Abyssal Awakening

Standing in the white Void, Ria was silent as she stared at the empty space where Hayil was a moment ago.

The angel abandoned by her creator.

All she felt for the girl was pity. Pity that Enris couldn’t even show her a fraction of love at the end. Even going as far as calling her a disgusting thing.

As though she and Nyer weren’t the root cause of Hayil’s suffering.

"Hayil’s story is a sad one. But one of many. How many suffer a similar fate to her in this world? Children being abandoned. People betrayed by the world around them, forced to step onto a path of destruction, never given a chance to do something ’good’." A voice echoed out as Ria exhaled slowly and turned around.

The Will of the Abyss.

A grin wide on his face.

"One of many but that doesn’t stop me from sympathising with her plight." Ria frowned.

"I never said you weren’t allowed to. I’m simply saying you shouldn’t be so hung up on one case." The Will chuckled.

"How else are you supposed to judge and cleanse the world if a single case like this brings you to your knees? Are you even prepared for all of the world’s evils?"

Ria clenched her fist.

"What’s the point of trying to judge humans when you’re unfeeling like a machine? A weapon? What difference if both render judgment without hesitation?"

The Will smirked in amusement.

"Perhaps you’re right. But some cases require the heart to be closed off. Some don’t deserve sympathy, and sometimes, empathy is the cruellest choice of all.

"What will you do when the person you forgive proceeds to slaughter millions? What if, in an act of retaliation, someone you forgive turns around and kills someone you love?" The Will leaned forward with a laugh.

"What then? Or will you put safety nets in place to stop them from doing so? Will you monitor them? To make sure they do good?" He asked.

"Killing someone doesn’t mean closing my heart. I can empathise with their suffering while still handing down judgement." Ria shook her head yet the Will seemed unconvinced.

"Can you, though? Let me give you a harder question then." He licked his lips.

"What if the person you trusted betrayed that trust? What if... Alice or Luke were to betray you? When the day comes where you have to judge your friends for their crime?" He cackled.

"Would you keep an open heart or would you judge them impartially? Can you promise you won’t be biased?"

Ria immediately punched toward the Will as he stepped to the side, dodging the strike.

"Don’t mock me. I trust that Alice and Luke will not stoop to such a level. But in the case they do, I will not let friendship blind me. Laws must be upheld. If the time comes when I have to judge them, I will do so with fairness."

She could only say this because she understood both Alice and Luke. She held them to a higher standard than the others.

Even though Alice was wilful, she didn’t wish harm for the world. Or else, someone like her could just splatter her blood everywhere without care and not clean up after herself. To let the world mutate in her wake.

Yet she doesn’t.

She wishes for the world to remain intact as she is just a simple girl at heart. A simple mead loving girl.

And as for Luke... She holds him to a higher standard than even Alice.

As the one who’s accompanied her the longest, as the one by her side.

If that day truly comes, then she will judge them fairly and bear the punishment with them.

To be friends is not to turn a blind eye to their crimes. It is to stand beside them and face the consequences together. To take part in their fall so you can pull them back up. To drag them onto the right path, no matter what.

That’s what being friends meant to Ria.

*Clap

The Will clapped his hands before avoiding the next strike.

"How admirable. But I am not here to lecture you on your beliefs. What I am here to do, is to judge what kind of title you are worthy of."

Snapping his finger, thunder echoed out in the white realm as dark clouds loomed overhead.

Energy surged and Ria felt an overwhelming amount of energy flow through her body.

Cracks splintered across her skin as her flesh burned.

"You may have lost the mark of the Eclipse but its divine authority continues to flow through your body. With that, it shall become the foundation of your power.

"However..." The Will narrowed his eyes.

With a flick of his finger, lightning crashed down on Ria’s body, splitting her flesh as blood evaporated. She crashed down on her knees, the pressure making it impossible for her to stand up.

"I think binding you by the ’logic’ of the Abyss is far too... primitive for someone of your desires. I think greed such as yours go far beyond."

Ria clenched her teeth.

Even if she can’t stand, even if she can’t walk, she can still look up in defiance.

Her eyes burned as she glared at the Will.

"What are you aiming for? Skulking around in the background. A rat." She squeezed out.

The Will smiled, flicking his finger. Another wave of lightning crashed down as Ria let out a scream of pain.

"What need is there for a pawn to understand the player’s actions? They direct and you obey. That is the hierarchy between us. You follow what you believe to be your ’will’, unaware that the course of fate has already been laid out before you."

"However..." He spread out his arms.

"As I lay out the pieces upon the chessboard, there will come a day when the vessel is complete. When the rules of heaven are overturned. And when that happens, I will be sitting there. At the front row seats."

Reaching out, he grabbed Ria by the head as a wide grin appeared on his face.

Strange black fragments started to manifest in shards, converging around his wrists and neck yet the Will simply snapped his finger, destroying them.

"I don’t believe I’m breaking any rules now am I? Constructing a title and enhancing authority based on what they already got. Or... Don’t tell me..." The Will cackled as a single horizontal line appeared on the right side of his face.

"Are you getting scared?" He opened one eye, glaring at the invisible presence beyond the realm.

"Ha!- HAHA!!! Are you finally feeling fear? Are you even capable of such emotion? Oh but don’t start complaining now. YOU set the rules. YOU made this board. Don’t start b*tching just because the players figured everything out." The Will created a portal beneath Ria and let go, allowing her to fall into a realm of storms and lightning tribulations.

"Now just keep watching by the side. Because we’re approaching that fated moment and things are quickly spiralling out of control." The Will closed his eye before shaking off the fragment that tried its best to cling on.

Just as he turned around, a pillar of lightning tore through the realm.

The Will couldn’t help but pause as he slowly turned around.

There, connecting the heaven and earth of this endless space of white, was a torrent of lightning energy crashing against anything and everything. It carved deep cavities where the realm collapsed under the pressure as the Will couldn’t help but let out a slight laugh.

Clearly surprised by what he was witnessing.

From that pillar, a silhouette slowly emerged as Ria stepped out.

Lightning clung onto her body, snapping at her yet she was unfazed.

Her breathing was uneven, burn marks traced her skin. Her flesh was stitching itself back together.

A tenacity like no other. An aspect of Famine now repurposed into something else entirely. It didn’t deprave, it endured.

Her eyes burned with fury. Not the wild uncontrollable berserker like wrath but rather something more controlled. A storm waiting to be unleashed.

"Well well well... Would you look at that." The Will was clearly impressed.

This was the first time someone had crawled their way back up personally after he sent them to be remoulded into a vessel befitting their title.

Instead, Ria was reconstructing herself with the new authority manually. She wasn’t letting the realm do the work. She took over.

"I suppose I should say congratulations. How does it feel? Breaching the threshold into Lordship?" The Will smirked as Ria took a deep breath.

She glanced down at her hands. At the flesh being reconstructed then tempered under this lightning.

She could feel a foreign- No... a new power floating through her body, waiting to be summoned.

Authority.

"I must say... I expected you to reject the titles I would offer but not so soon. You didn’t even see all of the options available." He shook his head helplessly.

Ria clicked her tongue.

"Was there even a choice? Everything was pointed toward one thing."

". . ." His grin widened.

He couldn’t play the fool in front of this girl it seems.

"Perhaps. Since that’s the case, I must congratulate you on stepping into your role upon this play." The Will clapped his hand once more.

Snapping his fingers, the endless white of the realm faded away as stellar radiance filled the skies.

And from Ria’s shadow, the glass like floor rippled outward as an icon slowly took form.

"I welcome a new authority onto this world." The Will bowed slightly, a respectful gesture.

The icon solidified, Ria’s vessel was complete and she fully ascended into Lordship.

"I welcome...

"The Scales of Heaven."