Abyssal Awakening

Chapter 282: Griselda And Nanna

Jumping out of the personal realm, Alice found herself back at Velouria's castle but she was no where to be seen.

Guessing that she must be busy, Alice took this moment to calm her emotions but the smile refused to fade from her face.

Right now, she had three benefits from Cayla. First, kinetic vision. Second, Energy Perception. And finally, Mimicry.

Mimicry allowed her to observe and copy her opponent's movement to some extent and make it her own. Such was the case for Void Flux and Void Flux – Cleave.

Using the knowledge she gained from Shiera regarding the Zone stance, her performance at the end and the benefits granted by Mimicry and Energy Perception, Alice could make a new type of Zone stance.

One that allowed her to break down the weaknesses of her opponent and even hijack their spell if done right!

'Sh*t I can't stop.' Alice thought with a laugh as she immediately summoned her obsidian blade and established a boundary around herself.

Narrowing her eyes, her second Sigil flared up as blood mist surrounded her.

In her current state, if any attack was to enter her zone, she had two choices. One was to negate them using her flames. Second was to hijack the controls!

She had this idea of hijacking controls ever since she got her first Sigil but it was finally time to bring the idea to fruition.

Of course, it was easier said than done and right now, Alice had two methods of going about this. First was to forcefully take over.

Using Void Flux – Cleave, she'll separate her opponent's energy from their attack before replacing it with her own. But doing so required her to understand how the attack worked and how she should channel the energy. On top of that, after hijacking, she won't be able to make any adjustments since she lacked the Sigil.

The exception being if she was to drink their blood. If that happens then hijacking will become far easier.

The Second method was to manipulate the space around her Boundary using either Void Flux or Nyer's Space Lock skill. Her mastery over Nyer's Space Lock was lacking but that'll come with practice.

Rather than Hijacking, the second method was closer to redirection more than anything.

If she was to complete her idea then her new Zone Stance would help her fix her defensive issue. Not only that, but it could also be used offensively since through observation and mimicry, she could understand the weaknesses in her opponent's movement!

Excitement filled her mind but she quickly calmed herself once she imagined what fighting Allura and Kaden would be like. Those that surpassed her greatly in speed such as Ria or people who targeted the soul.

It was strong but far from perfect, but it was a start.

Once Alice was calm and the smile disappeared, she pulled out the second Key. The key leading to her training session with Spirituality and Immortality.

'According to Kaden, they're casters but have always lost to him. Not sure what I can even learn from them but it's not like I'm losing anything.' Alice shrugged as she stabbed the key into the air and opened a new door.

###

"Report." Solaris spoke coldly while glancing towards Shiera and Arax.

"Nothing of importance my Lord. Alice, the one we were requested to train, seems average and not to the calibre of Apostles. She doesn't seem to be hidden weapon nor does she display any remarkable traits aside from her reaction speed." Shiera replied while kneeling in front of Solaris.

"Hmm… Is that so? Arax, what about you?"

"Same here my Lord. Even though she showed an attack similar to that of the Executioner, it lacked any form of blessing. It can be surmised that she has not been chosen as a third Apostle."

"Then it's a false alarm. And here I thought she'd be someone special if Velouria was asking all the Apostles to help train her." Solaris massaged his eyes as he waved his hand and dismissed his Apostles.

Tapping his finger on the table, he formed a connection with Lumiria and Enris.

"I got the first report back. The brat doesn't seem special compared to Velouria's other subordinates." Solaris huffed.

"Hou~ Well I'm not surprised by that considering her soul age." Lumiria chuckled softly.

"You're hiding something aren't you, Lumi? Spill it already." Enris grinned.

"Her soul age is only 10. Now, if you were to take that into consideration, what do you think about her talent?" Lumiria smiled as Solaris paused for a moment.

"10? Are you serious?" Enris raised an eyebrow. Naturally, Solaris shared the same sentiment.

"That was what it looked like the last time I checked. Though it was a rough estimate. Compared to the other souls that I've seen, her's is maturing at a rapid pace. An increased growth if I had to put it into words. So perhaps Velouria wants to take advantage of this growth stage and help her learn as much as possible?" Lumiria theorised as the Gods became silent.

"Play along for now. It's not like a weak three Sigil brat can do anything in the first place, no matter how fast her growth may be." Enris shrugged. Of course, she had her own plans. If Alice was in a period of growth, then it was the perfect time to introduce outside influences.

Just thinking of the possibilities made Enris giggle with excitement as the other two sighed, knowing that the chaotic one was planning something again.

"I've already notified my Apostles to learn as much as they can regarding her soul and background. If things go well, we should have some information by the end of the day. For now, it's simply a case of waiting."

"Urg… More waiting. How do you two even stand it." Solaris clicked his tongue.

For Enris, she spent her free time planning out ways to disrupt the natural order.

As for Lumiria…

"Waiting is not so bad once you get used to it. The peace and quiet is nice Solaris. You should give it a try sometime." As the Goddess that focuses on longevity, embracing the act of waiting was part of the process.

All things fall apart with time, all she had to do was simply wait. Even for Velouria, Lumiria wasn't sure why these two were in such a hurry. If they simply watched and waited by the side, she'll die eventually. Such is the passage of time.

"You can enjoy your peace and quiet. I have no use for it." Solaris scoffed as he closed the connection.

He would never understand Lumiria's approach. But he doesn't have to understand it to get her help regarding Velouria.

###

Unlike the arena that Shiera and Arax was in, the arena for Immortality and Spirituality was a strange cloud covered platform with countless large towers decorating the background.

Above them was the moon in its full glory, basking the realm in a cold blue hue.

"You've arrived." The puppet apostle bowed slightly as her mechanical joints rattled in this silence.

Next to her, the floating woman bowed in a similar manner.

With the improvement of Alice's senses, she couldn't help but notice what seemed to be 'strings' extending from the floating woman's body, reaching into nothingness.

Upon noticing Alice's stare, the floating woman flickered in front of Alice. Her eyes snapped open and bore deep into Alice's eyes.

"You can see it can't you?" She asked, her voice seemingly ringing out in Alice's mind.

Taking a step back out of surprise, Alice wasn't sure what the girl meant but she couldn't avert her eyes.

Her surroundings began to darken as though nothing else existed and all she could see was a pair of floating red orbs.

"Stop. What are you doing Nanna?" The puppet frowned as she covered Nanna's eyes with her hand.

"Sorry, I was surprised that this girl managed to see my 'strings'." Nanna replied as the puppet glanced over at Alice in mild surprise.

"You saw it? How surprising… Have you had interactions with the soul before?"

"A little. I had an incident where someone dragged my soul to a different realm. But that was about it." Alice nodded her head as her vision returned back to normal.

Cold sweat filled her back as she didn't know what would've happened if the puppet didn't interfere.

"How strange… well I'm sure your peculiarities will make themselves known later. Griselda, Apostle of Spirituality." Griselda introduced herself as Nanna adjusted her posture and closed her eyes.

"Nanna, Apostle of Immortality."

"Alice." Alice bowed back while wondering what they were doing to teach her.

"So Alice, what do you think is the relation between body and soul?" Griselda asked with a smile.

"I'm… not sure." Alice shook her head.

"There are many interpretations. The way you interact with the soul changes the relation but for most, the body and soul take the roles of puppet and puppeteer. Without the soul, the body 'dies'. Without the body, the soul continues on until it gains a new puppet.

"Now let me ask you this. What do you think is the link between casting abilities you gain from Sigils and the soul?"

Hearing this, Alice contemplated it for a moment.

The source of Sigil abilities come from the contract formed between the host and the Abyss. Through this contract, power is given to the Spiritual Heart which then transfers to the physical heart before manifesting as the ability.

"Are you talking about the Spiritual Heart?" Alice asked curiously. If they were planning on teaching her about the Spiritual Heart then it may give her some clues regarding her Violet Flames.

After all, this beast within, the source of her flames, was acting as her Spiritual Heart. Without these flames, she'll die.

"Exactly. You are smarter than you look. Now allow me to propose a third question young one." Griselda nodded with a satisfied smile.

"How potent do you think a cast can become if you combine multiple Spiritual Hearts?"