Abyssal Awakening

Opening her eyes, Alice slowly glanced up at the spectral visage of a woman behind her.

Clenching her fists, she could feel the flow of energy through her body as her physical powers were being reinforced. She could finally feel what a true Bloodline release felt like.

But more than that…

"Uwahh my soul looks freaky." Alice muttered. She could see black blood pooling at the edge of the spectre's eyes before dripping down into black blood tears.

If she were to see this in a dark hallway, she'd probably try to run into sunlight before trying to fight.

Just looking at it gave her the shivers but it was her own soul after all, she couldn't hate it.

Frankly, she could understand why it took the form it did. With Nyer forcefully resonating and fusing fallen Divinity into her body, taking on aspects of Velouria's appearance was to be expected.

But all of this was just Alice activating one form of amplification. She still hasn't created her own skill yet. Most would be happy with this but Alice wanted more.

She felt greedy.

What kind of skill can she create with her fully unlocked bloodline release? What kind of powers did it offer? What else can she add to the puzzle that she was trying to solve?

In her eagerness, she remembered a key detail regarding Bloodline Release. A stable connection had to be formed with her spiritual heart and by extension, her soul.

In the past, she failed to achieve this kind of state because of Velouria's restrictions, holding back Alyss's soul. It prevented a proper channel from being opened and thus could only be a partial release.

Looking back at her Soul Form, Alice furrowed her brows. Did Velouria's restrictions loosen up or possibly disappear? Impossible.

Alice could still feel its presence. She could still feel the restraint placed around her twin, around the flames to prevent it from consuming her. So how was she able to unleash a full Bloodline Release?

There was only one answer that Alice could think of.

Her own soul.

After all this time, her own soul had matured to a state where it could finally be used as a basis for a Spiritual Heart.

The connection between her and Alyss had always been Alice controlled the physical while Alyss held the key to the soul. Conjoined and never to be separated.

But after the Inverted World, it was clear that they were two beings trapped in one. And following the awakening and reflection she did just now, her own soul became unique enough to 'detach' from her twin.

She had become a 'person'. Both Soul and body.

Even her mind recognised herself as an individual.

Right now, she is a prison for Alyss despite their connection.

To put it cruelly, if someone were to take Alyss away right now, there is a chance that Alice could survive with her own soul.

But in the past, this would be impossible since Alyss was her lifeline.

A sense of guilt and bitterness welled up in Alice's chest but she set it aside for now. These questions can be answered once the fight was over. All she needed to know right now was that she could tap into her own soul and use it for Bloodline Release.

While she could feel the flow of power from her Bloodline Release, she could also feel the limit rapidly approaching. It exhausted far more stamina and power compared to the partial variant.

Alice estimated that she could probably maintain this state for around 1 minute at most. 2 minutes if she pushed with everything she's got.

Letting out a deep breath, Alice focused her mind.

"Let's see what you've got." She muttered, giving her soul a side glance.

At this moment, her soul revealed a freakishly wide smile as blood continued to pour from her eyes. Spider lilies began to bloom across the body with the tips of her fingers being dyed a deep purple that bordered on black.

Alice could sense the world warping around her as her vision began to distort. She felt as though she was travelling through the Void at high speeds despite not moving and soon, her vision locked onto Keira who had just finished killing another Void creature.

Instinctively, she felt like she could travel this gap and attack Keira instantly.

If Allura's skill set could be summarised as half focused on flames and half focused on severance, right now Alice would be half violet flames and half Void.

For Nova Core, Allura's flames acts as the foundation while the main 'attack' was her ability to ignore defence.

In Alice's case, she too will use her Violet Flames as a base. Its ability to eat away at Abyssal abilities will come in handy when it comes to ignoring defence. As for the Void? It'll help her bridge that gap and by using the friction between two realms, she'll use it to tear her opponent's in half!

A formation of ideas condensed in Alice's mind as the new skill was beginning to form.

As for the catalyst, naturally, it had to be in the form of a singularity. A miniature black hole that can be replaced by either her own Void Control or her personal Artifact. That way, it could be used even if she didn't want to activate her Artifact.

*KSHH!!!!

Lightning crackled around Alice's body as energy surged towards her palm, converging into a singularity with an accretion disk. However, this was no ordinary disk. Violet flames flickered around the singularity, transforming into a circulating blade of energy that tore apart anything related to the Abyss.

*BANG!!!

The spiralling energy jumped off from the singularity, shattering a piece of the island that Alice was standing on.

Right now, in this form, the attack was highly unstable. The rotation of the disk wasn't helping it either as one moment of blunder would cause a piece of this energy to whip against her surroundings and in the worst case, even harm her.

Taking a deep breath to focus her mind, Alice crouched down slightly as she held the rampaging singularity next to her body.

The path ahead was clear, the route was secured.

Resonance!

Briar thorns wrapped around Alice's body while red spider lilies blossomed. Her dress fluttered against the gale kicked up by her attack as she then activated the Seraphim's power. A ritualistic circle manifested beneath her feet as lightning crackled in front of her, transforming into a warp point.

"Bloodline Release activated… Resonance activated…" Alice muttered as her personal Artifact appeared next to her.

"Artificial Resonance activated!"

A singularity spun to life in her eye as the Violet flames sparkled with the light of the Void. The three forms of her Artifact embedded themselves into Alice's body as the black hole trembling above her palm began to warp the world around it.

"All conditions met. Let's f*cking do this you hybrid f*ck." Alice twisted her lips into a maniacal grin.

*BANG!!!

Stomping down, the island shattered beneath her feet as the singularity above her palms condensed into a single thumb sized orb while maintaining the disk around it.

Her body flashed into the Warp Point, disappearing from the island and taking the malefic energy with her.

###

Landing on an island, Keira took several deep breaths in her bestial form. She could feel the energy of the Void assaulting her body with each passing moment. An attempt to mutate her further and force her to become a monster of the Void.

If she were to revert back to her human state, it would only be a matter of time before she loses her sanity and become a mindless war machine.

It also doesn't help that her ritual earlier was still backfiring. She could feel the power tearing through her insides the longer she waited.

She had to find Alice and soon.

Biting her lips, Keira was thinking about whether or not she should risk another ritual in her current state. To track down her target and finish two rituals all at once.

But if she didn't activate a second ritual, her fate was practically sealed. There's no guarantee that she'll be able to track down Alice within the infinite expanse of the Void. However, the Ritual to track down her target wasn't a guarantee.

There were countless conditions and variables mixed together and the success rate was low.

Even if it fails, a price still needs to be paid.

Once again, Keira found herself at the end of her sanity thanks to a certain rat.

Blinking her eyes, Keira froze up.

Right in front of her, a woman with two strange eyes stared at her before warping her mouth into a smile. The illusion disappeared like a phantom but what came next sent Keira's body into a frenzy of panic.

There was no fighting instinct. Only the instinct to flee and not turn back!

But by the time she felt this instinct, it was already too late. She couldn't even register when Alice had manifested in front of her but the roaring singularity collided against her scales.

A single palm strike to bury the singularity into Keira's chest.

*BANG!!!

Pain was none existent. Rather, there was no time to register this pain.

In an instant, a cavity formed in her body and carved out her back. An unstoppable vortex of flashing disks sliced apart everything within this maelstrom of destruction.

Every flash of light that whipped across the realm would eradicate whatever it brushed past and warp Void.

There was no extravagant phenomenon, just raw destruction and the collapse of space within a single point.

Whatever pride Keira had towards her identity as a hybrid disappeared and was replaced by anger, fear and denial of Alice's existence.

She simply couldn't fathom how it was possible for such an anomaly like Alice to exist. Wasn't she part of the honoured few that actually survived? Wasn't she part of the glorious new race? The new rulers of this land? She should be standing at the apex of the food chain with the other hybrids.

But if so…

Then what the hell is this monster in front of her?