Abyssal Awakening

Chapter 263: Tiamat

Feeling the overbearing pressure crashing down on her, Alice found herself unable to move. Even with the help of her violet flames, her limbs were stuck against the ground and no amount of strength could lift them.

Meanwhile, Tiamat observed Alice silently while her low growls shook the earth beneath Alice.

Looking up at the sealed Lord, Alice could see two demonic horns crowned on the dragon's head, spiralling towards the sky. Each horn, cracked and damaged, revealing a flow of crimson energy hidden by the first layer.

Along the ridges of Tiamat's neck was rows upon rows of jagged black spikes that transitioned to a luminescent red on the tips.

A pair of malevolent eyes stared down at Alice. Each eye held the intensity of the sun as Alice felt like she was going to die just from the glare alone.

"Why did the Executioner and the Shadow send you here?" Tiamat narrowed her eyes as she looked at the weak human in front of her.

Her aura stank of Allura and Kaden's tampering, especially that protective barrier earlier. That was most definitely the work of Allura, the Executioner.

Even now, Tiamat could remember the battle where she lost.

Killing intent oozed from her as her head approached Alice.

"Well? Speak. Or do you wish to become my snack?"

Gritting her teeth, Alice clenched her fist and dragged herself onto one knee. Determination burned bright in her eyes as her flames roared out in defiance.

Each flicker of the flame gave her more power to resist the pressure emanating from Terminus and the Abyss Lord in front of her.

Cracks and tears appeared across Alice's skin while her outfit became soaked with her blood but that didn't bother her. Right now, she needed to stand up and speak her purpose here.

Seeing a weak human like Alice fight against the pressure of Terminus, Tiamat couldn't help but be intrigued. A normal human would've been crushed to paste by this pressure already but her? No, she was still fighting. Surviving.

Wounds continuously appeared across her skin yet as strange as it was, her flesh would bridge the gap between these wounds and repair itself. A constant cycle of injury and rejuvenation.

And then there was that flame around Alice. So familiar yet so foreign. Tiamat couldn't quite remember where this feeling originated from which is why she held off on killing Alice immediately on sight.

"I…" Alice squeezed out between gritted teeth while trying her best to stand upright.

"Came… Seeking… Help."

"Help? Hah! Help from a sealed Lord? What makes you think I'll help you when I can't even help myself?" Tiamat laughed. With each howl of laughter, the realm trembled, causing Alice to stumble but she stopped herself from falling.

It has been many years since the war had ended and it was the first time anyone had come to her for help of all things. Those who managed to sneak into Terminus sought to either free the beasts or take their power for themselves through Sigils or rituals.

This was the first time anyone was asking for help.

"In the first place, what kind of help are you even looking for, kid?" Tiamat asked, deciding to humour Alice a little since there was nothing else to do in Terminus. After all this time, she was bored out of her mind!

"My… Body. Abyss Blood doesn't work on me… So I'm weak. I heard… You have a method to… improve the body." Alice answered as she forced herself to take a step towards the beast.

However, Tiamat wasn't concerned with her issue. Rather, the only thing that caught her attention was 6 words.

Abyss blood doesn't work on me.

Looking down at Alice silently, there was a hint of doubt in her eyes. While she may hate the Abyss, she knew how far stretching its authority was. Everyone was affected by the Abyss and even those that claim they weren't simply haven't found their limit yet.

"Lies." She spoke coldly while Alice shook her head.

"I spent… 10 years. People always injecting me… With tainted blood. But I always return to human. Even when… I should become a beast, I return."

"Do you dare stake your life on this claim?" Tiamat asked with a wide grin.

Closing her eyes, Alice knew that this was her only chance at fixing her body. A chance that was given to her by Allura and Kaden.

She knew that Terminus was sealed off thanks to the gate she found. Getting back here was practically impossible unless she became a Lord herself but by that point, would she still be alive with her current body?

Alice had been using different methods to keep up with the physical demands but even she knew that the gap would only grow wider as time passed. No amount of reinforcement from her first Sigil would bridge this.

"Yes." Alice replied after opening her eyes.

"Then prove it. The Blood of an Abyss Lord contains the essence of the Abyss. One sip of this and there's no coming back, even if you are an Abyss Lord yourself. Drink my blood and prove to me that you are indeed free of its hold. Hah, even those foolhardy people of the past have died or become beasts upon consuming the blood of a Lord.

What makes you any different?" Tiamat taunted as she reared her head back.

Cracking open her mouth to reveal a second jaw, blood began to pool from between her cracks and flowed towards Alice.

The blood formed a strange floating orb, reflecting the hellscape that is Terminus.

Understanding that there was no backing out of this, Alice took a deep breath.

It was risky. An all or nothing gamble based on how good her resistance towards the Abyss was.

Alice knew that based on the conclusion drawn up by Kaden and Velouria, the more she allowed the Abyss to taint her, the clearer her outline became. And once she allowed that, side effects would become permanent like the crown above her head.

Usually, this would be a deterrent but in fact, it only served to convince Alice further. After all, this was the best time for her to gamble!

If the blood of a Lord contains the essence of the Abyss, then consuming it while her resistance was at its strongest would give her the highest chance of survival.

With this in mind, Alice took a step forward and scooped up a handful of blood from the pool.

Tiamat watched silently as she could already see Alice's skin burning from coming into contact with her blood.

The power held within a Lord's body was not something anyone could just touch.

'This should scare her off.' She thought to herself, knowing that humans would value self-preservation above all else when there is nothing at stake except their life.

But contrary to her belief, Alice tilted her head back and poured the blood into her mouth.

'Foolish.'

Losing interest, Tiamat prepared to descend back into her prison as there was no need to watch a human being consumed by the Abyss. It was a sight she had seen far too often.

But to her surprise, she didn't hear any screams.

Confused, she glanced back and saw Alice standing in place and looking up at the sky.

The wounds on her body were mending at a visible pace while the flames that surrounded her body flared in excitement.

A smile appeared on her face as her eyes glossed over with a sheen of madness, excitement and ecstasy. Reaching towards the pool of blood, she continued to drink as her aura flared out, shocking Tiamat.

'She's… She's adapting to my blood?!'

Scales began to manifest themselves on Alice's body while horns protruded from her head.

Behind her, two sets of draconic wings unfurled and a tail slammed against the ground.

"More…" Alice muttered as violet flames wrapped around her hand.

The obsidian bracelet transformed itself into a blade coated by the flames as Alice let out a laugh and looked towards Tiamat.

Licking her lips, she revealed a set of sharp teeth.

Widening her eyes, Tiamat could see that Alice hadn't lost herself to the side effects. No… Alice had taken a piece of her soul!

'This power… This reaction…'

A theory appeared in her mind, but Tiamat refused its possibility. But reality couldn't be denied and Alice had indeed taken a part of Sealed Abyss Lord into herself. Adapting to the power of the blood along with the pressure of Terminus.

Slamming her hand down, draconic markings manifested across her body as flames engulfed Alice's body. Behind her, the visage of a multiheaded, multi winged beast could be seen as Tiamat gritted her teeth and let out a roar to push Alice back.

To her shock, Alice was unaffected as she disappeared and reappeared above the Abyss Lord's head.

"More!" Pulling her arm back, energy converged towards her blade as countless sparks crackled amidst the violet flames.

Void Flux – Cleave!

Swinging the sword, a wave of energy rushed towards Tiamat as she recognised this to the attack of the Executioner now paired with the power of an Abyss Lord of old!

If she wasn't sealed, she would deal with this brat in an instant since she doesn't know how to use the power properly but the reality was that she could not use even 5% of her power in her current state.

'Crazy b*tch!' Tiamat roared out in her mind as her aura soared. Even if she can't use more than 5% of her power, she refused to get done in by a brat of this calibre! She is an Abyss Lord, feared by all!

The Dragon Queen of the Apocalypse!

She will show the brat hell!