Abyssal Awakening

After having her bath, Alice got to work.

Tomorrow was the last day of her contract with Lorien, and once that was over, they would become enemies. Not only that, but there was also an agreement with Minerva. While they had an agreement regarding money, there was nothing punishing them if they broke it.

In this kind of situation, Alice couldn't trust anyone but herself.

Taking out several empty flasks from her pouch, Alice began to create several vials of her own blood.

When she transforms into Calista, she'll lose access to her blood generation since her third Sigil will be replaced.

Therefore, before that happens, if she were to stock up on blood now, she'd still be able to make use of her second Sigil and manipulate that blood.

The same applied to any weapons she would create though right now, her gloves were more than enough.

She also had her personal Artifact if she really needed some extra firepower.

'Isn't this a bit overkill? It's just Lorien and Minerva after all. At most, we throw Tristan into the mix but I don't know how well he can fight.' Alyss asked curiously.

'It doesn't hurt to be extra cautious. We don't know what's inside the boxes. If my experience is right, it's probably something that could give Lorien an extra boost in power. Enough to the point it gives him confidence despite Minerva trying to stop him.

'We both know that he's no match for her. So whatever is inside that box is strong enough for him to take this risk.' Alice explained.

'Strong enough for him to take that risk against Minerva maybe. But you?'

'Maybe he's just confident that it'll help him even if I'm his enemy.' Alice shrugged.

Hearing this response, Alyss nodded her head with a smile.

She was here to make sure Alice didn't drop her guard or get too ahead of herself after all. A voice of reason in other words.

Of course, she wasn't a perfect voice of reason considering the fact that she loses her own sh*t at times and goes all murder hobo. But that's where Alice would step in. They keep each other in check so that neither of them gets ahead of themselves.

Alyss wanted to make sure that no matter how weak they may perceive their opponent to be, they must always be careful of the tricks they might have.

They were a great example of that after all.

If a Lord were to drop their guard, given enough time and prep, Alice would be able to kill them. It wasn't a lot of prep needed either when you think about the skills they have.

And if they could do that to a Lord, what's to stop someone from doing it to them?

What if her regeneration was to get hindered once more?

What if a person appears who could eliminate themselves from Alice's perception like Selen and assassinate them while their guard was down?

These are the questions that both of them needed to think about. And of course, if both of them got too arrogant, Cayla was here to help.

Sometimes it pays off to have voices in your head.

Regardless, Alice prepared thoroughly for tomorrow.

She kept a large supply of her own blood, blood bead bombs to toss if needed and emergency escape nodes.

These nodes were a new creation of hers that was formed from the combined power of her blood and fourth Sigil.

With these nodes, all she needed to do was channel a bit of energy from her artifact into them and a blood mirror will open up beneath her feet, sending her to the coordinates that she had imputed before hand.

An escape tool.

'Resources check, bombs check, escape tools check. I don't think there's anything else I need to prepare for right?' Alice tapped her chin while looking at everything she prepared.

She couldn't think of anything else she needed in case something was to go south.

Since that was the case, the only thing was to sleep and welcome the next day.

###

Pacing around in front of several open crates, Lorien had a twitching smile as he felt insanity grasp at his mind.

He was missing one shipment but that was fine. He had accounted for a few lost samples but the fact that only one was lost was far better than what he had hoped.

Indeed, relying on Alice to keep Minerva occupied was the right choice after all.

Even if Minerva takes an entire ship's worth of cargo tomorrow, the plan will still proceed without any hindrances.

Once he obtains all the parts, he'll be able to reform this city in his image. Just imagining it sent a jolt of excitement through his body.

Just one more day. One more day then he could be the ruler of Caethis. Hell! Even ruling the entire northern lands won't be impossible for him!

He'll be the one to bring about a new world order!

###

Standing by the beach, Darrow once again looked at the glass shards that were left behind by Alice's demonstration.

Even after two days, he could still feel the lingering power left behind by that attack.

The clear desire to destroy the world and bring about an apocalypse.

However, it was also merged with another strange fluctuation. One that seemed to have been melded deeply into the attack, allowing it to succeed.

"It's not like you to visit a place so often." Virn walked up to Darrow as he let out a small chuckle.

"Can't fault a man for being curious. That kind of firepower is not something anyone can get." Darrow tapped his foot against the glass.

"Even if I was to use everything I've got, I doubt I can do something on the same level as what we saw."

However, Virn shook his head.

"Perhaps you won't be able to reach this level of raw power, you'll certainly win out when it comes to technique and experience." Virn reassured but Darrow didn't say anything.

Even if he was good with techniques, with this kind of power, would that girl even need to care?

"How do you feel about going for a drink with me?" Darrow asked while glancing back at Virn.

"I… *sigh, very well." Virn revealed a helpless smile. Even before he could finish his sentence, he could see that Darrow wasn't going to budge.

"I knew you'd understand me. Let's go to my regular spot." Darrow grinned as the two of them left the beach.

###

Once he had made his decision, Tristan cleaned up the bar and first floor of the Inn before going upstairs.

He knocked gently on Arwen's room before opening the doors and saw her hugging a pillow with a smile on her face.

Sitting on the bed, Tristan smiled softly while brushing her hair.

If it wasn't for him, she wouldn't have needed to drink that accursed blood in the first place. If it wasn't for him, she'd be able to speak and talk to anyone she wanted without fear.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

But the past can't be changed.

In order for the Moon to help cure Arwen's condition, they needed to remove pieces of her soul. The result of doing so, especially through the methods of the Moon, may cause Arwen to change and lose parts of what makes her well… her.

Memories, habits and so on.

Not only that but because the side effect had tangled itself with her soul for so long, it was going to be even harder to properly remove.

The chances of mistakes happening is greater than the success. And even with the chance of success, Arwen refused to take the procedure.

He could still remember her words at the time, how she didn't want to forget her time with him.

A soft smile appeared on Tristan's face as Arwen's eyelids twitched slightly before opening.

"Ah… Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up." Tristan apologized.

Shaking her head, Arwen grabbed her brother's hand and held it with a smile.

Opening her mouth, Arwen hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"You… Seem like… You want to do something dangerous." She spoke softly. Even without the charm effect, many would fall in love with Arwen's voice.

"I wouldn't say dangerous. Apparently, there might be medicine that can help… you speak without worry again." Tristan explained with a bit of hesitation.

He knew that Arwen was sensitive to things like this so he didn't want to hide it from her. After all, if he were to suddenly disappear for a long period of time without explaining, she'd get worried.

Hearing this, Arwen furrowed her brows.

"Brother… You know I don't mind things being like this…"

"I know. But it doesn't hurt to give it a try. Don't worry, you know your brother is strong. I'll keep myself safe. If it's not possible, I'll give it up tomorrow okay?" Tristan patted her head.

Seeing her brother like this, Arwen felt a sadness creep into her heart. She felt like a burden to him.

Since they were young, her brother had always shielded her, keeping her safe from the world.

"Why the sad expression? If it works, wouldn't it be good news?" Tristan chuckled.

"Am… Am I not a burden to you?" Arwen asked while looking down at the blanket.

At that moment, Tristan patted her head.

"You're never a burden to me. Never was, never will. You're the only family I have. In this life, we have to rely on each other. Neither of us is a burden to the other." Tristan reassured as Arwen smiled and nodded her head.

Once Arwen fell asleep once more, Tristan closed the door behind him.

There was a renewed sense of determination in his eyes as he prepared himself for the battle tomorrow.

###

"EVERYONE DOWN!!!!"

"ALL HANDS ON DECK!!!"

"HELP!!!"

Looking at the chaos unfolding around her, Alice only had one thing she wanted to say.

"What the f*ck???"