Abyssal Awakening

Chapter 333: Final Shard of Velouria

The sound of countless attacks colliding with one another sounded out as Cayla gritted her teeth, unable to understand how her future self was able to parry all of her abilities and even send counters back.

And while she was struggling, [Cayla] sat languidly in the air with a small smile and a yawn.

As the Eyes of the Abyss, they didn't have many ways in which they could attack outside of throwing energy at one another. However, due to her experience of watching Alice fight and the people around her.

Not only that, but during the centuries of dormancy, there would be moments where Kaden would try to plant her into someone for a short period of time only for them to die soon after. That granted her experience of fighting as well.

Compared to a memory conjured by the Will of the Abyss, she was far stronger!

Weaving energy together into a blood like state, [Cayla] launched several needles towards her past self, exploding them upon contact and forcing her to jump back to avoid the blow.

Just as she landed, a maw erupted from the ground, aiming to break her ankles.

"!!!"

Narrowly avoiding the attack, Cayla looked up with annoyance.

*BANG!!!

Before she could comprehend what had just happened, a wall of force slammed into her face.

'Did… Did she just punch me???' She questioned herself as [Cayla] had jumped into close quarters combat!

[After watching mine master's countless spars and battles, it's only natural that I pick up some of her techniques and habits.] [Cayla] smirked, clearly understanding her younger self's confusion.

But this was her way of having fun right now while also doing her job. So long as she can prevent Cayla from bothering Alice while she was synchronising with this energy, everything will go their way.

And centuries of not being able to move does numbers on a person.

Therefore, she cannot let this opportunity disappear, even if her target is her younger self!

Slamming her palm into Cayla's chest, she followed up with a double slam against the ears, discombobulating her then following up with a chin kick into a downwards heel.

*BANG!!!

Slamming against the ground, Cayla could feel her vision flickering as she wanted to push [Cayla] away with a pulse of energy but [Cayla] was more than prepared.

Stomping her foot down, she released her own pulse of energy to counteract, pushing Cayla away and forcing her to tumble against the ground.

[Tsk tsk tsk, I almost feel bad here. Thou art feeble like a child. Or perhaps changing it to the way I used to speak would be better for you. You're terribly weak.] [Cayla] narrowed her eyes with a grin.

Before her younger self could get back up, she felt coils of energy wrapping around her limbs, forcing her against the ground while [Cayla] sat atop her, pinning her against the ground before crossing her legs.

[Now, shall we watch the rebirth of mine master? A being containing the power of the Crown, Eye and Heart. A being that hasn't appeared since the time of Ayr.] She asked with a smile but rather than a request, it was more of a statement since Cayla couldn't do anything right now.

###

What is the Crown of the Abyss?

Alice asked herself that question as she submerged her consciousness in the flow of energy.

'It's a symbol of peace that Velouria offered to her followers. A legacy for me to inherit everything she left behind.'

However, that was not all. The crown symbolizes the control the Will poses on the 'Goddess'. A slave collar if anything.

Then, what is the Eyes of the Abyss?

'The Eyes are for the Goddess to see all and know all. To see everything that occurs in the Abyss and its secrets. To understand what she's seeing.'

But the Eyes are also a way for the Will to monitor what the Goddess wishes to do. What does she plan with this information? A method of surveillance.

If the Crown represents enslavement and the Eyes represent surveillance, what does the Heart represent?

'The Heart… The source of power and proof of becoming a Vessel capable of accepting the Abyss in its entirety. The burden of power. A gateway to the library of beasts held within this realm. The Heart is the source of the Goddess's power along with her divinity.'

And yet, it's the method in which the Will controls the Goddess. To govern over her life and death.

With the symbol of peace comes enslavement, the removal of freedom. With the Omniscia comes surveillance and the removal of secrets. And with power comes control, the removal of life and death.

The Goddess becomes the perfect puppet and vessel for the Will.

'Is that the fate of anyone who claims all three?'

To become the Symbol, the Omniscia and the Omnipotent comes the price of individuality. Anyone who lay claims to all three becomes nothing but an extension. They cease to become themselves.

They will no longer be Velouria, no longer be Alice. They will become the Goddess of the Abyss, the slave of the Will.

'. . .' Alice was silent.

Opening her eyes, she found herself in a shimmering field of flowing energy. The ground, a gentle weave of soft colours. The sky, a blend of pastel and white. The sun, an orb of saturated colours swirling in a constant blend.

The moon, soft and ephemeral.

In front of her, stood a single woman wearing a long white dress made from the same weave of energy that created this realm.

Seeing the familiar white hair, Alice understood who this was but it was different to the Velouria she knew. The Velouria she talked to and the same Velouria who made her outfits.

"Are you the real Velouria? The one who appeared when I got the Eye and the one who appeared to give me the Crown?" Alice asked, walking up to her and standing beside her.

"I am." Velouria nodded with a smile while overlooking this field.

"Are you here to give me the Heart like you did with the Crown?"

"No, I am not." She chuckled, finding Alice's responses rather funny.

Furrowing her brows, Alice glanced towards Velouria who maintained a small smile.

"I've told you the fate of accepting all three into your body. The fate of a slave. Are you still willing to go through with it?"

"What choice do I have in this matter? If I let Nyer do what he intends to do, I die and by extension, Alyss. If I don't do it, you die and I become a slave. There's no winning here is there?" Alice sighed.

Letting out a small laugh, Velouria patted Alice's head.

"The Nyer I know and the Nyer you see in a memory are very similar. They both came to similar conclusions but different approaches. Nyer in the memory wishes to reestablish the real Heart and the memory of me. Doing so means it will overwrite the contract that I've established with the Will since I'm already dead. A new me will rise without the fate of a Slave.

"Meanwhile, the real Nyer realised his failures upon my passing. Seeing as how you possess a faux Heart right now, I'm sure you understand his method." Velouria smiled while Alice contemplated her words.

Ignoring the fact that she just found out that it was Nyer who made this faux Heart and planted it in her, Alice furrowed her brows and came to a conclusion.

"Do I consume the real Heart in order to turn what's fake into real? To work around the fate like what Nyer's trying to do by turning the memory of you into reality?" Alice asked as Velouria nodded her head.

"You are a very smart girl. Good job. I had hoped to talk to my successor more but having the memory of me fulfil that wish is good enough. This is the last shard of me that I've intentionally left behind. A shard in the Eyes, a shard in the Crown and finally, a shard in the Heart. All for the hope that by the time you find the Heart, I'd be able to see you escape this fate.

And you've done just that.

"So do what you are meant to do. Go and become what I couldn't become. And send Kaden, Allura and even Nyer my regards when you see them again in reality." Velouria pushed Alice forward as she gave her a final wave.

Before Alice could say anything, she felt her body plunging into a pool of energy, overwhelming and sending her body into shock.

The countless strands of power pierced into her body, aiming to overwrite her soul, to turn her into a slave. Gritting her teeth, Alice understood that this was the moment. The moment where she needed to fight back and consume the Heart in return.

To link herself and turn the fake into real.

Focusing on her connection with Alyss and by extension her Spiritual Heart, she could sense the countless beings connected to her. The souls that she stole.

Little by little, black hands began to manifest around her body, fighting back against the tendrils of energy trying to overwhelm her.

This was her ascension as a new vessel for the Abyss, outside of the Will's control.

###

Stumbling back while spitting out some blood, Nyer glared at Alyss who was indulging herself in this feeling of ecstasy.

Even with his full focus on trying to kill her along with the Blessing of Reverence, her tenacity proved to be too much.

There was an easy way for him to kill her and that would be to sever the connection between her and the Spiritual Heart. But doing so will cause Alice to be pulled from the ritual and thus going against what he wished to do from the beginning.

Yet trying to kill her without this method seemed impossible. No matter how he tried, no matter how he mutilated her body, the hands would constantly piece her together before stitching up the wounds.

She is a monster in the truest sense.

But at this moment, when he took a step back to observe his opponent, he noticed the abnormalities in the ritual.

Widening his eyes, he turned back and saw Cayla struggling while motes of darkness appeared in the pillar of light. A seed of corruption originating from Alice's soul.

"No!!!" Nyer screamed, rushing towards the centre of the ritual but Alyss stopped him with a slash to his back.

And in the blink of an eye, the pillar of light transformed into a pillar of darkness that violently combusted into violet flames.