Abyssal Awakening

Abyssal, Eldritch, Holy, Void. All four major powers were resting within her body.

However, at the same time, they weren't exactly the same. Her control of Abyssal power wasn't like most people, her Eldritch wasn't corrupting everything she touched, her Holy was still in the making.

Out of everything, Void was the closest thing to the original but that's only because it's the only power that she obtained for herself.

What was Nyer trying to do to create a body like this? Why hasn't he done anything else to her?

Or was it the same as in the Inverted World? Was he trying to create a new vessel for Velouria? A perfect vessel containing all of the powers.

Then what about the Will of the Abyss? The Will was still keeping an eye on her.

Glancing down at her hands, Alice could see that it was trembling ever so slightly.

It felt like the labs once more.

She was placed under scrutiny by those far more powerful than her and she couldn't do anything about it. A caged bird, waiting for the owner to decide her fate.

Biting her lip, Alice clenched her fist and took a deep breath.

Understand yourself, understand the enemy.

She needed a better understanding of her own body. What Nyer did to create this, what he intends to do and what she could do to keep herself safe.

Abyssal, Void and Holy are easy enough to deal with. But Eldritch was different. She needed a method to stop herself from being absorbed and assimilated. Not only that, but she also needed a method to go against the soul.

Her weakness was made abundantly clear when she thought back to her fight with the Doctor and the Outer God's minions.

Tristan's attack was extra effective on them since it targeted the soul and by extension, the link between these beings and the Outer Gods.

'My sixth Sigil is clear now. I need something to target the soul.' Alice concluded as Cayla nodded her head in agreement.

[What kind of ability do you want? I can filter out some potential targets.] Cayla asked curiously.

'Hmm… Probably something that'll enhance my abilities like my fourth Sigil. If it's just a single target skill that can't synergise with the other abilities, it would be a waste after all.' Alice folded her arms.

[Alright, I'll see what I can do.]

With Cayla working on finding out a good target for Alice to go for, Alice started to make her way back to the port and by extension the Inn.

She wanted to rest her body first before claiming the rest of her money tomorrow. Once she does, she'll go to the arena then leave for the east. There was no other reason to stay in this city longer after all.

###

"Took you quite some time to come back, care for a drink?" Tristan asked as he gestured to the table with a serious expression.

"Right… the talk." Alice sighed, closing the door behind her.

Walking over to the counter, she drank the beverage without hesitation.

"You don't think I might've poisoned it?" Tristan raised his eyebrow.

"I don't believe you're that kind of person. So what did you want to talk about dear Cardinal? Why do I have the power of Duality, why did I ask you to look for me?" Alice asked with a smile, gesturing for a refill.

"And if I ask, you'll answer truthfully?"

"Depends on whether or not you'll tell that Goddess of yours. I doubt Lumiria will be pleased to see that the power of Duality is partially under my control." Alice shrugged.

She understood that the souls of the followers were important to the God. So the fact that her power stems from stealing a portion of Esse's soul in the Inverted World will probably cause a crusade against her.

Hesitating for a moment, Tristan glanced up before sighing.

"Depends. You told me to look for 'Calista' because you have a way to help Arwen right?" Tristan asked as Alice nodded her head before pausing.

"It's a possibility. Side effects are similar to contracts that intertwine themselves deeply with the soul. Using the methods of the moon requires you to eliminate the infected part and potentially replace/supplement it with other souls. I assume that's not what you want for Arwen." Alice traced her finger along the glass rim.

"The method I have… can offset this adjustment to the soul. It'll make it more… I suppose controllable and potentially even eliminate it in its entirety. But this is entirely based on sensory rather than a direct manipulation of the soul. What I do is burn away the infected parts while leaving the main soul untouched."

"And you have confidence in this?" Tristan asked but Alice shook her head.

"No, I don't. I was going to give it a try. If it doesn't work, I'll leave Arwen be and not force any changes. Overall, I'd say the success is about 60%." Alice calculated. After her experience with the infected, her control has gotten better when it comes to eliminating the Abyssal influence.

Placing a second drink in front of Alice, Tristan leaned back and contemplated in silence.

"Are you able to prove this healing method of yours first? You mentioned before that you could regenerate limbs by eating the medicine." He asked.

Blinking her eyes, Alice let out a laugh.

"Oh that was a lie. I don't need medicine to heal, see?" Alice held up her arm and severed it with a blade without hesitation.

Bone and flesh began to reconstruct itself and the old hand was transformed into blood to go back into her body.

Seeing this, Tristan blinked his eyes in confusion, wondering if he saw it wrong. But it was not a trick but rather reality. She was indeed regenerating her body like it was nothing.

Pausing momentarily, he opened his mouth.

"I won't ask about why you have the power of Duality and I have already omitted your existence to my Goddess earlier today. So… please help Arwen." He spoke slowly as Alice could see a hint of desperation in his eyes.

He so desperately wanted Arwen to have a normal life while remaining as herself.

"If you're desperate, you should try and hide it. Some people like to abuse that fact and exploit you. But you're lucky I'm not like that." Alice smiled, drinking the beverage in one go.

"Plus, it would be a shame if I can't drink this type of alcohol later."

Standing up, she gave her body a stretch.

"Where is she? We can begin immediately." Alice asked as Tristan let her up to their room. Alice could see Arwen resting on the bed.

Giving her a light nudge, Arwen was about to say something when she noticed Alice standing behind Tristan.

She immediately covered her mouth and looked at Tristan for an answer.

"We think we might have a way to… treat your side effect. She's just going to give you an examination alright?" Tristan patted her head as Arwen hesitated. She knew full well how hard it was to resolve her issue.

If the Church couldn't handle it then what makes her any different?

Seeing the distrust in Arwen's eyes, Alice thought about it for a moment before an idea appeared in her mind.

"If you doubt me, you can say something and see if I get charmed or not. Then you'll understand." Alice suggested as Tristan looked at her in surprise. But seeing her confidence, he hesitantly nodded his head as Arwen slowly opened her mouth.

"Did… My brother promise to do anything?" Arwen asked.

Immediately, Alice felt as though something was stirring deep in her soul. Like the gentle warmth of a mother, the kindness of family charming her mind.

Snapping her finger, violet flames flickered around her body as she shrugged.

"He only promised to keep my identity a secret from his Goddess. You see, I'd rather not have a target on my back." Alice gave Arwen a reassuring wink.

Seeing that she was unphased, Arwen's eyes lit up with an excited light.

"Are these flames the reason why you think you can cure Arwen?" Tristan asked curiously.

"Partially. These flames are… somewhat unique to me. At least to my knowledge. They repel Abyssal energy and keeps the user safe." Alice replied. She didn't know if Nyer was able to replicate this elsewhere. At least for now, she was the only known user.

"Anyways, can you lay down on the bed for me Arwen?" Alice asked with a gentle smile.

Nodding her head cheerfully, Arwen rested on the bed as Alice placed her hands over her.

When she was removing the curse of the infected, she did so through the concept of resonance and bloodline release.

However, for Arwen, that wasn't exactly the case. There is the presence of the Abyss within her soul, the side effect.

With only one source within her body, Alice needed to balance it out with two additional sources for it to be repelled. But her goal was to remove the side effect completely.

In order to remove the side effects, she has to target the cause rather than the symptom. The cause of which is Arwen's ingestion of Abyss Blood.

'To cure her, I'll have to cut the connection she has with the Abyss before purifying her Blood.'

Naturally, it was far easier said than done but Alice had an idea.

"This might hurt a little but hold strong okay?" Alice warned as Arwen nodded her head hesitantly.

Looking over to her brother, she reached out as Tristan held her hand.

"I'm here." Tristan reassured as Alice glanced at the two with emotionless eyes.

If only she and Alyss had gotten this kind of brotherly support.

But now was not the time to think of such things.

Taking a deep breath, Alice dropped a single droplet of her blood onto Arwen.