Abyssal Awakening

Trying her best to ignore the hateful thought of this collar around her neck, she opened her mouth.

"Wouldn\'t it be bad for you to go against the Will? Since… Well, the two of you are connected, aren\'t you? What if it tries to kill you?"

"You\'re talking as though it\'s not trying to kill me already." Velouria let out a soft laugh while Alice realised what she had just said and scratched her cheek in embarrassment.

"But yes, it is bad to a certain extent. But here\'s the thing, the Will already knows. It knows that the Gods are planning and it welcomes it with open hands. Even if this wasn\'t a memory, the Will wouldn\'t care either." She shook her head.

"Do you want to know why?"

"Why?" Alice asked.

"Because the Will is not an extension of the Abyss. But rather, the Abyss is an extension of the will. Similarly to how second resonances are able to bring out a personal realm into reality, the Abyss is the Will\'s personal realm.

It\'s advanced to the stage where it\'s permanently ingrained with reality and its expansion simply means the Will is getting stronger." Velouria revealed as Alice paused for a moment before realising what this meant.

Similar to what she had experienced with Tiamat, there was a chance that the Will could just collapse this entire realm on them!

"I know what you\'re thinking but that\'s going to be harder than you think. There are benefits and negatives to turning the personal realm into reality. Collapsing the realm being one of them. When someone collapses their personal realm, they\'re cutting off the connection, rendering it null and throwing you into the sea of void between realms.

"But because the Will has ingrained its personal realm into reality, it can no longer cut off the connection and throw the people inside into the void since this is not a manifestation of its realm anymore. It\'s reality.

Not only that but there\'s no real need for the Will to do so since if it wanted to kill you, there are a myriad of different options." Velouria chuckled while Alice couldn\'t help but sigh.

She was too focused on the notion that the Abyss was the Will\'s realm that she forgot all of them had made a contract with the Abyss.

Thinking about this, Alice couldn\'t help but ask about something that\'s been on her mind for a while now.

"If the Abyss can give out contracts that gives you power, can\'t the other Gods do the same?"

"Hmm… Yes and no. This is where the Abyss and us divine beings differ." Velouria shook her head.

If they could give out contracts and power like the Abyss, the Sun, Moon and Eclipse wouldn\'t struggle this much with getting followers.

"You see, the Will of the Abyss can\'t be considered to be an individual. The divinity we share is different to the divinity owned by the Sun, Moon and Eclipse. In order to share their blessings and power, the Sun, Moon and Eclipse require extremely devoted followers that establish a connection on the deepest level.

"Only then can they grant them their power. For Apostles, as you know, the Gods are required to pass down a portion of their own Divinity.

"Meanwhile, the Will doesn\'t grant power. No, it may seem like it since it gives contracts and Sigils but that\'s not entirely accurate. You see, the Will acts like a sort of middleman, it\'s the passage to power but not the source.

"To put it into simpler terms, the source of power is a Library and it\'s the librarian. The Will gives you access to the library but the books you choose are not owned by the Will. It doesn\'t lose anything by granting you access nor does it lose anything by making me a Goddess." Velouria explained as Alice began to understand.

"So the divinity owned by you and the Will is not one that governs Sigils and powers within the Abyss but rather the ability to modify and manage this… \'Library\'?" Alice asked as Velouria nodded her head.

"It may sound similar but they\'re fundamentally different. However, that was in the past. My guess is that the Will wishes to modify its divinity and that\'s why I\'m suffering some backlash right now. Through this modification, I can only assume that it wishes to become the writer as well as the librarian, gaining full control over this realm and the powers within.

"However, I don\'t think it succeeded in the end since you\'re here." She chuckled.

If the Will had indeed succeeded in its plans then the future would be very different to the one that Alice told her about.

"I see…"

Before Velouria could continue, she began to cough heavily.

Covering her mouth, she coughed up a mouthful of blood and let out a wary sigh.

"Sorry, we\'ll have to cut this conversation short. I can\'t leave my castle for long after all." Velouria smiled bitterly.

"Ah sorry! And… Thank you. For comforting me." Alice apologised. She was grateful that Velouria came and reassured her about the collar along with answering some of her other questions.

Patting Alice on the head, Velouria called both Allura and Kaden back in and had Kaden make a portal back to her castle.

Once Velouria returned to her castle, Allura turned to Alice and felt relieved that she was looking better than earlier.

"Are you feeling better now?" Allura asked as Alice nodded her head.

"Mnm. Sorry about earlier."

"What have I said about that? You don\'t need to be sorry." Allura sighed, gently knocking Alice on the head.

Hearing this, Alice revealed a small smile on her face.

"Setting what happened earlier aside, I\'ve gotten my fourth Sigil now. It\'s the one that you mentioned to me, the Supercharged State one." Alice changed the subject.

She still hated the feeling that the collar was around her neck but there was nothing she could do about it until she met the Will again.

Not only that but the moment she took the first Sigil, a contract was already established. With that in mind, a collar was formed on first contact.

The only thing she could be grateful about was that it didn\'t hinder her will and actions unlike the one given by the Zenia family.

"That\'s good news then. Shall we give it a test?" Kaden chuckled, creating a portal as Alice nodded her head and jumped off the chair.

She was looking forward to what this Sigil could do for her.

###

Returning to her castle, Velouria took deep breaths while sitting down on her thrown.

An angry expression could be seen on her face as she snapped her finger and the crown manifested above her head.

In front of her, the \'blank\' figure appeared with a pair of eyes glancing back at Velouria with mirth.

"A pretty sh*t joke to pull. Is this your idea of bringing her to your side? What are you planning?" Velouria frowned while the figure shrugged.

[The crown was broken. I merely fixed it for her.]

"Bullsh*t. You knew she hates it."

[What is a crown but a shackle and collar in a different form? It looks good on her neck doesn\'t it?]

Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Velouria glared at the Will as it let out a laugh.

Staying silent for a moment, Velouria opened her mouth.

"You need her to achieve your perfect divinity, don\'t you?"

[. . .]

Hearing this, the Will stopped laughing as its smile faded away.

A pair of emotionless eyes stared back at Velouria.

"It\'s not hard to guess after piecing together everything. While I don\'t know the origins of that child, I know you have no part to play in it. You merely stumbled into a treasure you wish to add to your own collection. But things won\'t go as smoothly as you thin-"

Before Velouria could continue, she could feel an invisible hand crushing her neck, stopping her from talking.

[Don\'t think that I\'m keeping you around because I value you. Everyone needs a pet here and there. I may not have played a part in the strange existence known as Alice, but she is perfect. A diamond in the rough. I simply have to wait, and things will fall into place.]

[Letting her know the downfall of Ayr and the folly of your trust is simply a step in this path known as inevitability.] The Will narrowed its eyes while Velouria gave it a defiant smirk.

"That\'s why you don\'t mind things going off script despite this being a memory. You want to use her as a sword against the other Gods without making a move yourself." Velouria squeezed out as the pressure around her neck continued to increase.

[How… Pitiful. Is this your last stand? To try and understand what I desire?] The Will paused as a smile returned to its face.

[While perfect divinity is among the things I may desire, I do not care for it as much as you may think. Even allowing this memory to continue off script is simply to humour myself and see where things take themselves.] It revealed a cruel smile and walked towards Velouria.

[There are several endings to this memory I foresee. And you will survive none of them. A death far more gruesome and painful than your original. I look forward to see your expression when you realise your own ending.]

Leaning down and looking deep into Velouria\'s eyes, it gave her a disdainful look before disappearing from the room.

Staying in silence, all Velouria could do was sigh.