Abyssal Awakening

Blinking in confusion, Alice glanced at the others after Feris left.

She simply arrived, stated what she wanted then left. Nothing more, nothing less.

Once Rosalyn was sure that Feris had left, she lunged forward in a flash, grabbing Alice by her collar.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! Talking to a Realm Ruler like that?!?! Do you want us to die?!?!"

"What do you mean? I've always been like that to her though." Alice felt wronged.

Sure Feris gets annoyed at times but she was never one to lash out and kill without reason.

Even when she brought Eldritch energy into Feris' realm, the most she got was a scolding. Of course, doing it again would simply be pushing it.

"Yeah well that's because you didn't see her a few hundred years ago! Turn your eyes to the f*cking map." Rosalyn's smile twitched.

She could still remember running for her life while her brother protected her back.

Back then, she couldn't do anything to protect herself and seeing a pissed off Realm Ruler was something else entirety. Even if they aren't classified as Gods, they may as well be one.

The Abyssal Realm Ruler is a unique case while the Void has Feris and their current realm HAD one in the past. But because of the battle between Feris and the Realm Ruler, the three Gods are now acting as Realm Rulers.

"Notice how there are quite a few large empty spots on the map? Places turned into the sea? Yeah I wonder what kind of battle could possibly leave a scar like this huh? Makes you think doesn't it?" Rosalyn gestured at the different sections of the sea.

Most are ignorant about the true nature of the battle but many know of it as a calamity.

One that practically reset the world in its entirety, causing a large scale redraw of the world map.

"For real?" Alice stared at the empty plots of land in disbelief.

She's seen hints of Feris' true power considering she permanently erased a portion of space. But seeing the markings and consequences of her power was something else entirely.

"For real. If not, why do you think I was even hesitating on breathing near her!" Rosalyn spat out in anger.

Despite all of this, Alice was still talking to Feris with a relaxed tone and even going as far as to annoy the Realm Ruler at times. If that wasn't asking for a beating Rosalyn didn't know what was.

"Hey! Ow! Ow! Okay I got it so stop hitting me!" Alice frowned while Rosalyn kept hitting her butt and head.

"Nope I'm doing Allura a favour right now considering the kind of sh*t you keep pulling!"

###

Returning to the Void, Feris sat down by a large rock and looked out towards the cosmic horizon.

The floating islands drifting alongside the large creatures that swam from the waterless sea.

It was times like these where Feris wished she could just close her eyes and sleep forever. So that this ache in her chest could disappear. Her vengeance was achieved yet she felt no satisfaction.

For the life that has left her side will never come back.

All that remains is the hollow, empty void where they used to occupy.

An endless darkness that can't be filled no matter what.

She thought that maybe. . . Maybe a sign of them still lived in this world. A trace of their existence.

Feris thought that Alice's weapon was received from them. The way it was channelling Void energy was similar. . . Yet it wasn't what she was looking for. Similar, not at the end of the day, different.

She had kept to herself and slept in an unknown corner of the Void until recently.

When Alice woke her up.

Ever since she gained access to this realm, she kept on disturbing the peace that helped her forget about the past.

The silence that allowed her to drift off into sleep and forget about everything.

But now, thanks to Alice, she spent every waking moment of her life being conscious of this void gnawing at her chest.

This emptiness that stood in front of her, refusing to move.

"Tch!" Clicking her tongue, Feris felt her anger rising as she wanted to destroy something to vent.

Yet just as she raised her fist, she hesitated and sighed. She lost the urge and simply allowed her arm to slump next to her.

She'll simply sleep.

Drifting off into blissful ignorance of everything that had happened. To allow herself to become one with this realm and forget about existence.

This sense of lethargy polluted her mind.

She hoped that only silence would continue to exist in this realm. She didn't care about what happened to the main realm, what happened in the Abyss. They can be destroyed for all she cares.

But this silence, let her keep it.

Closing her eyes, Feris drifted off to sleep once more.

###

Once Rosalyn was satisfied with beating up Alice, they finally got to the important matter at hand.

Planning out their next steps.

"I suggest we go back to my brother before we leave the nation. With his information network, we should be able to figure out the rough movements of the other powers before we make any last minute changes." Rosalyn suggested.

"Now that Alice has killed an Apostle, the gap in power isn't something we can avoid. And if I recall, Solaris seems to know what Alice looks like." She shot Alice a sideways glare that Alice avoided. "It's safe to assume that the Sun is probably making its way to the East as we speak. And even if he isn't, securing the border is almost a guarantee."

Marking red circles around certain points on the map, Rosalyn then drew a dotted line around the border.

"Even if we try our best to avoid the main ports, I don't think we can completely avoid their detection."

"What if we just travel through the Abyss? I'm pretty sure there should be an entrance leading down somewhere in the East." Alice interrupted while Rosalyn took this time to draw purple circles around other points of the map.

"These are the portals that I know of. Taking them is an option but both Religions are probably keeping an eye on the Abyssal passage. If we want to make it through without arousing suspicion while keeping most of their manpower in the East, I suggest taking a boat."

Hearing her suggestion, everyone turned their gaze towards Rosalyn with a look of confusion.

"As dangerous as it may be, smuggling through using the boat is far easier than taking the abyssal path. Especially since chicken sh*t over here gained the power to learn from souls." She explained as Alice pointed at herself.

"Me?"

"Yes you, who else? I'm pretty sure you can figure out a way to disguise all of us at once, especially if you can access Raven b*stard's knowledge. I'm not sure how much knowledge you gain from the souls but regardless, it should help you figure something out." Rosalyn nodded.

Scratching her hair, Alice sighed before nodding.

"I'll try and figure something out while we're going to meet your brother then."

While she may call what she gains from the sixth Sigil 'knowledge', it's a little more. . . weirder than that.

When she overlays the 'soul' over her physical body, it's like she loses all control.

'Something else' controls her body, putting the experience to work. While she can talk and make certain gestures, her control is limited.

Of course, once the period of time passes, this information is retained to a certain extent.

To put simply, Alice stops fighting and the 'Soul' takes over.

It's why Rosalyn felt like she was fighting Allura, Kaden or herself. Because in a sense, she was.

But that's putting it simply since it wasn't a full case of puppeteering either, otherwise she wouldn't be able to make small adjustments mid fight.

Regardless, if she wanted to figure something out with the disguising the group, she'll have to experiment quite a bit with how Revenant Recollection synergises with the rest of her powers.

Of course, this was something she would've done last night if they didn't party.

"That's not your only job though." Rosalyn added.

"While you're doing your experiments, I want you to familiarise yourself with how Ria and Luke fight. Their styles have changed a bit since you last met and most of all. . ." She trailed off, staring at the two.

"I want you two to get used to how Alice fights. Since you've reunited, you'll be facing danger as a group. And as a group, you need to understand each other."

It was an obvious decision but one that needed to be stated regardless. There was a good chance that Alice will get distracted, focusing on drinking or experimenting.

"We set off tomorrow morning. Take the rest of today to fulfil these tasks and for the love of Gods, please don't tell me you've fucked up anything else by tomorrow morning. If you do, I don't think I can hold myself back." Rosalyn let out a deep sigh.

That last part was most definitely aimed at Alice as she coughed awkwardly.

Once everyone understood what they must do, Rosalyn excused herself and stepped out of the room.

'Neither Kaden nor Allura can be reached. What the hell are they even trying to do?' Rosalyn scratched her hair.

She wanted to make a report but couldn't contact anyone. A phenomenon that every Abyss Lord sensed wasn't something that can just be ignored.

No matter how powerful she is, she is still the only Lord in the group. Two if Alice was to drink their blood.

But even with that kind of power, Rosalyn was worried. Killing enemies was one thing but doing so without losing anything? Difficult.

Which is why she absolutely wanted to see her brother again before they left the East.

To Rosalyn, her big brother, as annoying as he may be, was the most reliable person she could think of.