Abyssal Awakening

According to what Velouria said then whenever she was drinking someone else\'s blood, she was taking a part of their soul into her.

That would indeed explain how she could gain their powers based on everything she knew regarding Sigils, the Abyss, Spiritual Heart and the contracts that were formed.

It was rather ironic to Alice. She who remained the most unaffected/normal in appearance was in fact tearing off someone\'s Spiritual Heart to copy their abilities.

"Could the damage done be repaired? Or is it permanent?" Alice asked curiously.

"It will repair itself in due time. But repeating the… \'extraction\' on one person repeatedly will have consequences even if you don\'t kill them." Velouria explained.

Realising that this was a warning not to use it repeatedly on her allies, Alice nodded her head.

"Now with that out of the way, is there anything else you would like to know? There\'s going to be a meeting between me and the other Gods so I\'ll need to prepare the venue for the gather. *sigh, honestly these surface Gods are so enamoured by pretty decorations and pretences.

If it was up to me, just sitting in a garden or a room would\'ve been good enough." Velouria complained as Alice shook her head.

There was nothing else she needed to know for now as most of her answers had been answered. All that\'s left now is how Velouria died and how Ayr disappeared.

But Alice wasn\'t keen on asking that question especially when Velouria didn\'t seem to know the answer to it herself or else she would\'ve made preparations.

"Oh actually, there is one more thing. Cayla, can you have a look at Alice\'s eye? Maybe you are able to find out why future Cayla is asleep." Velouria clapped her hands as Cayla nodded her head and walked towards Alice.

She had taken a look at it before but not in great detail. Now that she was here with her Master, she may as well give it her all.

Gesturing for Alice to sit down, Cayla closed her eyes and held her hand over Alice\'s right eye.

After a moment of silence, Cayla shook her head.

"Sorry but the most I can do is feel \'my\' presence. I can only establish a connection with Alice but something is blocking me from myself."

"Is that so… I suppose it\'s probably a limitation imposed by whatever happens in the future." Velouria shrugged as she stepped away from the balcony and sat down on her throne.

The threads of energy that filled the room shifted towards her as she closed her eyes and began to control the threads.

Before Alice could say anything, Cayla grabbed her wrist.

"Let Master focus. She\'s trying to see what\'s going on in the Abyss right now." Cayla reminded as Alice nodded her head.

Looking out to the city, Alice opened her palm and conjured a ball of violet flames.

She stared at the flickering flames in silence while digesting all of the information she had discovered on this short trip. The identity of these flames and their power. And more importantly, what she needed to do to achieve the goals she had set for herself.

*Ba-dum…

"Hm?" Pausing for a moment, Alice looked around her in confusion.

That heartbeat… She heard this sound before she was dragged into the Inverted World.

Furrowing her brows, Alice was about to say something when Velouria stood up.

"Seems like the time has arrived." She muttered with a serious look on her face.

"What\'s going on?"

"The passage between the surface and the Abyss has been fully established. The meeting between Gods will commence shortly. Lua, Kaden and Nyer have all completed their patrols and are on their way back. Alice, would you like to join this meeting?" She asked with a small smile while Alice blanked out for a moment.

"Me?"

"Of course you, who else? As my successor and future Goddess of the Abyss, it\'s only natural that you familiarize yourself with your… co-workers I suppose. We don\'t know how much time you have remaining in this… \'memory\' so you may as well get the most out of it as you can." Velouria smiled sadly.

Upon the mention of memory, Alice paused.

"Don\'t look so surprised Alice. As the Goddess, it\'s only natural that I understand the connection between me and the Abyss. And no matter how \'alive\' I may feel, I can tell the difference between a real connection and a fake one. You can hear it can\'t you?" Velouria sighed as she turned to Alice.

"You can hear the heartbeat of the Abyss. A signal telling the world that the Will of the Abyss is making its move. And in this case, it\'s a signal for you rather than for this… world of memory. As for me, I can\'t hear it anymore. My knowledge and power are limited to what I had at this moment in time, I cannot gain more knowledge from the Abyss itself."

Turning to Cayla, Velouria gave her an apologetic smile before snapping her finger.

Cayla\'s gaze turned blank as she stumbled back before leaning against the wall.

"I\'ve cleared her memory for now. I know that if she realises she is a memory, she may descend into a panicked state. I\'m not sure why the Abyss would send you into this memory and even create such convincing actors with sentience, but there must be a goal in the end.

"Remember this Alice, even though the Abyss may seem like a bystander at times, but it\'s actually more active than one might imagine. It doesn\'t do anything without a goal in mind. If it sends you to this memory, then there is something it wants you to know or perhaps a goal it wants you to achieve.

"But be warned, walking side by side with the Abyss means you will be forever shackled by its influence. It is when you\'ve walked too far will you realise that restraints have been placed on you and you cannot escape. Just like the real Velouria." She sighed while looking at the strands of energy around her.

"You must be wondering what these strands represent right? These are a little different to the usual strands you may see. Each of these strands is connected to an Abyss Lord. While they are not at the same level as Apostles, you can think of them as retainers to the Goddess of the Abyss."

"Wait… each of these are Abyss Lords?" Alice widened her eyes as she looked at the countless strands around this room.

"Mnm, they are. As the Goddess, I hold a certain authority over all of the Abyss Lords. If I die, they will know. If a new one rises, they will know. Can you imagine the fear they must feel if a new Goddess showed signs of appearing?" She smiled, looking at Alice.

"I can sense the signs of the Abyss making a move but I can no longer hear its heartbeat. Meaning… You\'re probably experiencing changes in your body. I don\'t know how far into the future you are but for it to make such a move, it must\'ve been quite long since the Abyss has gained a Goddess. The Surface Gods are the main rulers of these two lands right?" Velouria asked as Alice nodded her head.

Now that Velouria knows that she is a memory, there\'s no reason to hide more from her.

"Then there\'s more reason for you to come with me to the meeting. Familiarise with their characteristics and understand how they function. What you are lacking is information, information that can save your life. Once I die, I\'m sure that none of the surface Gods are eager for a new Goddess to rise.

"Especially if it\'s in the Abyss as it signifies domination over all Abyss Lords." She shook her head while Alice frowned.

"Can\'t you… threaten them to stay back? If you have control over these Abyss Lords, who in their right mind would attack?"

"If it worked, I wouldn\'t be here as a memory, would I? But Gods and humans are more similar than you can imagine my dear. There is only one word you need to know. Greed.

"They greed for power and dominion so that the others cannot dictate their fate. It\'s a tale as old as time. Humans steal and kill one another because they greed for more time in this world. Gods aiming daggers behind each other\'s back because they greed for recognition by the masses." Velouria chuckled.

"Of course I have the option of turning my weapons against the Gods. But that\'s not why I made Ayr in the first place. But perhaps it\'s simply a mistake of how I am." She shrugged.

The discovery of being a memory seemed to have triggered something within her but despite all of that, she continued forward.

Even though she wasn\'t the real Velouria, she had her emotions, her thoughts and her desires. She feared death but if death is inevitable as proven by her current state, then she will use what little time she had left to prepare her successor.

A successor chosen by Allura and Kaden.

She will try her best to prepare this fragile girl for the chessboard played between the Gods and hope that she does not become a pawn of the Abyss but rather, the player at the table.

That was her only desire as the memory of Velouria, a Goddess who loved the beasts that resided in the Abyss and hoped they lived a normal life.