Kapitel 32: Allura
Drifting through her slumber, Alice found herself standing in a pool blood that restricted her movements.
The scent of iron permeated the air she breathed while the river beneath her dyed her body in crimson.
Furrowing her brows, Alice looked around to get an understanding of where she was.
*Drip~
"Hm?"
Alice turned towards the source of the noise out of curiosity only to freeze up at the sight. She could see Lilia standing in the pool of blood just like her, only with a wound in her chest and an unceasing flow of blood that created this pool.
Blinking her eyes, Lilia was now in front of her and Alice was holding a blade through Lilia's chest. The look of betrayal and shock in her eyes… The burning hatred.
Snapping her eyes open from her nightmare, Alice panted as cold sweat covered her back.
'It didn't go like that…' She thought to herself while biting her lip.
Clutching her chest, she could still feel the sensation of thrusting that sword through Lilia's chest.
'It didn't go like that?' She asked herself once more, this time unsure of her own words. She didn't know if she was trying to convince herself that she did the right thing or that it was truly what Lilia had wished for.
Regardless of the context, the truth was that Lilia died by her hand.
Clenching her fist, Alice couldn't help but wonder if the VIP had died or not. If she did, so be it. But if she somehow survived, Alice wanted to inflict the same if not more pain than what she did to Lilia.
Holding her head, her memories of what happened before she passed out was rather blurred. She remembers a burst of crimson before everything became hazy.
'I was saved by someone. But who?' Alice furrowed her brows before looking around her.
It was only now that she realised she was sitting on something soft. She was currently sitting on a bed much better than what is afforded to a slave. The gentle embrace of the bed cover and comfort of the pillow should be out of reach.
Yet here she was sitting in one. Furrowing her brows, Alice paused when she noticed a weight missing from her body. The feeling of cold hard metal pressing against her limbs and more importantly, her neck, was now absent.
Hesitantly reached up with her hand, she tried to feel for restraints but there was nothing. She could feel her neck in its entirely with nothing blocking her hand.
Emotions welled up within her body as her hands started to shake, unable to contain herself. Scanning the room, she noticed a mirror and immediately jumped out of the bed in excitement.
Rushing in front of the mirror, she looked at her own reflection. As expected, there was no longer any restraints on her body. All she was wearing was a brand new white dress, simply yet comfortable along with some medical patches around parts of her body.
There were many questions flying through her mind yet her attention was stolen by her newfound sense of freedom.
No longer was she restrained as a prisoner of the Zenia family nor was she was slave. She was finally free.
'Now how to leave this room…' Alice thought to herself while scanning her surroundings.
While the chances that whoever helped her had no bad intentions was high, she couldn't bring herself to take it for granted. There was something they want from her and she didn't know what that was. It was better to have an escape plan than not have one.
Walking over to the window, she could see the bustling streets of the slaughter docks below. The cobbled path with water filling the gaps, large carcases of Abyss Beasts that belong in the Abyss Water hung above the streets using large hooks while workers peeled them layer by layer, salvaging any useful parts they could harvest.
Boats sailed into the docks from the distance with Abyss Beasts being restrained in cages amidst the other cargo.
Looking above the streets, Alice could see large buildings crafted from wood and stone. Rope bridges threaded the gap between buildings, forming a chaotic web. Some hung clothes off these ropes while most used them as ways to traverse different buildings.
Despite the window being shut, Alice could still hear the merchants shouting for attention towards their wares, Hunters having conflicts with one another, the bell tolls of the church and the priests trying to resolve fights.
This was the Slaughter Docks and this was her first proper view of the city.
Remembering the cost of such a sight, her excitement died down as she began looking for a route of escape. The most likely one being through the ropes and onto the rooftops.
Tapping the surface of the glass, Alice estimated that with a hard object, it wouldn't be too hard to break the thick glass window with the help of her first Sigil.
With one route in mind, she turned away from the window and looked for other options. Except for the bed, there was only a single table in the room with a metal candle holder on the tabletop while the drawers were empty.
'I can use the chair as a distraction while the candle holder works as I weapon I suppose… Better than nothing.' Alice shrugged while holding the handle holder awkwardly.
It was the type with a single long main body that split into three cups that would hold a candle each.
Giving it a swing, she figured that it'll probably work as a make shift hammer for now.
Just as she finished adjusting to her new weapon, Alice picked up on the feint sound of footsteps approaching her room.
Quickly jumping back into her bed, Alice hid the candle holder within the sheets before faking a sleeping posture while keeping one eye slightly open.
*Clack
Hearing the door open, the smell of smoke immediately assaulted the room as Alice tried her best not to react.
"You know, if you're already awake you should just sit properly. I could hear you from downstairs that's why I came up. No point jumping back into bed." A woman's voice rang out as Alice slowly sat up while narrowing her eyes towards the visitor.
Upon seeing the woman, her memories became clear as this was the same person that saved her before she passed out.
"Maybe place the candle holder back on the table too. I can still see the three candles you removed from it ya know?" Allura sighed while sitting on the chair in front of the desk. She had made sure to finish her cigarette before entering this place yet the smell of smoke still followed her in.
Hearing this, Alice clicked her tongue before slowly pulling out the candle holder from beneath the sheets and placed it back on the table.
"There we go. Now how are you feeling? Any injuries still lingering?" Allura asked while adopting a relaxed lazy posture on the chair.
"None." Shaking her head, Alice had already checked for any injuries but there were none.
"That means the blood did its job and so did the doctors. Now! I'm not sure if you remember but I'm the one who saved you yesterday. As I said yesterday, I'm sorry for being late. Had I not delayed what I planned to do, you would've been spared from performing that act." Allura apologised sincerely as her eyes were serious.
Hearing this, Alice looked down at her hands. She knows that it's not the woman's fault for arriving late, but rather an unfortunate play of events and circumstances. The one at fault is the VIP for doing such a thing to Lilia.
Lilia's condition was irreversible, but it's no excuse for wielding the blade that killed her.
"I hope you can forgive me for my tardiness and that the two of us can get to know one another properly. Honestly, I don't know how much Kaden has told you but I'm essentially your new guardian." Allura scratched her head awkwardly. She wasn't used to talking like this but this was a serious topic so she had to be serious about it.
"Kaden? Who that?" Alice tilted her head in confusion.
"Eh? He didn't tell you his name? Tsk, lazy b*stard, leaving everything to me like always." Allura broke character as she immediately rapid fired curses towards Kaden, surprising Alice who thought she was the serious type from how she talked.
"Ahem. Kaden is the one who dropped you in the middle of the Abyss. He's also the one that gave your Right eye. I'm sure you felt some of the power the eye brings from how you moved." Allura sighed.
Widening her eyes, Alice understood that Kaden was the raven man who pulled her from the Zenia family prison.
Going by the flow of this conversation, Alice had an idea on who this woman was but she wasn't 100% sure.
"Are you Allura?" Alice asked hesitantly.
"Oh! So he doesn't forget to give you MY f*cking name but forgets his own. Let me guess, he also didn't tell you jack sh*t about anything and threw you into the Abyss right?" Allura rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"But yes, I am Allura. I'm your new guardian for the time being."
Kapitel 33: Ways To Obtain Sigils
Hearing the name Allura, Alice recalled who she was told to find. Allura who was going to be her guiding light, the one that'll keep her safe.
Having suffered through the coliseum, she finally found Allura.
"Now I'm not sure how much you know but that eye he lodged into your skull, but you need to know that it is very important. I can't say much right now since honestly, the less you know the better it is for you. As you get stronger, you'll learn more about what having this eye entails. Right now, all you need to know that it is a direct connection to the Abyss and it grants you enhanced kinetic vision based on your own abilities." Allura explained while Alice sat silently and nodded her head.
She was no longer as wary as she was earlier after knowing Allura's identity.
"Eye made things slow. Is that the power?" Alice asked curiously.
"Yes and no. You got a Sigil right? You're not supposed to be able to get them just like that you know?" Allura chuckled while pointing at Alice's forearm.
"Sigils can only be gained through two avenues. The most common being through Shamans. They are special people who are born with an innate resonance with this realm. They can forge connections between the realm and a person by acting as a bridge. It is through this bridge that the Abyss grants a person something called a 'Bounty'.
"A bounty is when the Abyss grants you a choice of targets to kill and in doing so successfully, you will gain one of its powers in the form of a Sigil." Allura explained, showing her own Sigil.
"Now, the issue with doing this through a Shaman is that the choices are now limited since you're doing this through a third party and the choices of bounty is limited to only 3. Once you pick a bounty, it is marked onto your soul. If you don't kill it, you can never change the Bounty nor can you advance. You are stuck."
"Wait… So if I didn't kill the spider, and someone else did after saying yes to bounty, I would be stuck?" Alice asked with a frown.
"Yes and no. Yes in the fact that you missed your first kill so you are stuck. No because there will be another spider for you to kill in the Abyss, it'll be up to you to find them. While we're on this topic, I might as well explain what failing a bounty entails." Allura shrugged as she was trying her best to fight back the urge of smoking.
"If you fail a bounty, the difficulty of said bounty sky rockets. Meaning the next time you try fight the same creature, it'll get boons to fend against you. Each time you fail, the monster will keep growing stronger. There are two conditions of failure. The first is that you miss the final hit. If something else kills your target then you've failed the hunt. The second condition is participation. If someone else does all the work for you and then you get the final hit, it will not count as a success. Remember this, the Abyss has eyes of its own." Allura explained while pointing at her eyes.
"If I had to judge, I'd say during the spider fight it was a close 50/50 split between you and the Assassin. The fact that you got the Sigil means you won just barely."
Hearing this, Alice understood that she was lucky in having obtained this Sigil. Otherwise it may take much much longer before she obtained the first Sigil due to the bounty having failed the first time.
"But setting that aside, we go to the second avenue. Communing with the Abyss itself and asking for a bounty. There are certain spots within the realm where the Abyss's powers are extra concentrated. In these areas, your consciousness will be transported into a separate realm where you can directly obtain a bounty. It grant you a decent variety of beasts to choose from. The downside for this is that the power is not unlimited and it will be exhausted after several uses and most noble families and large groups have a monopoly over these areas if they are ever discovered."
Clapping her hands together, Allura then pointed at Alice.
"Then comes the third hidden option." She grinned.
"The Eye." Alice furrowed her brows while holding her hand over her right eye.
"Bingo. Your right eye has a special connection with the Abyss. You are allowed to designate any beast as a hunting target while also being able to designate the target whenever you want. However! That's only if you have domination over the Eye." Allura narrowed her eyes as Alice paused at this revelation.
'Wait… If her words are correct then that means my Eye could rebel if I don't have domination over it?' Alice thought to herself in confusion.
"That Eye has thoughts of its own. You will find out in due time since its still adapting to your body. During this period, you'll be able to use some of its abilities as you wish but the main one right now, choosing bounties will be surrendered to it once it fully wakes up. So I suggest you take advantage of that as much as you can right now." Allura chuckled before leaning back.
"That's enough of class for now. I'll explain more that you don't know later but we need to deal with some things here and now. First you need a change of clothes then I'll need to fully understand how well you fight. I only saw you fight twice which isn't much to go off of. I want to see how you adapt, how you fight and how you think during a fight. Once I see that, I can make an accurate plan on how to help you."
Standing up, Allura leaned against the door before bringing out her cigarette and lighting it up with her finger.
Taking a deep breath, she sighed on in relaxation as the smell of smoke drifted to the corridor.
"Aside from these, I don't know if there's any more things you need to do in this city. However, I could be wrong so feel free to let me know if you have any thing you need to do."
"Um… What happened to woman who hurt Lilia?" Alice asked with a frown. Since Allura saved her from the four Sigil user, she should know what happened to them.
"Oh Bella? Yeah she's still alive. Though I imagine she's going to be quite angry at you as you are with her. I decided not to finish her or her guard since its your revenge to take. My only job was to make sure you survive that day and teach you how things go in the Abyss. I will say however, now that you failed to kill them, the second attempt will be much harder. She'll be employing more guards around her so moving to a different city for now will be your best bet." Allura shrugged.
"You sound like you know her. Who is she?"
Alice furrowed her brows since she wanted to know who she was up against. From the way that Allura was describing it, it seemed like she was more important than what Alice had expected. Even with her being a VIP.
"Oh I do know her. Well… More accurately I know her husband. Theron Merias. One of the pillars of the Slaughter Docks and someone I had worked with quite a few times in the past. You can think of him as one of the lords of this ownerless city. Simply put, Bella is only an VIP because she is married to him. And Theron is not someone you want to annoy." Allura glossed over with a chuckle.
"Wait, if he is someone you worked with in the past, why help me over him?" Alice asked, feeling confused by her choice.
"I tend to abide by my code of being neutral. I help out anyone and everyone if it benefits me to a certain extent while keeping the balance. I keep many connections open while not tethering myself to anyone. Just because I worked with him in the past doesn't mean we won't be enemies the next day. Anything else you want to ask?" Allura smiled while gesturing with her hands in a dramatic fashion.
"None." Alice shook her head.
'If I want to kill Bella and take revenge for Lilia, I'll need to be strong enough to face off against Theron too. And if he's strong enough to be one of the supposed lords of this city, then he's going to be much stronger than a four Sigil hunter placed as a guard.' Alice thought to herself as her thirst for power only grew with this experience.
Power allowed her to be free, power allowed her to protect and power allowed her to take revenge. No matter what she did, she needed power. And Allura was going to be her path towards power within the Abyss.
"Where are we going now?" Alice asked, climbing out of the bed.
"We're going to get you dressed for the road ahead then find my friend Gin for a set of ID for you." Allura grinned, finishing her cigarette and stepping out the door.
Geschenke
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200+ Power-
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