Abyssal Awakening

Having Caera go and arrange a meeting with the Queen, Alice took this time to familiarise herself a bit more regarding the solution.

Aside from the… moral implications of making those who accept into berserkers, Alice had to admit that it was a good solution.

Not only does it resolve the issue of having the curse in their body to some extent, but it also gives them the option to keep fighting if they want.

Naturally, they can choose to get this cure and not fight. But…

'They'll still suffer the effects of the curse. They need to 'expel' the curse often enough to maintain a balance once they go through with this.'

The moment they accept this operation, their fates will be sealed.

Either die on the battlefield or become a berserker.

They can run and deny it but there will come a time when they'll be forced to activate the berserker state and this will continue until they lose their minds.

If it was Alice in their positions, she didn't know if she would accept this or not. The trade off was simply… too high.

What if she didn't achieve her revenge in time and lost her mind?

There's also the small possibility that one use could be the limit for some people. If they cannot bring themselves back from being berserk, they'll be stuck in that state.

"Urg…"

Hearing a groan, Alice placed the sheets of research down as she glanced over and saw Selen sitting up while clutching her head.

After becoming a hybrid, even though her scars have disappeared, new 'scars' have appeared across her body.

The most prominent scar was the black feather peaking out from her hair, above her ear.

"You've been knocked out for almost two days. Must've been quite stressful fighting 7 hybrids huh?" Alice smiled, feeling glad that Selen woke up without any issues.

"Almost two days huh? Honestly, I don't mind that. I really thought it was over for me." Selen let out a chuckle as the fight was one that truly pushed her beyond her limit.

Had it not been for her momentary awakening and turning herself into a hybrid, she would've died after fighting the two defence focused hybrids.

"But you survived and that's all that matters."

"Right! What happened to Egil? What's with the black armour?" Selen asked as Alice gestured with her head.

Looking to her right, Selen noticed Egil sleeping next to her.

"ARG!!!" Letting out a yelp in surprise, Selen rolled out of the bed with a blush.

"What's wrong with you? Caera didn't have a spare bed so we just threw you two on it to observe any lingering side effects. I had to teach Egil how to manifest his soul in order to form a balance with the curse.

"Though… his manifestation is a bit different." Alice shrugged.

Activating her own bloodline release, her soul state hovered behind her.

"Egil's soul state is his armour. It's merged with the curse due to the damage he took but it does bring out quite a bit of his power." Alice explained, waving her hand and dismissing the bloodline release.

Coughing awkwardly, Selen adjusted herself.

"And what about the one that escaped?"

"No clue. She's probably gone back to report about my existence. Since I was focused on you and Egil, I wasn't able to track her down properly. And even if I did, I was in no state to fight at full power after linking myself with everyone who got cursed." Alice shrugged.

"Then the Zenias are probably coming to the north right?" Selen frowned.

"Most likely. In fact, if they trust the words of that hybrid, it goes from likely to certainty. Which is why I want to do something for the north before leaving. Take a look at this and tell me what you think." Alice grabbed the research and handed it to Selen.

Giving it a read, Selen's frown only deepened as this was quite risky in her opinion.

This operation might let them fight in the short term but it dooms anyone who says yes.

Reckless and completely unlike the research that Alice would usually do.

"You didn't make this did you?" Selen asked, knowing Alice's habits.

"No I did not. I asked a friend to give me a hand and this is what they came up with. The way she sees human life is a little… disagreeable. But you can't deny her genius." Alice sighed as she was still hesitating a little on this approach.

Though if there was no better alternative, then they could only choose this method.

"I see… What about those without Sigils? Do you think you can cure them? Like… Egil's mother for example."

"Of course I can." Alice nodded her head.

Glancing at Egil for a moment, Selen curled her lips up into a smile.

"Then let's give him a surprise."

Raising her eyebrow, Alice shrugged and went along with it.

###

Egil felt like he was drifting in the Void.

The words of his father ring out in his ears, calling him a fake, a cheater.

A disgrace.

He could remember the glares of disdain, the chills he felt and the fear that dominated his mind.

Then came the anger.

The period of his life when only violence was his answer.

'Am I dead?' He couldn't help but wonder.

After asking Alice to help him, he was able to reach Selen in time to stop her from being killed.

But everything after that was blurry.

He could vaguely remember the fight but most of it was him acting on instinct.

When using the 'armour', his consciousness drifted. He became a rampaging beast.

Looking around him, he understood that this was no void but rather the maw of a giant beast and what he was floating in was blood.

Trying to sit up, black chains latched onto his body, carving into his flesh. Pieces of armour ripped apart his skin, fusing with his flesh.

However… Egil didn't feel pain.

In fact, it felt soothing. Like this is how it should've been from the beginning.

Maybe… Maybe he should just float in this blood river forever.

Maybe he should just let the armour take over.

What was he fighting for again?

Ah he can't remember…

At that moment, Egil felt a gentle hand touch his head. A touch he hasn't felt in a long… long time.

A sense of nostalgia overwhelmed him and memories flooded his mind.

Little by little, he opened his eyes and tears began to form.

"No matter how many years that pass, you're still my baby on the inside." Egil's mother stroked his hair slowly and wiped the tears from his eyes.

Without saying anything, Egil sat up and hugged his mom. Despite his large stature, he looked like a small child in his mother's arms. His shoulders trembled and he tried to hold back his tears but they continued to flow without stopping.

Revealing a small smile, Egil's mom patted his back while Alice and Selen gave the two some space.

"Seems like he likes his gift." Selen revealed a warm smile while glancing back at the room.

"Yep. Though I do think it might be a little stressful on her body since she has just woken up from her own coma." Alice shrugged. The way she looked at Egil and the way she comforted him made Alice a little jealous. She wanted to see Allura again.

To jump into her chest and hug her with everything she's got.

To talk about her journey so far, the troubles she ran into, the new friends she made and how she's feeling happy about her life.

"Well the moment you mentioned Egil, she forgot about recovering and immediately asked us to bring her to him." Selen chuckled.

"Fair point. I think a short walk should be enough time for them to talk about what's happened right?"

"Might need to go for a longer walk with everything Egil's been bottling up."

Selen wanted Egil to enjoy this moment to its fullest. Even if you run out of words, sometimes just being in their presence is enough to heal someone.

The mutual understanding and enjoyment of each other's company. For a mother and son, this was the moment he could feel peace without any distractions.

"Alright." Nodding her head, Alice joined Selen for a long walk around the city to give Egil plenty of time.

###

Walking through the throne room with a slight skip to her step, Caera could see Verona talking with Frida.

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything." Caera called out as Frida glanced over.

Giving Verona a bow, Frida left the room.

"Seems like I did after all." Caera chuckled, leaning against the throne.

"Not exactly. Though I'm surprised you made a move. I thought you were more of an observer." Verona shrugged before giving her a side glance.

"Situations change. And in that moment I figured it was appropriate for me to save your assistant."

"I doubt that's the case. Is that girl what you've been working towards?" Verona asked curiously but Caera shook her head.

"Nope. It's honestly a coincidence."

"So are you leaving the north then?" Verona nodded her head.

Caera wasn't someone to beat around the bush so if she says it's a coincidence then it was a coincidence.

"Depends on what Alice says. I still have research I need to do and seems to me like she doesn't want to rush into things. I've already offered her my everything so I will do what she commands." Caera twirled her hair.

It wasn't like she was part of the northern defences in the first place.

"But that's not what I'm here to talk about. She wants a meeting with you. To talk about a… proposal for helping those affected by the curse. The side effects are a little devasting so it's best you understand the full picture before we do anything."

Staying silent, Verona contemplated before nodding her head.

"Alright. But after the meeting, can you help me out? I think it's about time we start thinking about the next stage. I can't just sit here doing nothing while my nation is attacked."

Hearing this, Caera curled her lips into a wide grin.

"Of course."