Abyssal Awakening

Reaching out with his hand, four Sigils manifested on his body as the Abyss itself seemed to bow down to his power.

The space surrounding Alice\'s attack started to fracture and crack as darkness spilt out, enveloping the expanding nexus of destruction in its shadow.

With a single flick of his wrist, the shadows crushed the attack, leaving not even a speck of the original attack.

Sighing out heavily, Thane scratched his hair while glancing down at Alice with uncertainty. That attack, that flame she manifested.

\'That flame tried to breach the fabrics of this realm. The connection between the Abyss and the Surface. In some aspects… It mirrors my authority to some degree. If she could control it further, perhaps she may even be able to tear open a bridge between this realm and the Surface.\'

"So how would you rate that Nova Core?" Alice asked with a slight chuckle despite the fatigue and coldness she could feel within her body.

Part of her motivation to experiment with this attack was to prove herself to some capacity. She wanted to show that she was more than just a 3 out of 10 when compared to a decent Hunter.

And to meet the expectations of her guardian, Allura, she wanted to show Thane that she was more than just a 1 out of 10 copy of her.

Raising an eyebrow, Thane couldn\'t believe that Alice was asking him to rate her attack after it had just tried to tear a hole through this realm.

Shaking his head, he massaged his eyes for a moment before opening his mouth.

"A slight improvement. 5- no. 6 out of 10 when compared to a decent Hunter. As for Allura… Well, it stopped being the same skill once you started to use your body as the conduit. But if Allura was able to replicate what you did at her level, I\'d say it\'s a 4 out of 10. Not bad but still lacking since you can injure yourself." Thane smiled helplessly and reached for Alice\'s head.

Alice definitely reminded him of Allura based on her sense of recklessness and eagerness to experiment with her attacks. In that aspect, the two were practically indistinguishable. Of course, Allura had mellowed out quite a bit in the recent years but the Allura before was just as, if not more reckless than Alice.

Hearing this, Alice smiled happily as strength left her body. Her vision blurred as a stinging sensation could be felt on her back.

The rewards of her hunt was being engraved upon her body as darkness took her mind.

Not letting her fall, Thane lifted her up into a princess carry rather than grabbing her like a sack of potatoes.

"Oi brat. Come down, we\'re going to make our way back. I don\'t know if you want to be around this place when the lord of the Ironforge comes to check out that situation personally. Especially with the damage that Alice had caused to his foundry." Thane called out while glancing back at the destruction brought forth by two casts of Alice\'s skill.

\'I\'ll give them an extra push before I leave. Seems like I was worrying a bit too much.\' He thought to himself as Ria teleported next to him.

His next steps were to take these two back to the city, sort out the issue with the Lord so they could travel without worry and give them some final tips. Once that was done, he can return to the surface.

###

Once again, Alice found herself floating in her own mental space. In this void, three paths presented themselves each with a different aura and Sigil.

As expected, the first two Sigils that were presented to her were the main ones that people could choose upon slaying this beast as a bounty.

Blood Coil Manifestation and Lifeblood Link.

Since she was able to surpass the beast using her flames, she had negated its ability to use the Lifeblood Link. If the beast had used said skill, the battle would\'ve been dragged on for much longer.

As for the third Sigil, it was something that changed based on its environment.

[Nightstalker]

When in darkness, gain a huge increase in physical powers. Attacks will have reduced effectiveness against you under the protection of the darkness. Activating this Sigil manifests a set of armour around you, granting you a secondary boost to physical powers along with the ability to sense others in contact with the ground you are standing on.

Gain night vision.

\'Since the Abyss is in perpetual darkness, does that mean this Sigil is always on? But it doesn\'t really suit me. I\'d rather avoid taking a hit if I could help it.\' Alice sighed inwardly as this third Sigil didn\'t suit her fighting style.

With eh third option rejected, there was only one choice for Alice.

Lifeblood Link.

The Sigil that Thane had suggested and the one that would grant her increased tenacity and the ability to equalize her health with her opponents.

However, there was only one issue with this Sigil.

It was not an Anti Hunter type!

Meaning, if she were to choose this, she wouldn\'t be able to unlock her first Resonance.

Moreover, it locks out the option of choosing 9 Anti Hunter Sigils. Allura had mentioned that there were a few who had attempted to get 9 Sigils that belonged to the same classification but most would be unsuccessful in their attempts.

"Sh*t… Why didn\'t I think about this? Stupid stupid stupid!" Alice stomped in frustration as this was now a dilemma.

"Allura mentioned that 9 Sigil resonance was something she never achieved and that its power was something not even she knew of. But the only Anti Hunter Sigil here is the first and third one…" She muttered while biting her nails.

The third option was completely off the table which meant it was a choice between Blood Coil Manifestation and Lifeblood Link.

Scratching her hair in frustration, Alice took a deep breath and calmed her mind.

She needed to think of it objectively and the potential it held.

"Blood Coil Manifestation. It allows me to conjure a storm of blood and metal around me, giving me great defensive and offensive capabilities… But it doesn\'t really offer me anything else." Alice furrowed her brows.

Stepping up to the path, she had a look at the demonstration of said skill.

As expected, nothing special happened and it simply acted as a defensive layer that warded off the incoming attacks.

Shaking her head, Alice stepped away and prepared to choose the Anti Beast Sigil when she had a realization.

Widening her eyes, she ran back to the demonstration of the Blood Coil Manifestation and watched carefully, scrutinizing every detail that was shown.

After watching the demonstration for a third time did Alice finally confirm her thoughts.

"The Blood Coil Manifestation doesn\'t take blood from within my body. It conjures fresh blood or steals from my surroundings and turns it into \'my\' blood." She muttered with a smile as this had three implications.

First, this blood could be used to activate her violet flames. Second, this blood can be used to replenish her own lost blood and seal her wounds.

And third, this meant that any Sigil she gets in the future that improves her control or the versatility of her blood would benefit from this Sigil.

While Lifeblood Link granted her the survivability she so desperately needed right now, Blood Coil Manifestation and construct the foundation of her future Sigils while giving her a band-aid solution to her problem.

Through using the conjured blood to patch herself up, she can extend the time she spends fighting while also using it as fuel for her violet flames.

\'It\'ll also give me my first Resonance… This will work.\' Alice nodded as she accepted the Sigil.

It was against what she had originally desired due to her own mistake but that was fine. This served as a lesson for the future.

Gritting her teeth, Alice could feel a dagger carving into her back as a Sigil was being grafted onto her body. Now that her connection with the Abyss had improved thanks to Cayla and the strange crown she retrieved, she could feel the abyssal energy flooding in from outside of this realm and weaving itself with her being.

Foreign strands of energy tore apart her muscles before repairing them while her blood was flushed out before being replaced.

While her entire body was being reshaped by the Sigil, Alice could see briar vines extending from her first Sigil, connecting to her second before forming a link with the third on her back.

A resonance of her three Sigils!

Power pulsed within her as she could feel each of her Sigil harmonizing with one another. She felt a primal connection with the essence of her power and the Abyss that granted it but that wasn\'t the end.

From her chest, the broken obsidian crown burst forth, radiating an ominous energy that enveloped Alice\'s body like a cocoon.

Standing in this darkness, surrounded by the power flooding out from her Sigils, Alice knew that this was the manifestation of her Resonance. It was tapping into the very core of her being, granting her the culmination of her efforts.

With a sense of determination burning in her heart, Alice reached out with her hand and tore through this shell that had surrounded her. She could feel the roar of excitement originating from the hunger deep within as power flooded through her body.

This strength, this control.

She could clearly feel the growth of power within her body.

As information regarding her Resonance flooded her mind, a smile appeared on Alice\'s face.

While it was a shame she had lost Lifeblood Link, this resonance had more than made up for it.