Abyssal Awakening-Chapter 995: Dead Man Walking

After giving Faust the eight vials of blood, Alice couldn’t help but grumble in annoyance.

How dare he tell her to drink less.

Sure alcohol may have thinned out her blood a little but it’s not to the level where it would reduce the potency.

"My side of the agreement is done now. I believe it’s time for you to fulfil your end of the bargain." Alice sighed, gesturing with her hand.

Faust stored the vials away and nodded with his head.

"As mentioned earlier, Allura has been travelling towards the Capital. With her are two Lords, one of which you should be familiar with."

Reaching into his pocket, Faust took out two pictures of the people travelling with Allura.

The quality wasn’t fantastic but Alice recognised one to be Gin.

"One is the Abyss Lord of Death, Gin. The other, is someone who has history with the two of them but chose to seclude herself. The Abyss Lord of Life, Karya."

Alice creased her brows.

"In the past, I kept up with how Allura was doing in order to make up for the debt I owe her. But I never got the chance to cash it out completely. What I can tell you is that Karya only stayed with Allura in the past to keep her alive." Faust exhaled slowly.

"So the fact that she has reappeared, sticking so close next to Allura at that, means her time is coming to an end.

"Out of all of the Lords, only Karya can extend life forcefully."

". . ."

[Alice...] Cayla frowned.

Alice closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out why Allura was now travelling with the Lord of Life.

Her time was running out.

While she didn’t know what Allura has been going through since the time they’ve been away, one key danger remains.

Famine.

They needed to capture Famine in order to dispel the curse over Allura.

Once that was done, she’ll be able to finally recover.

"Anything else?" Alice turned to Faust who nodded his head.

"These are all the reports I have. A medical history if you will. You can see how Allura’s condition has deteriorated. With... the most recent report I got, even if it’s quite old, you can see how severe the situation has become."

Alice’s fingers trembled.

Faust placed a stack of papers on the table.

The more she read, the worse her expression became.

While she didn’t know the full extent of the damage, what little she gleaned from the reports told her one thing.

Dead man walking.

That’s the best way they could describe Allura.

"Give me a map of their routes. I’m going to look for Allura." Alice frowned.

While the danger of Grand Cathia wasn’t over... Alice trusted Miki to handle it herself.

"It’s a little outdated. But wouldn’t it be better to simply meet her at the capital?" Faust asked curiously but Alice shook her head.

Simply waiting at the Capital wasn’t going to be enough. Who knows what kind of danger they might meet on their way there?

For her to have a peace of mind, Alice wanted to retrace Allura’s path and catch up as fast as possible. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

However, using her usual travel route might be difficult since Suyin hasn’t fully stabilized the device yet.

If she jumps through realms in quick succession, the constant adjustment of her memories may lead to bigger issues than expected.

"I’ll have it prepared for you then. In the meantime, I’ll assign a handler just for you. You can contact them for any requests you have specifically for the Underground." Faust smiled.

There was much for him to do, in short time at that.

Once everything was sorted out, Faust wave them a slight wave before disappearing from where he was sitting a moment ago.

Alice let out a slight sigh and leaned back.

’To think Allura’s body had deteriorated to this extent...’

"Leave the things happening in Grand Cathia to me. Allura... she’s like a mother to you right?" Miki smiled as she stood up.

"Mnm. She saved my life and gave it meaning." Alice nodded.

It wasn’t hard for Miki to piece together the clues.

Alice disappearing from public view as a child, coming back with this strange blood.

The Zenia’s sudden production of Abyss Blood that would’ve taken countless experimentations.

While she didn’t know Alice’s exact role, she was definitely involved. And that involvement was the source of her dislike towards the family.

Once that was established, Alice’s motivations became clear.

Miki realised that Faust must’ve figured it out as well, which is why he’s going to give her a handler.

That way, Alice could also help root out the Zenia spies in the Underground.

"We’ll make Grand Cathia our base of operations for now. Suyin needs the space to experiment after all. Not only that, but she can also serve as an intermediary between us." Alice suggested.

These were going to be her final preparations before leaving Grand Cathia.

###

Caera frowned.

This development... she had not foreseen it.

She had believed they still had time. Enough to prepare, enough to stabilize the situation, especially now that Selen had finally ascended and claimed her title as a Lord.

That alone should have shifted the balance.

It should have brought relief.

Hope.

Instead, when they returned, what awaited them was neither celebration nor reassurance.

It was unease.

Something was wrong.

In the short time they had been away, the Queen’s condition had deteriorated far beyond expectations. This was no longer a matter of lingering injuries or delayed recovery.

Rot and decay now crawled across her body.

Darkened veins crept beneath her skin...

It was alive.

Feeding off her flesh, burrowing deeper with each meal.

But the worst part... was the fact that it wasn’t stopping.

Everyone tried their best to purge the Queen’s body of these parasites yet they refused to disappear.

Cut one off and two more take its place.

They were multiplying at an astonishing pace.

Something has taken root inside the Queen’s body, something heinous.

Caera creased her brows. Corruption from whatever was stealing her soul away perhaps.

Just as Caera was about to cut away a few parts that were spreading too fast, she noticed something strange.

The flesh was twitching.

Ever so slightly...

But it definitely twitched.

An eye opened.

Caera froze.

It wasn’t a human eye nor was it that of a beast. The eye itself wasn’t even properly formed, as though something hastily constructed to mimic the shape of an eye.

It peeled open the Queen’s flesh, glancing at everyone in the room.

Its pupils dilating, contracting, carving their appearances to memory perhaps.

Then another opened.

And another.

Across her shoulder, her collar bone.

Some blinked fast, some blinked slow. But all of the eyes were watching.

This lasted for a short moment but no one in the room could forget the sight.

"I think it’s best we get Verona out of terminus first and foremost." Sigurd was the one who spoke first.

They had delayed their escape since Caera wanted Selen to get her title.

Now that it’s been achieved, he didn’t want what remains of the North to stay any longer.

"Mnm. I suppose the main question I need to ask you now is where do you want to exit? There’s quite a few of us after all. The state of the North is unknown but it might still be tainted with the false divinity." Caera folded her arms.

This time, Rosalyn was the one to speak up.

"There are a few port cities we can go to. Even the East shouldn’t be too much of an issue."

After discussing the potential locations, Caera came to a conclusion. They’ll exit near the East so that the people can get some help from the healers there.

With how many injured they have, the only one who can and most likely to accommodate them would be Suyin, someone Alice is familiar with.

They felt a little guilty, trying to take advantage of their connection but not much else can be done about it for now.

Of course, they could also compensate for the trouble caused.

Not only with new research but also having a workshop prepared for Sigurd to start crafting some gear.

"Alright, we know what we have to do now. Let’s start moving everyone to the teleport platform and I’ll sort out the rest." Caera instructed.

It was finally time for them to leave this godforsaken place.

And hopefully, doing so would relieve the ailments troubling Verona.

Though the chances of that happening was unlikely.

###

"PLEASE!" Ria screamed, lightning crashing around her as she slams her fist into the air next to her.

A streak of lightning cutting the world in half flashed as blood spattered across the air.

"I BEG OF YOU!" She continued, ducking under a myriad of strikes before countering with her own.

"CAN YOU STOP!"

Jumping into the air, Ria wanted to use her second Resonance when her enemies countered by doing the same, effectively shutting down her personal realm.

With no other choice, she artificially created one before flickering through the lightning.

Making sure to never stay in one spot.

"BRINGING MORE LORDS! I CAN’T TAKE IT!!!" Her bloodshot eyes glared at the woman hovering on her cloud with a lazy yawn.

"If I feel like it." Astrelya cleaned her nails.

She watched as Ria fought with her life on the line against the Lords of the Abyss. They weren’t exceptionally strong but for Ria, each one represented path towards death.

The moment her focus falters even a little, she’ll die.

And with her being so focused on surviving, she hadn’t noticed the shift in Astrelya’s expression.

Despite seeing Ria fight well, despite knowing that she was getting stronger...

Astrelya pressed her hand across her chest.

". . ."

’Since when did I find battle so...’

Meaningless...

Her eyelids drooped as unknown thoughts flashed through her mind.

For a member of the Eclipse, especially herself...

This was akin to a death sentence.