Abyssal Awakening

Thankfully, there weren't any more incidents after the first day. No more slamming into carriages and breaking them.

During the break, Alice and Egil would spar with hand to hand combat, fixing Alice's bad habits while Selen practised her new skill.

At night, they'll eat the food prepared by the caravan and go to sleep.

As for what happened during the day, Alice was like a hyperactive monkey jumping all over the place. From sitting on the roof to dangling herself off the edge and so on. With their seats being rather uncomfortable, neither Selen nor Egil could catch some sleep to pass the time.

Just like this, a week passed uneventfully. Even the rare instances of beasts approaching the caravan would be dealt with swiftly and no abnormalities occurred much to Alice's slight disappointment.

With the capital of the north just around the corner, Alice sat on the roof and waited eagerly.

She wanted to see what kind of city the northern nation would have as its capital and the home of several Abyss Lords.

Alice could still recall the feeling she had when she saw Ayr for the first time.

'I wonder if I'll get a similar vibe from this place.' She chuckled inwardly.

'Don't get your hopes up. Ayr is a city made by a Goddess after all. Unless Queen Verona is someone similar, I doubt it'll have the same 'vibe'.' Alyss shrugged while Cayla nodded in agreement.

However, as they turned the corner, Alice found herself at a loss of words.

A paradise of crystal and light sat between the depths of a frozen canyon. Tall spires of ice stretching high into the dazzling northern sky with an array of lights above. A cascade of gentle lights filtered through the glass spires, coating the city in a mesmerising shimmer of northern beauty.

Frozen waterfalls frozen in motion, sparkling cold mist and rolled from below and in contrast, the warm orange glows of lights within the houses.

A labyrinth of buildings lined up beneath the protection of the castle with bridges connecting two sides of the city together.

Down the middle, a frozen river where children could be seen skating around while adults supervised.

However, this was just a small part of the city.

From the canyon, Alice could see hints of the true scale peaking over the top. A pyramid of buildings and structures leading up to a main structure that stood higher than everything else.

A large while tree with snow white leaves. Pulses of gentle blue energy could be seen dancing through the gaps of the trunk, rising to the top before being transformed into a protective blue film that draped over the capital.

But most importantly, there was something about this city that stuck out to Alice.

The protective film over the capital…

It held traces of divinity!

[It doesn't seem to be a full divinity. But rather, a divinity in the making. An incubation stage if I had to describe it.] Cayla analysed as she was the most familiar with the energy emulated by divinity.

'Is she trying something similar to Velouria?'

Outside of the three natural Gods, Velouria was the only one that was 'manufactured' in a way. She wasn't born a God but rather made into one by the Will.

If there were traces of nascent divinity in the barrier protecting the capital then perhaps Queen Verona was trying to become a Goddess herself.

[Perhaps. Outside of the three main Gods, there are the outer Gods. But aside from them, I haven't seen or heard of anyone else trying or even succeeding in joining the ranks of Divinity.] Cayla frowned as this was outside of the knowledge she had compiled over the years.

[If anything, I'm more concerned about you. You hold traces of Velouria's fallen divinity. If the Queen was to sense this, I'm not sure what she'll do considering the fact that she's trying to become a God.] She warned.

Realizing that an apex Abyss Lord might set their eyes on her because of Velouria's Divinity, Alice couldn't help but swallow her saliva nervously.

As much as she was confident in herself, even she knew that she couldn't match against an apex Abyss Lord. Hell, even a normal Abyss Lord could kill her never mind one that's trying to become a God!

The sensation of being suppressed by Enris's power and divinity was still fresh in Alice's mind. If someone similar to that was to target her here…

'Yeah, I'll be careful this time.' Alice nodded.

As they approached the gates of the city, they went through the process of ID checks and luggage checks to make sure they weren't bringing any prohibited items.

While entering, Alice marvelled at the beauty of the city as her eyes sparkled at the sight of the attire these people were wearing.

The city was by no means warm but at the same time, it wasn't as cold as the outside. Just the right temperature to wear casual attire without worrying about warmth.

But most importantly, big sleeves!

"Selen, how much spare coin do we have? Do you think we can spare some so I can go shopping?" Alice asked as her eyes sparkled with excitement.

"After the carriage, we don't have that kind of leisure money." Selen replied coldly as Alice's eagerness was instantly quenched. Tears formed on the edges of her eyes as she looked like a wounded puppy.

Since the carriage was expensive, most of the reward they got from Torgeir was used to pay for it. The money they had left was reserved for lodgings and food.

"Urg… Do you think they run a gambling arena here? Maybe I can fight and earn some money." Alice asked while feeling regretful. She could see all the different outfits that people were wearing and wanted to buy some immediately.

Alas, she was broke.

"There are arenas, but Northerners take it more as a challenge rather than to gamble money. We pride ourselves with honour so placing money on two warriors is seen as disrespectful." Egil explained as Alice let out a devastated sigh.

"We still have rewards that haven't been given to us yet. If we get a decent amount of Coin, you can have some to buy mead or clothing." Selen sighed, feeling like a babysitter as Alice nodded her head happily.

"Alright, let's get the appointment over and done with then." Alice decided.

The sooner she deals with this appointment, the sooner she could go enjoy herself.

###

An ethereal woman could be seen sitting on a throne. She had long flowing white hair with streaks of a deep blue. The edges of her hair shimmered with a crystalline glow, reflecting the lights around her.

She wore what seems to be a dress made from ice and iridescent blue energy. A pair of cold eyes and white lashes.

Despite her casual appearance at this moment in time, there was a passive aura of authority around her.

Noticing something strange, she glanced up with her crystalline pink eyes and furrowed her brows.

A foreigner has entered her city.

And not just any foreigner.

A foreigner who felt like an amalgamation of energies woven together in an unnatural fashion. A chimeric being showing signs of artificial power.

"Abyss… Void… Human? No… She can't be considered a human." The woman muttered.

Tapping her finger against the armrest, she closed her eyes before opening her mouth.

"Frida." She called out.

Beside her, an elegant woman kneeled. She had long flowing pale blue hair shimmering like the lights filtering through a layer of ice atop a lake. She wore a flowing gown dyed with hues of blue and white. Floral and ice lace patterns could be seen overlaying the edges of her gown as the underside glowed with a gentle blue.

"My queen." She replied, voice gentle and calming.

"Can I trouble you to take a look at the guests that just appeared in the city? One of them feels… unnatural." Verona requested as Frida nodded her head.

"Unnatural? Can I presume her to be an agent of Extalia?" Frida narrowed her gaze.

"Let's not jump to conclusions. Observe and report, that's all you need to do for now." Verona shook her head.

Recently, there's been moments where strange beasts and 'unnatural' energies began to invade her nation. In other words, man made abominations that only know how to follow orders and a blatant disregard to life itself.

But they weren't the only threat. Beasts of blood and fanatics to a new cult have been making themselves known near the borders.

There were too many things to deal with and not enough capable people to help her sort it out. Urigar was retraining himself after the expedition to the Abyss. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to obtain a solution to the pandemic.

Sigurd was busying himself in the forge, hoping to create a new weapon. Though, it's not like he was someone to help outside of making equipment. The fact that he was even staying here and making equipment was already a blessing.

-exclusive

Had it not been for Sigurd, this nation would only have three Abyss Lords including herself.

Frida was the only one she could rely on at this moment.

As for herself, she was still trying to cultivate a divinity that refused to crystalise.

However… Even if she was to succeed, it could bring about more trouble than expected. She wasn't sure how the other three Gods will react to the birth of a new divinity. If things go wrong, it could become a case where they're besieged by an alliance of all three.

Letting out a sigh, she could only hope that wouldn't be the case.