Abyssal Awakening

Alice stood frozen in place. She couldn't quite believe what she heard and forced herself to calm down.

Nothing was as easy as it seemed. She couldn't get herself too excited, otherwise she'll be disappointed by the reality of the situation.

After all, the robed figure didn't say it was a guarantee. Rather, an exchange MAY be achieved.

It's simply keeping the option open for a second evaluation once she sees the wound with her own eyes.

A possibility instead of a guarantee.

Shaking her head, she gave the robed figure one last glance and deactivated the ability.

Opening her eyes, she wasn't sure how much time had passed. But considering the fact that Alyss was now chilling in her bed, she could assume that time probably passed at the same rate in the other realm.

During that time, if Alyss wanted, she could probably take over the body.

Folding her arms, Alice made a mental note on what restriction could do.

Now it was the case of experimenting with using her sixth Sigil and Mirror Jester.

Using the power of 'overlay', Alice wanted to see if she was able to transfer the mirror Jester's appearance manipulation to others. One that wouldn't arouse suspicion nor be detected.

'Hmm. . . First Sigil, Mirror Jester and Sixth? Actually. . . No, that wouldn't work.' Alice frowned.

The key detail with the overlay on the sixth was not appearance. Rather, experience. Therefore, if she tries to make a Physical Resonance with this, it'll wouldn't change their appearance at all. Rather, it was probably more likely that they adopt Alice's habits and so on.

Therefore, in order to actually create a skill that can disguise everyone, Alice figured that she probably needed something else other than Revenant Recollection.

However. . .

There was another method using Revenant Recollection that she could use.

To overlay the Mirror Jester over herself!

With this, she'll be able to learn more about the power of disguise.

The back of Alice's neck burned. She created a tether between herself and Sigil of the Mirror jester.

Yet strangely, the 'experience' she gained this time wasn't one that took over her body.

Instead, it was a sequence of memories.

###

I was once a jester, a faceless of many faces. A servant of kings and queens alike.

A performance to draw out the laughter of royalty beneath the chandeliers.

I could become anyone they wished me to be.

A son for a grieving queen.

A villain for the king's drama.

A lover for a widow who lost her love far too early.

A father for the prince who never felt his father's affection.

But as the faceless of many faces. . .

Who was I?

Am I. . . A son? A daughter? A father? A mother?

One mask, ten masks, a hundred masks.

A thousand masks.

I peel. . . peel and keep peeling away.

Yet the number of masks only increased.

For how long have I acted as others?

Who was I? The jester, the faceless of many faces?

I looked towards the mirror. A splintered reflection.

A smile, a cry, gnashing teeth of anger, a seductive bite,

But. . . which one was mine?

What was my name? Or am I simply. . . A jester? A faceless?

One with many faces.

Perhaps. . . I simply haven't found one that resonated with me. Maybe, if I keep taking, I'll be able to figure out who I was.

An innocent child, calm old men, a loving wife, a furious husband, a cruel teenager, a demonic old woman.

But it's all wrong.

If. . . the face of man is not my desire. . .

Then perhaps it's the face of a beast?

A wolf? A bear? A dragon?

I will partake in the dark mother's blessings. I will drink till I am full and cannot drink further.

For I am the Mirror Jester, the faceless of many faces.

Tell me. . .

Have you seen my face?

###

Blinking her eyes, Alice found herself back in reality. There was a deep frown on her face as that was the first time this kind of reaction occurred.

Was it because changing appearance was similar in nature to overlaying experience? Or was it because the Sigils had a high level of compatibility thanks to their abilities?

Regardless, Alice wasn't sure of the answer. Instead, she understood what she could do with the Mirror jester Sigil.

There was two abilities.

First, Reflection. An ability that Alice has been using since the beginning.

The second was something called Make Up.

With Make Up, she'll able to apply a disguise to someone else. At a lesser effectiveness than Reflection as it is something she'll have to keep reapplying after a certain amount of time.

However, applying disguises wasn't the only thing that Make Up was good for.

This ability could reach outside of just appearances and even change the looks of attacks!

Creating a spark above her palm, Alice narrowed her gaze and watched as mirror like surfaces began to appear around the spark. Little by little, it was changed to look like a normal ball of fire.

Depending on the intensity of the attack, the time it takes to apply the disguise varies. Same with the duration.

If the attack is too strong, the Mirror Jester Sigil struggles to maintain the shell around it.

Thinking about it for a moment, Alice glanced at the tree to her side.

She wasn't sure if this idea will work, especially considering the nature of her blood. But if it works. . .

From her palm, blood began to pour out as it formed a thin stretched out layer around the tree. Everything was coated without exception yet before the disguise could take place, the tree was already falling apart.

*Sigh. . .

Withdrawing her blood, Alice decided to just stick with using Make Up for now. But that meant maintaining it for everyone which will no doubt be pretty exhausting.

Exhausting in the fact that she had to keep remembering rather than physically taxing.

"Alice!" Ria called out while jogging over.

"What's up?"

"Nothing much, just wondering why the tree suddenly broke apart." Ria peaked over Alice's shoulder and saw what remained of the tree.

"I've just been testing what I can and can't do. But I don't think I can apply disguises directly like I do to myself otherwise that happens. Instead, I'll have to apply 'Make Up' and refresh the duration every so often." Alice scratched her hair with a sigh.

"You don't say. . ." Ria muttered. Just imagining what a direct disguise could do to their bodies gave her chills down her spine.

"Anyways, Rosey has finished constructing an arena for us to get used to fighting. Shall we go?" Ria suggested with a grin.

Even though she saw how Alice performed against Rosalyn, she still wanted to put herself to the test. How would she react when put against a wall?

Will everything she learned thus far help her reach Alice?

"Sure." Alice nodded her head with a smile. She could see the burning fighting spirit in Ria's eyes and knew that her friend was looking forward to this.

And in that aspect, Alice was the same.

###

Standing at the arena, Alice stretched her body while Ria and Luke discussed strategy.

There were going to be two stages for this spar.

First was a two on one. It was the best way for Alice to see how these two fought and what their strategies were like to fight against.

The second would be a team battle. The three of them against Rosalyn, the rules being if one of them were to be marked as 'out' the team loses.

'It's pretty interesting. Forcing you guys to be defensive in some aspect rather than going all in on attacking.' Alyss spoke up.

'We need to be able to pinpoint weak points after all. If we're fighting as a team, we have to be able to cover each other's backs. That and I won't be able to evade as freely when I'm with others.'

When fighting alone, it didn't matter where Alice dodged as long as she can evade the attack.

But in a team, if an ally was behind her, Alice will be forced to face the attack unless they could dodge or Alice didn't care about their safety.

Alice needed to figure out what kind of role she was comfortable in taking while also maximising how useful she was in a fight.

"Ready?" Rosalyn asked as Ria nodded her head.

She had just finished discussing the strategy with Luke and they have a new idea regarding how he could use his pieces.

With both parties ready, Rosalyn snapped her finger and created a blood orb in the centre and took a step back.

Flicking her wrist, Alice created a blood blade and took an offensive stance.

Her goal was simple for the two vs one. Take out Luke!

As a support, his utilities are one that couldn't be overlooked. If he isn't take out early, things can quickly get out of hand.

"Begin!"

*BANG!!!

The moment the blood bead detonated, both sides sprung into action.

Full buffs!

Void Steps!

Luke's first action was to apply every single buff he could on both him and Ria while Alice's was to close the gap.

Appearing in front of Luke, Alice was able to slash up when she felt danger from the side.

Raikiri – Two Fold Lightning!

*RUMBLE!!!

Quickly taking a step back, Alice could see a single burning line crackling with electricity.

While the attack motion was rather standard, the speed of the attack itself was far quicker than what Alice had expected!

The mismatch of motion and action was enough to throw most people off in a life or death situation.

Jumping back quickly before she could be caught in a follow up, Alice adjusted her mental notes on Ria's fighting style.

She could tell that neither of them slacked off during their time apart. Since that was the case, she'll stop playing around as well.

Resonance!

Physical Resonance!

Artificial Resonance!

"Let's see if you can keep up with this!"