Abyssal Awakening-Chapter 1007: Allura Or The Void

In the span of a single day, the city of Thalmyra witnessed two abnormalities.

The first was the sky splitting apart, as though some monstrous beast had risen with a grudge against the heavens themselves.

The second came moments later, when countless mirrors flipped into existence around the wound, forming a vast prison that halted the spread of crimson into their world.

With the appearance of the wound, confusion spread across Thalmyra.

It was confusion at first. People stepped outside and tilted their heads back to look at the sky.

Trying to make sense of what they were seeing, what was happening.

Guards, merchants, and civilians broke into hysteria when blood started to dye the world in its colour.

Stalls were abandoned, and people surged to leave the city in all directions.

No one knew what was happening, but they didn't want to stick around to find out.

Even when the mirrors held back the spread, the panic didn't stop.

In fact, it only got worse, as people were unsure of how long these defences could hold. All they knew was that this was an opportunity for them to run while the tide was being held back.

The guards were trying their best to settle the commotion, but the civilians were not cooperating.

Watching all of this happen from the top of a tower, Renna had a deep frown on her face before letting out a deep sigh.

Behind her, four people were seated around the table.

Alice, Faust, Elias, and Suyin mk2.

At first, Renna wasn't sure who Faust was, as all she felt was Lab's aura shifting.

Then, when he introduced himself essentially as Lab's boss, she threw common sense out of the window since there were bigger things to worry about.

Things such as the hole in the sky.

"I've halted the expansion for now. Same with the other cities. But even with… the special assistance I've gained, this solution won't last. Even now, they're slowly eating away at my power," Faust admitted.

Tapping his finger, a card was ejected from between his fingers as Alice noticed the spreading cracks along the outer edges.

"You can think of this as the integrity of the barrier I put into place. When this card breaks, you can safely assume that there's nothing else I can do against the spreading corruption."

Like Eldritch energy, this strange Nightmare energy was slowly adapting and deconstructing the secrets behind the barrier.

Once it had completely solved the hidden mechanisms, Faust would no longer be able to do anything about it.

Even if he tried to refresh the barrier he had put into place.

"What's the status of the World Tree?" Alice asked curiously.

She noticed all of the elves having a dark look on their faces and realised it must be something to do with the World Tree.

Considering its connection to the different realms, if a wound like this had opened across Extalia, then it was definitely a cause for concern.

"It's…" Renna paused, her brows knit tightly together. "Stable. Freakishly so. A wound like this should be… detectable. But the Tree is showing no signs of rejection or corruption. The world is as it has always been. 'Nothing has changed.'"

Alice frowned.

Faust scratched his chin.

"Nothing has changed, huh? Our foe is quite the devious one. Even an action as large as this is ignored." He let out a small chuckle, gesturing to the sky above them. "If the Tree isn't rejecting this kind of phenomenon, then it's safe to assume this is within the limits of what the Realms are allowed to do."

"The only question now… is which ones are being manipulated."

Renna and Alice had discussed this before.

The only possible candidate being the Void.

"I've already had someone look into this issue. However, the roots connected to the Void show no sign of deterioration. No sign of outside influence," Renna said, hesitating.

The only way for this to be the case, yet still show such a destructive effect on their realm, would be…

Alice furrowed her brows.

"Feris, huh?" she mumbled, tapping her finger against the table.

"Unfortunately. For this kind of thing to happen, the Realm Ruler must either give her consent or someone has hijacked her authority. One of these must be true for the Tree to remain silent. Otherwise, we'd be able to easily find the core issue." Renna nodded.

Thinking about it for a moment, Alice understood that talking to Feris was a must.

However… she needed to make her way to the capital to find Allura.

Feris or Allura…

The world or someone she saw as her mother…

Alice clenched her fist.

Renna noticed Alice's struggle.

She had seen that kind of expression countless times by this point. The expression of someone debating the importance between their duty and their family. Between what must be done and what they wanted to do.

"Trying to locate the Lady of the Void will not be an easy task. Especially when the Void is currently undergoing a strange mutation. This kind of task is better left to people like me, who are familiar with the realms." Renna tapped her own chest.

A helpless smile appeared on her face.

"I can monitor the changes and figure out a way to contact her. The only thing is… how I can talk to Feris without her killing me." Renna let out a dry laugh.

She had always done this. Offered her help to people who were struggling. Whenever they were stuck between decisions, Renna found herself offering her services.

It was that way before she became a Lord… and it remained so even after becoming one.

An escort job that others were too terrified to handle, she accepted without hesitation.

And oftentimes, she had asked herself one question.

'Renna, why did you offer? You can still back out.'

Yet she never did.

"There's something more important than this that requires your attention, right?" Renna chuckled, taking a seat opposite Alice. "So go do what you need to do."

Alice hesitated.

"What's with that look? This is something I should be doing anyway. I'm the Lord of the Sacred Grove, the overseer of the place where the World Tree resides. If something is going to mess with the realm we're in, it is my responsibility to ensure that everything is okay." Renna laughed it off with a wave of her hand.

In the end, Alice reluctantly nodded.

Even though the world seemed to be spiralling towards the end, she wanted to ensure Allura's safety first and foremost.

"Since it'll take a few days for the parts to arrive, feel free to use me however you want. My powers are at your disposal, same with the connections I hold. And by extension, the services that belong to the Leader of the Underground." Alice smiled, gesturing to Faust next to her.

Faust choked on his saliva while Renna blinked.

"You can't just start outing my identity, you know? And when did I agree to help?" Faust coughed with a slight frown.

"Then let me put it this way. She'll request me, and by extension, I'll request you. With that, you might as well extend your services to her, no?" Alice chuckled.

"That- no-…" He paused. If he rejected the notion here, there was no doubt that Alice would choose the pettiest possible response. Perhaps even changing the way she delivered her blood to him. The kind that made it obnoxious.

And if she was anything like Allura, then simply playing along would be much better than denying them.

He could still remember that one time when he denied Allura.

Only for her to then complete his favours in the worst way possible.

Artifacts that had been destroyed, split into several chunks. Their abilities weren't lost, but the effort of repairing them far outweighed the gain.

Or even when he asked her to help him find a certain ore in the Abyss, only for her to bring back a giant beast that had eaten said ore. So if he wanted it, he'd have to wait for it to be… dispensed in a certain manner.

Of course, he couldn't kill the beast either. If he did, Allura would have killed him instead.

Clenching his teeth, Faust let out a deep sigh.

"Fine. But only for as long as you are within this city," Faust bargained, but Alice shook her head.

"Nope. You gave me the services of the Underground. So I'm going to use those services. Whatever Renna requires, I will do my best to fulfil. And by extension, everything will be a request pushed to the Underground, yes?" Faust's smile twitched.

Meanwhile, Renna blinked, recoiling at the fact that the man sitting at the same table was, in fact, the leader of this organisation.

Once again, Alice's background was called into question.

However, even if she did have connections such as Faust, what did she mean by her power?

Renna doubted a Lord like herself needed the assistance of a Hunter who had yet to reach this realm.

Alice sensed her doubt, rolled her eyes, then turned to Faust.

"Give me a drop of your blood." She held out her hand.

"What do you need my blood for? It doesn't have special properties like yours." Faust raised an eyebrow.

"And this is a Mirror Clone. It doesn't have blood in the traditional sense."

Alice paused, realised her mistake, then turned to Renna.

"Can I have a drop of your blood?"

"…." Faust held himself back.

Why was it a demand when it came to him, but a humble request when it came to her???

Renna saw no reason to deny it and pricked her finger, letting a droplet splash against Alice's hand.

Bringing it up to her mouth, Alice licked it up, confusing the two.

*RUMBLE!!!

Renna blinked.

Faust froze.

"Tada~" Alice shrugged, showcasing the aura of a Lord in its entirety.

By this point, Renna couldn't hold back anymore.

"What the f*ck???"