Abyssal Awakening

The report states that they were negotiating uses for the Inverted World so that the Zenia family could begin setting up a new branch near the Academy. Not only would they attract students to their departments but also achieve their goal of investigating the Inverted World.

[Theories on how to recover a 'living' relic as opposed to just taking out replicas… They really don't see you as a person, do they? O'master mine.] Cayla raised an eyebrow.

Every time she recalled what was written on the page, her expectations on how low the Zenias could go were rewritten every time.

The lengths they would go to achieve 'success' in their experiments, the sacrifices they are willing to make and the losses of life they gladly incur.

Even the Eclipse looked tame in comparison!

'That's just how they are. After ten years I'm not surprised that they're anxious about losing their most profitable tool. But I didn't think they would try to… recover another 'me' from the Inverted World of all things. What makes them think it's possible in the first place?' Alice frowned.

[The Inverted World is a library of memories and events. Taking out relics is simply a reward per say. But taking out a person… I'm unsure.

[After all, changes to the events within the Inverted World have no impact on the history of reality. It's simply a viewing experience where you can take souvenirs. And in this case, the Zenia's desire to take you as a souvenir. Though the logistics of having two you's in reality simultaneously with one being a memory can be rather chaotic.] Cayla furrowed her brows while tapping her chin.

'Regardless, we can't let the discussion for the Inverted World go through. As bad as this sounds, it's because they need humans for their experiments that the progress of their inventions is rather slow.

'Just imagine what they can do if they could access memories and experiment within the Inverted World.' Alyss reminded as Alice's expression turned dire.

The Zenias were the one family they could not allow access to the Inverted World.

'Any way we can stop them without implicating the principal? If we do it inside academy grounds, it's just another excuse for the Zenia's to send more.' Alice asked as both Alyss and Cayla fell silent.

Unless the principal could somehow convince the Zenias to stand down, the Zenia family will continuously send people to pressure her into handing over the access.

Even more so if they kill Erick and his entourage without proper preparation.

'Perhaps it's time for us to talk to the principal don't you think? See what her connection is to Allura and if there's a way we can help her while killing the Zenia's in the process.' Alyss suggested as Alice thought about it for a moment before nodding her head.

On top of talking to the principal, there was another thing she needed to sort out, her full transfer to the Theory Department so that she could start accessing the tools she needed.

Hopping off her bed, Alice was about to make her way out of her room when she froze up on the spot and slowly turned around.

She saw a raven standing by the windowsill, staring at her with unblinking eyes.

"Yo."

"F*cking hell!" Alice shouted out, unable to get used to Kaden's voice coming out of a raven.

"Care to tell me what you've been up to? One moment you're almost dead the other you're alive again. Next thing I know you're almost dead again only to miraculously be alive once more. I can't begin to explain how stressful it is while I'm trying to do things on my end of things." Kaden complained with a frown as Alice scratched her cheek.

Smiling awkwardly, Alice explained the fight between her, Jyn and Rita while Kaden listened silently. On top of that, she decided to let him know what she plans on doing with the current Zenia group so he didn't worry.

Looking through the information she gave him, Kaden nodded his head.

"I see… I had Nalem look into something for me too. It seems the Zenia's are tied with more groups than I thought. The deeper we look the more dirt we find. But all of this information is indeed correct.

"After taking you out of the prison last time, they seemed to have focused most of their efforts in branching out rather than looking for you. Now, only a small group is assigned to try and find you." He explained, pushing the parchment back to Alice.

"Try not to get yourself into trouble if you can help it. Look for the principal for help if you need it. If you're on the verge of death use the feather I gave you. I'll be mostly unavailable since there's something urgent I need to sort out and fast."

Hearing this, Alice understood that it must be something to do with Allura. Only Allura would get him to react like this as she nodded her head.

"Alright. If… If it's something to do with Allura please let me know if I can help at all. I don't know if my blood or knowledge can even help-"

Before she could continue, Kaden's raven jumped onto her shoulder and tapped her head with his wings.

"Don't worry I know. We're verifying some… potential solutions to Lua's injury. While looking into the Zenia's, it seems like some of their research caught Nalem's attention. It might give us a clue on how to help Lua."

Understanding that the Zenia's are at the forefront of Abyss Blood research, it wasn't surprising that they may have the clues to a solution. If the Zenia's don't have it then it was very unlikely that any of the other families will.

Watching Kaden's raven fly out of her window, Alice clenched her fists as she could only wait for news regarding what they find.

All she could do now was sort out the things on her end.

###

Making her way to the Academy, Alice was once again reminded of her poor reputation as the crazy b*tch.

Around every turn, there was always someone whispering to their friend about her. How she's the crazy b*tch that lured the beasts during the exams and so on.

Of course, the biggest surprise for them was the state of her eyes. The right eye specifically. Having split hair and eyes to match was basically a trademark of her appearance yet her right eye was now closed with a gruesome scar on the eyelid.

They could only assume what had happened while Alice continued her way through the Academy.

But with so many eyes on her every movement, it was beginning to annoy Alice as she activated her temporary Sigil and disguised herself around a corner.

Taking the appearance of a common black haired girl with black eyes, a pair of glasses and a forgettable attire consisting of just standard wear that you see everywhere, Alice blended in with the masses.

Her right eye was disguised with a fake eye and soon, she was near the principal's office without anyone bothering her.

There were no guards for the principal, which was to be expected.

After all, six Sigils represented the pinnacle with the exception of those truly gifted who become Lords. Even mores so for beasts.

Knocking on the door, Alice waited for a moment before a soft fatigued groan could barely be heard as the principal composed herself.

"Come in." She called out.

Dispelling her disguise and stepping inside, Alice closed the door behind her.

Seeing that Alice took the initiative to see her, Rosalyn raised her eyebrow in surprise.

"Well well well… If it isn't the prodigy trained by Allura and Kaden. To what do I owe the pleasure of welcoming you into my office?" Rosalyn smiled, resting her chin on her hand.

"I just figured we might as well have at least on talk considering the fact that you look like my parental figure." Alice smiled as Rosalyn gestured for her to take a seat.

"By all means, ask away. Though I have a few questions of my own. I must ask, what happened to your eye?"

Touching her scar with her hand, Alice chuckled.

"Just some simple training."

"Rather reckless if you ask me but Allura and Kaden are ever the risk takers. Now let's set aside my observation and let's talk about what you want to ask me." Rosalyn shrugged.

"The Zenia's. Do you have a way to get them to stop pursuing the Inverted World?" Alice asked, getting straight to the point.

Hearing the Zenia name, Rosalyn's eye twitched as she had to hold back the slurs she was about to shout.

Clearing her throat, she tapped her finger on the table.

"The Zenia's are a… tenacious bunch. They're putting quite the importance on getting access to the Inverted World but rest assured, I'm not going to let them take it without a fight." Rosalyn reassured but Alice was not convinced.

"Pardon me for saying this but considering how long the talks have been going on, is it safe to say that you're not succeeding at convincing them?"

". . . You're just as infuriating as Kaden." Rosalyn's smile twitched as she scratched her hair.

"Yes, the Zenia's aren't budging at all. Even when I try to test how far they're willing to go for this, I haven't found their limit yet. But why does it matter to you? Surely the one chosen by Allura and Kaden have no ties with them, no?"

Crossing her legs, Alice decided to be blunt and revealed a bloodthirsty grin.

"I'm going to kill them."