Abyssal Awakening

Chapter 244: Alice Vs Kaden

He didn't notice it earlier but now that he was right next to her, it was undeniable.

The feather used to contain some of his power.

'It feels… A little different to my power. Not quite a carbon copy but the traces left behind can't be mistaken. That's definitely the authority I hold. So why does she have a feather with my authority? And why a feather at that…' Kaden thought to himself with a frown while helping Alice up.

He had a few theories in his mind but kept them to himself for now.

"Again, sorry about being so forceful. I hope you don't take offence to that." Kaden apologised once more while creating a small badge using his shadows.

"This should block you from the effects of the barrier, letting you use your abilities again."

Accepting the badge, Alice couldn't help but wonder why he was giving her something like this.

"Just think of it as compensation though it's not much." He scratched his head while taking a few steps away from Alice.

"Now that you've answered a question of mine, would you like to ask me another question?" Kaden offered while taking a sparring stance.

One hand was raised towards Alice while the other was in his pockets. Gesturing for her to attack, Kaden waited patiently.

"So you've told me how Abyss Beasts come to be and the fate of the people born in the Abyss. But the main question remains. What is the Abyss?" Alice asked as she took a deep breath.

Activating her first Sigil, she could feel a familiar surge of power within her body.

Stomping down, she dashed forward and slashed up with her blade only to see Kaden catch it between his fingers.

"Hmm… That's a good question. Do you know the relationship between the Abyss and the Surface?" He smiled while flicking away the blade.

Alice countered with a round house kick before flipping her body back and sent a metal spear towards his head.

"The surface is above the Abyss is below?"

"Somewhat but not quite. I'm not talking about the placement of these realms but rather the relationship they have with one another." Kaden shook his head while ducking under her spear.

Just as he ducked, another spear shot up from below, forcing him to tilt his head to the side.

Since there were no pillars of obstacles around her, Alice couldn't set up her usual hunting ground but she had another idea.

Countless strands of blood extended through the sea of white spider lilies as Alice flicked her finger up.

A cage of blood erupted from the ground while Kaden looked up with a small smile on his face.

"What kind of relationship do they even have other than being next to one another?" Alice asked while threads of blood shot out from every intersection of the cage.

Jumping up, she snapping her finger and fired off several waves of flaming orbs towards Kaden.

Twisting his body, the shadow around his foot expanded into a shield, brushing aside the flames rather than trying to take them on via brute force.

"You're half right. There wouldn't be a relationship between the two realms had it not been for the Gods of the Surface. The two realms were next to one another but there never was a passageway between the two.

"When the Gods of the Surface, the Moon the Sun and the Eclipse, discovered the Abyss, they established a passage. If they could convert the denizens of the Abyss into their followers, their power will no doubt grow, breaking the delicate balance they hold between the three." Kaden explained while serpents made from shadow jumped up, cutting the threads that Alice had set up.

"But they didn't realise that once a passage was created, it could not be closed anymore. The Abyss is hungry for expansion, it desires to drag more into this realm and taint them with its influence. The passage opened by the Gods is not a one-way passage.

"Just as how they can come down into the Abyss, the beasts that lurk here can go up as well. And the barrier between two realms disappeared."

Waving his hand, shadow thorns manifested around Alice, forcing her to dodge.

"Therefore, the relationship between these two realms can now be called two sides of the same coin. So intricately linked yet the opposite of one another. Now, you asked me what the Abyss was right? The Abyss is a realm and a sentient being. There exists a will that controls the Abyss and guides its path though its actions are purely based on a desire to grow.

"Does that answer your question?" Kaden smiled, giving Alice some space to breath.

"Kind of. But also not really." Alice shook her head.

There were still many secrets around the Abyss and her own body. Around Cayla, the Crown and why it chooses Abyss Lords.

"Then you need to learn how to phrase your questions better. Now I believe it's my turn to ask you a question now." Kaden chuckled.

Snapping his finger, shadow chains jumped up from the ground in an attempt to grab onto Alice but she coated herself with a layer of her violet flames.

A trick she learned from the Wyverns and the chains were brushed off.

"You mentioned how you learned the technique from your mother/mentor. Can you show it to me? I'll give you time to charge it up if needed. I want to see the full power."

Hearing this, Alice hesitated before nodding her head. It was no secret that her attack resembled Allura's but she has added her own flare to it. Plus, the more she hides the less benefit she'll get from meeting Allura and Kaden.

The best thing for her to do now was to try and get as much as she could from this meeting.

Taking a deep breath, Alice activated all three of her Sigils as flames roared around her. Her crown partially repaired itself causing Kaden to raise an eyebrow in surprise. He thought it was merely a left over from Abyss Blood side effect but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Now that the crown was no longer dormant, Kaden could tell that it was an extension of the Abyss. For one that was chosen to be granted dominion.

'But that's… Impossible…'

Watching Alice enter her Resonance form, countless questions swirled through Kaden's mind but he set aside those thoughts for now.

Once this sparring session was over, he'll go and ask her Majesty himself and see what was going on.

Right now, he had to focus on Alice's attack.

Closing her eyes, Alice could feel the essence of the Abyss. The energy that surrounded them funnelled into her, empowering her current state. She could feel the resonance growing stronger with each passing second.

Even when she drank the blood of the five Sigil Hunter, she didn't feel this strong. But now, she felt as though she could do anything.

Snapping her finger, several orbs appeared around Kaden as she immediately detonated them, forcing Kaden to take a defensive stance.

With each snap of her finger, more would appear, but Kaden understood this was just the preliminary attack. To test if a follow up was needed.

And as expected, he could see Alice focusing her mind and senses for that perfect strike.

Her sword roared with the violet flame as Alice took a step forward.

*BANG!!!!

Scattering the white spider lilies around her, Alice appeared before Kaden. Her eyes focused on landing her strongest slash.

The space around her blade began to distort as Kaden manifested a cover of shadows to try and neutralize the attack.

But much to his shock, the space was torn apart and his shadows were shredded in the process.

He could sense the Abyss itself lending power to her which only solidified his theory.

Just before the slash could reach its apex, Kaden ducked to the side before narrowing his gaze. Aiming his hand towards the side of the blade, he released a single flick.

*KRRRRR!!!!!

Forcing the strike to miss him entirely, the slash travelled through the field of white spider lilies, leaving behind what seemed to be an ordinary slash wound on the ground.

But Kaden knew it was far more than that. The entire space had been cleaved apart. Even the strongest defence would crumble before a strike that could destroy the space itself.

Kaden was no longer smiling as this was far too much of a coincidence.

It lacked the Authority and the main concepts but it no doubt held traces of the Executioner's Blade. A version that's been heavily modified to allow for those without the Authority to wield a similar power.

After unleashing that attack, Alice could feel the strength being sapped away from her body as her arms cried out in pain. Her veins burned as though someone was pouring molten metal through her body as she collapsed onto her knee and dropped her blade.

Cold sweat dripped from her head as her hand trembled, unable to gather strength.

She had unleashed far more power than expected. Perhaps it was due to the area she was in, but Alice now understood she had to take the location into consideration as well when using Void Flux – Cleave.

"That is quite the attack you got there. I don't suppose you learned that from your… Mother/mentor, did you?" Kaden asked, hesitating a little now that he had a slight theory on Alice's identity in his mind.

"Not this time. I actually learned it from my friend's Grandfather. Well… Learned is a strong word. I saw him use it once and tried to copy what he did but mixed it together with what my mentor taught me." Alice shook her head while Kaden felt his smile twitch.

'Did she reverse engineer Lua's Executioner Blade?'

But before he could dwell more on this, Alice opened her mouth.

"It's my time to ask a question, right? Is the city I saw earlier… Ayr?"