, her hand went through the minotaur’s stomach.

The minotaur froze, wide-eyed, mid-air. Its four eyes took in the cold looks of both gods. Pain flashed in its eyes as it looked down at one of its feet. The heated earth had grown a hand that held it in place—Ikenga’s move when he saw the minotaur attacking. The rocky hand’s grip tightened on the minotaur.

Ikenga and Keles suddenly shifted from their positions, a wise decision as a huge mouth filled with teeth erupted from where they had been standing, swallowing the minotaur. As the massive jaws closed, a creature resembling a shark burst from the heated floor. Mid-air, the shark’s eyes locked onto Ikenga and Keles with hunger.

Anger flashed in Ikenga’s eyes as he stretched out his hand, and a huge spike grew from the ground, piercing through the shark’s stomach. Before Ikenga could react further, a team of gargoyle-like creatures flew in from the sky, tearing the shark to pieces. One flew in too fast as it slammed on the ground, Ikenga’s shadow moved a bit as something was pulled from the gargoyle that was standing up dizzily.

Ikenga and Keles were too occupied to notice what was going on. A cacophony of barking sounds echoed from the distance, quickly approaching where the gods stood. Ikenga and Keles exchanged a glance, their expressions steely. They knew they were far from safe.

Keles pulled from the void where a scythe made of pure darkness appeared in her hand. She tightened her grip, eyes scanning the horizon. "Looks like more trouble is on the way."

Ikenga nodded, his muscles tensed for the next wave. "We need to find somewhere safe, quick. We have no idea how many more are to come."

Before they could strategize further, a pack of hellhounds, their eyes glowing with infernal light, burst into the clearing. Each hound’s maw dripped with molten lava, their growls vibrating through the air.

Keles moved first, her shadowy form flickering in and out of sight as she danced among the hellhounds, her scythe a blur of movement. Each strike was precise, and the hounds fell one after another, losing their necks to her dark blade.

Ikenga wasn’t idle. One of his hands turned into tendrils of red wood, drilling into the dead bodies and heads of the fallen hounds. "Get on," he said quickly to Keles as his hand turned back to normal. At the same time, his body fell on all fours as he morphed into a huge hellhound.

Keles, in her shadowy form, got on Ikenga’s back. He immediately kicked off, springing into the distance. Ikenga’s speed left everything behind, but as they thought they were safe, a shadow loomed overhead. They looked up to see a massive figure descending from the sky—a winged demon, its body covered in scales and its eyes burning with malevolent intelligence.

The demon reached out its claw to grab hold of Ikenga and Keles. That same scythe appeared in Keles’s hand, growing in size as it slashed at the claw, cutting it clean. Red molten blood fell from the cut, drenching Keles and Ikenga. Except for the slight warmth, both gods didn’t mind. Ikenga kept moving until he saw a deep trench ahead, which he had no hesitation diving into.

The huge shadow above them had long since flown off once it lost its claw.

As Ikenga landed in the trench, Keles got off of him, and he turned back to his humanoid form. A seat grew out from the ground for both him and Keles as they sat in it in silence. The thought that they might be here for a long time before finding someone ready to talk hovered in their minds.

Ikenga’s shadow squirmed, causing his eyes to flash purple. "Come out," Ikenga said to his shadow.

Keles was surprised, but when a figure swam out from Ikenga’s shadow, she understood. The arch-cursed Spotlight Phantom, who made his place in Ikenga’s shadow, appeared as he took a knee before both gods.

Ikenga, looking at the cursed being in front of him and asked, "You said you could be of help in finding out information. How?"

Phantom bowed as he said, "Earlier, when your grace took the appearance of the hound, it reminded me of one of my abilities I got from the fame seeker."

Ikenga looked thoughtful before asking, "You mean chosen facade?"

"Yes, your grace," Phantom responded to Ikenga.

"What difference is it from my earlier transformation?" Ikenga asked, still not comprehending how Phantom was to be of help.

Phantom hesitated, unsure if he would offend Ikenga with his words. But looking at the two gods who were eagerly waiting for his answer, Phantom bowed his head and said, "While your earlier transformation was great, your highness, it lacked authenticity. Those creatures are different; they all have an air around them that can hardly be replicated by just looking like them."

Ikenga’s eyes narrowed in thought. "So, you’re saying this chosen facade can make you indistinguishable from the real thing?"

"Yes, your grace," Phantom replied. "The chosen facade not only replicates the appearance but also the essence, the aura of the creature. It makes me one of them, at least for a time."

Keles leaned forward, her interest piqued. "And this will allow you to move through the Abyss unnoticed?"

Phantom nodded. "Yes, my lady. It will give me the guise of a native, allowing me to gather information and move more freely."

Ikenga looked thoughtful, "He was the god of curses so such a thing should be possible for him, right?" At the same time, Ikenga hesitated to use a curse on himself, remembering what happened the last time he did so.

After his short bout with his brother, Ikenga realized his curse was borderline bending rules and reality around him to achieve its purpose. With Crepuscular, he was at a disadvantage because of Crepuscular’s speed, so he cursed himself to be untouched. The curse took effect immediately; for a moment, no matter what happened or how fast something happened, he couldn’t be touched.

But a curse was no ordinary power and came with a price, in earlier cases it was Isolation. Isolation that extended to even cutting off his connection with Nature. Right now, Ikenga was tempted to curse himself with the chosen facade but couldn’t, as the price for such an ability was right in front of him.