Abyssal Awakening

"You realise that\'s a nine star beast right? I\'m telling you in case you didn\'t hear Nyer properly." Alice asked with a twitching smile.

She knew that it was ironic coming from her considering her first Sigil belonged to three star, her second belonged to four star who later awakened, her third belonged to another three star and her fourth was the most outrageous. One that belonged to a six star beast.

But killing these beasts was completely different in comparison to fighting the pinnacle of life itself outside of Apostles and Gods.

A nine star beast!

Even with her authority of Severance, Allura was still a seven Sigil Abyss Lord at the end of the day, going above two levels at this stage was practically suicide.

"I know it\'s a nine star beast. But that\'s exactly why I want it." Allura grinned.

If her eight Sigil could be the power of the destruction gained from the Abyss Lord of Destruction, it would help her against the other Apostles and solve her main issue of firepower. She was able to ignore armour but her attack was still lacking.

Looking over to Kaden to see if he could talk some sense into her future adoptive mother, Alice only saw him smile with a shrug.

"Since Lua is going out of her way to do this then I\'ll do the same. I\'ll ask Master if she can designate the Abyss Lord of Waters as my eight Sigil." Kaden chuckled.

\'My parents are f*cking insane.\' Alice couldn\'t help but think to herself seeing both Allura and Kaden wanting to take on a nine star beast as their eighth Sigil.

Naturally, Alyss wanted to retort since Alice was just like them, taking on beasts that should be beyond her level. But it was funnier for her to just keep watching rather than interrupt this play.

"Don\'t look at me with that expression. Do you even know how worried I was when Kaden gave you a six star beast to hunt of all things?" Allura pinched Alice\'s nose before gently knocking her on the head.

"Arg!"

Joking around with Alice for a little while, both Allura and Kaden made their way to Velouria to get their bounties set while Alice rested.

Nyer sat down not far from her as she tried her best not to show signs of repulsion.

"So on guard again. Did something happen to change your mind?" Nyer asked with a smile.

"Ah… Sorry. I don\'t know." Alice replied with an awkward cough.

"It\'s fine. Shall we talk? I wish to ask you some questions and know of your thoughts. I\'ll be truthful if you are truthful towards me." Nyer chuckled as Alice was a little confused by his phrasing but nodded her head regardless.

"Do you hold someone dear to your heart? Someone who you will go out of your way to protect no matter what?"

Thinking about this, Alice pictured several faces in her mind. The people she\'s met on her journey to this current moment, people who\'ve treated her well and helped her along the way.

Allura, Kaden, Ria, Gin, Alyss and so on. She would go out of her way to help them if she could.

"I do. I have a lot of them." Alice nodded.

"When I say someone dear to your heart, I mean someone with no equal. Someone who you\'re willing to give up everything for." Nyer shook his head.

Pausing for a moment, Alice shook her head.

She hadn\'t met anyone whom she could confidently say she could give up everything for. But if someone like that existed, she\'d feel rather scared about it. After all, what kind of infatuation must you have to give her EVERYTHING for them.

To Alice, it felt unthinkable.

"Say you are at a junction where three choices are presented to you. Two of those choices lead to the \'bad ending\' for that someone. While the third choice leads to the suffering of one person. Would you take that third choice? Or would you go with the first two?"

"Do I know the person that\'s suffering?" Alice asked curiously.

"Partially. But you don\'t know them very well. You see, in the past I had to go through this exact choice. I needed to pick between three options. I\'m rather curious as to what option you\'ll choose." Nyer explained as Alice crossed her arms.

If it was someone who she cared about at stake and the one suffering is someone who she didn\'t know very well, the choice was obvious.

"Probably the third choice no?" Alice replied as Nyer nodded his head.

"Now let me change the question a little. What if your friend does not want you to cause suffering to the other person? Yet choosing the first two means that your friend dies, would you still pick the third option or go for the first two options?"

Furrowing her brows, Alice debated on the options.

"Do the first two options change how much my friend suffers?"

"Yes. The first option is a slow and painful death. The second is a fast and instantaneous death." Nyer explained.

With these choices placed before her, Alice eventually chose the third option once more on one condition.

"Does the third option mean my friend gets to live?"

"Yes, if you choose the third option, the person will suffer in the place of your friend but your friend gets to live without issue."

"Then there\'s only one real option then. The third one." Alice shrugged.

Naturally, she wasn\'t oblivious to the underlying implications of this being about her and Velouria.

Seeing Nyer reach his hand towards her, Alice was about to fight back when she paused in confusion.

His hand patted her head with a bitter smile.

"Indeed. There\'s only one obvious conclusion. Yet sometimes you have to look harder for a fourth path or even a fifth. We barely know one another yet we\'re forced to make decisions based on our own understanding and values." He sighed, standing up while looking at the war in front of him.

"I know that we\'re simply in a memory. Which is why I will offer you an opportunity young Alice. I do not hate you, nor do I wish to inflict harm upon you. But between you and Velouria, I\'m afraid I must choose the latter. It\'s not personal... Simply priorities.

"Seek out the Will. If you can find a resolution that benefits us both, I will not make a single move for I do not wish to stain my hands with your blood. But if you cannot find a solution, I will take matters into my own hands, even if that means I earn the ire of Lua, Kaden and even Velouria herself." Nyer turned his gaze towards Velouria who was talking with Allura and Kaden.

"Velouria is my everything. She granted me meaning in this life and I will not allow the Will of the Abyss to rob her from me. I simply wish there is a world where Velouria gets to live how she desires. Even if it means making an enemy out of everyone.

"Which is why I presented to you a choice, successor of my Master. A final chance to turn things around." Nyer turned back to Alice.

There was an air of seriousness around him yet strangely, there was also a hint of desperation.

"So will you accept this challenge? To find a way out for the both of us?" He asked as Alice nodded her head.

"To choose between someone you barely know and someone who\'s your everything huh? The choice is simple. But you\'re still giving me a chance." Alice forced a smile despite the feeling of danger growing with every passing second.

"I give you a chance because it is unfair otherwise. Lua has opened more thanks to you, Kaden likes you and Velouria adores you as her successor. If there is an ideal path, I simply wish for you to find it so you can live with us. You can tell Velouria everything if you wish, but I don\'t need anyone to understand my motives or desires.

An army can stand against me but I will continue without hesitation.

"I am content with my own choices without anyone by my side. But know that if there is an opportunity, I would not mind sitting down to enjoy a drink and have some food to resolve this bad blood between us." Nyer chuckled as he patted her head one more time.

"Good luck successor. I hope you can surprise me as you have done many times before." Nyer waved his hand before turning around and leaving.

Furrowing her brows, Alice scratched her hair with a deep sigh.

"A choice huh?" Alice muttered.

\'I guess now we know why Allura and Kaden doesn\'t mention him. He probably did something drastic in the real past in an attempt to save Velouria.\' Alyss frowned.

\'Yeah… But you can\'t blame him can you? Someone he treasures is slowly dying thanks to the Will of the Abyss. And in this memory, a successor showed up, guaranteeing this death. It\'s only natural that he does everything he can to avert this destiny.\' Alice recalled Nyer\'s back as he walked away.

A sad, solitary silhouette who walks single mindedly towards one goal.

\'But what can he even do? This is just a memory, nothing you do here transfers over to the real world outside of items. Saving Velouria here doesn\'t mean the Velouria in the real world will suddenly resurrect.\' Alyss crossed her arms.

\'Perhaps he found a way. That\'s why he was missing with Cayla for so long. As the Eyes of the Abyss, Cayla can reveal a lot of truths and information that otherwise wouldn\'t be accessible. He might\'ve found a way to change this fate at the expense of me, who he barely knows.\' Alice clenched her fist.

\'But I prioritise my life comes first. Let\'s collect more blood so we can prepare for the fight to come.\'

Closing her eyes, golden chains manifested around her body as Alyss took over and jumped towards the battlefield once more.