Abyssal Awakening

Previously, she had a pair of bright crimson eyes. But now, her right eye was dull. No longer was there a crimson shine but instead, it was replaced by a greyish blue.

She noticed the Zenia group approaching in the distance but decided to ignore it since they were coming from her right.

Not only that, but she made sure to expand her unstable Zone boundary since the Guards had noticed it before.

"Ah~ That\'s not very cute though…" Alice groaned while looking at eye patches. All of them were a dull black colour and lacked any designs. Upon hearing her comment, the shopkeeper seemed a little annoyed.

"Beasts aren\'t going to hold back regardless of what you wear. Even if you wear the cutest outfit possible, it doesn\'t make you any less of a meal for them." He reminded as Alice shrugged her shoulders.

"Yeah but if I\'m going to die I wanna die a cutie ya get me? If I wear something dull I\'m going to flip in my grave!" Alice grinned and stuck out her tongue.

The instant Erick stepped into the range of her boundary, Alice snapped her head to the right while jumping back with a hostile glare.

Once she saw it was Erick, she relaxed her guard.

"Ah sorry sorry! I\'m a little skittish when people approach my right side now." She scratched her hair in embarrassment.

"Did something happen?" Erick asked curiously, seeing the discolouration in her eye.

"Eh… I mean… Just a little. Ah but don\'t get it wrong, I\'m still strong okay?" Alice laughed as she hopped over to their side.

"Hm? Where\'s the gorilla and the silent one today? Are they out doing something important?" Alice blinked her \'innocent\' eyes in confusion as Erick\'s smile twitched for a moment.

"They\'re a little preoccupied for now. But setting them aside, can you tell me what happened to your eye? I might be able to help you fix it." Erick chuckled as he reached his hand towards Alice\'s face.

Screaming in her mind while allowing him to get a better look at her eye, Alice opened her mouth.

"It\'s… Kind of hereditary. Do you know how I can fight against Jyn pretty well? It was because of my right eye. The people in my family are able to see a little better than the average Hunter. It\'s like time just slows down.

"But the more you use it, the worse the eye becomes. Spacing out the uses is fine but there\'s always a risk if you overuse it. I was in a fight while exploring the Inverted World and overused my eye a little and now it\'s blind." Alice stuck out her tongue while Erick furrowed his brows.

"I\'ve never heard of a hereditary trait that allows you to see better but I suppose it\'s the Abyss so anything can happen. Melissa, Michael, can you have a look at this?" Erick asked as Alice let out a small cough.

"Erm… maybe not in the middle of the streets?" She squirmed in embarrassment as Erick was still holding onto her cheek.

"Ah, sorry about that." Erick coughed but snuck a glance at Kale\'s embarrassed expression.

Meanwhile, Alice was biting the bed covers in her mind, trying not to break her act while Alyss howled in laughter beside her.

Letting go of Alice\'s cheeks, he invited her back to their Inn so that Melissa and Michael could make a quick diagnosis on Alice\'s eye.

Once she arrived at their Inn room, Alice followed instructions and laid down on the bed while both Melissa and Michael activated their Sigils.

For Michael, a halo manifested behind him while his eyes turned to a radiant gold while Melissa manifested a bloodied halo. Her eyes became bloodshot as ritualistic patterns appeared along her arm.

Now that she was seeing this in person, Cayla was more confused than ever. In all her time acting as the Eyes of the Abyss and the knowledge she had amassed, this was the first time she had seen this kind of power.

Everything that came from the Zenias was abnormal, Alice included, and practically flipped all the existing knowledge of the Abyss on its head!

Michael\'s power had a hint of repulsion towards the Abyss, similar to how the flames acted while Melissa\'s blood was oppressive and violent.

Holding still beneath their gazes, Alice was ready to strike out if she needed but held back.

Meanwhile, Selen watched with a conflicted expression.

\'Is it coincidence?\' She wondered to herself upon seeing Kale\'s eye.

The suspect for the killing of Jyn and Rita also had a damaged eye but there was no traces of Kale\'s power at the scene of the crime. Not only that, but they were simply too different to be the same person.

\'The other girl tried to use illusions. Unless Kale can use illusions, it\'s unlikely for her to be involved.\' Selen concluded. She figured that she was probably too eager after such a variable had appeared, but eagerness could lead to her downfall.

She had to continue as she had always done and take things one step at a time.

"It\'s as she said sir. Though… rather than hereditary, it\'s more of a curse." Michael frowned as Erick raised an eyebrow.

"Eh? A curse? Who me?" Alice sat up in shock while pointing at herself.

Seeing her surprise, Michael understood that she didn\'t know anything about it.

"It\'s only speculative since we don\'t have any equipment on hand. But it seems like there\'s a curse on your eye, one that drains it of sight and power. I\'m not sure what kind of curse can be inherited as such but it might be a ritualistic type that targets the bloodline rather than the individual." Michael shrugged, deactivating his Sigil.

"It\'s definitely not a ritual, I don\'t see any signs of exchange or ritualistic contracts on this curse." Melissa shook her head, denying the possibility.

"So it\'s a curse targeted at her bloodline but it\'s not a ritual either? Then what is it?" Erick folded his arms.

"No clue sir. Can\'t check it properly without tools from the lab." Michael raised his hands in defeat as Alice flinched inwardly at the mention of lab.

While her movement may have gone unnoticed by the others since they weren\'t looking at her, it didn\'t escape Selen\'s eyes.

Suspicion welled in her heart but she didn\'t make a single move.

"Hmm… What do you think of this?" Erick turned to Alice who sat on the bed while covering her right eye with her hand.

"Hm… Doesn\'t really change much since I\'m already blind in one eye now ahaha…" Alice laughed bitterly while kicking her legs back and forth.

Looking at Alice\'s figure, Erick thought to himself for a moment before opening his mouth.

"Would you like to go back with me to the Zenia family? As you know, the family is the best when it comes to Abyss Blood. I\'m sure some of our research can help solve your curse issue." Erick offered, surprising Selen as she didn\'t think he would invite her to the family rather than keeping her as a plaything.

"Eh? To the Zenia family? Alice blinked her eyes as did Melissa and Michael.

"Just like Selen, you are clearly capable of fighting people above your Sigil count. And the Zenia\'s value that, truly. And if we can help you resolve this curse, what do you think about joining the family? As a knight like Selen?" Erick smiled while Selen clenched her fist.

Closing her eyes, she could remember the offer extended to her.

The moment she was chained to this Gods forsaken family. And once again, she has to see the same scene play out in front of her.

"Of course, as I am not part of the main family yet, I don\'t have direct say into whether or not I can get you in. However, we\'re very close to achieving what we\'ve set out to do in this city. Once I achieve that, I\'ll be accepted into the main family and directing some resources into solving your curse should be a piece of cake for me." Erick continued, making his way towards Alice.

"So how about it? Would you like to come with me to the Zenia family?"

Hesitating, Alice glanced up at Erick.

"But…"

"I recall the words you told to me at the time we met were that you are strong, wasn\'t it? I need strong people by my side. I lack the physical powers of guards or the mental prowess of our researchers and that\'s exactly why I need to surround myself by people I can trust and people who can protect me.

"In return, I\'ll do everything I can to fulfil your wishes. Even fixing this eye of yours." Raising his hand, Erick places his hand on Alice\'s cheek with his thumb next to her eye.

\'Bullsh*t.\' Selen thought to herself.

Blushing from his touch, Alice took a few steps back while looking away in embarrassment, causing Erick to chuckle as he retracted his hand.

"You don\'t have to give me an answer immediately, I\'ll wait for your reply. For now, rest in the room as long as you need."

Watching them leave, Alice was throwing up on the inside when she noticed Selen flicking something towards her and caught it immediately.

A small pin with the design of a sword.

[It\'s connected to her, similar to what the branch manager tried to track us. Though it\'s for us to track her instead…] Cayla muttered in confusion.

Looking at the pin, Alice furrowed her brows before storing it into her pouch for now. It wasn\'t a pin used to track her meaning Selen had no interest in Alice\'s whereabouts. Instead, it was for Alice to know hers.

Questions floated in Alice\'s mind and the only one who could give it to her was Selen.

\'Seems like we\'ll have to talk to her sooner than expected.\'