Abyssal Awakening

"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."

Hearing this, Ria froze up as her pupils shrunk in shock.

'Go back… to the Eclipse?'

Just the thought was enough to paralyze her body. To go back to the hell that Gin pulled her out from, to go back to bloody rituals that she was forced to partake in.

Meanwhile, Luke who had overheard what Kaden said gritted his teeth and walked up to the man, grabbing him by the collar.

"What the f*ck are you telling Ria to do?!" He shouted, glaring at the man without caring about his status.

"Get your hands off me, boy." Kaden narrowed his eyes.

"Do you even know what Ria had to go through in that place?! And you're telling her to go back?!" Luke gritted his teeth.

Before he could continue, Kaden grabbed Luke by the wrist and removed his hand from his collar.

"So what if I knew, so what if I don't? The reality of the situation is that if the kid wants to get stronger, she needs to face what's holding her back. The Abyss isn't a place that anyone can just thrive in. Only the truly insane reach the top of the food chain here, boy. Do you think the people that survive here survive with clean slates?"

Standing over Luke, Kaden's figure towered over him as Luke was the first to avert his gaze.

"Everyone that's reached the top has killed scores of people, seen hell worse than you can imagine. The kid isn't the first one who's seen the hell of the Eclipse nor is she going to be the last. But if she wants to put a stop to it, she has to stop averting her gaze and running away from the problem.

"To kill your enemy, you must first understand them. Study their movements and memorise their philosophy. Everything that dictates their movements and choices must be observed before you can truly secure a kill. The Eclipse runs far and wide, just killing a branch wouldn't be enough." Kaden explained before pushing Luke back.

"Oi kid! Tell me the goal that you set for yourself when you became a Hunter!" He shouted, glaring at Ria who sat in silence clenching her fist.

Gritting her teeth, she stood up and glared back at Kaden, not averted her eyes.

Even though she didn't speak, Kaden could see the answer in her eyes.

"There's some life back in there. So what do you say, kid? Feeling up to the task?" Kaden grinned as Ria nodded her head.

Looking down at her hands, she could see her body trembling from the thought but he was right. She's spent every moment of her life after leaving the Eclipse running away, killing stragglers when she could.

But just killing the rats not involved with the main operation of things won't be enough. If she wanted to root them out properly, she needed to fully understand the organisation.

"What do I do? Where do I start?" Ria asked as Kaden shrugged.

"Don't ask me, I'm still trying to figure out sh*t like that since the day- Nah never mind. If you want to ask anyone, ask Alice. She's trying to root out something just as big ya know?" Kaden smiled.

The more he researched the Zenia family, the more he understood the true size of this noble family. Rather, instead of a family, it's more like an 'organization' similar to the Eclipse.

Everything they do revolves around the Abyss Blood.

No one can deny the benefits they brought to the surface with the research yet one mustn't look away from the mountains of corpses created in doing so. No research is done without sacrifice but the death count for the Zenias was… abnormal.

Even taking into account of their experiments with Alice's blood, the casualty rate was simply too high. There was something that neither he nor Alice knew about and if Alice wanted to root them out, she'd need to tackle this unknown variable.

Nodding her head, Ria became reinvigorated as the doubts that had been covering her mind over the last few days were dispelled.

Watching Ria run towards Alice who was stumbling around trying to get used to her new vision, Kaden sat down and gave Luke a sideways glance.

Seeing this, Luke clicked his tongue and turned away, annoyed.

"Why do you avert your gaze boy? Is it because I'm an Abyss Lord? I won't kill you over this." Kaden smirked while Luke was silent.

"Everyone has their circumstances. But the Abyss isn't a place where you can let that circumstance tie you down otherwise you won't survive. Maybe you don't see it the way she does since you've already resolved a part of your problem." Kaden chuckled.

Glancing down, Luke recalled back to the time when the Eclipse kidnaped both him and Ria.

The ritual that she partook in, he too was a victim of it.

But at some point during that ritual, he started to take the initiative. To push himself to the advantage.

Their screams as he clawed away at them, their faces of horror as he ripped life from their lungs.

He could remember everything but it never bothered him. He simply had to do it to survive.

But Ria wasn't the same.

During that ritual, he saw her fear. The tears that rolled down her cheeks each time she was forced to do something she hated.

And even though he might become an enemy in the next moment, she still tried to help him.

"Ria doesn't belong to this kind of bloody world." Luke muttered.

"Nah, that's where you're wrong. With that kind of perspective, you're looking down on the girl. Who are you to decide where she belongs?" Kaden patted his head as he gestured for Luke to sit next to him.

Following his instructions, Luke sat down and looked at Ria who was talking to Alice.

"She's stronger than you think. Even though she's suited for ranged fighting, she's still going into close quarters combat. I can only imagine what she thinks every time blood splatters on her." Kaden sighed.

"I'm familiar with how the Eclipse work. Their doctrine and philosophies. Have you ever thought about what she sees every time she draws blood?"

Pausing for a moment, Luke watched Ria's every movement. Her smile, her seriousness. But not once did he think about what she saw when she fights.

Gritting his teeth, he slapped himself with both his hands.

"I'm pathetic." Luke muttered. Subconsciously, he's been building a cage around Ria. Seeing her as someone who he needed to protect.

But Ria never requested that of him.

"The first step into becoming a man is to recognise your own shortcomings. Not bad boy, you bounced back faster than I thought." Kaden laughed, patting him on the back.

"So what do you think you should do now?" He asked, wanting to hear Luke's response.

"Not sure. I haven't thought about it much really." Luke glanced up at the sky but Kaden shook his head.

"That's not it. Think harder, I can see a reason in those eyes of yours. The basis of all your actions."

Unsure as to what Kaden meant, Luke tilted his head while Kaden let out a helpless laugh.

"I suppose you're just a boy at the end of the day. Work hard chess boy, someday you'll understand. But the you right now is already better than what you were moments ago." Kaden patted his head with a grin, seeing a slight shadow of himself in the lad.

"But still, I hope you three will stop giving me annoying jobs to do. Taking care of y'all is such a tiring ordeal." Kaden waved his hand while creating a portal beneath his feet.

Sinking into the portal, he disappeared, leaving Luke behind in the seats.

"What a strange man." He scratched his cheek.

One moment he's harsh, another he's gentle. Sometimes an asshole and cruel b*stard during training, other times he's giving them eye-opening lectures.

Truly, Luke couldn't get a grasp on what Kaden was thinking.

"A basis of my actions huh? I wonder what that is." Luke muttered, standing up and making his way to Ria and Alice.

###

"How I plan on rooting out the Zenia's huh? Hmm… Well, I haven't really thought about it ahaha~" Alice scratched her hair while sitting on the ground.

"Ehhh what do you mean? I thought that was your goal no?" Ria blinked her eyes.

"I'm not strong enough yet. Even if I'm given the chance to go after the main family, I'll be pretty helpless at the end of the day." Alice smiled.

She knew that trying to fully root out the Zenia's was a difficult task. A testament to their influence over the world. Even now, there were signs of their presence in the corners of her eyes when she wanders the markets.

Merchants who sell their wares, families who depend on their medicine.

"But if I had to go about it… Probably go for their pillars of support? What keeps the family afloat and so on. Wealth, research, reputation stuff like that." Alice shrugged while Ria began taking notes.

"I see. . . But how would you collapse the Eclipse? Their reputation is already pretty dog sh*t since everyone hates them. But there are still people following their teachings." Ria sighed.

Tapping her chin, Alice recalled everything she knew about the Eclipse. How they fought during the battle of three Gods and how they reacted to Enris, their God.

Their devotion and belief in her.

If Ria truly wants to cut down the Eclipse then there's only one real way to do so.

"You just gotta kill Enris, the God of the Eclipse."