Abyssal Awakening

Looking at the swirl of Eldritch energy that was manifesting behind Kazira, Alice's eyes widened in anger as she quickly lunged forward.

'DON'T LET HER GET AWAY!' Alyss shouted, realising that an Eldritch God was trying to intervene.

*CLANG!!!

Seeing her sword bounce off the energy, Alice switched places with Alyss as she slammed her fist into the veil.

Golden energy erupted out from the chains, pushing back the Eldritch forces.

She ignored the pain she was feeling and how the cuffs dug into her flesh.

After coming this far, they refused to let Kazira get away.

Not like this, not now!

"So this is what caused so many icons to fall. Indeed, a foul seal designed to keep us at bay. Not unlike the cage placed around this world in its entirety." A haunting voice rang out as a figure stepped through the fabric of space.

Its body was made from cosmic space while golden markings decorated the surface.

Revealing a gap with sharp teeth in the shape of a smile, Voruth'Zal had caught Alyss's punch with one of its tendril like hair strands.

Widening her eye, Alyss could feel this being fighting against the energy from the chain. With her current state weakened and the energy being used over and over against the other Icons, it was actually too weak to force a backlash!

"KILL HER!" Kazira shouted but the Voruth'Zal held a finger over its mouth.

"You desire life, you desire escape. Our bargain does not include the termination of this one." It chuckled, flicking Alyss away and causing her to slam into a pillar.

She could feel her bones shattering as the chains were hindering her regeneration.

Yet if the chains weren't here, she wouldn't be able to contend against this beast at all!

"Don't f*ck with me! She's right there! Weakened! If you won't do it then I will!" Kazira roared, refusing to allow a being like Alice to continue to exist.

She had to deal with her now!

If she didn't, she'd always be wondering when she'd reappear.

A shadow in the back of her mind.

The creeping figure in her peripheral vision.

Her nightmare.

Just as Kazira lunged forward, Alice glanced up, her eye completely focused on her movement.

'I figured you'd try to finish me off. You won't rest easy if I'm not dead, right?' Alice had come to understand Kazira during their fight.

Despite her powers, despite her authority, beneath all of that, she was simply greedy and cowardly.

She wanted the power of a god but not the trials that came with it. She revels in death yet her life is more precious than anything.

A person like this shouldn't be given power.

*BANG!!!

Clenching her fist, energy swirled as Alice gathered every last drop of her power.

One more hit.

One more hit at full power. To push everything to the limit just so that she could deal with the soul in front of her.

It felt as though her surroundings were beginning to darken. Her vision tunnelled on a singular goal.

KILL KAZIRA!

*CRACK!!!

A fracture appeared on the golden chains that suddenly manifested around Alice's limbs.

Dark energy was being drawn towards her as Voruth'Zal paused in mild surprise.

It was wondering why such a seal was placed around the girl in front of it but now it made sense.

It wasn't a simple case of Eldritch energy being imbued into her. Otherwise, it wouldn't cause a reaction like this.

"Indeed, humans are the most entertaining when they greed for power." Voruth'Zal smiled, flicking its finger as Kazira was forcefully pulled away from Alice.

However, to his shock, darkened limbs erupted from her shadow, latching onto Kazira and preventing her from being taken away.

Clenching her fist, Violet flames erupted out from Alice's body before handing over control to Alyss.

Phantom Shift!

Appearing in front of Kazira, Alyss's blade was practically brushing against Kazira's face when Voruth'Zal interfered.

*CLANG!!!

A dark spike burst out from one of the limbs, intercepting Alyss's strike.

Without a change in emotion, Alice took over, aiming a finger at Kazira.

Void Flux!

Swallowing the singularity using its own cosmic body, Voruth'Zal tried to break the grip Alyss had on Kazira.

Meanwhile, Kazira was screeching in pain from having two sources of Eldritch power tugging and ripping at her soul.

Dark spots began to manifest with clear signs of corruption.

Seeing that she wasn't going to reach Kazira without first dealing with this Eldritch being, Alice gritted her teeth and slammed her palm down.

Spider lilies began to blossom as a garden of blood manifested around them.

Summoning a pair of swords, Alice rushed towards the Outer God.

Void Flux Cleave!

Twisting her body, she unleashed an upward slash that tore apart the realm. But unlike the normal attack, from this tear, teeth and limbs began to manifest with the chains now digging into Alice's arm.

They were beginning to manifest even when Alyss wasn't taking over!

Swatting the attack to the side, Voruth'Zal skipped backwards, avoiding Alice's barrage when all of a sudden, limbs burst out from its shadow, clutching at its ankles and wrist.

With her target now standing still, Alice combined both blades into one with flames roaring against the surface.

If it's an Outer God, then there must be a tether holding him, anchoring him down to this realm.

She simply had to cut it apart!

Severance!

Twisting her body, Alice unleashed a horizontal slash that seemed as though it was going to miss but Voruth'Zal knew otherwise.

His body began to mutate, twist and writhe.

*BANG!!!

A ghastly maw burst out from his chest, lunging up and swallowing Alice's slash of severance.

"!!!"

Sliding across the ground, Alice wanted to continue when she realised chains were binding against her limbs. Glancing down, she could see a dark energy polluting her ringers, reaching up to her hand.

The reason why the Outer God could swallow her slash was simple. . .

It became corrupted with Eldritch energy!

'Eldritch Energy assimilates Eldritch Energy. . . Sh*t.' Alice gritted her teeth as she collapsed on one knee.

She could see the cuffs binding her wrists and ankles, digging into her flesh while energy started to gather around her neck, forming a collar.

Alice's breathing fluctuated as she instinctively scrambled to try and tear the collar off.

But the instant it manifested, energy was purged from her body, including the Eldritch powers.

Her vision began to blur, and she wondered if this was the end.

She could see the Outer God approaching her step by step.

At that moment, a figure placed his hand on the Outer God's shoulder.

"I thought the death of this girl wasn't involved in your contract. Why don't we leave it at that?" A man smiled while Voruth'Zal glanced back.

Curling its lips up into a grin, Voruth'Zal shrugged and snapped its finger.

Kazira's screaming soul was dragged along despite trying her best to kill Alice while she had the chance.

With the Outer God now gone from this place, the man kneeled in front of Alice.

"I can see why he treasures you so much." He muttered.

Saliva slowly pooling in his mouth as he swallowed.

He could sense the traces of energy inside her body. Even though she may be drained right now, if he was to let her regain her power, she'd become a meal like no other.

Alice could see this strange man's silhouette beginning to shift as tendrils whipped around him.

However, he soon returned to normal, understanding that the specimen was off limits.

And not a moment too soon either as he noticed a certain man staring at him from behind.

"I held myself back, okay? Even I'm not that stupid." He raised his hand, showing that he wasn't planning on consuming Alice.

"Do what you're supposed to do and gather my materials." Nyer spoke coldly.

Watching the artificial Outer God walk away, Nyer glanced at Alice.

A myriad of conflicting emotions flashed through his eyes for a brief moment before returning back to their usual state.

"N…yer…" Alice squeezed through gritted teeth.

"Sleep now." Nyer placed his hand over her eye as Alice lost her consciousness.

###

Looking at the golden chains that were slowly fading from Alice's body, Nyer couldn't help but trace his fingers along them.

A familiar and nostalgic energy. . . This method of placing a seal. . .

Hesitating for a moment, he picked up Alice into a princess carry before glancing at the egg that the Artificial Outer God was observing.

"The kid inside is still alive you know. Surely he's not off limits right?" He asked, glancing over at Nyer who was carrying Alice.

He glanced down at the subject in his hands and a shadow of Velouria seemed to overlap. His gaze softened just for a split moment.

Opening his mouth, Nyer paused. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind before shaking his head.

"Everyone here is off limits. I'll give you something to eat when we get back. Remove the corruption then leave."

"Everyone?! So what if one or two of them were to go?" The man frowned, feeling as though he was robbed of his meal.

Samples like these who have been touched by the Eldritch energy were perfect for him but a warning glare from Nyer caused him to recoil back.

"You can take samples from the south if you're unhappy. It seems like the new Apostle of War has now lost her position. You've seen how she's been infected by the Eldritch energy. There's no doubt that she'll be raising a new army in the south. You may enjoy your meal there so long as you keep it controlled."

Hearing this, joy flashed through the man's eyes.

"That's a promise okay! No going back on it!"