Abyssal Awakening

The world was constantly in a balancing act and it wasn\'t just the Abyss either, this counted for the surface. After the pathway between the two realms had been opened, they were never able to close it again.

Thus they adapted and allowed travel between the two layers and people gained power.

However, if the Gods intervene too much, the world becomes unstable and more pathways open up.

But that wasn\'t the main issue.

"I agree. Normal humans find it hard to survive in our presence in the first place, they pass out with a single look." Solaris sighed with a shrug.

"But wouldn\'t it be easier for us to get followers if we revealed ourselves more often?" Lumiria tilted her head while Enris agreed.

Enris gained the most followers when she wrought destruction upon a battlefield after all. Seeing is believing and seeing the power of a God first hand is the best way to prove their might.

"That\'s why we\'ll be changing to introducing our Apostles instead. I believe all of you have also noticed the weakening of the world barrier. After the pathway was created between my realm and the surface, there have been signs of breaking elsewhere.

"You\'ve already seen the chaos caused by the Abyss linking with the surface, I\'m unsure if it\'s wise to allow a third realm to be connected." Velouria reminded.

Outer Gods. That\'s what she was worried about. Beings outside of the Abyss and the Surface. Even though they hadn\'t managed to invade their world just yet, a single look outside of their domain had already sent shivers down Velouria\'s back.

It was faint but there\'s no denying their existence.

"But chaos is the best though~ Are you worried about the Outer Gods?" Enris asked with a grin while relaxing herself on the seat.

"The more the merrier. If more Gods appear then that means there\'s more for me to fight. It\'s gotten a bit boring fighting you three after all this time." She narrowed her eyes towards Solaris and Lumiria who frowned in displeasure.

Enris attacked their territories the most since she couldn\'t easily attack the Abyss. And the result of her doing so was fear amongst their believers and a common hatred towards the Eclipse Cult.

Her followers are just as insane as she is!

"Now now, let\'s not fight. We\'re all Gods here, no reason to harm one another." Velouria sighed since they fight all the time. If anything, it reminded her of siblings who constantly argue with one another.

"I\'m not fighting, just stating what I think. That\'s what this meeting is about right?" Enris laughed.

Solaris didn\'t say anything and simply crossed his arms.

"Alright. So who agrees to go forward with this proposal?" Velouria asked as both Solaris and Lumiria raised their hands slightly while Enris could only shrug.

"Then we shall go forward with this. From now on, we will be limiting our activities amongst mortals and our Apostles will act as our proxies. Furthermore, I suggest we retreat to the rift between realms to reduce our impact on the world and observe the changes."

"Velouria, what about you? We know what your connection with the Abyss is like. It\'ll be hard for you to retreat to the rift." Solaris opened one of his eyes and glanced to the host of this meeting.

"Mnm, naturally I\'ll keep myself to the top of the castle. I\'ve already made preparations to reduce my impact on the world." Velouria explained.

Naturally, she wasn\'t going to reveal that she was basically confined there. Doing so would be exposing herself to danger.

Even though they may seem amicable right now, all of them had hidden daggers pointing at one another. Even the other Apostles are ready to make a move the moment a fight breaks out.

"If you say so." Solaris nodded.

"If we\'re going to introduce our Apostles to the world, their names should reflect their Authority should it not? For me, I\'ve given my Apostles the authority of Immortality and Spirituality. Henceforth they shall be known as the Apostle of Immortality and the Apostle of Spirituality." Lumiria smiled while gesturing to her Apostles.

"Mine are Protection and Preservation." Solaris added.

"War and Famine." Enris grinned.

"Severance and Corruption."

With the first agenda agreed upon, they moved to the second topic for the meeting.

As the meeting continued, Alice found herself struggling to keep up with the conversation. They mostly talked about the state of their cities, how their religion is going and what their believers were like.

Some miscellaneous affairs and troublesome situations caused by the Abyss.

But it was during this topic that all focus was placed on Velouria.

"Say I couldn\'t help but notice the Abyss seemed to have grown more active recently. Even if we ignore the pathways that are being open, since they\'re unavoidable, the beasts seemed to have grown more aggressive." Solaris couldn\'t help but mention while narrowing his eyes at Velouria.

Hearing this, Velouria\'s smile twitched but she kept herself composed.

"Are you suggesting that I\'m behind it?"

"No no, don\'t get me wrong. I\'m not pointing fingers here, merely asking what\'s going on." Solaris smiled.

"It\'s only natural for us to be concerned Velouria. You see, we have full dominion over our powers and Authority. But you… You share it with the Abyss so it\'s only right to be concerned if you\'re doing okay or not." Lumiria sighed while Velouria narrowed her eyes.

This was probably their main goal for the meeting.

"And what\'s your reason for asking this?" Velouria asked while Kaden, Allura and Nyer began to show hostility.

"As hard as it is to believe, we\'re not here to pick a fight." Enris held her hands up in surrender with a grin on her face.

"We just want to ask if you can truly be considered a Goddess. We divine beings are the pinnacle of power, we govern laws and create rules. Yet you share your power with the Abyss. Hell, even the Old Abyss Lords sealed beneath the layers and in the pits of Terminus. It was the Abyss\'s doing not yours and you can\'t interfere with it, can you?" Enris stood up.

"So the question we want to ask is… Can you prove you can truly be considered a Goddess?"

At that moment, thick killing intent soaked with the blood of war erupted out from Enris\'s body, dyeing the entire room in a deep red while Allura drew her blade but Velouria stopped her.

"Is this the general consensus? Or is it simply Elly being Elly?" Velouria faked a smile while looking at Solaris and Lumiria.

Seeing that they weren\'t saying anything, Velouria understood that her authority was being questioned.

She wasn\'t a violent person but that doesn\'t mean she was a pushover either. She simply hated to force her power onto others.

"You\'ve made three wrong assumptions." Velouria held up three fingers.

Seeing this, Kaden pulled Alice back next to them with a worried expression on his face.

\'Is Kaden worried about the collateral damage?\' Alice wondered to herself. She knew that she had no place in this fight as she was just a three star Hunter.

But he couldn\'t answer her question as the Gods were about to make their moves.

"First of all, you three were the ones who declared me as a Goddess. At the start, I\'ve never considered myself a divine being but simply pushed into the role.

"Second of all, you speak as though you believe me and the Abyss are in a Master Servant relationship where it can interfere with my work while I cannot interfere with it. That is wrong. It\'s a mutual agreement despite the Will of the Abyss having its own whims.

There\'s a good reason why it granted me power to become what I am." After saying this, Velouria only had one finger up and a cold chill flooded the room, overwhelming Enris\' killing intent.

"And last of all, I don\'t need to prove anything. I\'ve taken the stance that so long as you don\'t invade Ayr, I will not make a move. But a show of hostility will not go ignored. So dear Elly, can you handle my wrath?"

Tapping her finger down, the realm seemed to collapse into itself as all of them were transported into the rift between worlds. At that moment, countless eyes opened up in the sky while an overbearing pressure crashed down onto the room.

Velouria\'s hair flared up as stars gathered around her, manifesting as a crown above her head.

Snapping her finger, a heartbeat could be heard while the air cracked apart. Dark liquid poured into the realm as golden chains jumped out from the ground and wrapped around Enris\' limbs and neck, locking her in place.

The world darkened as Velouria took a step towards Enris.

Both Solaris and Lumiria wanted to stand up but found themselves stared down by several silhouettes of Abyss Beasts radiating power close to that of the Apostles.

They were unafraid of death! For their Goddess, they will gladly offer their lives!

"As surface Gods, you share your divinity with one another, taking turns through the cycles. There are three Gods to share the Surface yet only one Goddess in the Abyss. Now let me ask you.

"If I do not qualify as a Goddess…" Velouria curled her lips into a cruel smile.

"Do you think you can qualify as a God?"