Abyssal Awakening

Even if she was expressive usually, that was only with her eyes and the occasional smile and complaint.

But this? She was fully expressive.

Turning to Allura, [Alice] was silent.

\'How the hell do I talk to her like you do? Do we even want people to think we\'re crazy? Who just flips their personality a whole 180?\'

\'Don\'t look at me, you\'re the one who watched me talk to people. You know I\'m not that great either! Just… Say you\'re okay or something.\' Alice shrugged since she usually just said whatever came to her mind unless it was a tense situation.

With this advice, [Alice] forced a smile and looked up at Allura.

"Mnm… I am… sh*t, err… Feeling just fine. Thank you."

". . ." Both Alice and Allura looked at [Alice] in bewilderment and disbelief.

\'How the hell are you worse than me at talking! Didn\'t you taunt me for being swept away by their conversations??? How is this any better?!\' Alice felt as though she had just been scammed.

\'S-Shuddap! I\'ve only ever talked to people when I\'m killing them dammit!\'

\'Look just… Act normal- No… that wouldn\'t work for you because you don\'t know what normal even means.\' Alice frowned while trying to brainstorm ideas.

Meanwhile, Allura was panicking on the inside as well.

"Did I hit you too hard? Are there still injuries that haven\'t healed?" Allura asked, holding Alice by the shoulders while looking around for any wounds.

Except for the golden chains that manifested around her body, nothing else seemed to be wrong.

Observing the chains, Allura found them to be rather strange as they reminded her of the powers that Velouria employed. Yet at the same time, it\'s been modified to contain Alice\'s energy.

To put it simply, it\'s like a hybrid between both Alice and Velouria.

"Ah sorry, it\'s not that. I\'m just a little out of it." [Alice] shook her head, taking advice from Alice to just blame it on not feeling well.

"Is that so? Well, I guess it makes sense since we did dive head first into sparring right after the abnormality that occurred with your Sigil. Maybe I was too eager." Allura sighed, patting [Alice\'s] head.

"Do you want to take the rest of the day off then?" Allura offered.

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

"Can I look around Ayr for a bit?"

"Hm? Sure. If you want to buy anything here\'s some Ayrian gold coins. This should be more than enough for a full day of shopping." Allura nodded.

Reaching into her pouch, she pulled out a small wallet with a cake image stamped onto the surface before handing [Alice] 10 Ayrian gold coins.

"Will 10 be enough?" [Alice] asked curiously since if she recalled correctly from what she\'d seen from Alice\'s journey, if she wanted to get anything nice 10 might not be enough.

"You realise that 10 gold is enough for a rich family in Ayr to last for a month right?" Allura raised an eyebrow while [Alice] froze up.

If her memory serves right, a poor common family could get by with 5 gold per week. Meanwhile, rich folk in Ayr could make do with 10 per month?

\'Inflation is a b*tch.\' Alice muttered while [Alice] nodded her head in agreement.

After thanking Allura, [Alice] jumped through the portal that Kaden made, leading to the centre of Ayr.

Looking at the portal, both Allura and Kaden glanced at each other before sighing.

"Do you want to watch her shopping trip?" Allura asked as Kaden thought about it for a moment.

"Sure, there\'s nothing else we need to do right now. Might as well see what\'s up with her."

###

Arriving at the centre of Ayr, the first thing that [Alice] wanted to do was try out this mead that Alice praised so much.

With how she reacted to drinking it, [Alice] wondered what it tasted like.

Naturally, Alice was praising the holy song of mead in [Alice\'s] mind.

Arriving at a bar, she ordered a mug of Ayrian Mead.

"Here goes nothing." [Alice] shrugged.

Upon taking a sip, [Alice] choked on the drink before spitting it out.

\'What the hell are you doing?!\' Alice cried out in shock, seeing her twin spit out the drink.

\'What the f*ck do you mean what the hell am I doing??? You drink this sh*t? It\'s so damn sweet!\' [Alice] shouted back while pushing the drink away.

\'Urg Gods, I\'m actually about to throw up from how sweet it is.\' She complained while ordering some water instead of mead.

\'But that\'s the best part! The sweetness that comes with the mead followed by the warmth in your body!\' Alice pouted in annoyance.

\'If you\'re going to waste that mead at least let me take over and finish it off!\'

\'Fine do whatever you want. But I\'m not drinking mead after this. It\'s too damn sweet for my tastes.\' [Alice] frowned.

Closing her eyes, the chains faded away as Alice took over.

Grabbing the mug, she downed the drink in one go before letting out a satisfied shout.

Jumping off the chair, she left the bar while giving control over to [Alice] once more.

\'I\'ll never get you and your addiction to mead.\' [Alice] sighed.

\'I just like it okay? But I guess even if we share the same body with have a different preference for taste. What kind of food do you like?\' Alice asked curiously.

\'You realise that the only things I\'ve eaten or tasted are blood and flesh right?\' [Alice] raised an eyebrow.

Realising this, Alice coughed awkwardly.

\'Do you want to take this time to find something you like then?\'

\'Not yet. I want to get a change of clothes first. This is way too restrictive with how much fabric and layers there are.\' [Alice] shook her head while pulling at the outfit that Velouria gifted Alice.

It was light but it felt awkward for [Alice] considering the layers and trinkets attached to the clothing.

She wanted something that allowed for better movement and fewer layers.

Going to the clothing store, [Alice] couldn\'t help but be disappointed that there was nothing that matched her tastes. Ayrian clothing focused more on layers and intricate patterns. The complete opposite of what [Alice] wanted.

With no clothing that could match her desire, she went food shopping instead.

\'You know, if you wanted specific clothing, you could always ask Velouria. She\'ll probably make you something you like once she gets some time for it.\' Alice suggested while [Alice] vehemently shook her head.

\'Hell no! You thought you were bored out of your mind while she was trying out new outfits on you? I was about to lose my mind watching her do it! I don\'t need to go through it again!\'

\'That\'s fair.\'

Talking with one another while going to different restaurants to test out the flavours, they eventually stumbled across the flavour that interested [Alice].

The flavour being spiciness!

Looking at the blazing red skewers in front of her, [Alice] had a shine in her eyes that was never before seen. Just looking at them was enough to make her drool as she began to grab one skewer after another.

"Kyaaa! This is the best!" [Alice] laughed out despite breaking out in sweat due to the spiciness.

\'Are you a masochist? I don\'t understand why something that hurts is enjoyable.\' Alice crossed her arms in confusion. Perhaps this is how [Alice] felt seeing her enjoy mead. But at least with mead, it\'s understandable this sweetness is a pleasurable taste.

But spice? Pure torture.

\'Hey don\'t judge it till you try it. I tried your mead, didn\'t I? Maybe you should give this a try. It\'s not as spicy as you think.\' [Alice] smirked while fanning herself.

\'Hmm… Alright. I\'m sure it\'ll be fine.\'

Closing her eyes, she switched controls with [Alice] once more.

But even without tasting the meat, Alice\'s pupils shrunk from the absolute pain dancing across her mouth.

Breaking out in tears, Alice immediately grabbed water nearby to drown out this taste but it persisted.

"F*ck! How can you withstand this spice???" Alice shouted out in panic, surprising the patrons at the restaurant since she said it out loud.

One moment, she\'s saying it\'s the best. The next, she\'s crying about how it\'s too hot.

\'Pft hahahaha! What do you mean? It\'s just right. If anything, I don\'t think it\'s hot enough.\' [Alice] laughed while switching controls.

Taking a mouthful of meat, she had a goofy grin on her face while enjoying the spice.

\'Any hotter and you won\'t be tasting anything!\' Alice retorted in pain.

In the brief moment where she took over, her entire body felt as though it was being tortured. The flames of hell, dancing in her stomach while her mouth was set ablaze.

Yet in this pain, [Alice] revelled in joy.

\'You\'re a masochist!\'

\'Just because I like spice doesn\'t mean I\'m a masochist. Can\'t I say the same to you then?\' [Alice] scoffed.

\'No, me enjoying my mead makes me an alcoholic. You enjoying spice makes you a masochist!\'

\'Just because you can\'t handle a teenie weenie bit of spice doesn\'t make me a masochist. What a wimp.\' [Alice] taunted. But despite this, there was a wide smile on her face.

\'Just make sure I can\'t taste the spice when you give back control!\' Alice grumbled. Once she regained control, the first thing she wanted to do was drink mead to drown out this taste!

###

". . ."

". . ."

"What is going on with her???" Allura couldn\'t help but ask while watching [Alice\'s] shenanigans. The constant flip in opinions as their controls shift.

Meanwhile, Kaden wondered if she\'s having a schizophrenic episode. With how her opinions and mannerisms change every time the chains appear and disappear, perhaps there was something else that was going on.

Though considering how her soul wasn\'t fluctuating, he understood that it wasn\'t outside interference.

"We… Can ask her when she finishes shopping." Kaden forced a smile for now.

It was best to let Alice relax considering everything she\'s went through the past few days.