“Is the cake not to your taste? I don’t blame you, Lua does like it to be sweeter than usual.” Kaden asked with a smile while Alice simply shook her head and ate the cake.

“It’s not even that sweet though.” Allura furrowed her brows while biting her spoon since she had already finished her snack.

“That’s debatable. But settle that aside, I believe Lua brought you here since she’s bad at explaining right? I’m sure you have your own circumstances but I do hope you can cooperate.” Kaden chuckled while putting his apron aside.

“Now then, you’ve mentioned you’re from the surface but you don’t know how you got here. What’s the last thing you remember?” He asked while flicking his fingers.

A book jumped out from his shadow as he flipped through the pages.

“I was taking an exam before a blinding light covered me. Next thing I know I was falling from the sky.”

“And your flames?”

“They’ve always been weird. I don’t know why I can use them here but not my other Sigils.” Alice shook her head.

Nodding his head, Kaden silently flipped through the book while Allura snuck off to get more cake.

“Alright, I think I got a gist of everything now. I can only assume you got transported here from the surface since your knowledge of the Abyss is severely lacking according to what Lua told me. You don’t know about the Turned nor do you know about this city.” Kaden concluded before throwing the book back into his shadow.

“I’m sure there are several things you want to know but let’s take it one step at a time. I’m also quite interested in this mother/mentor of yours who taught you a technique similar to what Lua has made.

“First things first, Turned. It’s easier for me to show you what they are rather than explaining it to you. That way, you can see for yourself the situation in the Abyss.”

Snapping his fingers, Kaden’s shadow stretched across the room while Allura panicked for a moment.

“W-wait! My cake! I haven’t finished it yet!” She cried out, wanting to grab her plate but the shadow was faster.

All three of them disappeared into the shadows while Alice felt a familiar sense of weightlessness.

She couldn’t help but panic internally, wondering if they were going to appear in the Abyss Waters but to her surprise, they were teleported to the mountain peaks instead.

Unlike the Abyss she was familiar with, there was no oppressive aura nor darkness.

The soft glow of the moon above felt gentle and even warm.

“Look down there.” Kaden smiled while pointing towards a white serpentine beast bathing in the moonlight.

Countless red eyes and white wings covered its body while it lay silently.

“Are you familiar with how Abyss Beasts are made?” He asked.

Thinking about it for a moment, Alice opened her mouth.

“They’re made from the Abyss itself, right? Or people who drink too much Abyss Blood.”

“Hm… Kind of but not quite.” Kaden shook his head with a sad smile.

Allura was the same. There was a rare moment of silence and sadness around her.

“Keep an eye on the beast for now. You’ll see what we mean by ‘Turned’.”

Nodding her head, Alice kept her eye on the beast. Time passed and she wasn’t sure what was happening but soon, the beast began to change.

The feathers around the wings started to fall off while its body twitched and turned.

Under the moonlight, a soft glow wrapped around its outline as a silver cocoon was created from the feathers that surrounded its body.

Once the beast had transformed into an egg, a single crack appeared on the surface.

*Crack!

A single delicate hand could be seen, tearing apart the outer shell of the egg. From within, a pale girl appeared with white and red hair. The right side of her face was covered with three eyes while the left only had one. She looked like a normal human with the exception of this and a pair of wings behind her.

Without saying anything, Kaden gestured for Allura to take the girl back to the city.

“That’s a ‘Turned’. A beast who manages to regain parts of their humanity. Though… They lose all memories of what they were before. Those with strong impressions of their past or something they long for will have habits they go through. The village you saw before was one filled with Turned.” Kaden explained while Alice was silent.

In a way, it was similar to how she could come back from side effects but also rather different.

“Are you able to help them get their memories back? That and why do they have a vacant look in their eyes?”

Shaking his head, Kaden sighed while gesturing to sit down while more beasts arrived to bathe in the moonlight.

“We’re unable to give them their memories back. And perhaps it’s for the better.”

“Hm? Why? Wouldn’t it be better for them to see that they’re no longer a beast anymore?” Alice tilted her head.

“Because their journeys will end soon once they become ‘Turned’. Becoming a ‘Turned’ is the final step of a beast’s journey. An act of mercy so they can die as humans.

“You’re not wrong when you said that beasts come from the Abyss and people who drink too much of the blood. The reality is that everyone who comes from the Abyss, whether they are born here, their parents are born here or a mix blood from here and the surface, will all have the same fate.

“No matter how they try to run from it or avoid Abyss Blood, everyone who’s been touched by the Abyss will, without doubt, become an Abyss Beast. The beasts you see, kill or tortured for their blood were all once humans born here. It’s unavoidable. I’m not saying that to make you feel guilty but rather to let you understand reality.” Kaden sighed while looking towards the new beasts who had arrived.

“I’m sure you don’t need me to explain to you what happens when you become a beast. You’ve seen what beasts are like.”

Nodding her head silently, Alice didn’t know how to respond.

She knew that people could turn into Abyss Beasts, but she didn’t know it was unavoidable.

Perhaps that’s why Allura was angered when the pirates had forcefully turned her old friend into a beast. It sped up what little time they had left as humans.

“Wouldn’t the numbers dwindle after a while?” Alice asked after a long pause.

“Mnm. It would. But the Abyss is resourceful. All things born into this realm belong to this realm. Your soul will be recycled and reused as more beasts to terrorise those who remain. Though if you are lucky, you might be reborn as a human, cursed with the fate of becoming a beast in the end.

“You could say it’s a futile life but I think it’s no different here than it is on the surface. Becoming a beast is simply ‘Death’ in the Abyss.” Kaden chuckled.

“However, her majesty changed things. If you can hold out long enough as a beast, to avoid becoming a death and live out the period peacefully, you can become a Turned. Once you become a Turned, the chances of you being reborn as a ‘human’ rather than a beast increases.

“Now, does that answer some of your questions?” Kaden asked while glancing towards Alice who looked at the beasts with sympathy.

“Yes… But you mentioned that her Majesty changed things, right? Does that mean she has control over the Abyss? Can’t she change the natural order of having people become beasts in the end? There are those who don’t want power at all and would much rather live an ordinary life. But if they’re destined to become a beast, isn’t that too cruel?” Alice asked with a sigh.

“If she could, she would’ve done so already. But even with her identity, her powers are limited. Anyways, shall we change locations?” Kaden asked before snapping his finger.

Shadows enveloped the two of them and teleported them elsewhere.

Shielding her eyes for a moment, Alice found herself standing in a sea of white spider lily flowers.

“Since I’ve answered one of your questions, would you do me the favour of answering one of mine?” Kaden asked while putting on a pair of gloves.

“Go on.” Alice nodded. A sense of foreboding filled her heart as she could feel a sense of dread in the air.

“With the authority I have been given, I can see the shape of someone’s soul. How they’ve lived their life and the choices that shaped them. But for you… Why do you have no soul? You can think, talk and act like a normal human but your outline is muddled. Unclear.

“Not like that of the surface nor like that of the Abyss. However… If you can use Sigil powers, the Abyss would’ve modified your soul already. Yet it is still muddled so I must ask, what are you?” Kaden asked as killing intent seeped out of Kaden.

Alice found herself helpless before him. It felt as though the moment she made a move to defend herself, the shadows would consume her in an instant.

“I don’t know.” Was the only answer Alice could give.

She didn’t know if she was human, beast or something else entirely. Two people have claimed that she was lacking a soul yet here she was. Her own research has shown that her body was completely strange when judged with common sense.

Even the beast she conjured when making a Ritual with her violet flames, she didn’t know its origin.

Staying silent, Kaden sighed before flicking his finger. The killing intent disappeared as Alice could breathe again.

“Sorry about that. I wanted to verify a few things my own way. Are you okay?” He asked apologetically.

Since he could see the outline of someone’s soul, he wanted to see if she’d lie in the face of death. But her confusion was real, she didn’t know who she was herself.

But there was something strange during this test.

Within her muddled outline, there was a spark of something completely foreign. It felt familiar yet also different and Kaden couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“It’s fine…” Alice replied while catching her breath.

Just as Kaden was going to help her back on her feet, he couldn’t help but notice a lifeless feather in her possession.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep