Abyssal Awakening

"Sun? Moon? Eclipse?" Alice's voice rang out, surprising Allura out of her rest.

"Holy sh*t she's done already???" Allura blinked her eyes in surprise. She knew that Sera was good but she didn't think she was THAT good.

"Mnm. She said the client who bought was similar to my sizes. Only small adjustments needed. Can be done quickly." Alice nodded her head.

"Ah… I see. Lucky break then." Allura nodded her head.

"So who are Sun Moon and Eclipse? You made them sound like people." Alice asked curiously.

"Oh boy… Take a seat." Allura sighed while patting the spot next to her.

"They're not… People per say. They are the three main religions that dominate the Abyss. Church of the Sun, Church of the Moon and the Cult of Eclipse." Allura held up three fingers.

"Church of the Sun believe in two doctrines. The path of Preservation and the path of Protection. Believers of Preservation believe that so long as humanity lives on in the end, it does not matter what form they take nor does it matter about who lives in the end. All that matters is that the concept and humanity as a whole survives through the ages.

They are the kind that say the results justify the means.

"Now the path of Protection is a little better but they hate change more than anyone. They protect the current order of things and refuse change unless it benefits them and only them. While their titles may be fancy, honestly I hate how they operate." Allura shrugged, not hiding her disproval of their ways.

"The second is the Church of the Moon. Like the Sun, their followers believe in two main doctrines. Path of Immortality and path of Spirituality. They are… 'pacifists.' Or so they like to advertise. They welcome all on their path to claim immortality of body and spirit so long as they surrender themselves to the grace of the Moon God.

The path of Immortality believe in longevity through an immortal body that cannot die. While Spirituality believe in longevity through the immortal soul. Between the two, Spirituality is definitely the worse since the mortal flesh hold no value to them." Alura shrugged.

"They especially love the use of Abyss Blood even the ones with strong side effects."

Hearing this, Alice couldn't help but wonder if her family has any connections towards this Church.

"Sadly they are also the ones responsible for most of the healing against the side effects of Abyss Blood so it's the more popular religion out of the three.

"The last one isn't called a Church since their doctrine is hated by most of the people. They revel in the belief of War and Famine. They're what the Sun and Moon call an evil religion but some people don't think so. They believe in cementing the human history through war. They wish to die where they felt most alive, in the heat of battle.

While Famine wishes to tread the path between life and death through hunger. They say that only when a person endures Famine do they truly appreciate the value of life and thus they seek for all to endure the Trial of Famine. And with that, you now know the three main religions in this world of darkness. Feeling excited to join any of them?" Allura asked with a laugh.

Shaking her head, Alice didn't like the sound of the choices. Church of the Sun seemed to only care about their own grand design while the Moon abandoned the mortal form. And there was no need to think about the Cult of Eclipse.

"Don't want to join any. All three sound terrible."

"Yeah me neither. That's why I didn't join any of them. I'm pretty much a free lancer right now." Allura nodded her head seeing that Alice had the same thoughts as her.

"Terrible as they may by, they are unfortunately necessary. All three have skeletons in their closet but Allura's only telling you of the most extreme beliefs of the churches. For common folk, the Moon is probably the best choice since they pursue immortality and don't mind healing people." Sera interrupted as she came out from the back of the store.

"Which one did you join?" Alice asked curiously.

"Me? I didn't join any of them. Didn't suit me while I'm out at sea. Out there, the only thing you can trust is your own power and your allies. Ain't no church belief helping you out there." Sera chuckled while pointing at the set of folded clothes in her hands.

"Here they are. They should be just your size though I may be wrong. Give them a try in the changing rooms and see how they feel." Sera smiled as Alice nodded her head. Taking the clothes, she entered the changing rooms while Sera turned her attention to Allura.

"When did you become the teacher. Even when Gin's granddaughter asked you a bunch of questions, you pretty much gave her short answers. Rarely did you go in depth like this." Sera asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well unlike Ria, Alice is more my responsibility. I'm basically her guardian so I'm responsible on teaching her about this world and the Abyss. I've only known her for a few hours but honestly, she's curious and doesn't know much. I figured someone her age would know all of this by now, especially the religions but she knows nothing." Allura replied as she had a serious expression on her face.

Even thought she didn't show it during her conversation with Alice, she was concerned with how little Alice seemed to know about the world. Especially things that was considered common sense.

"I don't know where she was before coming here, but she was probably sheltered from the outside world."

"That so? Hmm… You've got a lot to teach her then." Sera sighed with pity.

"Yep. Though we should have plenty of time for now. Our next destination is actually Zadash."

Hearing this, Sera was about to say something when Alice walked out of the changing room with her new outfit. There was an obvious light of excitement in her eyes as her body language told the two all they needed to know. She loved the new outfit.

"Well well well, would you look at that. Not bad kid." Allura praised with a thumbs up.

"Any tight areas? I can make more adjustments if needed." Sera asked.

The outfit was a fancy set of Hunter armour. She wore a simple white shirt, a brown vest with a buttoned jacket over the top. Golden buttons held the sides together while a bag for blood vials was attached to the belt. The jacket extended past her waist and stopped around calf height.

She wore a set of leather pants with a pair of long boots that reached up to her knees and was fastened with black laces and golden buckles. Draped over her shoulder was a medium sized cloak attached by a single lock in the centre.

The material was soft to the touch and flexible yet strangely durable and didn't seem like it'll tear easily.

"Seems like you like the outfit. That's good to know. Take this as well, you wouldn't want your hair to be fluttering about in the middle of a fight. Allura's a special case since she literally sets herself on fire." Sera chuckled as she handed Alice a hair tie.

Thanking Sera, Alice tied her hair into a low pony tail so that it didn't get in the way too much.

"Erm… Thank you for all of this. In future how I repay?" Alice asked. Even with Allura paying for this, it was still much better than what she had expected. She wanted to show Sera some gratitude herself and not just from Allura paying what was owed.

"Oh don't worry about that. Just come back to the store in the future when you need a replacement. The outfit will last you but you never know what kind of fights you'll get into." Sera smiled.

"She's right you know. She makes some of the best hunting equipment I know. If it wasn't for this damn location, more Hunters would visit to buy her wears. That and they're all stupidly expensive." Allura cut in as she patted Alice's head.

"Its expensive because the materials are good. Aren't you wearing what I made yourself?" Sera clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"True. The outfit wouldn't break easily but that doesn't mean you won't get wounded from a direct hit. Just means you won't have as many open wounds and mostly bruises."

"Anyways if that's everything, care to be out of my shop now? I was dealing with another order until you two came in." Sera waved her hand as Allura shrugged.

"You heard her, let's go. All that's left to do is to get your ID from Gin." Allura grinned while leading Alice out of the shop.

"See you around Sera."

Waving back to Allura and Alice, Sera had a smile on her face seeing the two walk away. Even though Allura was always acting cheerful, there was a darkness in her heart. But it seemed to be elevated just a little by Alice's presence.

Sera didn't know why nor did she know Allura's plans for Alice but she wasn't one to meddle in other's business. She was just glad that Allura looked more alive than before.