Abyssal Awakening

Chapter 175: Paradoxical Existence

As the two fell through the darkness, Alice tried her best to stabilise herself but it was futile. The darkness clung to her like thick viscous liquid that refused to budge no matter how much strength she used.

"Arg! A-Alice!" Ria called out, wanting to find out where Alice was within this sludge so that they didn't separate.

Gritting her teeth, Alice mustered up as much strength as she could and unsheathed her blade.

Bright red flames erupted out in an attempt to illuminate their surroundings but the darkness snuffed out the fire in an instant.

Reaching out to try to grab onto Ria, Alice could feel them falling deeper into the Abyss…

###

The rhythmic footsteps rang out through the dusty mansion as Lord Andrius arrived at the spot where Alice and Ria disappeared.

Narrowing his eyes at the corpse of the beast in front of him, he scoffed with a smile before tapping his foot against the floorboards.

"We'll need to prepare some… Corpses if you want the Guild to believe they died with the beast."

"Naturally. Though I must say, I wish I had observed the situation closer. But had I chosen to approach, the split haired girl would've noticed me. Her senses are rather sharp and I'm surprised she was actually able to break out of Mermaid's Call so easily.

That is an illusion skill that a two Sigil bearer should have no right to resist." The man beside him muttered with intrigue as he recalled her fight.

The brilliant violet flames that cut through the darkness and flesh, the way she fought at the end, not caring about the damage done to her own body. Oh how he wished he could turn her into the perfect specimen and figure out what kind of secrets she was hiding.

"And your verdict on the prototype?" Andrius asked, knocking the corpse of his wife to the side in disgust.

"Fast and deadly. But lacks… Adaptability once their prey discovers a way to counter their illusions. And outside of the illusion, the offensive capabilities leave much to be desired. In exchange for getting rid of its weaknesses, it had lost out on the speed and deadliness a true Unbound Demonette has." The man muttered while tapping his finger against his notebook.

"Meaning?"

"We'll have to make some additional changes and add more samples for the future prototypes. But worry not, this fight has given me much inspiration for the abilities that are required. Now, I will deal with our two new… subjects." He chuckled while giving the Lord a bow.

"Before you go, I believe you still owe me something?" Andrius raised an eyebrow as the man laughed and reached into his pocket.

"Silly me. Here you are my Lord. Her ladyship will be very proud of the work you've done for the greater will."

Handing the Lord a vial of blood, the man bowed once more before falling backwards and disappearing into a pool of blood.

Swirling the vial lightly, the Lord smiled and placed it into his pouch before leaving the mansion.

All that's left was to report the 'failure' of Alice and Ria to return alive while the issue regarding the Unbound Demonette has been resolved. He just needed to get the corpses put in place.

###

Continuing to fall through the darkness, Alice and Ria found their senses overwhelmed by countless voices in the dark.

The cries of the young, the pleas of the homeless, the mournful sadness of those that remain. Their identities blurred together, threatening to invade their mind when a blinding light filled their vision.

Shielding their eyes from the light, the darkness surrounding them finally released its grasp as the two fell without hindrance.

Quickly adjusting themselves in mid air, they landed on the ground and summoned their weapons.

Alice brought out her blade and coated it with the innate blood flame while Ria created a spear out of lightning.

Looking around, Alice observed a twisted landscape that defied the laws of reality or anything that she had seen in the Abyss.

Strange misshapen trees cast ominous shadows over the lands as countless islands floated in the void.

This cluster of floating islands were connected by thick chains while cages hung off each segment.

Within the cages, countless corpses rested lifelessly. Some large some small, some humanoid some bestial.

Glancing above them, a blood red sky could be seen yet no moon was present.

And at the heart of this realm stood a sinister altar. The altar, looked as though it was crafted from blood obsidian and etched with ritualistic symbols. Dried blood stained the ground while dried husks kneeled in perpetual prayer, stuck in the motion of reverence.

Their ghastly expressions bore neither happiness nor sadness. Only fear.

"What in the hell… Are we still in the Abyss?" Ria asked hesitantly as something about this realm sent the shivers down her spine.

She could feel every part of her body rejecting this place. It felt as though she was in the presence of something… unnatural and should not exist.

It was a different feeling compared to Alice. It was far more ominous.

"I… Don't know." Alice shook her head.

Her voice filled with a mixture of uncertainty as she recognised some of the symbols. Only a small fraction but she had definitely seen them before.

It had nothing to do with the Cult of the Eclipse nor did it have anything to do with the Rituals that she had seen thus far in her ventures deep into the Abyss.

No, she had seen these in her time on the surface.

In the Zenia prison.

'These symbols… two of them were near the operating table…. Do the Zenia's control this realm?' Alice thought to herself hesitantly as she was ready to activate the gift that Allura had given her if things showed even the faintest signs of going south.

She was not ready to face the Zenia family again and she knew this. It was too early for her to expose her existence to them.

"Beautiful isn't it?"

""!!!""

Hearing a voice behind them, body Alice and Ria slashed out at the same time as lightning and fire weaved together into a wave of destruction.

However, their target was composed as the wave of energy soon dissipated before reaching him.

'What?!' Widening her eyes, Alice didn't expect this to happen as she had never seen the powers of the Abyss dissipate in such a way.

The only time she had seen something remotely similar was her violet flames!

"Surprised? The gift of the Abyss does not reach this far." He smiled while walking towards Alice and Ria.

"Now, I must applaud your efforts. Especially you young lass, you actually killed the Unbound Demonette. That sort of power with only two measly Sigils at that. I believe your talent can be put to better use than the Abyss."

Hearing this, Alice couldn't help but frown while Ria lunged forward with a spear.

She wouldn't usually attack like this, but she could not stand the presence of this person!

To her surprise, her weapon and body phased through the man as though they were not present.

"We are merely here in spirit. Not flesh. Had we been here in flesh we would've died to his benevolent gaze. But this is merely a glimpse into the future of this realm. The Abyss to be claimed by the one true Lord."

Snapping his finger, a wave of lethargy washed over both Alice and Ria as they collapsed on their knees, finding it hard to stay awake.

Gritting their teeth, the two glared at the man as he paused in a mixture of confusion and surprise.

'Their souls are rather… resilient. How?'

Narrowing his eyes, he scrutinised Ria, staring deep into her eyes before smiling.

"I see… Your soul has already been tainted by the God of the Eclipse. What shame. A tether? No… A collar seems more fitting. Seems like your Lord will not let go of his control so easily. Now… What about you young lass?"

Walking over to Alice, he kneeled down and stared deep into her eyes.

There seemed to be an endless darkness within her gaze as the longer he stared, the deeper he felt himself sinking.

Her gaze was mesmerising, magnetic even and he found himself unable to take his eyes off her. Alice's right eye, this strange orb where the whites have been dyed by the darkest black. Something seemed to call out from within.

In her gaze, he saw his own reflection. His shaded figure when suddenly, his reflection smiled.

"!!!"

Wanting to pull back his gaze, the man tried to take a step back but he was unable to. He could only watch as his reflection moved without his permission.

Little by little, 'he' seemed to walk closer to the veil separating the two of them.

Was this the girl's soul? No, it was not. It was a reflection of his own yet twisted beyond recognition. A reflection of the sins he's indulged in.

He saw his own death. Deep within, the girl envisioned herself gorging upon his flesh, tearing him limb from limb.

She envisioned ripping off his head and carving out his brain, using his skull as a cup while his body lay lifeless.

She envisioned countless beasts eating him alive, clawing out his eyes and digging their claws deep into his body.

She imagined the bodies of spider like beasts injecting their eggs within his body to be used as a host, a plant like beast planting its roots deep into his nervous system and then there was simply him.

Alone in the darkness with a single girl who stared at him with a smile.

Chains latched around his figure as she stepped up, slowly digging out his flesh and consuming it with a charming smile.

He felt pain.

Pain in the deepest parts of his mind.

*BANG!!!

A barrier interrupted his vision as he stumbled back, cold sweat covering his face as his visage within this ghostly realm was distorted, on the verge of breaking apart.

Had he continued to stare into her gaze, his soul would've been swallowed up!

"What are you?!" He screamed out in bewilderment.

She has no soul! She is an empty void existing to devour! An empty husk ready to devour any soul brave enough to step into her depraved mind.

She is a being that cannot, should not exist! She is no man nor beast.

She is an empty husk, a shell of what once was.