Abyssal Awakening

Letting out a deep fatigued sigh, Alice glanced at the list and tapped her fingers.

Even though they met the 'quota' for today, if she continues at this pace, she'll have to spend the next week or so giving out cures. Waiting a week was a little too long for her liking.

Doing it one by one was too much of a hassle so she needed a way to either streamline it or apply it to multiple people at once.

Of course, small adjustments were needed for each individual, but that could be adjusted by separating them into groups.

However… These were people who are trusting their futures to her. She couldn't disregard this trust for a moment of relaxation.

*Sigh

"Bring in the next person." Alice let out a sigh.

"Yo~ Seems like you're pretty busy here." Selen poked her head through with a grin on her face.

"You don't say. I'm going to die of old age before I finish treating everyone in that queue." Alice chuckled as both Selen and Egil stepped through.

"So what brings you here? Surely you're not so free to visit me while the two of you were on a date." Alice asked with a laugh, gesturing for Caera to handle the next patient for now.

"Well, we were just thinking that a certain someone might be feeling pretty bored and overworking herself to treat the people here. Therefore, out of the graciousness of my heart, I brought along some snacks for you. Sadly no mead since I doubt they'd want to see a drunk person operating on them." Selen held up a bag of snacks.

In the other bag, Alice spotted spicy skewers and understood they were for Alyss.

"How thoughtful of you. Now the real question is do I have to pay for them?"

Rolling her eyes, Selen gave Alice the bag while placing the skewers on the side.

Joking around for a little longer, Alice took this chance to have another break.

"How long do you think that'll take? The line's pretty long and I'll be honest, it's not getting any smaller. Even the civilians are contemplating about helping out now. After all, there's even a chance that they could become a strong warrior if they're able to use Bloodline Release." Selen folded her arms.

"Don't worry, that won't be happening. After all, the entire process needs three sources of strength to stabilize. Sigils, the soul and the curse. If any of them is missing, it'll become a major issue. During the attack, I've already purged the curse from the bodies of the civilians albeit with some minor side effects.

"So even if they have the talent for Bloodline Release, they won't be able to use it until they get Sigils." Alice explained with a shrug before switching out with Alyss so that she could enjoy the skewers.

"To put it another way, it's like giving a person a sword. An expert can make the most out of the sword while a civilian can only swing it randomly. If they're unlucky, they might even hurt themselves while swinging the sword around. In that kind of situation, twinnie wouldn't want to give them something they can't handle." Alyss explained.

"I see… That makes sense." Selen nodded in understanding.

Meanwhile, Egil was looking at some of the notes that Alice left out. He could see that she was adjusting the formula for each individual, taking into consideration of their resistances and unique variables that may affect the operation.

She wasn't taking any shortcuts when it came to treating the people here.

Despite not being a northerner and these people being complete strangers to her, Alice was giving everything she's got.

For Egil, this made him extremely proud to have Alice as a friend.

"Pst, Selen." Alyss whispered over as Selen tilted her head.

"What is it? So secretive."

"For giving me the skewers, I wanna give you something in return. Plus, we both know me and twinnie won't be putting this to use." Alyss winked as she reached into the pouch.

Gesturing for Selen to open her hand, Alyss placed a small vial into it before closing, not allowing Alice or herself to see it.

"What is it?" Selen was still confused.

"Don't worry about it, just take a look when you're alone." Alyss grinned.

Alice was also curious but Alyss waved it off, saying it was something that they didn't need.

Waving goodbye to Selen and Egil, Alyss allowed Alice to take over again and resume her job.

Meanwhile, Selen took a glance at the bottle and immediately shoved it into her pouch with a heavy blush on her face.

"Did Alyss give you something weird?" Egil blinked his eyes in confusion while Selen coughed awkwardly. Continue your journey with mvl

Her smile twitched and she shook her head.

"Don't worry about it."

Out of all the things she could've given her, the gift that Alyss gave her was the Aphrodisiac that Alice bought without knowing!

###

Ignoring Selen and Egil who were leaving, Albert and Eryn stood near the tent.

"Don't enter. If you enter, there's no guarantee that the device can hide our presence." Eryn whispered over.

On top of that, there was a strange aura inside the tent. She didn't notice it earlier but only found out now. An abnormality that didn't feel like any of the three major power sources. An outsider to this system that doesn't belong to the Abyss, Void or Holy.

However, Albert didn't respond. He stood rooted in place as he saw the face of his 'sister' for the first time in many months.

The way she styled her hair was different now. It was also split in two halves, one side being white and the other being black. Her bangs hid her right eye but when she was laughing, he noticed a scar over it.

The way she smiled, laughed, joked around with her friends, her voice… All of it repeated in his mind.

If…

If the incident never happened, what would Alice look like now? Would she also be smiling like this?

Closing his eyes, he remembered the picnics they would have with their mother, their walks around a lake.

The way she called out to him, stumbling on her step but laughing it off.

Clenching his fist, Albert gritted his teeth as his veins bulged in anger.

"Don't do anything hasty." Eryn warned.

She could see the resemblance between Alice and Albert and understood they must be related. She was probably the goal of his mission.

However, right now they were deep in enemy territory with abnormal variables around them.

Just as he was about to make a move, Eryn grabbed him by the waist and jumped off to the side.

*BANG!!!

A singularity appeared where they were standing a moment ago as Alice stepped out with a frown.

Her sudden attack surprised the people in the queue as they weren't sure why she suddenly attacked.

"Ah sorry about that, I thought I felt something weird." Alice apologised before gesturing for the next person to enter.

Once Alice entered the tent again, Eryn let out a sigh.

"I thought I told you not to do anything hasty. You revealed your killing intent." Eryn frowned.

It was brief but that split moment allowed Alice to sense them despite the device hiding their presence. If she hadn't reacted in time and dragged Albert away, he would be on the ground missing his legs.

Albert wanted to say something but seeing the stern gaze of his master, he took a few deep breaths and nodded his head.

"Is she your sibling?" Eryn asked curiously.

"No. She's just a beast wearing my sister's skin. She was killed 10 years ago." Albert spat out coldly.

"Is that so?" Closing her eyes, Eryn activated one of her Sigils as it manifested around her eyes.

The colours of her pupils shifted to a radiant gold.

"There's three souls in that tent right now. A patient, the girl just now and someone else within the same body- no. there's three souls in one body. One of them is… wounded and weakened. Perhaps sealed. And as for the person next to them… She doesn't have a soul. Or rather, her soul doesn't belong to herself now. She must've given it to someone or something as an exchange." Eryn muttered.

However, Albert focused on one fact and one fact alone.

"There's three souls in Alice's body?!"

"Yes. One is… Young. Doesn't seem to have existed for long so probably the 'beast' you talked about that 'killed' your sister 10 years ago. The other one seems more mature. As for the weakened one, I can't tell exactly but I know it's much older than me. If you're wondering whether or not your Sister is in there, it's probably the second soul if I had to guess." Eryn answered before closing her eyes.

A bit of blood appeared around her eyes but she quickly wiped it away without care.

Hearing this news, Albert collapsed backwards as his pupils trembled in shock.

His sister was still alive in there!

There's still hope! He can get her back!

"Master, can you help me?" Albert asked as he stood up and dusted his clothes.

"Perhaps." Eryn shrugged.

"I want to save my sister. If she's still in there, I don't want to give up on her." Albert bit his lips as his hope was finally rekindled after so many years.

"Depends. I might be able to see souls but that's only so that I can eliminate it. I have no power when it comes to manipulating which soul controls the body." Eryn shook her head.

"And what if you eliminate the one in control right now? The beast?"

"I don't suggest using such an… extreme method immediately. Just because I eliminate one soul doesn't mean the other will take over successfully. In fact, it could even become the catalyst of the 'body's' death." Eryn warned.

Gritting his teeth, Albert glanced back at the tent before turning around.

"Alright."

'Wait for me sis, I'll get you out of there.' Albert vowed as he and Eryn left the area.

Meanwhile, inside the tent, Caera narrowed her gaze towards their general direction and her lips curved up into a creepy smile.