Abyssal Awakening

Pulling out her sword, she stabbed it into the ground while the other Lords rushed to the peaks that flanked the entrance.

Two surges of energy could be sensed as Alice understood that the other two Lords must\'ve done the same as Renna.

[They\'re stabilizing the entrance to the World. That way, even if the principal was to try sabotage it from the outside, it wouldn\'t work. It\'s a seal created by three Lords after all.]

Watching the convergence of energy descend from the sky, forming an illusionary cage around the entrance sent shivers down Alice\'s spine.

If all of that energy was used to focus an attack then…

Shaking her head, she didn\'t want to think about it while the three maintained the protective barrier.

"Go on ahead while we stabilize this entrance some more." Renna glanced at Erick. The three of them needed to reinforce the entrance for it to become a permanent entrance rather than a temporary one sealed in stasis.

Once that happens, even with the power of a Lord, the entrance will not collapse.

Nodding his head, Erick gestured for his group to follow him as he took out an orb from his jacket.

Realising that the Lords weren\'t going to follow them, Alice narrowed her eyes.

She understood that this was her last chance to deal with them while also sealing the entrance.

First, she wasn\'t afraid of being inside the Inverted World while it collapsed simply due to her fourth Sigil. It\'ll allow her to traverse the Void to safety. Not only that but there were other methods through the Sigils she stored in her Spiritual Heart.

Now that the biggest variable, the Lords, were taken out of the equation momentarily, Alice had confidence in succeeding with this near-suicidal plan to erase the Inverted World.

Standing next to Erick, Alice watched as he activated the orb. A pulse of energy encompassed him, Selen, one guard, the two researchers and Alice herself.

With Selen being against the Zenia family, it\'s effectively a two vs three. So long as it wasn\'t Selen, Alice was confident in taking them out.

For a split moment they disappeared towards the Inverted World, Alice accidently let her killing intent slip as Renna snapped her gaze towards the group only for them to disappear.

Furrowing her brows, she couldn\'t help but wonder if it was a hallucination or if it was real.

In that split moment, killing intent thick enough to send her into a flight or fight response.

\'There were no Lords in that group. It\'s impossible.\' She dismissed.

For someone to make a Lord like her feel the threat of death, it could only be another Lord. No being beneath the level of Lord could house that kind of killing intent and danger.

Shaking her head, she ignored this nagging feeling in her chest and focused on stabilizing the passageway into the Inverted World.

###

Shielding her eyes, Alice furrowed her brows as a strange sense of sickness washed over her. She wanted to throw up everything she ate in the morning.

Clutching her head, she glanced around her and saw that everyone was in the same state except Selen who was pale in the face but tried her best to maintain her neutral disposition.

Michael was less fortunate as he was throwing up by the side while Melissa was using his sleeves to stop herself from doing the same.

Erick washed out the bad taste with some water before standing up.

"Just a… Urg… Slight side effect from forcefully choosing a point in time. We\'ll be doing this again in order to actually find the solution for the pandemic." Erick explained as he stored the orb away.

"I thought it was randomised? Or did you find out how the Academy controlled the trajectory of the passage?" Alice asked curiously, holding herself back from gagging on this feeling.

"It depends on what you can have as a waypoint or marker towards the intended direction." Erick shook his head before sitting down and taking a breather.

"Even I\'m surprised we succeeded in the first try since it usually takes one or two attempts."

Hearing this, Alice glanced around as her pupils shrank for a moment before she forcefully regained her calm.

This architecture, this blue sky, the garden that her mother tended in her spare time… It was indeed the Zenia compound of her memories.

"Where are we exactly?" Alice asked, clenching her fist with an innocent smile.

"The Zenia compound roughly 10 years ago. I haven\'t told you why we\'re here yet have I? The… Artifact we\'re looking to recover isn\'t an item but rather a beast disguised as a human. Aside from that, I\'ll explain the rest to you later when you see what happens with your own eyes. The key is to retrieve the target from this world." Erick explained as Alice furrowed her brows.

"I thought you couldn\'t take living beings out of the Inverted World? Isn\'t it inanimate objects only?"

"It depends but don\'t worry, just follow me and you\'ll see." Erick laughed, patting Alice\'s head as she held herself back from swatting his hand away.

Once everyone had recovered, Erick had Michael hand out outfits for the group. A mixture of maid and butler attires.

"The head of the family has already given me instructions on how to blend in until the moment arises. Don\'t do anything stupid, don\'t do anything I don\'t say. Just follow alright? It\'s a command." Erick snapped his finger as both Michael and Melissa twitched for a moment.

Understanding that this was Erick exerting his command, Alice followed suit and nodded her head.

"Good, get changed here and we\'ll infiltrate the party." Erick nodded as he stepped to the side with the guard and Michael while the girls went to the other and got changed.

Selen was used to changing fast while hiding her scars while Alice furrowed her brows at the attire. It felt off putting to wear but for the sake of the disguise, she swallowed down her bitterness and changed into the maid outfit.

After making sure everyone was dressed well, Erick didn\'t say much else and led the way while the four followed behind.

As they approached the party hall, Alice could feel her heart beating against her chest.

The familiar gardens, the laughter in the distance and even the doors of the compound.

It had been 10 years but now that she was here again, memories rushed to her without stopping as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

But that\'s when the fond nostalgia ended.

A silent scream exploded in her mind as she stumbled on her foot and clutched her head.

The scraping of scalpels, hiss of machinery and the tearing of flesh. Screams, cries, panic. Tables being knocked over, guards kicking down the doors and pained voices shouting her name.

Taking several deep breaths, Alice could see her hands trembling as she clenched her fist and focused her gaze.

She could see the group concerned over why she suddenly collapsed over but Alice simply smiled and shook her head, refusing to say more.

Despite his confusion and concern, Erick didn\'t comment and proceeded towards the party hall located in the centre of the compound. There were two sections, an outdoor party and an indoor party.

While Erick was speaking with the other butlers and maids, Selen took this time to stand next to Alice.

"Why did you take the contract?" She asked, her tone neutral yet held a hint of anger and annoyance.

"Don\'t worry about it. I have my own backup plans. Just tell me if you\'re still going against the Zenias or not." Alice whispered back.

"Of course I am." Selen narrowed her gaze before stepping away. The longer she stayed next to Alice, the more suspicious it became while Melissa and Michael made their way over.

"I didn\'t know you two were close?" Melissa asked curiously, wondering why the ever so stoic Selen was speaking with Alice.

"Nothing much. She was just telling me not to mess up the operation because I fell over earlier. Just not used to these shoes you know?" Alice dismissed with a cheerful laugh as Melissa nodded her head in understanding.

"I know right? It just digs into the back of your heels and it feels tight around the ankle. Honestly, if it wasn\'t for this being needed I would\'ve thrown these shoes away immediately." Melissa lamented as she chatted with Alice to pass the time.

Soon, Erick returned with a trolly, a map and several trays holding refreshments.

"Gather up and listen closely because if we mess this up we\'ll need to leave and redo everything again, understood?" Erick warned as they nodded their heads.

"Our target will appear at the party in approximately 1 hour. During this time, we\'ll be splitting into these locations handing out. Kale, you\'ll take the southern entrance. I want you to seal it once things go south. An accident WILL happen, watch and don\'t let anyone leave. The more people are involved later, the more annoying it becomes to extract the target." Erick explained.

While he was explaining the other roles to Selen, Melissa, Michael and the guard, Alice had her eyes on the northern entrance.

The entrance she steps through with her father and mother while her brothers stood beside her.

Even now, she could remember the timeline of events that occurred and didn\'t need Erick to remind her.

After all, this was her birthday and she was the main star.