Abyssal Awakening

As the droplet of blood touched her body, a flame engulfed Arwen as she flinched in fear.

Tristan grabbed her hand tightly, hoping that nothing would go wrong.

Focusing her mind, Alice sensed the turbulent energy within Arwen that was trying to fight back against her flames. Discover more content at empire

If she were to simply burn away the side effects, her soul wouldn't heal properly.

Instead, she needed to ease something into where the side effect used to be. To replace it and hold the soul stable.

Alternatively, there's also the choice of giving her more control over the side effect. To allow her to activate it whenever she wanted as though it's a Sigil effect.

"Arwen, do you want to get rid of the side effect or control it?" Alice asked as Arwen thought about it for a moment before shaking her head.

"I don't want it."

No matter what, the ability to charm people didn't feel right for her. Taking over someone else's will felt like a violation of the individual and Arwen didn't want this power.

"Alright."

With Arwen making her choice, Alice only had one path laid out in front of her.

It was easy in theory but difficult to execute. To put it bluntly, Arwen was going to be her first test subject. If she succeeds here, she'll be able to start removing side effects from other people.

The first step was to understand the fundamentals of side effects and Abyss Blood.

When a user consumes the blood, a contract is formed. They offer a portion of their soul in exchange for the power that dwells within the vial of blood. For Alice, this contract is temporary and the effect soon disappears.

The more they drink the vial, the more potent the contract becomes and their body naturally reflects this change in the soul. From the soul, the power is funnelled through the Spiritual Heart and shown on the body.

Originally, Alice thought that cutting off the connection would be fine but the damage done to the body would be beyond repair. The worst choice possible.

Instead, there's an alternative method that Alice wanted to try. The exact inverse of the original contract that took place.

She has the Crown, the Heart and the Eye. With that in mind, along with the countless souls linked to her Spiritual Heart, she's akin to a second Abyss. Albeit a small one.

The contract she wanted to give to Arwen was to take on the side effects in her place. To accept it into her body, her soul.

The Abyss gave her power and healing in exchange for her soul. By inversing it, Alice takes back the power and healing and returns the soul through her connection to the Abyss itself.

What the Abyss gives out, she retrieves.

In other words, Alice acts as the refund.

Black shards shimmered above Alice's head, forming a crown while the heart beat against her chest.

The eye tried to exert its power but under Kaden's seal, it struggled in futility.

[Don't worry about it, I'll handle it. Even though Kaden's sealed me, my soul is deeply intertwined with yours now. And if you haven't noticed it, your current eye is already being turned into the second Eye of the Abyss.] Cayla reassured.

Nodding her head, Alice focused her own power to act as the third node for this resonance.

Opening her eye, the pattern within changed back to the red spider lily that was present in her Resonance.

*Badum!!!

The power of the Abyss surged out as Tristan glanced over in surprise. But in fear of distracting Alice, he didn't say anything.

Spectral strands of energy appeared from Alice's body as it linked to Arwen's body. Motes of energy started to flicker to life around them, slowly transforming into ritualistic symbols that formed a natural circle. As the symbols begin to link up, sweat rolled down Alice's face.

She felt the connection forming between her and the Abyss.

The expanse of the realm and the countless layers that were present. The howls of beasts trapped in Terminus, the ruins of Ayr, the ruined battlefield that she saw in the Inverted World.

A surge of information flooded Alice's mind but Cayla stepped in and isolated the knowledge, preventing Alice from being overwhelmed.

As the pain of the forceful transfer subsided, Alice momentarily felt as though something was staring at her. She wanted to find the source but only a faceless smile appeared in her mind and she understood what it meant.

The Will noticed her forming a connection yet did nothing.

It simply observed.

Ignoring this pest, Alice focused on the task at hand.

To revoke the contract that the Abyss formed with Arwen!

Red spider lilies blossomed on Arwen's body as she began to writhe in pain. Tristan held Arwen's hand, desperately praying for this to succeed.

Alice formed a resonance between the Abyss, Arwen and herself. She had already located the modified portion of Arwen's soul but it refused to budge.

All she needed to do was one more push…

'I wouldn't do that if I was you." A familiar voice rang out in Alice's mind as her body froze up.

'What do you want.' Alice glanced back and saw the Will observing her while in a languid pose.

'I'm simply watching what you plan to do. But if your plan is to preserve that girl's life then I wouldn't force it if I was you.' The Will chuckled.

It seemed as though neither Alyss nor Cayla noticed the presence.

'What do you even get out of coming and watching me randomly? The last time you appeared was when I was in the Void. You called me incomplete. A vessel. If you wanted to take over my body what use is it for you to wait this long?' Alice fired off question after question but the Will simply shrugged.

'What use do I have to take over something that's not finished? It's an inevitability that you'll complete the vessel without me interfering. You'll seek out power all the same because if you don't, you won't survive and you won't be able to help Allura.

'But let's just say that I'm feeling helpful. For a lost child that doesn't understand the power of the Abyss, my power. If you forcefully go through with what you want to do, you'll kill her. But I like your idea and spirit. Next time, get a power that helps you interact with the soul better before you try something like this again.' The Will grinned as he appeared next to Alice and gave her head a pat.

Just as Alice was about to strike out against him, he disappeared.

'I've revoked her contract. Take care now my dear incomplete vessel.' His voice echoed out as Alice's mind was brought back to reality.

The spider lilies slowly disappeared with a burst of luminescent blue lights that floated around the room.

Alice could feel the Siren's power flowing into her body. If she wanted to, she could replace one of her Sigils whenever she wanted for this power.

As the flames faded away, Arwen relaxed her body.

"Did it succeed?" Tristan asked.

Being reminded of the fact that the Will stepped in out of pity, Alice felt a bit annoyed. However, it was a good ending. If he didn't step in, Arwen would've been in more danger than before.

"Yes, her contract is revoked. She should be fine now." Alice nodded before stepping out of the room.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Even though the Will told her to go for a Sigil that interacted with the Soul, she felt it clearly.

The method he used to revoke the contract.

Similar to how she and Alyss would scour through the souls connected to her Spiritual Heart for a replacement, the Will did the same.

Using the analogy that Velouria mentioned in the past, the Will was the librarian and the Abyss is the library. He simply searched through the books to find the right one before burning it away.

If Alice could tap into this library, she'd be able to achieve the same. There was no need for a Sigil that interacted with the soul. Of course, it'll make it far easier and it's also something she needed to get.

But just knowing the right technique was enough.

Making her way down to the bar, Alice grabbed a glass and poured in some mead.

[The Will stepped in right?] Cayla asked out of nowhere.

'How did you know?'

[I was about to warn you not to continue when you suddenly stopped and the contract was revoked. The… process was too sudden. If it wasn't the Will then I don't know.] Cayla shrugged as Alice took a sip of mead.

'You're right. He stepped in out of boredom, mocked me before disappearing. He told me to get a Sigil that lets me interact better with the soul before trying something like this again.' Alice sighed.

There were too many things at play and she couldn't get the full picture. The movement of the Outer Gods, Nyer's plans, the Will's expectations, whatever the Zenia's were trying to do with the Doctor and even the strange cult that Allura discovered when she first started her journey as a Hunter.

The White Death that was born from the corpse of a Sealed Lord. An impossible situation since not even Allura or Kaden had a method to kill the Sealed Lords.

Not to mention the recent recovery of Tiamat.

Taking another drink, Alice let out a frustrated sigh.

The best way to prepare for all of this was to get stronger. Strong enough so that she could directly interfere with whatever was going on in the background!

She had a clear path laid out in front of her.

Visit the East, get her sixth Sigil, meet up with Ria again and progress towards becoming a Lord.

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