Abyssal Awakening

"Can you seal Cayla and Void Fang?" Alice asked seriously as Kaden stared at her in silence.

A silence loomed over the two as he narrowed his gaze before curling his lips into a smile.

"You know I'm not going to let you back out of this risk right, kid?"

"I know." Alice nodded her head.

This was her own determination as well. Her overreliance on a weapon that was too good for her level and the Cayla who acted as the foundation of her strength.

Without these two, her journey would've been cut short but at the same time, if she continues to rely on these two, she'll never attain her true potential.

"Ah but don't seal her soul alright? I still want to talk to Cayla when I can."

Squatting in front of her, Kaden stared her in the eyes.

"Do you still remember the words I said to you when I first found you?"

The words he first said to her.

Of course she does, how could she forget? The meeting allowed her to escape her old life as nothing but a resource for the Zenia family.

"Do I wish to leave this hell and trade it for another right?" Alice chuckled as Kaden nodded his head.

"The seal I'll place on your eye and the weapon won't be a simple one. Either you succeed in reinforcing your foundations or you die trying. So I'll rephrase my question for you kid- Nah… It's not kid anymore. Alice, are you ready to enter hell?" Kaden smiled.

Closing her eyes, Alice took a deep breath and nodded her head.

Taking a few steps back, Kaden reached into the void in front of him.

*BANG!!!

A dark aura burst out from his body as he pulled out his personal relic!

[Grimoire of Original Sin]

Flinching slightly from summoning his relic, Kaden opened the book as his form began to shift.

Looking at Alice in front of him, he snapped his fingers and a ritual circle began to form around Alice.

Purple tendrils crafted from malevolent energy slithered up from the circle as it jabbed towards Alice's eye.

"Curse of Binding."

At that moment, Alice could feel the connection between her and Cayla faltering. Her vision began to distort as she was unable to keep her right eye open. Once it was forced close, Alice flinched in pain as the curse was akin to a hot knife, carving through her skin and digging deep into her eye.

As for her connection to the Void Fang, it felt like a normal bracelet now, unable to be called upon with her blood.

Letting out a strained groan, Alice blinked her left eye as she had to get used to the sensation of losing vision in her right eye.

[A rather drastic choice O' master mine. But I suppose if this choice helps you grown then I will respect it.] Cayla smiled. She didn't mind falling asleep for a little longer though she'd feel a little regretful. Yet Alice requested her soul to be set aside so they could still converse.

This way, she could still observe her master's growth.

'Sorry about that, I should've talked with you about it but I could only think about improving myself.' Alice apologised while Cayla shook her head with a smile.

[No need to apologise. Ultimately, I am here to support your growth. Doing this simply makes my job easier for the upcoming period.] Cayla chuckled.

Taking deep breaths to calm her breathing, the pain soon subsided but Alice felt disorientated by the loss of her right Vision.

However, what bothered her more was Kaden's condition. His face was a little pale as he returned his grimoire to the Void.

"This Curse will last for quite a while and even with my tampering, I can't remove it anytime soon. That's the kind of restriction I've put on it and it'll be a test for you as well."

"Good, it's better that way." Alice nodded.

Snapping her finger, she wanted to conjure a blood mirror like usual but noticed her control was a little lacking.

[It's natural. The Seal that Kaden used on me was one that isolated all of my influence. Meaning any assistance I may have given you passively, whether that be seeing the flow of energy or controlling it, has disappeared.]

'That much huh? Seems like there's more I need to learn than expected.' Alice chuckled as she focused her mind and solidified the shape of the mirror.

Seeing her own reflection, Alice could see a rather nasty looking scar across her eye. It was as though a blade tore through her flesh and left behind an inky wound that stretched across her skin like a spider.

"If you were going to seal it, couldn't you make it look cuter?" Alice pouted, brushing her hair a little so that it covered the seal.

"Should've made that request before I sealed her. Plus, do you even know how hard it is to seal away her power? I don't have the kind of luxury to focus on making it look cute you brat." Kaden knocked Alice on the head in annoyance.

"Get used to this vision and lack of control for a few days. You're still preoccupied with the Zenia's right? The discussion regarding the Inverted World should be over soon and if you go in your current state, you'll struggle." He warned.

Blinking her eye in surprise at the fact that he knew, Alice scratched her cheek embarrassingly.

But he was right.

The more she interacted with them over the days, the more on guard she was against the guards. Especially Selen who was next to Erick. No matter how she wanted to imagine herself killing him out of the blue, she was positioned in a way that would always ensure his safety no matter how fast she was.

Leaving Alice to get used to her new vision, Kaden made his way over to the other two under his care.

Luke didn't worry him a lot since he was reflecting on the advice and making considerable improvements to his own movement and instincts.

Once again, the issue for him was Ria.

Walking over to her who was sitting by the side and watching everything happen, Kaden sat down.

"How does Alice do it…" Ria asked while clenching her fist.

"How does she do what?" Kaden asked, leaning back and getting himself into a comfortable posture.

Since he was going to deal with something annoying, he may as well get himself comfortable.

"I… Don't know how to put it into words. But she just keeps going forward without looking back." Ria bit her lips.

She had seen Alice go from a one star Hunter who struggled against weak beasts to someone who could now defeat five and six star Hunters despite only having four Sigils.

Yet here she was, struggling to make the improvements that Kaden expected of her.

What was she lacking?

"She's a monster you know? She's the kind of talent you'll struggle to find anywhere. To put it bluntly, she's bat sh*t insane." Kaden shrugged.

It was the truth. To endure what she had to endure in the Zenia family for ten whole years yet still retain her sense of self was insanity. During the time between finding Alice and now, he's done his research on the Zenia experiments.

There wasn't much he could find as they'd been careful with their traces after his last break in but for the things he did find, it disgusted him to the bottom of his soul.

The experiments, how they documented it and how they saw Alice as nothing but a beast for the next test. This complete disregard for her as a living breathing being.

To them, she was nothing but an object defined by her worth of tolerance to Abyss Blood.

"But I'll be honest, you don't have to keep up. Her talent stems from her insanity to look death in the face and keep pushing on. The instinct for survival that's been silently brewing beneath her façade of giving up during her captivity has finally been allowed out.

"Yet her talent is also her shackle. She needs to learn how to reel that eagerness in, how to control it and polish it. You could say that you two are two sides of the same coin. Your issue is a direct inverse of what Alice has." Kaden explained while Ria contemplated his words.

"A direct inverse…"

"Talent and geniuses are fickle words. It can either make or break a person, tricking them into thinking they're invincible. Alice has taken the initiative to seal away her sword and shield, to render herself bare to the howling storm and survive.

"You also have the talent but your approach towards that is holding you back. I got an assignment for you and it'll determine how you'll proceed from now." Kaden sat up.

It was a risky assignment, one that pushes Ria into the face of danger but without this, she'll never truly get out of her slump. He had seen this in Hunters many times during his long years wandering the surface.

". . ." Staying silent, Ria looked down. She recalled the words she's said to reassure her grandfather and a smile appeared on her face.

"What do I need to do for this assignment?"

Curling his lips into a smile, Kaden sat up and turned to Ria with seriousness.

"Go back to the Eclipse. Whether you get captured, infiltrate or kill, I want you to face them head on and see the things they do without turning away. Remind yourself of the hell that you were pulled out from and crawl out of there yourself with your own two hands."