Abyssal Awakening

Chapter 239: Heartbeat

In the depths of the Abyss, a flickering trail of fire battled against a giant demonic beast.

Large obsidian horns, a pair of wings that dwarfed the area, countless spiked scales across its body and a large red crystal in its chest with a tail that slammed the ground behind it.

Jumping into the air, Allura glared at the beast as she snapped her finger and created two sparks of light in front of her.

Firing them towards the beast, she watched as it batted the attack away with its wings before cracking open its jaw.

Crimson lightning rushed up from the ground and sky as an orb of destruction formed.

*BANG!!!

Watching the torrent of energy fire towards her, Allura twisted her hand as another spark appeared before her. Within that instant, the spark detonated into a kaleidoscope of colours that erased the torrent of energy.

Taking several deep breaths, sweat dripped from Allura's head as she reached into her jacket and pulled out a cigarette.

With trembling hands, she brought it to her mouth before flames erupted from her body.

"Taranis, enough of this sh*t." Allura snapped as she glared at the beast in front of her.

Flames raged around her body as her anger skyrocketed.

"For you maybe. But you've grown weak Allura. Feeble even. Where is the might you boasted in the old era? Where is the might you were so proud of? Executioner of the Abyss?" Taranis let out a deep laugh as lightning coursed through its body.

Hearing this, Allura's smile twitched as she glanced back into the distance.

Gin was currently engaged in his own fight as his Avatar of Death raged above the crimson skies, tearing apart the space and letting down a black mist that enveloped the lands.

"Maybe I'm just taking pity on you. We're old acquaintances after all." Allura forced a laugh as she adjusted her posture.

"Spare me your bravado. Since we're old acquaintances, I'll let you live if you hand me that dying Authority." Taranis grinned. The beast could tell Allura was far weaker than her prime.

"At the end of everything, you're just like the others. Greedy for this Authority." Allura sighed as she pulled her hair back and took another drag of her cigarette.

"After today, the Abyss shall lose one more Lord." She narrowed her eyes.

The flames around her flared out before transforming into a pure white flame.

As her aura continued to climb, the Abyss started to tremble from her presence.

The perpetual crimson skies above faded as light descended around the battlefield.

Raising her hand, she gritted her teeth and punched the space in front of her.

*CRACK!!!!

From the depths of the fracture, she reached in with her hand before pulling out a single blade.

The blade gleamed with an otherworldly radiance as its edge was forged from the very fabric of space. Engraved along its length were intricate ritualistic markings that pulsed with foreign energy that Taranis was unfamiliar with.

Pulling out the blade in its entirety, the sword hummed with power, resonating with Allura as flames coalesced into black and silver armour that wrapped around her body. A black and white dress could be seen beneath the armour as a single crest was visible upon its surface.

The crest of Ayr, a black moon surrounded by a spiked halo.

A ball of flames enveloped Allura's head as a spiked headpiece revealed itself, covering the upper half of her face.

Her black hair faded into a pristine white, pure and untainted like the moon.

Behind her, a spectral halo and six pairs of silver wings unfurled themselves as she aimed the blade towards Taranis.

Anti Beast Resonance!

Taranis wanted to interrupt but a suffocating aura restrained her in place. Invisible chains hindered her movements while the Abyss itself hailed the arrival of the Executioner.

"You say I've grown weak. But the reality is that you're just not strong enough for me to go all out. Before me, all defences shall be rendered null!" Allura shouted as she snapped her finger.

A pulse of energy erupted out from around her as the space around them froze.

White and black energy flared around Allura's blade as she took a step forward and cleaved up with her blade.

*CRACK!!!

A single slash exploded forth, shattering the space and obliterating everything that met the strike.

But Taranis refused to be ended like this.

Sacrificing its wing to dodge the strike, the beast hissed in pain before punching down with its fist.

Lightning exploded out as Allura was dragged into the beast's personal realm.

Upon reaching six Sigils for Humans or six Stars for beasts, they become blessed by the Abyss with a Second Resonance.

A personal realm where their powers are enhanced to the limit!

For Gin, he chose to do the opposite. He would bring out his avatar rather than drag people into his realm.

For Taranis, it wanted to drag Allura in so she lost the blessings of the Abyss!

Looking up at the sky, Allura could see a pair of wings crafted from pure lightning as Taranis hovered beneath its light.

Taranis' Second Resonance was a realm forever ravaged by lightning and in this realm, it ruled as Sovereign.

There was no need for anymore words.

Without hesitation, Taranis struck towards Allura but her expression didn't even flinch.

Snapping her finger, a familiar energy pulsed out, halting the attack as she twisted her body and let out another slash.

After the first, came the second slash. Then the third, then the forth. The number of slashes continued to climb as Taranis widened its eyes at the sheer number of slashes that Allura was releasing, each one with the power to break the space apart.

"I have to thank you. If you didn't drag me in here I might actually have to be worried about the damages." Allura called out in a monotone voice as she pulled her hand back for a final strike.

The edge of her blade flickered with the same spark of her Nova Core as she disappeared from her spot before reappearing in front of Taranis!

Executioner's Blade!

As her final strike descended, the space was no longer paused as all of her strikes crashed towards Taranis.

Unable to defend itself, the beast's realm was shattered as countless slashes tore into its body.

Before it could even let out a roar of defiance, Allura's final strike tore through all of its defences and burned through its essence. A spark detonated within the epicentre of her strike as the realm collapsed inwards, destroying all evidence of Taranis' existence.

Glancing back at the singularity that was created from her strike, she could see the realm reflected upon its mirror like surface.

Snapping her finger, the space repaired itself as her first Resonance disappeared.

Her hair returned to normal and her armour faded.

Landing on the ground heavily, she stumbled over to a large bolder and collapsed with her back against it.

*COUGH!!

Coughing up a mouthful of blood into her hand, she simply sighed before pulling out a cigarette.

Watching the fight in the distance, she could see that Gin will eventually win the fight but he'll fail to kill the Abyss Lord he was against.

"Let me give you some help." She chuckled as she aimed her finger towards the direction of the battle.

Narrowing her eyes, the space above them shattered apart to reveal a single white spark that shot towards the enemy Lord who paled at the sight and immediately retreated.

With her interference, Gin was able to leave a lasting wound on the Lord which burned with the power of death.

"You've become sloppy Gin. Not much of a Lord of Death if your opponent walks away after a fight." Allura laughed, seeing Gin sit down next to her. He was covered with wounds while gesturing her to give him a cigarette as well.

"Shut up. I'm not as young as I once was." Gin groaned while glancing at her wounds.

"You pushed yourself again didn't you?"

Staying silent, Allura shrugged her shoulders.

"So where are we going next? With you killing Taranis, the war in this area should settle down somewhat. They'll be too preoccupied with recovering from the loss of an Abyss Lord."

"Let's go up a layer. You're in no shape to follow me down, it'll be better if we focus our efforts above for now." Allura replied as the two of them watched the battle in the distance.

A war between those who have yet to achieve the rank of Lord.

"As you wish. But with just the two of us, especially you in this state, it's not going to be easy. The more you fight, the more the others will realise." Gin frowned.

"So be it. It's not like I'll die to a random Lord that shows up." Allura laughed.

Just as Gin was about to retort, he paused.

*Ba-dum!... Ba-dum!!... Ba-dum!!!

Standing up, he furrowed his brows as he looked around in confusion.

The heartbeat continued to beat as it resonated with something deep within.

An unknown emotion surged forth while confusion filled his mind.

Surprise, happiness, anticipation.

A myriad of emotions assaulted his mind.

"What the hell?" He looked towards Allura for answers.

She had dropped her cigarette as her pupils shrunk in shock.

"Sh*t… I should've known." She muttered while forcing herself to stand up.

"Change of plans Gin. We NEED to divert all of their attention to us, no more holding back."

"What's going on Allura?" Gin frowned as he hadn't seen Allura be this anxious before.

"Every single Lord, whether they be in the Abyss or on the Surface has felt that. The issue is that the Lords belonging to the Churches felt it too, no exceptions." Allura scratched her hair as this was a miscalculation on her part.

She knew that since Alice and Ria were looking for Luke, they'll find the Inverted World. What she didn't expect was for Cayla to have such a big reaction.

It simply meant that she was a lot closer to waking up than what she had originally anticipated.

If they don't divert the attention of the Churches towards them, the Churches will spare no effort in tracking down Cayla. And by extension, Alice.

"Alice?" Gin asked as Allura nodded.

*Sigh…

"Alright, but we need to get some healing first. No matter how dire this is, you won't be able to do much if you continue to fight in this state."

Agreeing with Gin, the two disappeared from the battlefield.