Abyssal Awakening

Chapter 1040: Zal-Ka’Rith’s Message For Isolde

Alice couldn’t help but groan inwardly at the presence of the contract between her and Zal-Ka’Rith. Even though they may be allies for now, there was no guarantee that Zal-Ka’Rith wouldn’t have a method of escaping said contract.Hell, maybe he wouldn’t even care about the soul damage he received. Perhaps the soul of an Outer God worked differently. She couldn’t say for sure.

"Now that we’re allies, we need a method of communication. And I’ll be honest, I’d rather not have you follow me around while looking like that." Alice sighed, resting her hand on her hip.

"Of course. While I would love to journey with you, a prolonged absence would not work in my favour. I will need to make myself known to the other Outer Gods more often lest they become too wary of me." Zal-Ka’Rith nodded before summoning a grimoire.

"You know we don’t need anything fancy like that, right? Just use this. It’s something Suyin made." Alice rolled her eyes.

Not everything needed a story. If it was just communication, she didn’t see the need.

Tossing over a small glass bead, Alice brought out her own before injecting it with Abyss energy.

In that moment, the bead lit up and a link was established between them.

"I see... Though I don’t think this’ll work once I leave this place." Zal-Ka’Rith held it against the sky.

"A tale about a man who connected the world."

Wrapping his hand around the orb, Eldritch energy enveloped the bead as it began to mutate.

Then, after a brief pause, it transformed into a diamond-shaped crystal.

"This should be better. It’ll allow communication across realms." He smirked, gesturing for Alice to throw her bead over.

"I’ll pass. I still need this one." She wasn’t sure if modifying the bead would erase the links she’d made thus far.

"Are you sure?"

"You have other ways of finding out whether or not I need your help, right? Just call me when I need you." Alice waved her hand dismissively before stretching her body.

"Anyways, let’s get back to the task at hand. First, I want to know everything you know about Allura. Where did you last see her, who’s around her, and so on. In more detail this time since we’re allies."

Zal-Ka’Rith shrugged his shoulders before pulling out a page from his grimoire. Transforming it into a map, he marked their current location before drawing a cross where he last saw Allura.

"Last I saw her, she was approaching the main castle in the capital. At least, that seemed to be their plan. But my observations were... quickly spotted and cut off. Anything beyond this point, I’m in the dark about.

"First, as you know, she is travelling with the Lord of Death, Gin. There don’t seem to be any major injuries present on his body, but his output has decreased compared to before. I’m assuming he must’ve helped compensate for Allura’s dwindling life force.

"Second, the Lord of Life. The key reason why Allura can even survive to this stage. Karya. She has abilities that focus on the conservation of life force and her attack output is surprisingly high. The stronger your defences, the stronger her attacks."

Folding her arms, Alice memorised Karya’s appearance so that if she spotted her in the future, she’d know that Allura was nearby.

"Allura has been studying Nightmare energy it seems. An alternative to her current reserves, as tapping into her current reservoir is no different from using her life as fuel. Thus, she’s looking for something new in order to help her fight."

"Do you think she’s getting help from the Royal Family?" Alice asked, glancing up at the Outer God, who shrugged.

"The Royal Family of Extalia is a faction I have little information about outside of what’s already publicly known. They keep a tight seal around everything and have made plentiful preparations to avoid being spied on. If you want me to gather information, I can. But doing so may risk becoming their enemy and make first impressions rather difficult to establish."

Hearing this, Alice decided to put it on hold for now. She could decide whether or not she wanted to find out more once she met them.

It was clear that the Extalia royal family was fighting against the Zenia family right now. It was best to establish an alliance before making any moves that would give the wrong impression.

Tapping her finger, Alice closed her eyes for a moment. She organised her thoughts and how best to approach the current situation.

’Let’s see... We have Nyer and the Nightmare, the World Tree and the Void. There’s also Allura, Kaden, and the issue of Famine. The Zenia family and the Royal Family. Miki is dealing with gathering forces under her and helping civilians survive the Nightmare, along with Verona being the connection between the Nightmare and Terminus.’

[I think it’s safe to assume that soon, a gateway should open up and our friends stuck in Terminus will break out. There’s also Gwen with the Sun Church and Tristan with the Moon Church. Though our information on the Moon is severely limited since Lumiria has mostly kept herself as a spectator.] Cayla added.

’There’s also Rosalyn’s brother in the East. Even though his movements may be hindered by the black chains, there are probably still things he can do. A role he must fulfil. Once the time comes, he’ll be forced to move no matter what.’ Alyss reminded her.

’Speaking of the black chains, there’s Monika and Plume. Even though Monika seems to be acting as a spectator for now, I doubt she’s willing to just do nothing. I already noticed Plume’s energy being slightly different than usual. Monika must’ve done something, planned something. I doubt a fragment of Yvael would do nothing in this situation.’ Alice mumbled, biting her nail.

So many things converging all at once. The closer Nyer’s plans came to fruition, the more chaotic the storm became.

And worst of all... the one who was supposed to be revelling in this chaos was not following her natural instinct. Enris was another variable Alice needed to be careful of, even if they were ’allies’ right now.

None of these partnerships would’ve occurred had it not been for Nyer turning himself into the major threat he was.

[If we’re not careful, the Outer Gods will invade and swallow the land as well.]

Alice scratched her hair in frustration. It was in times like this that she felt the pressure of everything weighing down on her shoulders. She wanted guidance, but who was there to give her the guidance she needed?

’Was this what Velouria felt all the time? The weight of everything pushing down on her shoulders?’ Alice smiled bitterly.

[Just about. Though it was probably more considering the fact that she wanted to protect everyone living in Ayr as well.] Cayla nodded with her arms folded.

She closed her eyes and reminisced about the days she spent with Velouria.

’This is why I say I’m not fit for the job.’ Alice sighed.

She was already being overwhelmed with this kind of pressure. If she were put into the same situation as Velouria... she didn’t even want to imagine it.

Opening her eyes, Alice stared at Zal-Ka’Rith.

"Can you keep me updated on any major movements the Outer Gods make? Planned ambushes and so on. Anything that would cause a stir. Keep an eye on Allura’s fate as well. Any major shifts, let me know immediately. And... see if you can find Kaden for me. There are traces of him in the Void, but I’m not sure where he’s gone exactly." Alice requested as Zal-Ka’Rith nodded his head with a slight bow.

"Very well. I will do as you say. Ah, since we are allies right now, I’m sure you can do me a favour as well, right?" He smiled.

Alice nodded her head.

It was only fair.

"But don’t cross the line. I’m not going to do a stupid favour just because we’re allies." She warned.

"I wouldn’t dare think of it. When you regroup with everyone else, specifically Isolde, I want you to pass on a message for me." Zal-Ka’Rith narrowed his eyes with a smirk.

Alice creased her brows.

"Tell her, I have found a way for her to kill Lumiria."

"!!!"

Alice widened her eyes. Just as she was about to ask more, she watched as Zal-Ka’Rith’s body crumbled into a stack of words before fading away.

She tried to contact him through the bead while tracking down the tether between them, yet there was nothing.

"F*ck." Alice mumbled. It was as she had suspected. The barrier couldn’t hold him at all. He was just playing along. What was to say he would even follow the Law of Agreement between them?

But regardless of what had just happened, the key point was what he said a moment ago.

He found a way for Isolde to kill Lumiria.

Alice exhaled slowly.

Isolde’s goal was always to kill Lumiria and her contract with Zal-Ka’Rith would’ve granted exactly that. So with him finding this information, it seemed like he had no plans of betraying their previous agreement.

But killing Lumiria had its own risks.

Namely Tristan and Griselda. She wasn’t sure what kinds of dangers would come from trying to kill the Goddess, but ideally, it wouldn’t drag those two into it. A hard ask considering Griselda was an Apostle.

’That’s something for you to worry about later, right?’ Alyss folded her arms as Alice nodded her head.

She turned to Lab, who had been waiting patiently by the side. The way she looked at Alice had changed. While there had been respect in her gaze before, it was a product of the agreement between her and Faust.

Now? It came from the understanding that Alice had killed Kazira.

"Can you tell me everything you know about the Royal Family?"