What is a God? To Alice, it was a symbol of absolute authority, a leader for mortals and a being outside of mortal comprehension.

The Sun God that is worshipped by the Church of the Sun.

The Moon Goddess revered by the Church of the Moon.

The Eclipse God praised by the Cult of the Abyss.

All three Gods of the surface are figures that Alice could only hear tales about. Their retainers, the Apostles and their followers being their only connection to this world.

But for the Abyss to have its own Goddess…

Allura’s old Master at that.

Alice’s mind spun.

If Allura’s old Master was indeed the Goddess of the Abyss, then what kind of identity did Allura and Kaden hold? Two people who are close to said Goddess.

‘Are they Apostles?’ Alice questioned inwardly. It would explain the power behind Allura and how Kaden could send her into the Abyss with ease.

Allura had mentioned Apostles before, each one had their own Authority, a fragment of the God’s power.

It allowed them to stand head and shoulders above the Abyss Lords as loyal retainers to the Divine.

“The ruler of Ayr… Is a Goddess?” Alice asked, wanting to confirm this information.

“Yep, she’s a Goddess of the Abyss. Although you can think of it as sharing a Divinity. Compared to the Gods of the surface, Master is a little special in comparison.” Allura nodded while eating the snacks she had bought.

“Special? How so? Aren’t they all Gods?”

“I mean it’s no secret but Master started out as a ‘human’. The first Human to be born in the Abyss. As the first human in the Abyss, she was confused as to why there were only beasts while reflections of the surface showed her a world of ‘humans’.

“With her unique connection to the Abyss, she bent the rules and allowed more ‘humans’ to be born. Of course, all will have to return to being a beast at one point, that is our ultimate fate. But Master’s tampering gave us a chance to overcome this.

“To become an Abyss Lord, be recognised by the Abyss and its Goddess and you will shed your bestial blood and become fully Human.” Allura explained while making small fire figures to help tell the story.

“You can even say she added the ‘Rule’ to how the Abyss functions.”

Hearing this, Alice nodded her head silently while digesting the information she had just learned. If Allura’s Master was the reason why Humans could be born in the Abyss, what other rules did she implement?

And even if she didn’t, what were the other Rules of the Abyss?

With one question answered, more questions appeared in Alice’s mind as she couldn’t help but sigh out in frustration.

There was far too much she didn’t know and now, even Allura and Kaden’s true identity was unclear due to their connection to a Goddess. Alice could only assume that they’re Apostles and if they were, what did they expect from her?

When Kaden found her, he wanted her to help him fulfil a promise. What promise?

Allura said she could be her own person and ignore the expectations. But if the Crown and Cayla used to belong to a Goddess, how could she simply ignore the weight of this responsibility?

Alice wanted Allura to be happy like she was now, in the past. She wanted to rebuild Ayr for her, make it so that people are no longer cursed to become beasts with no way out. But to do so would be to meet the expectations for a Goddess of the Abyss.

She had so much she wanted to do for Allura who had become her guardian, her mother figure and for Kaden who brought her out from her personal Hell. Yet when faced with these expectations, Alice found herself lacking.

Her thoughts spiralled as she wanted to visualise her being able to achieve such feats but all that came to mind was failure.

“!!!”

Widening her eyes, Alice snapped out of her thoughts and looked up.

Allura had given her a hug while patting her head and back.

“Are you okay? You looked like you needed a hug.” Allura asked with a concerned expression as Alice was silent.

Returning the hug, Alice held on tight as she calmed her mind. It doesn’t matter if the final goal is far away.

As Allura said, she needed to focus on the small steps. What she can achieve right now and eventually, she’ll find herself at her goal.

“Thank you…” Alice muttered, enjoying this hug while Allura scratched her cheeks with an embarrassed blush but nodded her head.

Sharing this hug for a moment, Alice finally calmed her mind and looked far better than a moment ago.

“You were talking about how she added a Rule to the Abyss long ago right? One that allowed ‘humans’ to be born. What do you think is the Abyss’s goal to let this happen?” Alice asked curiously.

“Hmm… Honestly, I’m not sure. Knowing Master, if she could stop people from becoming beasts, she would. But there are restrictions she has to work around. She doesn’t ‘rule’ the Abyss after all. She simply shares a Divinity with the Will of the Abyss.

“It’s probably better if you ask her when you meet her. Since your… situation is pretty weird and unique even by my standards.” Allura shrugged.

Pausing mid-step, Alice turned to Allura and pointed at herself.

“Wait… Meet her? Isn’t she a Goddess? I thought Gods and Goddesses don’t interfere much with mortals.”

“Like I said, Master is a unique case. Plus, you’ve already met two of her closest retainers so what’s there to be surprised about? Meeting a Goddess is crazy for you but meeting her metaphorical left and right hand isn’t? You got some weird standards.”

While Alice and Allura were debating about their personal standards, someone was observing the situation without making them known.

Allura had naturally sensed that someone was observing but considering the ‘mark’ on her, Allura didn’t say anything.

The longer Cayla stared at Alice, the clearer it became. The Eye and the floating Crown.

Both seem damaged to an extent which only made her more worried about the eventual downfall of her Master, but nothing could be done.

She knew it deep down as well. But she didn’t want to sit around and simply accept that it’ll happen.

Closing her eyes, Cayla tried to form a connection with ‘herself’ that was within Alice’s body. But the connection couldn’t be formed. Instead, a chilling pair of eyes stared back at her as cold sweat dripped down her back.

Staring at Alice with a mixture of fear and confusion, Cayla didn’t know what to say.

Standing silently, she eventually bit her lip before sighing. Just observing wasn’t going to work. She was going to find a chance to talk with Alice face to face. If Alice was indeed her future Master, then the talk should go rather smoothly.

###

“So, any thoughts?” Kaden asked as the Librarian was silent in front of him.

Nalem, the one who kept a record of everything that has happened in the city and the knowledge they’ve accumulated regarding the Abyss itself and the beasts within.

“Just from what you’ve told me, I have two candidates in mind. But they’re not an exact match.” He sighed and shook his head.

“Care to give me a percentage?”

“20% at most. If the fire is indeed as you have explained then I can only say I’ve never heard or even thought of such a possibility. It’s simply absurd for something to be fuelled by the Abyss yet reject it so thoroughly. Not to mention, I can’t wrap my mind around how that girl is even functioning if she has no soul. She’s not a construct, is she?” Nalem frowned while placing his books down.

“She’s not a construct.” Kaden shook his head.

“Then is she something sent by the Gods of the Surface? The meeting is happening soon, you know what they’re like towards her Majesty.”

Falling into silent contemplation, Kaden played around with some shadows between his fingers as several thoughts passed his mind.

‘She carries a feather with traces of my Authority on it. An Amulet too with Lua’s aura. But it’s weak… She definitely has a connection with me and Lua, but what kind? Alice clearly doesn’t possess an Authority but she’s displaying powers similar to Lua.’

For the first time since he first joined Ayr, he found himself unable to wrap his mind around the problem presented before him.

“If you had a sample of her blood, could you run some tests to determine the origin of her powers?” Kaden asked as Nalem nodded his head.

“With enough samples and tests, I should be able to give you some better results. But again, it’s highly abnormal so don’t expect much.” He admitted.

‘For even Nalem of all people to not guarantee results…’

“Alright. I’ll see what I can do about the samples.”

###

Alice didn’t know this feeling she felt within her heart.

It was similar to fear yet also very different. It resonated with her on a deeper level, a level that caused her entire body to tremble and pale at the sight of this person.

This was her first meeting with the Lord Commander, but every cell in her body was screaming at her to run.

He has medium length wild brown hair, a pair of sharp black eyes and a messy stubble. His attire consisted of a simple black jacket with gold details, a black undershirt that highlighted the muscles on his upper body and arms, a waist cloth that reached down to his knees and a pair of baggy pants and shoes.

Despite his relaxed and playful aura at this moment, Alice couldn’t relax herself no matter what she tried.

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