Abyssal Awakening

The last thing she could recall was Allura\'s voice appearing behind her as it has done many times in the past. Her habit of showing up from behind without a single sound.

\'Why did Allura show up of all people…\' Alice sighed to herself as she looked down and around her.

She was currently sitting on a bed while her body was covered with bandages. Her belongings have been placed on the side along with her dress that was now torn from Allura\'s throw.

\'Was she always this aggressive? Just one throw and it almost f*cking killed me.\' Shaking her head, she looked for her pouch containing vials of blood.

Alice could tell that her body wasn\'t fully recovered and there were still underlying wounds on her body.

\'I\'m guessing they gave me the bare minimum to survive.\'

However, after finding her pouch, she realised that all of her vials had been confiscated.

"Sh*t." Clicking her tongue, Alice frowned while forcing herself to get out of bed.

Looking at the countless bandages around her body, she couldn\'t help but sigh.

\'Since Allura appeared at the end, she probably saw me using Void Flux.\' Scratching her hair, she stumbled over to her obsidian blade and turned it back to a bracelet.

Thankfully, they were kind enough to prepare her with another set of clothing as her original ones were damaged.

The new outfit was rather simple. An off shoulder black dress with white ribbons, frills and two large sleeves.

Grabbing her broken blood flame blade, she tied it to her belt.

"You probably don\'t want to move so much. Your body is still injured."

"!!!"

Widening her eyes, Allura\'s voice shocked her as her instinct was to adopt a defensive stance. However, her injuries prevented this as her sudden movement caused her to flinch. Furrowing her brows, Alice looked at Allura who was leaning against the doorframe.

There was a smirk on her face while she scanned Alice up and down.

"Shall we have a little chat? I must say you\'re quite the strange visitor." Allura chuckled while pulling a chair towards her.

Sitting down, she crossed her legs while gesturing for Alice to sit down as well.

"Now first things first, how do you know my skill? I don\'t believe I taught anyone how to use it." Allura asked. She didn\'t beat around the bush and went straight for the main topic as this was her biggest concern.

Nova Core was a skill that she developed with Kaden\'s help and it wasn\'t something she wanted to teach others. Especially when it could be considered to be Kaden\'s gift.

"My… Mother/mentor taught it to me." Alice replied after thinking about it for a moment.

"Hou~ Then according to you I\'m both your mother and mentor then." Allura scoffed while Alice choked on her saliva.

"But I suppose it\'s not impossible since the process is somewhat different to what I use. Plus, the source of the weird fire is not the same. Logic dictates that you shouldn\'t be able to use your abilities in this barrier unless you\'ve been given permission. So that leads me to the next question, who are you?" Allura asked as a restrictive aura surrounded Alice.

Just being in the presence of Allura caused her body to break out in cold sweat.

\'Holy crap… Allura has no chill compared to the future.\' Alice shivered.

The Allura Alice knew was far more relaxed and laid back than what was before her.

Taking this into account, Alice figured she probably shouldn\'t say her surname is Agnelia.

"My name\'s Alice. I… Have an idea of how I got here but also not really. I don\'t know where this place is nor the time period though."

Tapping her fingers for a moment, Allura took a deep breath and sighed.

"So then… Alice. Can you explain why you can use flames in this barrier?"

"I don\'t know. My fire has always been weird and it was the only thing I could use to protect myself." Alice replied while being as truthful as she could.

"I see… Tsk, what a painnnnn." Allura complained while scratching her hair.

"Whatever. Koya, come in." She called out as a woman opened the door and stepped in.

"Was everything she said true?"

"Yes, Captain. Everything she said was the truth, there wasn\'t a single lie." Koya replied with a simple bow.

"That\'s all I need to know then. Thank you, you can leave us be." Allura smiled as Koya left the room.

"You really are a weird one. Not only did you drop out of the sky randomly, but Kaden couldn\'t even tell your outline. What even are you? You look… \'human\' enough. Even with your weird fashion choice of the stones above your head, eye and hair." Allura sighed while the aura around Alice disappeared.

\'Outline? From what she\'s saying… This seems to be a time when Kaden and Allura were still talking with each other. Did entering the Inverted World cause a reaction with the crown of Cayla?\' Alice wondered to herself.

But no matter how she called out to Cayla, she seemed to still be asleep.

"So are you a Turned? No… You have memories so that doesn\'t make sense."

"What are Turned? Also, there was a village I visited before… the fight. They were spacing out while doing their routines. What\'s up with that?" Alice asked curiously.

Now that Allura didn\'t seem to be hostile against her for now, it was a good chance for Alice to figure out some answers to her questions.

"Hmm… How do I put it? Urg… Just follow me. I\'m not good at explaining stuff." Allura sighed while standing up.

"Where are we going?"

"We\'re going to my Superior." Allura chuckled while leading Alice out of the room.

###

Sitting atop a ruined building, Kaden had a deep frown on his face while his shadow continuously flickered, sending Ravens out into the world.

Tapping his heel constantly, he waited patiently.

Within this silence, a single Raven landed in front of him.

"Let\'s cut the banter. What\'s going on Kaden? Why is the Abyss stirring? What are you and Allura planning on doing?" Nalem\'s voice echoed out from the Raven as Kaden simply sighed.

"We\'re not planning anything. At least not yet. This is too early for everything." Kaden shook his head.

"Did something happen on Alice\'s end then?"

"From what my Ravens are telling me, it seems like she entered the Inverted World. The Eye was a lot closer to waking up than we expected but that shouldn\'t have caused such a big reaction. Do you have an idea of what happened?" Kaden asked as Nalem was the best person to ask regarding these things.

The Raven was silent for a moment before opening its mouth.

"I have a few ideas but none of them are great. Which one do you want to hear first?"

"The most likely scenario."

"Alice has recovered more Artifacts related to her Majesty and the Abyss is adapting to the change within her body. The one that can cause the biggest reaction is either the Crown or the Heart." Nalem replied with a sigh.

"Alternatively, it could also be you and Allura. You know better than me that both of your Authorities are dropping with each passing year. The more you use it, the faster it disappears. And soon, you\'ll be no different from normal Abyss Lords. If the others find out… Well I\'m sure you don\'t need me to explain that to you."

"Mnm. And the least likely scenario?" Kaden asked while clenching his hands.

". . ." Nalem hesitated.

"There is a slight chance that… Nyer has found more pieces."

Upon hearing the name, the shadows around Kaden twisted and warped with rage while a dark aura seeped from his body.

There were three guardians of Ayr.

Allura – The Executioner.

Kaden – The Shadow.

And finally…

Nyer – The Lord Commander.

"Alright… Let me know when you find out more." Kaden spoke after a long pause.

Tapping his finger, the Raven in front of him transformed into a puddle of darkness and flowed back to his shadow.

Taking a deep breath, Kaden calmed his mind.

Even if there was a chance that Nyer was on the move, it was unlikely with what had happened in the past. But even if the chance was small, he wasn\'t going to stay idle.

Standing up, Kaden massaged his neck as he planned his next move.

###

"For the Abyss to stir so much… How interesting." A weak voice muttered.

Bathed in the soft lights of medical equipment connected to his body through countless tubes and blood infusions, a man narrowed his eye.

Curling his lips into a smile, he recalled the halcyon days of his time in Ayr. The days where he would spend his time looking after Allura and Kaden.

Though he doubted the two wanted to have anything to do with him after all that he\'d done. But no matter what, he will complete what he\'s sought out to do.

No matter the cost, he will bring forth a new God into this world.

###

Alice wasn\'t sure what she was looking at right now.

The sight before her was drastically different from what she had expected. Even after hearing from Allura\'s old master that Kaden was gentle in the past… it was still disorientating to see Kaden in this form.

"Is this the anomaly I sensed before?" Kaden asked with a small smile on his face.

"Yep. She\'s pretty clueless on what\'s happening but she\'s not a Turned. I figured you\'d do a better job at explaining than me." Allura chuckled while kicking her shoes away.

Sitting down, she rubbed her hands in anticipation while looking at the cream cake in front of her with some strawberries on top.

"I see… That is rather strange. You must not be a resident of the Abyss then. Did you come from the surface?" Kaden asked but Alice was too shell shocked to reply.

After all…

Kaden was wearing a bright pink apron with the words \'Kiss the cook\' printed on the surface along with a blue shirt with rolled up sleeves and some casual pants.

Compared to the Kaden she\'s interacted with, this was like night and day!