Abyssal Awakening

"So would you like me to call you Alice? Or do you go by a different name?"

"Alice, please. In the end, we\'re still both Alices even if we are a little different." [Alice] shrugged since they were practically twins.

"Alright. So you mentioned that you wanted to talk about something. I\'m guessing this has nothing to do with your revelation that there are two of you right?" He asked as [Alice] widened her eyes for a moment.

"Ohh! Bingo~ Yep it has nothing to do with me and twinnie. I wanted to ask about the Shrine and how it works and the gateways." [Alice] nodded with a grin. She didn\'t expect him to be able to realise her intentions so quickly.

"The Shrine and Gateways?" Raising an eyebrow, it didn\'t take Kaden long to recall the conversation he had with her by the Shrine.

How in the future, everything was locked in comparison to now.

Understanding that she must want to take the concept back and see if she could change things, Kaden nodded his head.

"The one who knows most about the Shrines is Master since she manually placed them across the Abyss when Ayr was being built. As for the gateways, I can take you to Caera since she was the one who made them." He offered as [Alice] scratched her chin.

"Alright. Velouria is busy with everything she\'s doing now. Getting information about the gates would be good in the meantime. Ah speaking of which, can these gates lead to the surface? Or is it only travel limited to the Abyssal layers?"

"As far as I know, these gates only work in the Abyssal layers. For travel between the surface and the Abyss, you will require something else." Kaden explained while shaking his head.

"Even with my powers, it\'s two different things travelling between the layers compared to visiting the surface."

"Hmm… Shall we go now then? It\'s better to deal with these things early." [Alice] asked as Kaden agreed.

While they were discussing between themselves, both Alice and Allura couldn\'t find a chance to talk as the topic they were talking about was beyond them.

For Allura, whenever talks reach this stage her mind would blank out and automatically treat it as white noise.

Alice on the other hand simply didn\'t understand what was going on.

"So when you travel to the surface, what you\'re doing with your power is essentially sling-shotting yourself and using that momentum to pierce the veil between the two right? As long as you have a general idea you can travel." [Alice] asked while Kaden contemplated for a moment.

"Similar but not really. Rather than sling-shotting, it\'s more a case of finding two anchor points and wrapping loose string between the two. Once that happens, I anchor down a single point in the middle and swap the two locations. What I use to anchor down the second location is usually a mote of energy unless I intend on swapping two people." Kaden corrected.

"And as for the Abyss, it\'s more like moving around in a house."

Nodding her head at his explanations, [Alice] was intrigued by his first use. The one he uses to travel between realms.

"So back to the first method. You said that you swap locations with a mote of energy right? How does that work specifically?"

Seeing that [Alice] was so intrigued by his work, a sparkle could be seen in Kaden\'s eyes as this was one of the few times he could truly go into depth regarding his own work.

As he began to explain, [Alice] was like a sponge who was absorbing all of this information without issue. Asking questions where it confused her and pointing out parts that needed further explanation.

While Kaden may have simplified it earlier, swapping locations was not as easy as it sounds. First of all, in order to establish the mote of energy there\'s an inherent requirement of being able to sense the notes, spread across two realms.

But to do that, one would need to understand the space between realms. In other words, the Void.

The Void is the realm between realms, the space where all realms reside. While it may be called the Void, an alternative title would be the Sea of Worlds.

To sense the nodes between two realms, one would need to be able to navigate this sea using their senses and just this stage was enough to exhaust someone never mind being able to teleport correctly.

Once the two nodes are discovered, the next step is to establish the rough pathway. Like lights in a blizzard, these \'checkpoints\' help guide the object through this Void between nodes. If the pathway is too rigid, it will get swept along the currents of the Void and the subject would be lost between realms.

Alternatively, if the pathway is too loose, the subject will never reach the destination.

There are two main methods for establishing a pathway. The first method is the straight line method where the content is fired along the checkpoints in rapid succession. Short bursts of teleportation to ensure a high success rate but place a huge strain on the body.

The second method is the swing method where the content is tethered to the centre of the path and then swung across to the other side.

The success rate is higher with less burden on the body as it\'s simply one move compared to countless rapid movements. However, the risk that comes with this method is the strength of the tether.

Once it snaps. . . the rest doesn\'t need to be said. There will always be risks that come with teleporting and what\'s important is minimising the risks. It\'s why major powers who frequent the two realms make sure there are people who gained Sigils in relation to the Void.

That way they can mount a rescue attempt if it\'s ever required.

"It\'s too much of a hassle to use either of these methods so I came up with a third method instead, using properties of both sides. It\'s still a work in progress right now since it can be improved but as I mentioned before, I need to establish two nodes. Once that\'s done, both nodes are swung while being simultaneously pulled towards the centre of the path.

"Upon reaching the centre, the node that was swung from the destination would be locked into place. The tether used to secure it to the centre would then be used to reinforce the tether connecting to the subject who is then swung towards the target of the teleportation.

"It decreases the chances of the tether snapping while placing less burden than the rapid bursts of teleportation. And the only downside is how much energy it uses and it can only withstand small groups of people rather than cargo." Kaden shrugged helplessly.

Even with his blessing and Sigils, it was still a difficult task to transport large volumes of mass across the expanse of the Void. Not only that, but the conditions need to be right as well. Otherwise the requirement of energy would be far larger due to the distance.

Through his countless experiments, this was the safest method he could use.

"I see… So I\'m guessing for portals to the surface, it employs the first two methods for cargo while the third method that you created is used for people." [Alice] asked while Kaden shook his head.

"For now, they\'re struggling with employing my method of teleportation into the machines so they\'re still using the first two methods. To resolve this, they usually have someone strong teleporting with you to ensure the safety of people and the cargo. Only in rare cases would they need to mount a rescue attempt in the Void."

Hearing this, [Alice] nodded her head as ideas began to flood into her mind.

"Say, can I try something?" [Alice] asked as Kaden nodded his head.

"It\'s nothing dangerous right?" Kaden raised his eyebrow.

"Not really." [Alice] shrugged as her fourth Sigil manifested on her chest along with the third Sigil on her back.

Creating a small blade, she coated it with her Void powers before snapping her finger. A rift leading into the Void could be seen as she sent the blade into the portal.

Snapping her fingers once more, a portal opened opposite her, pointing towards the ground.

*BANG!!!!!

In the blind of an eye, the sword was embedded deep into the ground and only the guard and handle could be seen.

"Hou~ That\'s pretty interesting." [Alice] grinned while Kaden blinked his eyes for a moment before realising what she had done.

Using the idea of what he spoke about earlier, she had enveloped the sword in a protective barrier before swinging it into the Void. Once it gathered enough speed and power, she flung it out using the second opening resulting in a much faster attack than what she was capable of achieving!

A menacing grin appeared on [Alice\'s] face as with this, she had proven that it was possible for her to replicate it to some degree. Sending people between realms was still impossible for her but using the Void to throw attacks at people? Achievable.

"Say Kaden, do you think the structure of a Void Flux can withstand a journey into the Void and out again?" She asked with a grin as Kaden felt a chill down his back.

If she could apply this method to all of her attacks then that meant Void Flux – Cleave, an already strong attack would gain this benefit.

Of course, [Alice] had another, bigger idea which she kept silent about since the scale of which was something even she didn\'t know if she could pull off.

Power of the Void + Zone Stance + Void Flux – Cleaves.

If she was to employ all three of these together, she could create a zone of attacks that are continuously thrown into the Void and out again. A blender of attacks as long as she could keep track of the portals she creates and the attacks she sends into the Void.

Just thinking about this destruction and power caused [Alice] to squirm in excitement, wanting to put all of her ideas to the test.