Abyssal Awakening

Cracking the table apart, she laid on the ground while holding her back in pain.

"Stupid Nyer… At least warn me before teleporting." Alice groaned while sitting up and looking around.

"Ah…"

"Er…"

Looking to her right, she noticed two familiar figures in the kitchen. Allura was sitting by the kitchen table with some cake on her plate.

Kaden was behind her giving her a shoulder massage.

Both were flushed in the face as Alice stared at the two of them unblinkingly.

". . ."

Closing her eyes for a moment, Alice adjusted her sitting posture.

"Please, don\'t mind me and continue."

"The f*ck do you mean continue! You got the wrong idea!" Allura shouted out while throwing her cake towards Alice with an embarrassed expression.

Quickly dodging the cake, Alice prepared to run away while Kaden could only let out a disappointed sigh.

"Let\'s not make the house more of a mess than it already is. Is Nyer not with you?" Kaden asked while bringing out a new table, replacing the one that Alice broke.

"No, he just sent me away with the teleport stick thing. He didn\'t follow me." Alice shook her head, dodging a grab from Allura.

"He\'s probably dealing with something on his end of things then. No matter, I believe he should\'ve told you that the other Apostles are here right?" He asked while cleaning up the splattered remains of the cake that Allura threw.

"Mnm, should I go find Velouria first?"

Currently, Alice was being held by the back of her jacket like a cat while Allura was suppressing the embarrassment she was feeling. Even Kaden annoyed her since he didn\'t have a reaction to what Alice had said.

"Yes, Master\'s creating specialised training rooms for each of the Apostles that you\'ll be training with. Need me to teleport you there or are you going to walk?" Kaden offered as Alice immediately shook her head.

"I\'ve had enough of teleporting around. I\'ll walk." She forced a smile.

All of the experiences she\'s had with teleporting resulted in falling.

"Suit yourself."

Convincing Allura to let Alice go, the two watched as Alice jumped onto the rooftop of their building and parkour towards the castle.

Seeing her speed and efficiency when it came to deploying footholds, Kaden couldn\'t help but whistle at her progress.

"I guess the commander hasn\'t lost his touch ay?" Kaden laughed while Allura agreed.

During the short moment when she tried to grab Alice, Alice managed to dodge her hand.

It wasn\'t a fluke either. Alice\'s eyes scanned her entire body to figure out the path of attack and check if it was a feint or not. Thinking about this, a smile appeared on Allura\'s face.

Perhaps if they sparred now, Allura might be forced to use her fourth and fifth Sigil to keep up with Alice.

###

Dashing across Ayr while creating footholds for herself, Alice managed to climb onto the side of the castle rather quickly. Following that, it was a simple climb up to the top.

Just as she vaulted over the balcony railings, Alice spotted Velouria with a smile on her face and a new mannequin next to her.

"You must be sweaty after running here. Why don\'t you take a shower and change into something more comfortable?" Velouria narrowed her eyes as Alice didn\'t hesitate to pivot on her foot and turn 180 degrees.

But before she could run, golden chains had already manifested in the air around her and locked her in place.

"You\'ll hurt my feelings if you continue running away like that." Velouria sighed while tracing her finger along Alice\'s chin.

"Didn\'t you make me a new dress last time? This one doesn\'t break easily, isn\'t that enough?" Alice forced a smile.

"Oh definitely not. You can\'t just wear one thing constantly. This may be your hunting attire but you\'ll need casual wear too."

"If I keep focusing on what I should wear, I\'ll lose time training with the Apostles." Alice reasoned as Velouria thought about it for a moment before relenting.

"Fine, I\'ll let you off. It\'s not as durable as your current outfit anyways." She sighed.

Flicking her finger, the mannequin and dress disappeared into the shadows while the chains disappeared around Alice.

"I\'ve made three separate spaces for you to train. Each one will last for 24 hours once you enter and the Apostles have agreed to use that time to help you. They will only grant you a full day\'s of attention so use it wisely okay?" Velouria chuckled, handing Alice three keys.

Each one had a different carving on the surface representing the three Gods.

"Just stick the key into the air in front of you and a door will be created. But once you go in, you won\'t be able to come out until the time is up." She explained while Alice examined the keys.

"Shouldn\'t I take my time between the training then? So I can digest what I\'ve learned." Alice raised an eyebrow but Velouria shook her head.

"With four Gods focusing on the expansion of the Abyss and tracking down where the Will is, it shouldn\'t take too long. I\'d suggest you do them back to back so you can ensure you\'ve seen what they can offer. Once you open the door, they receive a summon into the same training room and training will begin."

It was unsure how long Alice could stay in this memory which is why Velouria\'s been planning things in advance. That way, they can make the most out of the time they have right now.

Thinking about it for a moment, Alice nodded her head.

"Alright, I\'ll get going now then." Looking for the key that represents the Sun God, Alice stabbed the key in the air and gave a twist.

As Velouria had explained, a door opened before her.

"Don\'t injure yourself okay? You got 72 hours of training to go through." Velouria smiled while watching Alice give her a wave and stepped the door.

Once the door closed behind Alice, Velouria lost her smile and stumbled back to her throne.

Looking down at her hand, a creeping darkness was slowly spreading from her fingertips.

"Just a little longer. Keep hiding, at least until Alice has seen everything she needs to see. Then you can take my life however you see fit." Velouria groaned as an Eye appeared on her palm.

Staring back at her, the Eye seemed to be communicating silently before slowing closing.

Sighing in relief, the pain faded away as Velouria let out a hollow laugh.

The Gods may think they\'re cornering the Will of the Abyss by tracking down its location. But they know nothing. Everything that happens and everything that\'s happening right now, the Will sees it all. It knows and it\'s letting the rats scuttle around as they wish.

###

Stepping through the door, Alice was greeted by a large arena with two people standing in the centre.

They were the same people who Alice saw at the meeting yet this time, they didn\'t wear the armour they wore at the meeting. Instead, they wore casual attire.

"She\'s here Arax." The woman glanced over.

"Let\'s not waste any time then." The man named Arax nodded his head.

Before Alice could even greet them, he appeared in front of her with his fist about to hit Alice\'s face!

Widening her eyes, Alice could barely catch sight of that fist and could only react to it instinctively.

Rolling back, she managed to avoid a head on collision but her cheek was still torn from the wind generated by that punch.

"Shabby footwork. No guard, no defensive stance and no zone. The only thing I see is a good reaction speed. Shiera, what do you think?" Arax asked as Shiera uncrossed her arms.

"Depends. Prepare yourself." Shiera warned as she aimed her hand and blade at Alice.

Sensing a chill down her spine, Alice immediately activated her obsidian blade and entered a defensive stance.

*CLANG!!!

Shiera\'s blade appeared in front of Alice as it was barely warded off.

But the assault didn\'t end there. Adjusting her wrist, Shiera released a wave of slashes as Alice tried her best to block them but to no avail. Even though she could see them and react to some extent, they still left shallow cuts across the exposed parts of her body.

Alice knew that if this was a serious fight, she would\'ve lost all of her limbs already! Unlike Nyer, she wasn\'t holding back and keeping herself to her level.

"You\'re lacking a lot." Shiera sighed as she twisted her body, tripping Alice with a leg sweep and aimed her sword at Alice\'s throat.

"The two of us will teach you the basic defensive footwork and preparation. Though I don\'t think you\'re suited to be a defensive fighter from what I\'ve seen."

Even while she was protecting herself, Alice was still looking for a chance to counter. Just from this, Shiera understood that Alice was the type who preferred to be on the offensive.

"What do you want to learn?" She asked, giving Alice the choice.

They only had 24 hours and Solaris had instructed the two of them to just teach Alice whatever she wanted. Of course, if she\'s a prodigy then it\'s better to hold back.

"What are the options?" Alice asked while pushing the blade aside with her finger and sitting up.

"All Guard Stance, Evasion Stance and Zone Stance. All Guard Stance lets you parry and block most attacks if your body can keep up. Evasion Stance helps you retreat and dodge attacks as the name suggests. Zone Stance will be a boundary that you set around yourself. A \'Zone\' of control that lets you intercept attacks that cross the edge. Similar to the All Guard but more restrictive.

Pick one."

Furrowing her brows, Alice contemplated her options.

She knew that she wasn\'t a defensive fighter. Meaning she had to learn something that\'ll also be effective in offensive and in this scenario, she could only think of one option that suited her skill set.

"Can you show me Zone Stance?"