Abyssal Awakening

Just as she was worrying about meeting the Gods, Velouria patted her on the back.

"Don\'t feel pressured, okay? They won\'t harm you since this is my domain, just relax and enjoy the meeting." Velouria reassured as Alice nodded her head.

But even if Velouria tells her to relax, it was akin to telling a normal citizen to be relaxed in front of an Abyss Lord!

*Krrrrr

The sound of crackling lightning rang out as three portals manifested themselves in the room. A swirling mass of energy and a pressure invading from within.

Just as Velouria was about to use her own pressure to counteract this to keep Alice safe, she noticed that Alice didn\'t have a reaction.

\'Ohya? Seems like meeting Tiamat has given her more than what she expected.\' She mused to herself with a smile while turning her attention to the gates.

The first one to step out is the God of the Sun, Solaris.

A hulking man taller than even Allura. Although he didn\'t wield a spear, Alice recognised him to be the same man depicted by the statues she saw in Blackrock City.

He wore a loose-fitting white robe with a few pieces of golden armour around his chest, shoulders, waist and legs. Red markings around the edges of his eyes and the crest of the Sun God on his forehead.

His long hair fluttered behind him like an untamed flame while two guests stood behind him, the Apostles of the Sun God, Preservation and Protection.

One was an armoured woman wearing white and gold while a golden halo floated behind her. The other was a man with a large shield on his back. Just like the woman, he wore white and gold armour.

\'The man is probably Protection since he has the shield. The woman is probably Preservation.\' Alice thought to herself.

Of course, she had the option of using Cayla to try and see above their heads but using it may cause suspicion towards her. She didn\'t know if using Cayla would cause some reaction from them but it wasn\'t something she was willing to risk.

"Hou~ Seems like you\'ve gathered more people this time. Who\'s she?" Solaris asked while glancing at Alice briefly. He knew about Nyer since he was Velouria\'s protector. He knew about the left and right hands of the Goddess, Allura and Kaden.

But this new girl with the split hair? He had no information about her.

"I wonder~ This is my home after all, it\'s not so strange for me to have a guest of my own around." Velouria chuckled softly while gesturing for him to sit down.

"Very well. So, what\'s her name? Or have you finally decided to get some slaves?" Solaris laughed while sitting down on the seat in front of his statue. He leaned back and crossed his legs on the table.

"You know we don\'t do slaves in Ayr. Stop teasing her." Velouria shook her head with a smile but there was a warning in her tone of voice.

Raising his hands in surrender, he sat up properly without saying anything else and simply waited for the next guest.

The next one to arrive came with an air of elegance. Her arrival immediately caused the room to dim down while soft flickers of light appeared in the air.

The woman that arrived at long blonde hair with the insides being a kaleidoscope of soft midnight hues and stars. Strands of hair flowed down the middle, between her half opened eyes and down to her chest before curling at the edges.

A soft smile hung on her lips.

She wore a gentle white dress adorned with silver and purple accessories while a pair of spectral veils and wings could be seen behind her, representing the night sky. Luminescent blue and purple flowers bloomed along her dress.

"I\'ve only just arrived and there\'s already an air of hostility. We\'re all old friends here, let us not fight." The Goddess of the Moon smiled while sitting down on her seat.

Behind her, her two attendants followed closely, each one seemingly fading away yet still attached to the mortal realm.

The first was a woman with short white hair wearing a dress with a large skirt that covered her legs along with a pair of large sleeves. She hovered above the ground and didn\'t say anything while keeping her eyes closed.

The second, wore a similar outfit slightly different. Instead of a large skirt, she wore a shorter variant with arm length gloves rather than sleeves. Blue and purple ribbons adorned her dress, matching her long purple hair. The underside of her hair was a prismatic array of pearl, pinks, light purple, blues and yellows. An aurora of colours.

Her right eye was hidden by what seemed to be a dove wing while a halo and wings could be seen behind her.

But what was most noticeable of all was that she was not human. She was a doll! Mechanical joints could be seen yet her face was humanlike aside from the wing hiding her eye.

Unlike the ones that followed the Sun God, Alice found it much harder to guess which was which.

Regardless, Alice knew these two were the Apostles of Immortality and Spirituality.

"But Solaris is not wrong. I understand Nyer, Allura and Kaden being here. But I have no recollection regarding the young guest by your side." The Goddess placed her finger on her chin while trying to recall if she had seen Alice before.

"Not you too Lumi. But fine~ You can think of her as my family." Velouria sighed and shrugged her shoulder.

The Moon Goddess Lumiria was someone who liked to remember as much as she could about the world. The people she\'s seen, the things she\'s experienced. To her, part of longevity is to be remembered and by remembering everything she\'s seen, heard or felt, it was to give her target a blessing of longevity.

"Then may I know the name of your family member?" Lumiria smiled while Velouria glanced towards Alice.

Understanding that this was Velouria\'s sign to introduce herself, Alice took a step forward and did a slight bow.

"Alice."

She didn\'t want to introduce herself as Zenia as she has long left that name behind. But at the same time, she didn\'t want to introduce herself as Agnelia since that would only make Allura ask countless questions.

"Alice… What a nice name. Alice, do you know the importance of time?" Lumiria asked while keeping her eyes on Alice.

"I\'m not sure."

"Time is a recording, a documentation of history and the flow of progression. To me, I believe the representation of time is an important matter. Which makes me wonder why a young being like you takes this form. How old are you Alice? Or rather, how old do you perceive yourself to be?" Lumiria asked curiously, once again, confusing Alice with her question.

Glancing towards Velouria, Alice wanted to get some help while Velouria simply smiled and let Alice answer however she saw fit.

"I should be 20 years old. Though I\'ve forgotten my birthday so I don\'t know if I\'m 20 or 21." Alice replied while Lumiria simply observed Alice without saying anything and stopped asking questions.

However, there was a strange smile on her face as she waited for their last guest.

With a single step through the portal, the room was enveloped in a bloodthirsty aura, dispelling the soothing atmosphere that Lumiria brought with her.

An oppressive pressure exploded out as the God of the Eclipse revealed himself. Stepping out of the portal, a tall man with black and red hair swept his blood red eyes across everyone with a grin.

He wore a large black cloak adorned with chains and his outfit consisted of bandages, chains and other ritualistic items across his body.

"*Sigh~ Elly, were you in the middle of a ritual? Is that why you\'re later than the others?" Velouria sighed.

"Ah sorry sorry. Let me get changed then, you know how it is, I need to keep up appearances after all."

Snapping his fingers, darkness seemed to wrap around him before cracking open with a burst of crimson light.

From within this cocoon, a woman with long black and red hair revealed herself. All of the ritualistic accessories disappeared and were replaced by black armour.

Clearing her throat, she slumped down into her seat and crossed her legs while her Apostles stood behind her.

Both were clad from head to toe in ritualistic armour and clothing so Alice couldn\'t see their appearances.

"Better?" Enris laughed while taking a rather relaxed posture on her seat.

"Yep. Much better." Velouria nodded with a smile while Solaris groaned.

"Why must you keep changing your gender every time we have one of these meetings? Pick one. It\'s annoying to see you look different every time we gather."

"Tsk tsk tsk, I change according to my environment Soli. If there are more cuties, I join them. If there are more hunks, I become one. Who cares which side I take, I just want to have fun." Enris grinned.

God/Goddess of the Eclipse, the most chaotic out of the four. She would wage war out of boredom, invade territories on a whim and destroy civilizations belonging to the other Gods.

No one could change that.

The three were simply thankful that she kept herself in check, sometimes, making sure not to attack the most prized possessions of each God.

For Velouria, that would be Ayr.

Now that all of the guests have arrived, the meeting shall begin.