Abyssal Awakening

Standing in a white Void, Alice let out a heavy sigh before glancing behind her.

She could see a white figure walking with his hands behind his back. There was a small smile on his face.

"What do you want." Alice frowned.

"There's a lot of things I want. Many of which you can't give me." The Will chuckled, walking past her.

"Though there is one thing I will say. It's quite a shame that you failed to kill Kazira. Such an opportune moment too. Kaden took on some of your burden in order for you to use his authority, Velouria even unknowingly gave you one of the best tools against Outer Gods.

"The powers were balanced, you had the upper hand even. She was corrupted by your blood and the Realm Lord of the Void also gave you her assistance. Yet despite all that, you still fumbled the bounty I helped you target." The Will let out a regretful sigh.

Alice wanted to refute but she couldn't say anything. Once again, she was reminded of the fact that she needed a method to target the soul outside of Eldritch powers.

"Is that all you wanted to say?" Alice clenched her fist.

"Far from it. I present to you two choices. While it is true that you 'failed' the hunt in the sense that Kazira still lives, you did kill her main vessel. Her body is yours to claim." The Will curved his lips up into a twisted smile.

Next to him, the limp, lifeless corpse of Kazira was thrown onto the ground.

"You can choose to end the hunt here. Claim your prize from her body." He gestured.

But seeing Alice's annoyed gaze, he smiled knowing that Alice wouldn't choose this option.

"You think it's pity? I believe otherwise. To force an Apostle to abandon their mortal body and even beg to their God for salvation is quite the achievement. It's equivalent to a hunter giving up all of their Sigils to live. So think of it as a momentary reward.

"Alternatively, you can choose to continue the hunt. Find where she limped to, rip and tear her soul apart. Take every part of her essence and make it yours. And if you choose this, I will keep the body for the moment you succeed. And when you do, I will personally grant you your Sixth and final Sigil before Lordship." The Will offered an empty hand.

"What's your purpose? You wouldn't have targeted Kazira for no reason nor would you have urged me to give it another try. So spit it out."

"I don't think I will. Whether or not I give you this option or not, you would've sought to kill her regardless. Therefore, I am merely giving you the platform you need to perform. A push on the back." The Will smirked.

While it was quite the coincidence for Alice to meet up with Kazira right now, such a coincidence was welcomed in the Will's books.

Rather, this worked things out better for him.

Seeing the scheming light in his eyes, Alice didn't want to accept any of the options. Unfortunately, the fact that the Will has forcefully designated the target for her meant that it was not something Cayla or any shaman could override.

She was stuck with Kazira as her sixth target for the foreseeable future.

"Tsk. Then at least tell me this. Even if the Outer God intervened, could I have killed her soul?" Alice asked.

She knew that the Will wouldn't have made Kazira a target for her if it was impossible.

"You could've killed her twice over."

"!!!"

Before Alice could say something, she felt a force pulling her away from the location as the Will gave her a wave.

"I await your next battle o' worthy vessel."

###

Slowly sitting up, Alice clutched her head as she felt pain shoot through her entire body. Bandages covered her arms, torso and legs while a faint scar could be seen on her wrists.

Besides meeting up with the Will, the last thing she recalled was seeing Nyer and Alice immediately widened her eye.

Just as she was about to summon a sword, she felt as though a fire was burning through her veins, causing her to flinch and stop.

Looking around her, she saw that she was alone in a makeshift room. Pristine white bed sheets, white walls and floor.

Her breathing began to speed up as Alice forced herself out of the bed and limped towards the door.

Thankfully, it wasn't the same door as the one back in her prison.

Opening the door, she noticed several people in white running around from tent to tent.

There were screams echoing in the distance while other tents were silent.

Guards stood by, protecting the injured.

Observing her surroundings, Alice understood that they were still in the city. The only difference was that the barrier that had surrounded this place now disappeared.

All of the Eldritch beings left with the barrier and the city had been returned back to 'normal'.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Alice glanced at the symbols on the chest of the guards and came to the conclusion that they were part of the Abyssal Tyrant Sect, one of the three Sovereign sects that rule this land.

[Alice, let's go back in for now.] Cayla suddenly spoke up, surprising Alice as she glanced into her mental realm. To her shock, both Cayla and Alyss weren't in great condition either.

Nodding her head, Alice stepped back into the room and sat down.

'What happened after I passed out?' Alice asked with a frown.

[I don't know. Alyss is… Injured, having pushed her body too far with the chains. You're not in a great situation either since you showed signs of Eldritch Corruption.

[But there is one thing I will say.] Cayla furrowed her brows before opening her mouth.

[Nyer was able to access this place and we had a conversation.]

Hearing this, Alice's eye constricted in shock as she didn't expect this to be possible.

Originally, she thought this realm to be something that belonged to Cayla. But after Alyss's appearance, she understood that it was not the case. Rather, this was a mental realm of sorts, a soul realm where the three of them could converse.

If Nyer could access this realm then…

Swallowing her saliva nervously, Alice looked around in hesitation.

'Did he plant anything?'

[Not that I know of. But that doesn't rule out the possibility.] Cayla shook her head.

[But in regards to what we spoke about… He simply mentioned that you shouldn't force your body to fight for a week, and as for Alyss's condition, she'll be out of commission for a little longer so that the chains can fully suppress the excess Eldritch corruption.]

'That's it?' Alice furrowed her brows.

[That's it. After this, he left.] Cayla nodded her head.

On one hand, the Will of the Abyss was giving her a cryptic mission of killing Kazira. On the other hand, Nyer was seemingly doing nothing to her and even telling her how to look after herself.

Alice wanted answers but all she got was more instructions, feeling like a floating piece of wood in a river, being swept along by the currents.

In the end, she decided to take it one step at a time. There one thing that was made abundantly clear and the Will confirmed it.

Even without getting a sixth Sigil, she had plenty of methods to deal with the Soul. She simply had to figure it out.

###

Heavy panting echoed out in a chamber as a figure could be seen scratching and tearing away at her own body.

Bloodshot eyes and signs of side effects.

Her skin bubbled and melted while bestial features protruded from her body.

"Do you have any idea how difficult it was to find even a remotely suitable vessel for you?" Voruth'Zal sighed, looking at Kazira who was trying her best to keep this body together.

If she spent too much time in her soul state, she would become a different kind of entity.

"F*ck off! There was one there! If you had killed her, I wouldn't be struggling like this!" Kazira snapped back.

Alice's blood was strange.

No matter how many times she tried to switch vessels, no matter how she tried to purge, it's like this corruption was rooted into her essence.

Even using what little power she had remaining, she could barely keep things together.

Her God has abandoned her but traces of her authority remained. Had Enris taken the authority away, Kazira wouldn't even be certain what kind of state she'll be in.

"Killing her was your task. You asked me for salvation and I granted it to you. You asked for a suitable vessel, I granted it to you. I've played my part, you failed yours. It's hardly fair to blame me now is it." Voruth'Zal asked, looking at Kazira with a hint of mockery in its eyes.

But he too was concerned by the potency of this 'poison'. It corrupted deeper than Eldritch powers did. Even with what he could do, the most that could be achieved was to keep it at bay and stop it from progressing.

"Jin." Kazira suddenly spoke as she clutched at a piece of flesh that melted off.

"Jin is still alive. His body has been attuned to Eldritch powers. If I get to him, as long as I abandon my Authority, I can take over." Kazira's eyes darted, trying to figure out a way to save herself.

In her current state, she had given up everything with the exception of her life. As long as she can get her hands on Jin, she can get them back one by one.

"Glad I am to see your ambitions burning strong. I will find you a new vessel to inhibit for the time being. Once I do, let us proceed with the next step of this operation." Voruth'Zal smiled, turning around and leaving the chamber.

Behind him, Kazira's screams echoed out as she clung to life.