Abyssal Awakening

Making their way through the Howling Depths, Alice had to step over countless skeletal hands that decorated the ground. Whether it was due to history or the effects of Gin's slash, Alice wasn't sure.

All she knew was that this place was giving her the creeps and a sense of unease continued to build up in her heart.

"Urg… when will we change zones? This place is depressing as hell." Ria groaned as she had woken up a bit more after some walking.

"Almost at the next zone." Allura chuckled while jumping over some rocks.

"Can't you just fly us over there? Wouldn't that save us some time?" Ria asked as Allura was escorting them there anyways.

Having her cut the journey short would be beneficial.

"Of course I can. But then you won't get to experience the atmosphere of the Howling Depths. In the Howling Depths, it's easier for you to tire out, easier for you to use more power than expected because of stress and the silent fear the Abyss instills upon you. The unknown variable of whether or not a six star beast will show up.

Those who have experienced this fear and know how to deal with it are those that'll survive this layer." Allura explained.

"If you two can get used to this stress then it'll help with building your foundation as a Hunter."

With this explanation, Ria had nothing else to say as she sucked it up and journeyed onwards without complaints. If this was all to make them better Hunters then she'll do it no matter how difficult it was.

Continuing their exploration forward, an invisible pressure slowly made itself known as both Alice and Ria noticed how their movements were slowing down. At first it was miniscule, but over time, they were only moving at around 70% of their original pace.

It was like sleeping while having more weight being placed on you. At first, you'll feel nothing but soon, your body is fatigued and the weight becomes unbearable.

"Seems like you're feeling it now." Allura grinned.

"Why is this happening?" Alice asked as this was not just normal stress. Normal stress wouldn't do this to them."

"As you descend further into the Abyss, your body must be ready to face the pressure exerted by the Abyss itself. When you are close to the surface, this effect is negligible as it is being balanced out. The deeper you go, the stronger this pressure becomes. I suppose you could say it's the Abyss' way of testing to see if you are worthy to descend to this depth. Regardless, let's keep going.

If you can make it to the next zone while surviving this pressure then I'll give you a little break like what happened back at the rock formation."

While they were resting, Allura made sure the two weren't affected so they could have a proper rest. But that was no longer the case. Now, they were fully exposed to the effects of this layer and the fatigue was catching up.

"Can we start running?" Ria asked but Allura shook her head.

"A tip for you is that this is not a matter of speed but rather endurance. It's to test how well your body can cope with the environment. If you decide to exhaust yourself and blitz through, I can guarantee that you'll be passed out before 2 minutes even passes and die to the beasts. Pace yourself and endure as long as you can.

We'll be doing this repeatedly until we reach the location." Allura grinned as Alice finally understood where her bad feelings stemmed from. It was from what Allura had planned once they got down here.

"But don't we have to get back on time?" Alice asked, knowing that Allura wanted them back by the time Gin returned.

"Oh of course. But the journey back will be done through me unless you want to climb all the way back up?" Allura raised an eyebrow, pointing at the veil of darkness that hung above them where the moonlight could not breach.

Hearing this, Alice understood that Allura never planned for them to have a round trip. This was a one way journey to reach the Crystal Grove while enduring this kind of pressure.

". . .Crap." Ria cursed as she understood their predicament.

She could only be glad that no beasts were involved while they journeyed through this layer as Allura was keeping them at bay.

"Keep up now, don't fall too far behind. Remember, keep your pace and focus on the next step. Don't think of the journey as a whole, just put your mind to taking the next step."

Taking a deep breath, Alice calmed her breathing as she did as she was told. Focus on her next step.

'In one way, it might be similar to living. Don't think of a journey as a whole while I'm taking it but instead, focus on my next destination. The next step and one of many on this long path.' Alice thought to herself, distracting her mind with long winded thoughts and explanations to take her focus away from the exhaustion.

Time passed as the two no longer cared about the corpses and obstacles in their path. Each step was heavy and taken with great difficulty. Should there be a bone in the way they would rather crush the bone under their foot than step to the side.

They had established a rhythm in their mind, one that allowed them to distract themselves from the fatigue and the arduous journey. They had even stopped asking her questions as their mind was solely focused on taking the next step.

'They're doing pretty good. I expected them to take a few pauses here and there, but they've held on. Ria is focusing her mind on body movement. How to best use her body to conserve stamina. How she should reduce her movements to the bare minimum while Alice has gone for a different approach.' Allura examined as their methods to cope with this pressure reflected their personality and thinking process.

Ria resolved the issue through physical control while Alice pushed forth with pure willpower.

Each movement was sluggish and wasted more stamina than Ria's, but her determination was not to be scoffed at.

Ria was martial discipline while Alice was mental discipline.

With her willpower, Alice was able to keep up despite her poor physical strength.

'They're not fully accustomed to the pressure of the Abyss just yet but it doesn't get much harder. Unless I plan on having them fight, which they're not ready for, it's probably best to focus on this pressure for now.' Allura thought to herself.

Curling her lips into a small smile, the pressure around Alice and Ria started to increase once more as Allura was manually increasing the difficulty.

The change made itself evident as sweat splashed against the rocks with each step they took.

Just as Ria was able to take another step, she heard the sound of Alice collapsing on her knee beside her.

Just as she was about to call out to Alice, she watched as Alice stood back up and use her threads to help her take the next step. How she sent the thread forward before dragging herself up. Her body was tired but her will burned bright.

Seeing this, Ria couldn't help but grin. She couldn't get beaten like this. Massaging her neck briefly, she continued onwards.

From using her threads to activating her first Sigil to boost her physical strength, Alice was slowly exhausting all the tools she had available to keep up while Ria was doing the same. She was slowly charging herself with orbs little by little to keep going, making sure she didn't overburden her body.

With the two finding more ways to keep up, Allura felt proud yet inclined to dial up the difficulty some more. It had reached a point that surpassed the pressure exerted by the current layer yet the two didn't falter.

They could not falter, they would not allow themselves to falter.

This may be a simple test but if they stopped now, how did they expect to face the future challenges?

For Alice, it meant overcoming the wall that was her family.

For Ria, it meant erasing the Eclipse Cult from this world.

It took them minutes to take a single step. They stood still, and gathered their strength before unleashing it for the next step.

Little by little, step by step, they moved forward through the bottom of the Ravine.

'Just a little further… One more step…' Alice urged herself.

*CLAP!

The sound of Allura clapping her hand snapped them out of their self-imposed hypnosis-like state as the pressure disappeared in an instant, causing the two to accidentally trip over as they were expecting to take the step at great difficulties.

"Congratulations. We'll take our break here since we've reached the next zone. I'll allow some extra time to rest as you two have done very well." Allura smiled, knowing that Alice had unknowingly pushed Ria past her limit.

If Alice didn't stop, then Ria would push on no matter the difficulty.

With no more strength left in her body, Alice crawled up the ground and peaked over the rocks to see the entrance to the next zone. A myriad of colours reflected in her eyes.

The next zone was akin to a desert yet mixed with a snow-covered mountain. Despite all of the sand, the temperature was cool. Tall mountain like structures looked over the distance with white sand covering the peaks. A strange river flowed freely through the zone and an array of lights from golden yellow to luminescent blues decorated the edges.

It looked as though a star lit path had been prepared for them, showing their path through this land.

Despite the lack of a sun and moon, white crystals could be seen hanging from above, coating this realm in a soft white hue.

"The pressure in this place will be a little easier to deal with now that you've acclimated to the pressure to a certain extent. Take this time to rest up since the next part will be just as difficult."

Hearing this, Ria immediately took the initiative and fell asleep without wasting a single moment.

". . . I haven't even prepared the resting area yet." Allura muttered, shocked at how quickly Ria was able to fall asleep.

Shaking her head, Allura chuckled and carried both Alice and Ria off to the side before setting up camp.