Abyssal Awakening

"It\'s that bad?" Allura furrowed her brows.

If Kaden was saying it like this then they should aim to kill Shura as fast as possible.

"Mnm. How long do you need to fulfil your Ritual?"

"Give me… 10 minutes. That should be enough for me to reach the Seventh Day." Allura calculated. The exact time wasn\'t 10 minutes but she had to give a rough estimate.

"Let\'s hope they\'re willing to wait 10 minutes then!"

Jumping in front of Allura, Kaden conjured a wall of beasts to block Shura\'s blade strike as the power of destruction tore through the flesh but thankfully, it gave them enough time to dodge out of the way.

The key to fighting someone who could ignore defence like Allura or Shura was to overwhelm them with numbers. For Shura, Kaden needed to supply beasts continuously to act as defences for them rather than a barrier.

And right now, this was perfect since he had just killed the Lord of Waters and got her Sigil.

From his shadow, he now not only had access to the corrupted variants of the beasts he saw but also beasts that dwell in the deep, governed by Thalassa.

Snapping his finger, an array began to expand out from beneath Kaden\'s feet.

Gate of the Deep!

As though imposing his Second Resonance to the world, the space beneath him began to twist and turn, transforming into a portal to the depths of the Abyss Waters.

And from the darkness crawled countless beasts of varying qualities.

Seeing the onslaught of beasts, Shura clicked her tongue out of annoyance and twisted her body, releasing an array of slashes to push back the wave.

Each time she killed a beast, another two would take its place.

Pure anger could be seen in her eyes as she glared at the duo who were focused on keeping her busy until Allura had fulfilled her ritual.

She is the Abyss Lord of Destruction and there was nothing she couldn\'t destroy.

Yet these vermin continued to stall her.

"Enough!" Shura shouted out as a violent aura burst forth from her body, pushing away the beasts around her.

Adjusting her grip on her blade, she raised it above her as the cross that was following her stabbed into the ground.

*CRACK!

Cracking open, spectral beings began to claw out from the cross, rushing towards Shura\'s blade.

Understanding that she was charging up an attack similar to Allura, Kaden snapped his finger as several beasts lunged forth from her shadow.

However, that proved to be a mistake as a connection was now formed between them.

Glaring back at the beasts, their forms began to twist before exploding into a mass of energy that rushed towards her blade.

Without hesitation, she created an orb of destruction and threw it towards her shadow.

Thankfully, Kaden realised what was going on at the last second and broke off the connection before the attack could land. If he was even a little bit slower, there was no telling what that orb could\'ve done to his body.

And while he was safe, he had failed to stop whatever Shura was attempting to accomplish.

As the spectral beings all gathered into her blade, Shura curled her mouth up into a devilish grin before grabbing the sword in a reverse grip.

Giving the two one last look, she plunged the blade into her own chest!

"!!!"

From her body, countless strands of conflicting energy burst forth as her form began to change.

Little by little, cracks spread across her body as her obsidian form shattered, to reveal the pristine skin beneath. A pair of blood red eyes and long white hair fluttered behind her. Her dress began to shift as it transformed into a simple black dress with silver armour adorning her chest, arms and legs.

Behind her, two blades floated, one black like obsidian and the other radiant like her hair.

Closing her eyes, she cracked open her mouth and let out a chilling laugh as an aura rivalling that of the Reaper erupted from her body, sending both Kaden and Allura into a fight or flight response.

Without hesitation, Kaden prepared to open his Second Resonance but Shura was faster.

Manifesting behind him, her eyes flickered with an ominous radiance as Kaden widened his eyes in a mix of shock and fear.

He couldn\'t move his body! With a single glance, she had restricted the movement of his body, leaving him completely open to an attack from behind.

Thankfully, he wasn\'t alone. Beside him, Allura pulled her fist back and punched towards Shura\'s head who parried it with her blade.

Ice began to form across Allura\'s fist as her flames were doused within the blink of an eye! The ice began to tear apart her skin as she flinched from the assault of cold energy into her body.

Twisting her body, she launched a kick towards Shura\'s chest, sending her backwards and giving them the space they so desperately needed.

The period of paralysis was over as Kaden regained control over his own body.

Understanding that his Second Resonance where he tricks them wasn\'t going to work, Kaden went with a different approach.

Much like Allura, his Second Resonance was unique amongst the different Abyss Lords.

Most would have only one but he had two variants. The first focused on trickery, luring his opponents into his realm without realising. Yet this lacked the offensive power most Resonances have.

As for his other variant, it required the use of his blessing.

Even though he disliked using his blessing, he couldn\'t be worried about something small like this when both of their lives are in danger!

*BANG!!!

Activating his blessing, his Sigils began to merge into one large array of twists and turns. On his neck, the crest of Ayr surrounded by dark briar thorns and inky fluid manifested as Kaden\'s eye turned black with white Irises.

Ink like blood dripped from his eyes as a pair of tattered wings unfurled behind him. Dark shackles manifested around his wrists. Similar to Allura\'s Executioner form, a halo manifested above his head but unlike Allura, his halo was dripping with malevolence and darkness that sent a chill down the spine.

[Apostle of Corruption : Kaden]

Tilting his head back, Kaden let out a laugh as he rushed towards Shura who was shocked by his sudden change of appearance but regardless, slashed towards him with both her blades.

A blade burst out from his arm as Kaden blocked the strike. Leaning forward, he narrowed his eyes at Shura before revealing a grin.

"You shouldn\'t have done that~" Kaden cackled as Shura\'s eyes turned bloodshot. Black ink began to drip from her eyes as her skin showed signs of corruption.

Kicking Kaden in the chest, Shura jumped back as layers of ice froze over her skin before breaking off the pieces of corrupted flesh. However, that wasn\'t enough. No matter how her flesh regenerated, the corruption remained.

"Oi, mongrel. My corruption works far deeper than just the flesh. It corrupts the soul." Kaden taunted before creating a tear in space. Plunging his hand into the tear, he began to pull out a dark book sealed by chains.

"Do you know what this is? It\'s my own personal Relic." Kaden curled his lips into a dark grin.

Relics are items that people create a deep bond with. Depending on the Relic you bond with, your powers would undergo a change. People can have two Relics at most as any more and it would create a conflict of power within their body.

But for him, he was limited to one due to how obscenely violent his Relic was. No matter how he tries to change, the relic he binds himself with will always transform and become this book in the end.

Its name…

[Grimoire of Original Sin]

As the Apostle of Corruption, Kaden could be considered as a library of curses that he could apply to the people around him. Just being in his presence was enough to \'corrupt\' souls of the people around him if he wasn\'t careful.

And as for his personal Relic… The Book held the power to impose curses and shackles of corruption upon his opponents.

Shattering the chains, Kaden opened the book as a dark mist manifested around his body.

"Curse of lethargy."

Shackles manifested around Shura\'s ankles as she could feel her stamina and energy being drained at a rapid pace. Realising that she couldn\'t let this continue, she activated her Sigil once more as Kaden found himself unable to move.

Appearing above him, energy gathered into her blades as she let out an ear shattering roar before slashing down.

But before her slash could reach him…

"Curse of Apathy."

The energy around her blade dissipated and a string of foreign thoughts entered her mind.

\'Why should I even fight these two?\'

Shaking her head to dispel this thought, she slashed towards Kaden once more as he transformed into a flock of ravens. Black feathers danced around the battlefield as his voice echoed out once more.

"Curse of Fear."

Sensing danger all around her, Shura attempted to slash towards the source of the voice but the only thing her blade could reach was the Ravens. Each time a Raven died, it would explode into a mass of ink and spikes that would continue to corrode her soul.

A fear of losing herself began to take root in her heart as she backed off from the flock of Ravens.

"Curse of Identity, Curse of Regret."

Kaden continued as ritualistic markings manifested on Shura\'s body. From needles piercing through her limbs to chains restricting her movements, she soon found herself unable to target Kaden.

And finally…

"Sin of Sloth."

As five curses were applied to Shura without her being able to break free from them, the restrictions began to fade as it transformed into a brand of Sin. A Sigil with the icon of shackles manifested around Shura\'s wrists.

With the Sin now imprinted onto Shura, Kaden gritted his teeth and forced the book to close before sealing with chains once more. Throwing it into the rift, he collapsed on his knee.

There were drawbacks to using this power but it was fine as he achieved his goal. Buying time for Allura!

Seven Days of Execution – Seventh Day!