Abyssal Awakening

That\'s how long it took for them to settle on an outfit that they were satisfied with.

Four hours was the time she was subjected to their whims.

In the end, they settled on an outfit that was based on what she wore when she arrived near Ayr consisting of a large white jacket with large sleeves, a white dress, a pair of tights and some black knee-high boots.

The jacket was adorned with the crest of Ayr along with a pink and purple ribbing in the shape of a butterfly around the chest area and the shoulders. The back of the jacket reached all the way down to her legs.

Beneath the jacket, the dress was decorated with a myriad of patterns that were barely noticeable to the naked eye unless you looked carefully. However, these patterns radiated a soft ethereal glow when exposed to light.

Gold trims and accessories were given to Alice to go along with the outfit and with this assortment of clothing, she looked the part of Velouria\'s successor and a resident of Ayr.

When paired with her crown, she looked like a small princess in the eyes of Allura and Velouria.

Naturally, during this entire process, Kaden could\'ve said something in an attempt to stop them. But he didn\'t want to interfere when they were having so much fun.

But now that they\'ve chosen an outfit for Alice, it was time to get to work.

"Master, I believe you called me and Lua over for training purposes. It\'s probably best we make a start on the actual training before the guests arrive." Kaden spoke up as Velouria nodded her head.

"Fine~ We can use this outfit for training for now. When the surface Gods arrive, I\'ll prepare another set of clothing for Alice."

Hearing this, Alice felt a shiver down her spine, causing Velouria to laugh.

"This time I\'ll have it prepared beforehand so don\'t worry. Setting that aside, Kaden, Lua, your main focus will be helping Alice master her blood powers and her second Sigil. Even though her power manifested as flames, there is the potential for it to take other forms. See what you can do with it okay?"

"As you wish Master. Is there anything else we should keep in mind?" Kaden asked curiously.

"Nope, that should be everything. Though if Alice thinks of anything at the moment, do your best to help her okay?" Velouria clapped her hand.

"Make the most of the day and possibly tomorrow. Remember, don\'t be shy. If you need anything, just let Kaden and Lua know okay? If it\'s outside of their capabilities feel free to contact me." She turned to Alice and gave her another pat on the head.

"Thank you." Alice replied, grateful that Velouria was going this far and spending this much time to help her. Especially after finding out that she was simply a memory, and the real Velouria has been dead for a long time.

"It\'s only natural. If you really want to thank me you should spend some time letting me dress you up again." Velouria chuckled as she made her way over to her chair. Sitting down, she glanced towards Kaden and nodded.

Understanding that this was his signal to leave, he wrapped the three of them in shadows before disappearing from the room.

Once Velouria was sure that Kaden had left with the others, she coughed violently before slumping down on her throne. Meanwhile, Cayla bit her lip, unable to find the right words of comfort.

"Do you think… They noticed?" Velouria asked with a bitter smile as Cayla shook her head.

"I don\'t believe so Master."

"That\'s good… I wouldn\'t want to distract them from their training. Alice only has a limited amount of time with us, it\'s important she uses that time wisely." Velouria smiled, taking deep breaths to try to calm her coughs.

"But Master… Do you really have to accelerate your condition like this?" Cayla frowned.

During the four hours, Velouria had been secretly using her authority with the Abyss to fix some of the issues within Alice\'s body.

While others may not notice, as the Eyes of the Abyss, she could see it clearly. She could also see that by doing so, Velouria was speeding up the deterioration of her body!

"Haha… Sorry Cayla. I\'m a dead woman anyway, may as well make the most of the time I have left and help my cute successor out. Even though we\'re simply memories, in order to construct an accurate picture, the Abyss has granted me a decent amount of power. Just enough to help place some fail safes within Alice\'s body." Velouria chuckled.

She knew that if she didn\'t trick Alice and the others with the outfits, they would definitely say no to what she was going to do.

Even if she was a memory, Alice didn\'t want her to suffer more and neither does Kaden and Allura.

But it was because of this that Velouria wanted to help out Alice more. She is a fake but she still remembers how cruel the Abyss is and how important it was to prepare Alice for its influence.

Biting her lip, Cayla took a deep breath and sighed.

"Let me handle the next \'operation\' then."

"Huh?" Velouria blinked her eyes.

"You\'ve finish setting up fail safes within her body, right? The next steps would be to repair \'me\' and the Crown. If you do one more \'operation\', you might not be able to trick the other Gods. So let me do it for you." Cayla explained but Velouria shook her head.

But before Velouria could say anything, Cayla cut her off.

"And this is how if feels to watch you put fail safes in Alice\'s body at the expense of yourself. So deal with it. Plus, aren\'t I a memory too? So logically, I\'m basically doing what you\'re doing."

Seeing that Cayla wasn\'t giving her any room to reject her suggestion, Velouria could only sigh and nod her head.

"Then it\'s settled. Get as much rest as you can Master."

"Thank you." Velouria smiled.

"Mnm. Just because we\'re memories, it doesn\'t mean it hurts any less to see someone important to me hurting herself like this. So, take care of yourself more Master." Cayla looked down at the floor with sadness.

Even if her death was destined, was there a need for her to suffer so much before the time arrives? But knowing Velouria, she wouldn\'t stop even if it means her own suffering. That\'s just how she is. As the Goddess of the Abyss, she prioritises her people more than herself.

"Alright, I\'m sorry Cayla." Velouria apologized as she knew the sadness in Cayla\'s heart. But there was nothing they could do about her destined death since they were simply memories.

Gesturing for Cayla to walk over, Velouria pulled her into a hug, surprising Cayla who froze up before relaxing herself.

"I\'ll take care of myself, so you don\'t go overboard either okay? I still want to see by my side when Alice leaves eventually."

Hearing this, Cayla nodded her head.

###

Teleporting away from the castle, Kaden brought Alice and Allura to a location beneath the ground. A cave filled with luminescent moss with a single opening in the ceiling. Water radiating a bioluminescent light poured from the ceiling like a waterfall.

Located in the centre of this cave was a single tree with crystalline leaves. Tall pillars supported the ceiling while archways and paths flanked by large glowing crystals illuminated the path.

"Where are we?" Alice asked curiously while looking at their surroundings.

She didn\'t think a place like this would be suited for training with the delicate surroundings.

"Cavern of Revelation. It\'s a place that\'ll help you visualise your abilities and how you want to use them. It\'s also the place where I helped Lua develop her Nova Core." Kaden explained as he snapped his finger.

One by one, the pillars lit up with a blue glow while Allura took this moment to stretch her body.

"In this place, you\'ll be able to analyse the application of your power, how much energy you\'re wasting and the force behind your attack. Since Master has told us to help you develop your blood powers and second Sigil, this is the best place for training."

Hearing this, Alice nodded her head and turned to Allura.

It seems like she\'ll be her opponent first.

"Place your hand on the tree first so you can synchronise yourself to this environment. Once you\'ve done that, the tree will record your actions and display the application, energy waste and force on the pillars." Allura explained while pointing to the tree.

Located on the trunk, an indentation in the shape of a hand could be seen.

"It\'ll prick you and draw some blood but that\'s normal."

Placing her hand against the tree, Alice could feel a small needle jab against her palm as blood was drawn.

Little by little, a red glow began to manifest itself through the bark of the tree. Through Cayla, Alice could see a tether of energy connecting from her to the tree and from the tree to the different pillars.

"Try using your Sigil powers now." Kaden suggested with a smile while pulling out a chair and table by the side.

Snapping her finger, a metal blade manifested itself along with a swirl of blood.

Hearing a soft ring behind her, Alice glanced back and saw a diagram of her body along with several pathways that were now lit up with a red light.

On the second pillar, a vertical bar could be seen with only 30% of it being filled with a red light. And on the last pillar, another bar could be seen but this time it was filled to around 50%.

"First pillar shows your flow of power. Some Sigils requires more pathways to be utilized in order to maximise its abilities while others require less. The second shows how much is wasted and in this case, you\'re only using 30% of the energy you could be using. And the final bar shows how much power of that percentage you\'re manifesting.

"This should give you an idea of what this place is used for. By seeing the values of your attack and the manifestation of your Sigil power, you can fine tune your technique to a satisfactory level."