Abyssal Awakening

There was a very distinctive energy that belonged to the cult. An energy that members of the demon extermination squad were trained to sense.

Around Alice, there was a sense of malevolence that clung to her, refusing to let go.

'Even compared to the captains in the Cult, her aura is much thicker. Is she an elder?' Qiu Qiu thought with a frown as she placed a hand over her blade.

If she is indeed an elder, the only question remains is who and why? She didn't match any of the descriptions of the current elders which means that there was a chance that she could be a new one that hasn't been known yet.

"Are you mute? Don't you think it's a little rude to not answer someone when you barge into their relaxation time?" Alice frowned, feeling a little annoyed.

This woman appeared out of nowhere exuding killing intent and not even saying anything.

Granted, she did the same when storming the sect earlier but at least she announced that she wanted a fight. This woman was just staring at her.

While Alice was wondering what was going on, Qiu Qiu was weighing up the odds in her mind.

But truth be told, there wasn't a choice to begin with. As a member of the demon extermination squad, there's only one path to take.

Exterminate!

Taking a deep breath, a sharp aura burst out of Qiu Qiu's body as she grabbed her sheath.

"Heretic, surrender yourself for a swift and merciful death!"

Crouching down, energy converged around her arms and blade.

Instant Draw – Killing Arc!

The blade escaped the sheath and slashed towards Alice in an instant. Before her instincts could even catch up, the second layer of defences around Alice's body reacted first as she shifted to the side.

Feeling the blade cut into her shoulder, a vein bulged on Alice's neck as anger filled her chest.

Grabbing Qiu Qiu's wrist before she could go further with the slash, Alice kicked her in the stomach, sending her sliding back.

Qiu Qiu's eyes couldn't help but widen in surprise as she didn't expect Alice to be able to react to her instant draw!

"Oi! Whore! I just bought this outfit today! If you're going to hit someone, either make sure it kills or go for the head dipsh*t!" Alice shouted as the pattern in her eye shifted into that of a singularity.

Clenching her fist, the pressure of the Void crashed down onto Qiu Qiu's body as she realised her movements were slowed down.

Before she could even get out of the way, Alice appeared next to her with a dagger.

Since this woman was intent on killing her, Alice wasn't about to let her run free!

*BANG!!!

Resonance!

Activating her resonance, a ghostly flame appeared around Qiu Qiu's body, wrapping her in white bandages with red markings as she forcefully broke out of the Void suppression with a myriad of slashes.

*CLANG!!!

Parrying Alice's dagger, Qiu Qiu was shocked by what she could see.

In Alice's shadow, countless souls howled in pain and regret. They clung onto her, chained and unable to leave. Their mournful gazes…

"You! Just how many have you consumed?!" Qiu Qiu shouted, pushing Alice back before entering an offensive stance.

Her form seemed to shift as Alice noticed it wasn't the full product of a Sigil ability but rather something else. Martial arts!

Movement and attacks that take advantage of certain properties granted by Sigils to enhance the power!

Instant Draw – Soul Chaser!

Alice could sense a zone being expanded as a smile curved up on her face.

Around her, phantom silhouettes appeared, each with its own distinct killing intent and pattern of attack.

"This is much better than that old man!"

Snapping her finger, crimson threads burst out as Alice quickly equipped her gauntlets.

A cage of threads protected her before bursting into violet flames.

Seeing the danger, Qiu Qiu immediately halted her attack as darkness began to spread from her fingertips, dyeing her arm in darkness with crimson veins twisting into floral patterns.

*CLANG!!!

Before Alice could react, she sensed Qiu Qiu attacking the thread behind her and disappearing.

Just as she turned her head, another collision could be heard.

Countless attacks were being thrown out with Alice unable to accurately pinpoint Qiu Qiu's location.

Furrowing her brows, Alice assumed it must be an ability that messed with the optical senses.

Therefore, she had to perceive the space around her instead of using her sight.

Closing her eye, she expanded her own zone before activating her fourth Sigil, increasing her control over the Void!

She could sense ripples in the space. Similar to the ripples in water when a dragon fly taps its legs upon the calm surface, Alice could see countless traces of Qiu Qiu's movement.

One moment. That's all she needed. . .

Void Flux Cleave!

Creating a blood blade in an instant and slashing down without hesitation, a crimson arc tore apart the space as Qiu Qiu hurriedly blocked with her sword onto to be shocked by the raw power behind this one strike!

Despite blocking, space itself was being shredded and if she didn't do something about it, her arms would be gone!

Gritting her teeth, Qiu Qiu quickly adjusted herself from parrying to deflecting the strike off course.

By sacrificing a portion of her arm and shoulder, she forced the strike to miss her arms and body.

Jumping back, she reached for a healing vial while Alice wanted to stop her.

As she took a step forward, Alice sensed a wave of killing intent behind her. Mixed with this killing intent was a sense of death!

If she was to turn around, she understood that something bad would happen. But if she didn't, her back was going to be exposed.

Her mind worked quickly as she soon came up with a solution.

Summoning the Shard to her hand, she expanded it into a protective barrier around herself before coating it in her violet flames!

*CLANG!!!

The shard shifted the trajectory of the strike as Alice could see the strange black blade flying past her head.

Catching the blade, Qiu Qiu allowed it to absorb a portion of her blood as all six Sigils lit up across her body in unison.

Realizing that she was about to attempt a second Resonance to unleash her personal realm, Alice was about to bring out her relic when Alyss stopped her. Enjoy new tales from empire

'Can you let me handle this one?'

Turning to her twin, Alice was silent for a moment before smiling and nodding her head.

'Go for it. Steal as much as you want.' Alice chuckled, handing over the control of her body.

She knew Alyss's thought process and what she wanted to do.

This woman was a perfect opportunity for them to steal some martial arts!

Golden chains began to manifest on the body as Alyss opened her eye with a confident glint.

Naturally, Qiu Qiu noticed this change as well. The souls in the shadow had faded away somewhat and the unique energy belonging to the cult decreased.

However, she simply summed this up as a trick and nothing more. There was no mistaking what she saw and sensed earlier.

No amount of disguise could conceal that from her!

Six realms five desires – Twin wheel samsara!

As her personal realm expanded, Alyss was expecting the world to change but to her shock, that was not the case.

Instead, the world seemed to shrink and in an instant, Qiu Qiu became this overwhelming figure that loomed over the world with Alyss's senses forcefully dragged out of her body.

As she regained her focus, she could see Qiu Qiu standing in front of her with changes across her body similar to a standard Resonance but far more dangerous.

She had a pair of golden gauntlets on her arms, bandages across her chest, a red tattered skirt, baggy white pants and a pair of golden anklets with no shoes.

Across her body, her Sigils transformed into streaks of red while two golden disks hovered behind her.

The first disk was split into six sections while the second was split into five.

The first was: Hell, Ghost, Animal, Human, Asura and Deva while the second was split into Touch, Taste, Smell, Sounds and Form.

Grabbing her blade, Qiu Qiu sheathed it against her waist as the wheels on her back began to spin.

Hungry Ghost Path + Desire of Taste!

Alyss felt a surge of killing intent around her as a frown appeared on her face.

Spectral beings lashed out as she coated her hands in flames before punching down.

However, before her punch could even collide with the ground, the flames were extinguished!

One of the ghosts around her combust in flames before breaking down and being absorbed into Qiu Qiu's sword.

Twin wheel samsara – Banquet of craving!

Unleashing three slashes that seemed to hover in front of her, Qiu Qiu then unleashed a stabbing move, shooting the attack towards Alyss as she immediately dodged to the side.

But despite dodging, Alyss could feel her energy being siphoned away as a wave of lethargy overwhelmed her senses.

Paired with the lethargy came the sense of weakness and boredom. She couldn't help but wonder why she wanted to steal the martial arts for a moment but quickly snapped out of it as the silver radiance of the blade reflected against her eye.

Instant Draw – Killing Arc!

*CLANG!!!

Punching the side of the blade with her fist, Alyss gritted her teeth and conjured a wave of black limbs to grab onto Qiu Qiu but the limbs were quickly absorbed and destroyed.

A pulse of energy erupted from her body, pushing Alyss back.

Furrowing her brows, Alyss was beginning to realise the difficulty of this fight.

That sensation, that feeling… It was similar to how Allura fought in the past purely based on the power that Qiu Qiu was displaying.

Allura severed concepts with her power, making you lose motivation mid fight.

But her? She seemed to be consuming both energy and emotions!

And that wasn't all, there was still five other paths and four senses that Qiu Qiu hasn't tapped into yet!