Abyssal Awakening

Chapter 379: The Truth Of Alice and Alyss

*CRUNCH!!!

Flinching from the bite, Alice was speechless as she watched the beast eat her younger self.

Young Alice's body twitched before falling limp. The sounds of her mother crying out with a soul-wrenching scream, her father trying his best to break past Selen and her brothers who shouted her name.

"Ah~ How wonderful it is to see one's own birth. And yet… Unfortunately, this is incomplete wouldn't you say so, my dear product?" Nyer whispered into her ear as he created a small spark on his finger and tapped her neck.

At that moment, a golden collar shimmered to life with chains attached.

"Why is there still a remnant of young Alice within you? By all rights, you should've devoured her the moment you crushed her skull and absorbed her into you." Nyer asked, jumping back as Alice gritted her teeth and wrapped herself in violet flames.

"Did your make-belief become a reality? Or was it a miscalculation on my part to allow you the memories of young Alice?" Nyer tapped his chin.

"Shut up!" Creating a blood blade in her hand, Alice lunged towards Nyer and activated Void Flux – Cleave.

Releasing a wave of destruction towards Nyer, she watched as he stepped to the side and flicked the face of the wave, breaking it in half.

"Let's see… Ah~ There you are." Nyer made a circle with his fingers and scanned Alice.

Clapping his hands together, the bindings manifested around her limbs as Alyss was forcefully brought out, taking control of their body.

Looking down at her hands, Alyss sighed before looking up at Nyer.

"What do you want?" She asked calmly.

Alice had expected her other self to scream and fight but this calmness? This is a first and frankly, it scared Alice more than anything.

"Are you trying to bargain?" Nyer raised his eyebrow while Alyss shook her head.

"You brought me out, forced me to take control. Either you want to say something to me or kill me right? So your product can be whole." Alyss asked, dismissing the blood blade.

All this time… Both of them thought that she was the 'product' invading their mind. All this time, she was given the name Alyss because she wasn't the 'original'. A split soul created with a mysterious origin.

But the reality was that the original Alice was dead all along. She was killed by the product and the remanent soul was renamed into Alyss.

Perhaps that was why her father hated her. Her brothers didn't see her for who she was because she was never the original Alice.

She was the beast who killed her and took her form.

"A scholar does not interfere with the experiment when new variables appear. He merely… Observe and records. I want to see the results of my experiment for I am but a memory am I not? The fact that you've appeared before me is a sign and thus I shall observe.

Observe the results of my work in the distant future." Nyer let out a laugh, snapping his fingers and collapsing into a puddle of ink, disappearing from their sight.

Watching the chains fade away, Alyss let out a sigh before turning to Alice.

'I'm sorry.' Alice apologised while clenching her fist.

Even though Alyss had returned her control to Alice, Alice didn't move and simply stood still.

'Why are you apologising for? The fact that you killed me originally or the fact that I'm here now?' Alyss asked, laying down on her bed and covering her eyes with her arm.

Opening her mouth, Alice wanted to speak but nothing came out. She merely stood in silence.

How would a person feel if they realised they were never who they thought they were? That everything was a lie.

She was never Alice Zenia but rather a product produced by Nyer. Just another f*cked up experiment.

Alyss was the original and she's the parasite that stole her appearance, her blood, her memories and her body.

If… if she had never killed the original Alice then perhaps her family wouldn't have turned out the way it did.

Before she could continue her train of thought, Alyss grabbed her by the collar.

'Look at me. How is it that me, the one you f*cking killed, is taking this better than you? We can talk about who to blame later but for now, can we do our f*cking job and stop these freaks from getting you/us out of this damn place?' Alyss gritted her teeth.

Biting her lip, Alice hesitated for a moment before nodding her head.

Right now, she didn't want to think. Don't think about the truth, don't look at the ugly reality and simply do what she came here to do. Kill the Zenias, collapse this realm.

Nothing else matters.

Just kill.

Slamming her hand down, a pool of blood began to expand across the entire hall. Reaching down, Alice grabbed the leg of the first guard and dragged him in front of her.

Confusion filled his mind as he wondered why he was upside down.

Seeing the emotionless eyes of Alice who was staring back at him, fear gripped his heart.

*BANG!!!

Jamming a Void Flux into his mouth while red spider lilies blossomed across his body, Alice detonated the spark and watched as his head was obliterated in one go.

Throwing the body aside, Alice wiped the blood splatter across her face, creating a ghastly smear of blood.

"That's one…" Alice muttered.

Was this why she always felt at ease during battle? Because she was made for it?

'Three left. Michael, Melissa and Erick. Selen is keeping… Luthor busy.' Alice thought to herself as both Michael and Melissa were annoying targets to take care of.

Even though they were focused on killing the nobles, there was a protective barrier around them, keeping them safe.

Alice couldn't repeat the same method she did with the guard since neither of them was open to a sneak attack.

However, just because both of them have placed precautions doesn't mean she can't make an opening!

Focusing her flames into two tiny sparks, Alice began to modify their shape before aiming it towards Michael and Melissa.

*BANG BANG!!!

Firing the modified Void Flux, Alice leaned back into a blood mirror and teleported above them.

Just as the modified Void Fluxes came into contact with their barriers, it exploded into a blood mist and began to eat away at the energy.

"Huh?"

Noticing the blood mist that exploded around them along with their barrier that was being dissolved away, Michael furrowed his brows when two hands came into his view.

*CRACK!!!

Breaking Michael's neck, Alice created a compressed orb of blood and jammed it into his throat.

From his body, briar roots burst out from his orifices as red spider lilies blossomed across his body.

Widening her eyes in horror, Melissa glared at Alice in terror and shock then anger.

"KALE!!!"

"Shut up, I'm not deaf." Alice glanced over while Melissa manifested a bloodied halo around her.

Ritualistic patterns appeared across her body as she was about to activate her ability when Alice used Michael's body as a shield and dove into the blood mirror.

Confused as to where Alice went, Melissa activated an area of effect ritual to create a zone of safety.

However, she didn't expect Alice to crawl out of the blood surrounding her feet.

Two slashes against the tendon, forcing her to fall over while two fingers appeared in her view.

"ARGGGG!!!"

Letting out a scream of pain, Melissa could feel Alice gouging out her eyes as her head was pulled back.

Activating her partial bloodline release Alice curb stomped Melissa on the back of her neck.

Each stomp caused her blood to splatter around her as Alice pulled her head and spine from her body via brute force.

Since it would be a waste of resources, Alice snapped her finger and gathered the blood of Melissa, Michael and the guard into a single orb and threw it into her mouth.

*BANG!!!

Parrying a sneak attack that had invaded her zone at the last moment, Alice's disguise began to flicker as she noticed it was Erick who fired the attack.

"You won't get out of this alive. Three Lords are waiting outside and you've also broken the contract." Erick threatened as he glared at her.

Hearing this, Alice tilted her head before letting out a laugh.

"Pft AHAHAHAHA! Oh my dear young master, do you really think I signed that contract because I had no way to get out of it?" Alice narrowed her eyes.

*Crack…

Little by little, the disguise provided by the mirror jester started to fade away.

Her split hair, her scarred eye that was sealed by Kaden and the outfit of Ayr.

Alice revealed her true form to Erick who widened his eyes at the resemblance.

"The contract stated that it will take effect once I join the family. But if I'm already part of the family, does the rest of it still apply? And even if it did, how will you command the first born daughter? But all things considered, I guess the first born daughter part doesn't apply to me anymore." Alice smiled bitterly as the only one it applied to would be Alyss.

Regardless, since their soul was in one body, the contract couldn't be applied to them.

Sienna, who was dragged away by Erick, saw Alice's appearance and her gaze trembled.

She had just seen her daughter get eaten by the monster but another appeared in front of her.

Confusion filled her mind but that was no doubt, the appearance of her darling little girl.

"You're the missing relic!" Erick gritted his teeth.

The reason why they were on this mission was because the real relic was missing.

But if she was here all along then all he needed to do was warn the rest of the family!

"What was one of the clauses again? Ah right, obey the hierarchy, right?" Alice revealed a cruel smile.

Widening his eyes, Erick realised what she was about to say as he reached out, wanting to stop her but it was too late.

"Erick Zenia, kill yourself."