Abyssal Awakening

Turning around, Alice could see the converging strands of energy towards the centre of the outpost.

The power of the Abyss drifting up from below.

"You should probably evacuate unless you're planning to fight." Ragnar suggested as Alice furrowed her brows.

"Depends on the danger. Ideally, I shouldn't but I can't say for sure considering the damage done to the outpost. An old man like you should leave with the rest unless you can wipe them out with a swipe of your hand." Alice gave him a smirk but it was a silent request for help.

The aura she was feeling around her surroundings was one that sent a chill down her spine.

When that happens, it's usually something she couldn't deal with without some risks on her side.

"Fufufu~ I wonder who you're talking about. I'm just an old man who likes to take care of his fruit. A retired old man far too weak to face off against beasts." Ragnar let out a chuckle as he turned around and gathered his things.

Seeing this, Alice understood that he had his reasons. That was probably why he didn't make a move during the first invasion as well.

"Take care old man. I don't know if Torgeir is planning on gathering everyone together after this but if he does, I'll see you soon. If not, look after yourself and thanks for the fruit." Alice waved her hand with a smile.

Nodding his head, Ragnar watched as Alice left.

###

"Sir, the activation is a success. An Abyss Break should occur soon." A hooded figure reported.

Hearing this, the silver haired man let out a laugh as he massaged his shoulders.

"Perfect. Now that all of them are gathered, we're going to take care of them in one fell swoop. Order everyone to prepare for battle. Focus on taking out the captains, the beasts can deal with the average warrior. I'll take of Torgeir personally." He cracked his knuckle in excitement.

He wanted to deal with Torgeir during the last invasion but he didn't give him a chance. This time, he wasn't going to let the opportunity go to waste.

With such little manpower, Torgeir will be pushed to the limit.

"I'll rip that damn head off your shoulders myself."

###

Running towards the centre of the outpost, Alice furrowed her brows as she watched the volatile reaction of the Abyssal energy merging with the ambient energy of the surface.

Weaves upon weaves of energy fusing, stretching, twisting above the outpost. Even those who can't sense the threads of energy of this world felt goosebumps on their arms.

Ripples fluctuated across space as jagged crackles of energy crashed against the empty space. Visions of the clouds began to distort and soon, even the mountains felt like they were about to be pulled into a single point.

*CRACK!!! SHATTER!!!

Then, accompanied by the sound of shattering glass, a fissure was torn open as though an invisible hand ripped a gateway into their realm.

An endless void revealed itself while miasma flooded into the outpost.

Within the fissure, pulses of energy shimmered as faint glimmers of light slithered in the darkness. Each a different beast of an unknown nature, each sending chills down Alice's spine.

This miasma, this aura, this familiar pressure and sickening chill. There was no doubt about it.

Cold sweat rolled down Alice's face as this was possibly the worst case scenario.

'We can't let this portal open fully.' Alyss frowned.

'Agreed. We need Selen's help.'

Grabbing a vial from her pouch, Alice hesitated for a moment.

Gritting her teeth, she stored it away before creating several footholds with her shards.

She could hear the panicked orders shouted by Torgeir as he tried to get as many people away from the epicentre as possible.

Warriors scrambled for weapons to prepare for the incoming swarm of beasts.

"Selen!" Alice called out, spotting Selen and Egil who were helping with guiding civilians away from the outpost.

"We have to stop the portal at all costs. If this thing opens fully, we won't be able to deal with the consequences even if I break my body." Alice immediately explained the situation as Selen's face turned dire. But seeing as how she was speaking to her rather than acting, it seemed like she hadn't consumed the blood just yet much to her relief.

"What do I need to do?" Selen asked, not questioning how or why Alice knew this.

After all this time together, Selen has learned to trust Alice went it comes to things like this.

"Not sure. I'm not entirely familiar with the process either. All I know is that if we don't do anything, a full gateway to the Terminus layer will be opened. Once that happens, imprisoned Abyss Lords and beasts that roam that layer will come spewing out." Alice glanced up at the ever widening fissure with a deep frown.

She would never mistake this sense of danger as she visited the layer personally. This was no doubt Terminus and to make matters worse, she could feel a faint strand of Tiamat!

Tiamat might've been friendly to some extent in the Inverted World but this was reality. Time changes people and beasts are no exception.

With Velouria's passing, there was a chance that the bindings holding the Old Lords might've weakened to some extent. The Will shared his divinity with Velouria after all.

But this gamble was far too dangerous for a small outpost like Kvia.

"I can try to slow it down but there's a limit. My abilities can't exactly cut the space they're trying to open." Selen suggested as Alice scrambled her brain for a solution.

Pausing for a moment, she glanced at Selen and hesitated.

"Never mind, slow it down for now. I'll ask Torgeir, maybe he has a solution. If he doesn't, no complaints about me using my power right?" Alice shook her head.

If it escalated to that stage, Alice had to make a move. It was better to prevent the portal from opening than to fight the beasts that came later.

"I don't like it but if Lords do come spewing out then it's better to close it early. Don't overexert yourself and break your body beyond repair… Please." Selen paused before nodding.

Hearing this, Alice gave her a grin and a thumbs up before running towards Torgeir.

Meanwhile, Egil was confused by their discussion.

"What the f*ck?"

"Don't worry about it. Help me set up a few nodes, I'm going to slow this portal down." Selen chuckled, creating several staves for Egil to carry.

"Sure but even if I'm confident in my body, I can't hold back Lords alright?" Egil sighed. He figured Alice and Selen wouldn't joke about the appearance of a Lord, even if it does sound a little exaggerated.

"Don't worry, we don't expect you to. I just need someone fast to plan these while I hold back the first wave." Selen smirked as Egil paused.

Now that she phrased it that way, he felt a little insulted as he prided himself on his body. But this was a Lord they were talking about so he didn't even want to entertain the idea of stopping it.

Letting out a huff of annoyance, he crouched down before jumping away, leaving a small crater beside Selen.

With Egil going to plant the staves, Selen narrowed her eyes at the fissure. She could feel several strong signatures already making their way towards their realm. Taking a deep breath, she created another staff in her hand and jumped onto the roof of a building.

'In order to properly slow it down, I have to do more than just slow down the surroundings. I need to infuse some of my power into the fissure itself so they'll struggle with traversing the two realms.'

Twirling the staff in her hands, she slammed it against the ground and activated her Resonance.

A realm of monotony expanded with Selen in the centre. Since this wasn't a resonance aimed to trap something within but to contain a space, she allowed her power to bleed into their reality. The monotonous boundaries of her personal realm began to mix with the clear blue colour of the sky like two shades of ink in water.

Within her realm, a single eclipsed sun hung in the sky and bled towards the rivers around her.

Holding out her palm, a black material formed around her arm as a handle protruded out. Grabbing the handle, she unsheathed a single guardless blade and took an offensive stance.

Breathing out slowly, Selen narrowed her eyes and began to release a series of slashes towards the fissure. Each slash distorted the space around them, freezing it in place.

Once she finished releasing the slashes, she stabbed her blade into the ground and clasped her hands together.

Iridescent strands of energy extended from each slash, forming a ritualistic pattern around the fissure.

Resonance + Ritual – Kietoma!

Kietoma, a skill that takes advantage of Selen's ability to slow down time to a near halt. Usually, this skill would be used to 'lock' time in a single second and inflict as much damage as possible. But for this instance, Selen had to adjust the ritual to prolong the duration rather than damage.

A pulse of energy erupted from Selen's body as a semi transparent seal began to form around the fissure. The beasts within began to slow down but their movements couldn't be stopped. Regardless, she had achieved her desired result. All that's left now is to maintain this seal while Alice finds a solution for this barrier.