Abyssal Awakening

Ria stepped toward the fortress in the distance.

The moment she took a step, an invisible pressure crashed down on her. Her knees almost buckled as veins bulged on her neck. The strain of keeping herself upright.

However, it wasn’t just weight. This pressure pushed down from all sides, making it hard for her to even breathe.

On the other hand, Astrelya floated without care.

She wasn’t affected by this pressure at all and in fact even looked relaxed in this.

"Don’t look at me, focus on walking instead." Astrelya gave Ria a wink as the girl clicked her tongue.

She took another step.

Her jaw tightened as this felt similar to the time Allura dropped Alice and herself into the depths of the Abyss.

That time, she had called in a favour from a beast on the verge of Lordship.

The pressure she felt at the time was similar to this.

Only the scale was much different as she had gotten stronger.

The third step.

Her vision distorted momentarily. Static crept in from the edges of her view as her eyes almost rolled back.

*BANG!!!

The fourth step.

Ria pushed herself forward.

Then the fifth.

She stopped counting after this. There was no point in thinking about the steps she had to take. Just the thought of pushing her foot forward weighed on her mind.

If she kept her goals short, it became far more manageable to achieve. Easier to take one step than the thought of needing to take one hundred.

Astrelya watched silently. The smile on her face widened while watching Ria take her steps toward the fortress.

What was this feeling rising in her chest?

It wasn’t the excitement she was pursuing. The kind that gave her peace in death.

This was something else.

She knew the secret behind this land.

The ruins of Ayr. A place where Nyer decided to focus a portion of his experiments.

And...

Where fallen Divinity was actively leaking out.

Baptising the land in its filth thus resulting in such devastation, leaking Ayr nothing but a shallow husk of what it once was.

###

By the time Ria reached the base of the fortress, sweat was now covering her from head to toe. Exhaustion overwhelmed her as she felt helpless at the tribulation that spread ahead of her.

The final flight of stairs.

Each step required her to fight against the pressure pushing down on her. To ascend toward the giant doors keeping the fortress shut.

She took a heavy laboured breath. If she rested now, she didn’t know when she’ll be able to stand up again.

*CRACK!!!

The first step destroyed the material of the staircase beneath her. Ria felt the urge to cough up blood then and there.

Then she saw Astrelya walk beside her.

She was no longer on her cloud but instead walked.

"I’ll take the last steps with you. A show of respect. Not to you of course. But rather, to this place." Astrelya smiled, nonchalantly making her way up.

Ria was about to take another step when she saw a hand in front of her.

Astrelya had reached out.

Ria glanced up in surprise.

"Unless you have a method at countering fallen divinity, I suggest you take my hand. As much as I enjoy seeing you suffer, I want to see you suffer against Hayil not the land itself."

"Tsk. You know, there are better methods of saying you’re concerned." Ria sighed before accepting her hand.

Immediately, the pressure around her lessened as she let out a sigh of relief.

It wasn’t gone completely but far better than what she had to endure just now.

Astrelya didn’t acknowledge the help she was giving. She simply kept walking and Ria followed.

Soon, they reached the doors and Astrelya let go of Ria.

But instead of the pressure returning, it disappeared entirely. As though this place was a holy sanctuary and that the fallen divinity had no place here.

"Your hunt awaits inside. Know this, the moment you step through that door, you’ll be entering Hayil’s territory." Astrelya warned.

Before coming to the Ruins of Ayr, she had already told Ria a little about the authorities of War and Famine.

While Hayil won’t be able to use all of it, one could safely assume that she’ll be able to access one, maybe two, rules from the authorities granted by Enris.

Astrelya turned around and looked at Ria.

This time, there was a hint of seriousness in her expression.

"You may not desire it but I will pray for you. A blessing from Enris."

Ria frowned and prepared to take a step back but Astrelya reached out.

She lifted her hand and her bloodied thumb pressed against the centre of Ria’s forehead.

Red lines appeared as they crawled up Astrelya’s arms.

An Eclipse ritual.

Ria felt betrayed for a moment and wanted to struggle but Astrelya’s grip was firm.

"For the Eclipse that revels in chaos. For the one who smiles in calamity."

Ria clenched her teeth.

"Let her blade find its path. Let her strike carry the weight of her will. When hunger gnaws at her bones, when the world strips her bare and leaves nothing behind...

"Let her endure.

"Let her cling to life with bloodied hands and broken bones." Astrelya paused for a moment. Hesitation in her actions, her voice, her eyes.

The realisation in what she’s about to do.

Then... the acceptance.

"Let this youngling leave her home. Let her gain independence. Henceforth..."

Ria paused and Astrelya smiled knowingly.

"You are exiled from the Eclipse. May madness never stain your mind. May corruption never run through your veins. May your actions erase the mark of the Eclipse upon this land."

*RUMBLE!!!

Above, dark clouds gathered as blood pooled around them. With a shattering explosion, the clouds parted to reveal the fabrics of space being manipulated. And there, in the centre, the Eclipse hung while black ichor poured from the centre, submerging both Ria and Astrelya.

Ria was about to say something when she felt a burning sensation across her body. She gasped, choked and clenched her fist around Astrelya’s arm.

Markings appeared across her body.

Ritualistic ones.

Then... it began to fade.

From the edges, the markings disappeared one by one until Ria’s body was cleansed of the Eclipse’s influence.

Panting heavily... Ria’s arms trembled as she looked at Astrelya in disbelief.

"Did you just... why?" She questioned.

"Why not? You’ve already shown me you don’t want any part of the Eclipse. What use is there to keep its mark on you?" Astrelya chuckled.

Through their time together, Ria had made her stance clear.

Even this hunt, while technically involved with the Eclipse’s authority, wouldn’t push Ria onto the path Enris desired.

It was clear to Astrelya.

Ria will never inherit the Eclipse no matter what.

Thus she released her from her duty.

"Now go, or do you need more time to rest?" Astrelya took a step back, snapping her finger as the eclipse and blood disappeared from the ruins of Ayr as though they never existed.

Ria opened her mouth but... what else can she even say?

"If you can clear this trial... I believe erasing the markings of the Eclipse like I’ve done shouldn’t pose an issue for you at all." Astrelya yawned while climbing onto her cloud.

"Didn’t you say you wanted to wipe out the Eclipse? I’ve given you the foundations of a weapon. Whether or not you can make it a reality is up to you."

Ria exhaled through her nose before looking up at the Lord of Stars.

There was only one thing she could say in this moment.

It wasn’t to question why she had gone against Enris or the goal behind her actions.

Rather...

"Thank you."

"Go on, just make sure you entertain me with your actions from now." Astrelya chuckled before snapping her finger.

An invisible force pushed Ria towards the gate as Ria smiled helplessly.

The smile faded as she placed her palms against the material.

Now that her hand had come into contact with the door, she could feel the evil on the otherside.

*Krk...

Ria gave the door a push as she shifted her weight forward. She anchored herself down and exerted as much force as possible.

With a low groan, the door was pushed open as the interior revealed itself.

The first thing that Ria saw was the chains.

They hung from the walls, the floor, the pillars and even the ceiling.

Countless chains protruding from all directions, converging around a single figure at the centre of the hall.

Every limb was constrained, restricting her movements.

Rather than an experimental site, this felt more like... A prison.

Hayil was tall. Even kneeling, her size was evident. A size similar to Allura.

She had radiant gold hair that reached the floor. Some of the strands had lost its glow, turning into a white silver instead.

Behind her, tangled with chains, were wings. White feathers stained with blood around the edges.

There was a collar around her neck with metal teeth biting into flesh.

With the sound of Ria’s arrival, the chains rang out from Hayil’s movements as she glanced up, revealing her face.

Ria paused.

Truly befitting the name of Angel. A beauty that left Ria speechless. Even with the dark circles and exhaustion in her face, her elegance couldn’t be hidden.

There was a sense of exhaustion in her eyes. A boredom seeing the new arrivals until...

Her pupils shook.

*RUMBLE!!!

The entire building shook as Hayil lifted her torso. Her gaze unmoving as blood dripped from her eyes.

Beauty twisting into horror in the split of a second.

"Ah... ARGHHH!!!" She let out a cry as cracks appeared across her body. Her skin tearing against chains from the force of her actions.

"ARGHH!!!!" A deep hatred that permeated her veins. Such visceral hatred that even Ria couldn’t help but take a step back in shock.

How could someone, something harbour such anger, such wrath.

*BANG!!!

The ground fractured beneath Hayil as the chains started to snap one by one, whipping against pillars and shattering them in the process.

"ENRISSS!!!!!"