Abyssal Awakening

Upon activating her fifth Sigil, Alice felt a stabbing pain in her back.

Gritting her teeth, flames and blood erupted behind her as it began to twist itself into a pair of scarlet wings.

However, it wasn't limited to just herself. The world around her seemed to bend to her influence. A malevolent aura spread out, dying the world around them in crimson.

Everyone who looked at Alice felt a chill down their spine. It felt as though looking at her for too long would siphon the soul from their body as none of them dared to look for longer than a second.

Killing intent oozed out of every part of Alice as she activated the second skill of Scarlet Wings, Demonic Descent.

The first skill was Crimson Immolation which she didn't need right now. She needed to keep her sanity rather than go into a berserker state.

The second skill, however, was why she needed this skill at this moment.

Halo of Ruin!

Energy converged above Alice's head as a crimson halo started to manifest. A crimson ornament that radiated a malefic light.

With this light, Alice's entire body seemed to be covered by a deep shadow, leaving only her eyes, spider lilies, halo and wings visible. A contrast of black and red.

Within this light that covered the caravan, semi invisible hands latched onto the soldiers and began to siphon their energy before funnelling it into Alice.

Immediately, the arrow in her hands exploded out with power like never before. The energy of countless soldiers funnelling into her caused blood to seep from her eye and mouth but Alice maintained her concentration.

Even with this boost in power, it was still inferior to the meteor descending upon them. If she were to release the arrow now, it would only shatter apart in the collision!

While Alice was gathering power, her aura continued to spread as the world seemed to shift. It felt as though a personal realm was being expanded but that was not the case. It was simply her aura distorting the realm around them.

At this moment, Alice felt a cold hand touch her shoulder.

A rift was beginning to form between her and the surface.

Similar to how one feels when they are jumping off from a tall building, Alice could 'see' where the 'ground' was. If she was to reach that, she would be expelled from this realm.

Biting her lip, Alice pulled back harder on the arrow as black tendrils of energy started to slither out of her body. Countless crimson eyes could be seen within these tendrils as their scarlet light helped Alice siphon more energy from her surroundings.

The more Alice siphoned, the less 'human' she felt. Even Selen felt a chill like no other as it seemed like Alice was going down a path that no human should walk down.

*Badum… Badum…! Badum!!!

The Abyss Heart began to beat in Alice's chest. With the increase in energy, a portion was filtered into the heart, awakening it from its slumber.

Behind her, another pair of wings sprouted while fragments of obsidian emerged from her chest and fused with the Halo of Ruin. Its scarlet light was dyed a deep black as the world seemed to freeze.

*RUMBLE!!!

The essence of the Abyss flooded out from the tip of Alice's arrow.

Torgeir's pupils shrank in shock as he was familiar with this energy! Abyss Break!

Instinctively, he could sense that Alice was causing a fracture to manifest between the dimensions as suspicion filled his mind. Is she the reason why they were able to use the Abyss Break in Kvia? No, it wouldn't make sense. After all, an Abyss Break happened while she was away.

But then what is her connection to the Abyss? Or at least, how was she able to utilise its power?

*BANG!!!

A fissure exploded in front of Alice as strands of energy from the Abyss began to coil around her arrow. Countless weaves twisted together as a spiral of energy drifted down from the arrowhead.

With how much energy was now flooding through Alice's body, her skin began to tear apart as her blood only fuelled her attack further. However, no matter how eager Alice was, she knew that this was her limit. If she was to go beyond this, her body would break apart before her arrow even left the bow.

Void Flux!!!

Releasing the arrow, a moment of silence followed before a torrent of energy shot towards the meteor.

The ground beneath Alice shattered apart as a pulse of energy exploded out, shattering the trees and wagons around her. Warriors were flung into the air while those who reacted fast managed to stabilize themselves on the ground. However, the ground they stabilized themselves upon was ripped from the earth and disintegrated from the residual energy of Alice releasing her arrow.

Above, the meteor tore through the clouds.

A flash of light blinded the world before dying it in a horrific shade of black and red.

Within the meteor, the silhouette of a serpentine beast crafted from flames roared out. The loud whistle of the meteor entering the world and shattering the sound barrier roared out as Keria collided with the arrow.

*BANG!!!

Upon collision, several rings of fire pulsed out, obliterating the mountains that hid Esna from view. Following the rings of fire, a wave of heat melted the snow and withered the trees.

Gritting her teeth, veins bulged on Keira's neck as she couldn't believe that a single arrow made in a panic had enough power to hold her back.

"ARGGGG!!!" Letting out a shout, she raised her right foot before slamming down, causing a secondary explosion to erupt as she gained another boost in power.

*CRACKLE!!!

Detonating beneath her, the Void Flux erupted into a maelstrom of energy, forming a singularity beneath Keria's feet as raw energy exploded out, threatening to consume everything in its path.

Bolts of energy crashed against the surroundings with no care of who it hit as several Warriors couldn't even scream before they were reduced to dust.

Above them, reality began to warp. On one end, the unstoppable power of a meteor incarnate and on the other, the wrath of the Abyss that attempted to swallow anything and everything.

*CRACK!!!

Cracks began to form across the singularity as Alice widened her eyes. She had already deactivated her fifth Sigil. If she continued to siphon energy, her body would break!

"It's not enough!" Alice gritted her teeth. It was only a matter of seconds before Keria was to break through the resistance of the arrow.

Within this time, she needed something to reduce and eliminate the force of the collision! But no matter how Alice scrambled her brains, she couldn't find a single solution.

All of her abilities lacked the definitive power to stop this calamity as the sense of death flooded Alice's chest.

*SHATTER!!!!

Shattering the first layer of the singularity, the fabrics of reality cried out as a tertiary explosion erupted, breaking apart Alice's arrow while overwhelming heat and energy crashed down towards them.

A roaring collum of light and fire signalled their end.

Raising her other foot, Keria stomped down as another explosion roared out behind her, shattering the last layer of resistance.

A victorious smile appeared on her face as this was the end. She won!

Gritting her teeth, the thought of defeat crossed Alice's mind but she refused to go out like this!

One last attack! One last attempt with everything she had on the line!

Slamming her hand down, the energy of Ruinous Void exploded out as Alice activated its Singularity Form.

But she wasn't done. Raising her spare hand, she grabbed the Ruinous Void and attempted to activate the Unbound form at the same time as Singularity.

The energy from the Artifact tore apart Alice's arm in an instant but she didn't care. Bones and flesh regenerated instantly as she grabbed hold of her personal Artifact and activated its power.

The unbound form was capable of opening pathways to the Void at will, letting her harness the forces of push or pull while the singularity form allows her to use it as a medium, enhancing her power, casting speed and gaining high levels of control over the Void.

Pain flooded Alice's body as the meteor travelled closer. She could feel the heat boiling her body but this was do or die!

Fractured Form!

The third form of Ruinous Void's casting forms.

A form that unleashes the chaotic nature of the Void and allows it to overlap reality.

*COUGH!!!

Vomiting out blood, Alice felt her insides being torn apart as both Alyss and Cayla frantically tried their best to maintain Alice's body long enough for her to fight back.

With the three states of the Ruinous Void now unleashed, Alice could feel the piercing coldness of the Void assaulting her body, threatening to swallow her in its infinite expanse.

At this moment, Alice recalled everything she had learned in this life. Every speck of knowledge, every speck of theory. All for the chance of survival.

She recalled how the Sigils worked, how it balanced out the power. How resonances form.

She recalled the strands of energy, the flow of power.

A gateway in her mind opened up as a flood of theories filled her mind.

A single sentence. A sentence from her mentor, her mother figure.

"50% of a Hunter's growth lies in experimentation. Finding the conduit of your power, how the Sigils manifest their abilities and how far these abilities extend."

And most of all, the biggest advice that Allura had for any Hunter.

To think outside the box.

"Find the conduit of power, how it manifests its abilities and how far these abilities extend..." Alice muttered.

At that moment, a metamorphosis occurred within her mind. Connections formed between ideas, theories into reality. The gates of her limits and potential were punched open as Alice clasped her hands together.

Across her body, the icons of her Ruinous Void began to glow. The spider lily within her eye shattered apart before forming into a singularity.

A grin appeared on Alice's face as pure ecstasy filled her mind in the face of danger.

Blood dripped from every orifice but Alice laughed.

Artificial Resonance! Ruinous Void!