Abyssal Awakening

As they were on their way to the entrance leading down to the Howling Depths, Alice couldn't help but ask about the communal point.

"You see, the communal points are just a general term that people have given to the location since each location looks slightly different. Most communal points known throughout the world are occupied by noble families or powerful Hunters while the ones that aren't occupied disappear after a while.

"The one we're going to is rather deep in the Howling Depths so most families haven't found it yet. Despite how big the location is, I think it only has one or two uses of it left." Allura shrugged as Alice thought about the Howling Depths.

Last time she had gone down, they stopped at the boundary as a beast they couldn't deal with showed up, forcing them to retreat.

With Allura as their guard this time, she'll be able to see more of this location that she kept hearing about.

A layer where countless screams of dead Hunters echo out and gets drowned by the howls of beasts.

"We'll be moving faster than normal when we get down since it's rather far from the entrance. If me go too slow, we won't be back by the time Gin is back. As for our destination, we'll be going to a place most would call the Crystal Grove. The communal point is located in the centre." Allura explained.

"You might not know it but just the information that there's a communal point available is pretty expensive. Six star Hunters are especially eager over this information since it means they have an easier time choosing their next target, increasing their odds of becoming an Abyss Lord." Ria added while glancing out of the window with her chin resting on her palm.

"Well, the realm of Abyss Lord only really applies to those with nine Sigils but I suppose seven and eight are still rather close. But yes, this information fetches quite a nice price with six star Hunters. If you want to make good money then there's nothing more lucrative than having details regarding communal points.

Naturally, there is an inherent risk that comes with having this kind of knowledge." Allura said while opening one of the windows so that she could smoke her cigarette without Alice and Ria being forced to breath in the second hand smoke.

"Can… You explain more about the different power gaps?" Alice asked, voice still hoarse from her earlier outburst but her curiosity demanded that she ask this question.

Knowing that Allura was going off on a journey of her own with Gin once they finished with Ria's hunt, Alice wanted to find out as much as she could.

"Hm? Oh sure. Let's see… Sigils one to three are what we consider beginner. They make you stronger than normal civilians and essentially cannon fodder in a nation's army. Those that can bridge the gap into three to four Sigils are what we call Talented. At four Sigils, you SHOULD be able to take out any three Sigil user.

At five, you can be considered a powerful figure within a community. At six, you can be considered to be the top 1 percentile.

"It is only when trying to get their seventh Sigil do people finally understand the gulf between the two despite being the difference of one ability. A six Sigil user trying to kill a seven Sigil user is essentially the same as you with two Sigils trying to kill a five Sigil user. Very difficult and near impossible.

"However, the competition within the last three Sigils is especially harsh. Everyone that gets to this point at all talented in their own right. And as you know, once you reach this level, depending on your power, the Abyss will grant you the status of Lord.

Most will get this on their ninth Sigil but Gin got it on his eighth Sigil." Allura explained as she tried her best to describe what the power of each Sigil was like.

However, they were all ants compared to her so it was hard to say which ant is stronger between the two when they're both fragile.

"What about after the ninth Sigil?" Ria asked as this was the same question she had posed to Alice. But when she had asked Alice, it was more rhetorical. With Allura however, she expected an answer.

"After the ninth you have the Apostles. As you know, each church is led by their popes but above the Popes are the Apostles. Extensions of their God's will. Each god has two Apostles and they have something that Abyss Lords can never compete against. A symbol of absolute power beneath the level of Gods. It's what I like to call a Divine Aspect.

A fragment of a God's power that they bestow upon the Apostles and it's what gives them their name. Apostle of War, Famine, Preservation and so on. The Apostle of War will have the Divine Aspect of War granted by the God of the Eclipse." Allura chuckled.

"Each God is limited to two Apostles as sharing more would only weaken their grasp over this world. The trio of gods play their own game while we can only watch. And the Apostles are merely chess pieces on this board despite their impressive power."

Hearing this, Ria couldn't help but swallow her saliva while trying to imagine what kind of power they could command.

"But it's far too early for you to think about Apostles. You can't even harm a hair on their body even if they let you." Allura grinned, flicking Ria on the forehead.

"Anyways, is there anything else you would like to hear about?" Allura asked, knowing that Alice wanted to get as many questions as she could answered while she was still around.

"Layers of the Abyss. How many are there in total?"

"Well… If I told you too much it'll be no fun. We are in the Twilight Layer. Above us and serving as the boundary between the surface and the Abyss is the Reflection Layer. Below us is the Howling Depths Layer. As for what lies beneath the Howling Depths… It's a layer dubbed the Sea of Stars." Allura narrowed her eyes.

"Sea of Stars… What's it like?" Alice muttered in wonder. Just the name alone seemed strange yet beautiful. If it has such a name, what would the view be like?

"That's something you'll have to find out for yourself. Everything below the Howling Depths is widely unknown to 99% of the populus. Even the scholars are in the dark about the information beneath the Sea of Stars."

"Anything else you want to know for now?" Allura asked but Alice shook her head.

Knowing what Allura was like, Alice understood that most of her questions would result in Allura asking her to explore for herself and she agreed with that thought. After all, she was free. She wanted to explore this world at her own leisure and experience life for herself.

Hearing about it from Allura was a shortcut she didn't want to take.

The rest of the journey was filled with Ria and Alice asking Allura questions about fighting rather than exploring. Ways they can use their power, how to better get into the mentality that allowed them to improve the fastest and what kind of training methods they could use.

For Ria, Allura's advice was mostly for her to work on her own stamina and durability since her Sigils rely on her constitution while for Alice, it was physical training along with flexibility training.

Knowing that the powers of the Abyss Blood weren't permanent for Alice, she had to take the hard route of training everything manually but it had the added bonus of letting Alice understand the range of motion for her own body. With understanding comes control and with control, she'll be able to demonstrate movements that most could only dream of.

Allura understood that Alice didn't suit a head on collision. Her physique was one that supported flexibility and speed.

'Alice is suited to speed and flexibility. She should fit the role of the controller in a team battle. Ria will be the frontline brawler as she's similar to me in many aspects. We're both hot headed fighters who rely on our bodies.' Allura thought to herself as the two of them will be working with each other quite frequently.

'I want them to work together more often but so far, the only times they worked together they had to restrain themselves to a certain extent like Alice's Sigil hunt. This trip down to the Howling Depths might prove to be a good chance for them to develop some teamwork.

I'll have Alice focus on using her threads and weapon along with blood control to manage the battlefield while Ria fights the beasts head on.' Allura planned in her mind while the two were non the wiser.

Suddenly, Alice could feel a chill down her spine as she looked around in confusion, wondering what had triggered her instincts.

Unable to find a source for her sudden sense of unease, she relaxed herself once more as she closed her eyes and rested her mind for the rest of the journey.

Just seeing the Zenia family emblem earlier today had left her mentally exhausted with foul memories flooding her mind of her past.

Thinking about this, she couldn't help but wonder what her father and brothers' reactions were towards her disappearance. Were they happy that this 'inhuman' thing has finally disappeared from their lives?

Whatever the answer was, she knew that they'll meet in the future. It is not a matter of if, only when. When she decides to revisit her old home, when she's powerful enough to stand her ground. When she's powerful enough to claim vengeance against them.

That was when she was going to return home and bring it to ruins.