Abyssal Awakening

But this slash held concepts she couldn\'t fully digest even though she saw it in full clarity.

Furrowing her brows, Alice frowned as she jumped back.

Remembering the flow of energy within Allura\'s slash, Alice tried her best to replicate it but all she achieved was the standard Void Flux – Cleave.

"Pft, seems like you realise I\'m the real deal hehe~ My Executioner Blade isn\'t something you can copy easily." Allura rubbed her nose with a grin while watching Alice trying to replicate her attack.

"You said this attack isn\'t the strongest, is there one stronger than this?" Alice asked while continuing to swing her sword.

"Oh of course there are. I didn\'t focus on the power of this attack, it merely came as an added bonus. If you want to see the strongest attack in Ayr, you should see Commander when he\'s serious. Urg… his attacks even scare me sometimes." Allura shivered.

"Commander?"

Alice had never heard either of them mention a commander before. If he was as powerful as Allura was claiming him to be, then surely she would\'ve mentioned him at one point. Yet that wasn\'t the case.

"Mnm, Lord Commander of Ayr. He who commands the army and protects her highness. He\'s got a bunch of nicknames you know? More than me and Kaden. I have my Title of Exectioner, Kaden has his Title of Shadow but the Commander is simply known as the Lord Commander." Allura shrugged while walking over to Alice.

"But setting aside the Commander, focus more on your form. Even though the power generated from the slash is impressive, you can draw out more power with the right form." She explained while standing behind Alice.

Grabbing her wrists, Allura began to control Alice\'s body, showing the right way she should follow up her slashes to generate the most power and speed.

"You\'re surprisingly gentle." Alice couldn\'t help but mutter, seeing how careful Allura was being and the care she was taking in teaching her the stances.

"What do you mean by that?! I\'m always gentle." Allura clicked her tongue and hit Alice on the head with her chin.

"Ouch! You knocked me out on our first meeting, you call that gentle?"

"That\'s your fault. Who knew you were so weak even though you could use a space rupturing attack." Allura retorted while finishing the sequence of attacks.

"Memorise what I showed you and you should see improvements in your attacks. Of course, you need to figure out when to use the different stances but that comes with experience. Is there anything else you want to know?" She asked while taking a step back.

Thinking about it for a moment, Alice decided to inquire about Ayr first. Once she learns more about Ayr, she could transition it into questions regarding the Lord Commander and finally, about Allura\'s old master.

"Can you tell me a bit about Ayr? It\'s history and how it was founded?"

"Hmm… Honestly, I\'m not too familiar with the founding of Ayr. You\'d better off asking Nalem since he has a record of everything that\'s happened since the founding. But I can tell you a little bit about why Master decided to make this city." Allura grinned as she gave her body a stretch.

"We\'re quite far from Ayr so grab on tight. I\'ll take us there in an instant."

Remembering how Allura travelled, Alice figured it wouldn\'t be too bad since he had experienced it before.

But the moment she grabbed onto Allura, a bad feeling manifested in her heart.

Flames erupted around Allura but unlike its usual colour, it began to flicker into a bright white.

Before Alice could even ask about the speed of transportation, Allura had already shot into the air with Alice hanging on for dear life.

Hugging Allura\'s leg like a sloth hugging a tree trunk, Alice refused to let go.

###

"Allura and Kaden seem rather busy today. They\'re running back and forth with a guest in tow." A woman chuckled with softly while looking out of the window.

She had long white hair that seemed to float behind her, shifting with each subtle movement that she made. A pair of soft half-opened crimson eyes where the whites are pure black.

On her chest, a spiked necklace of sorts could be seen, printed onto her skin.

The woman wore an elegant white dress that reached to the floor while silver accessories decorated her wrists and ankles.

She was currently sitting in the highest room of the castle that overlooked the city. Countless strands of energy floated around her while her hands danced across the different strands.

"Should I let them know?" A man asked while standing beside her.

Shaking her head, the woman simply closed her eyes.

"Oh? Our guest is… Rather strange." She muttered upon scanning the person grabbing onto Allura.

"Should we be concerned? The meeting between Gods will be happening soon. She might be a variable sent by the trio."

"I doubt that. She doesn\'t have their brandings. If anything… She resembles the Abyss more. That\'s if you ignore her peculiarities." The woman chuckled before opening her eyes.

"Peculiarities?"

"She doesn\'t have a soul. But she\'s not like the artificial constructs that we\'ve seen before. Perhaps you could consider her a strange mix in the middle?"

Hearing this, the man next to her simply shrugged.

"It would probably be better to ask Nalem. Unfortunately, my knowledge of these subjects is shallow." He let out a laugh.

"Don\'t worry, I\'m not testing you. You can take some time off before the meeting begins, I need this time to focus on maintaining this realm."

Nodding his head, the man bowed towards the woman in front of him and made his way down the tower.

Once he had left the room, the woman simply turned towards the direction of Alice. A soft smile appeared on her face as her hand stroked the spiked marking around her neck.

"She possesses the Crown and Cayla… I suppose that confirms my passing." She muttered before standing up.

Walking to the edge, she looked at the magnificent city before her. The bastion of hope which she poured her heart and soul into so the citizens of the Abyss can find some closure before their fated end.

"How strange… I suppose even I can feel fear at the thought of losing everything."

Smiling bitterly, the woman gently tapped her finger in the air as strands of energy started to weave together into the form of a woman.

She had short silver hair with a pink hue, a pink headband and a pair of blue eyes. She wore a white shirt with a black collar, sleeves and skirt. A pair of semi-transparent black tights and a pair of black shoes with small heels and a ribbon on the shoe strap.

"Cayla, what do you think the future is like?"

"I\'m unsure master. I can\'t imagine it to be better than what you\'ve created." Cayla shook her head while hugging her knee. Her other foot was on the ground to stabilize herself so that she didn\'t fall.

"Perhaps but you never know. I\'m rather curious about how the world will change after my death. How would Kaden and Allura react? Those two may look strong on the surface but they\'re sensitive children at heart." She smiled while looking at Cayla who was deep in thought.

"Maybe we can avoid the worst scenario master. What if we ask her what happens in the future? Maybe she knows what caused… Your passing." Cayla asked with a frown on her face.

But the woman simply shook her head.

"Cayla, you know as well as I do that we\'ve been expecting this to happen. Why else do you think I\'ve been making these preparations?"

". . ." Clenching her fist, Cayla simply looked down while the woman patted her head.

"At least before I go, I want to hear about the future."

"Alright. I\'ll look for her and bring her here." Cayla nodded.

Just as she was about to jump down, the woman grabbed her hand.

"No need to rush. Let her enjoy the city with Allura and Kaden first. If you want, you can take the time off to understand her too. She is your future master after all." She chuckled.

Nodding once more, Cayla leapt off the building and made her way down.

Now that she was alone, the woman sat back down on her chair and peered towards the countless strands of energy that surrounded her.

###

Sitting down by the gates of Ayr, Alice\'s hair was dishevelled from the flight. Her stomach churned while Allura simply ate cake while waiting for her to recover.

"I wasn\'t even flying that fast." She shrugged, feeling as though Alice was exaggerating but seeing her current state, she was probably weaker than what she expected.

Even though she was resting by the gate, Alice could still see the bustling nature of the city within. Countless civilians greeting one another with smiles on their faces regardless of the side effects that appear on their body.

Not only that, but the technology held within the city exceeded what she had seen before. It bore similarities to the gate she saw in the forest that connected to Terminus.

Ghost like beasts would float across the city, helping keep the order while receiving food from the citizens.

Scattered throughout the city were statues of a familiar woman that Alice had seen in her mental space before.

Allura\'s old master.

She could see people praying to the statues whenever they walked past, hoping for another happy day.

"She seems popular." Alice remarked, hoping Allura would expand more on the Ruler.

"Of course she is. She\'s the one who built this city and gave people a second chance. But there\'s another big reason why people revere my Master." Allura chuckled while looking towards the castle in the centre of the city.

"What reason?" Alice raised her eyebrow curiously.

"Because she\'s a Goddess."