Abyssal Awakening

Making an escape device was both simple yet complicated. Simple in the fact that she already possesses all of the necessary ’ingredients’ to construct such an item.

However, it is difficult in the fact that she needed to make sure the item lasted long enough while also ensuring that it could bypass whatever barrier Nyer would put in place to block out signals.

If she focused on using Void, Nyer would cancel it out. Thus she must use something else.

And that something else was a concept similar to Void Steps and even the attack that Kazira used.

The natural friction between realms.

When she tried to use Void Axis against Nyer, the issue was the fact that it used Void as a base.

But what if she eliminated that aspect?

To isolate and focus only on the natural friction between realms rather than ’what’ realm the surface is colliding with.

If she does this, she essentially transforms her attack into an elementless attribute. Or rather, one that holds the aspect of Space more than anything.

Fight fire with fire. Space with Space.

She needed to ensure that this manipulation of Space was fully under her control or else Nyer might have an authority that overrides her control.

"The best way to isolate this control from Nyer’s authority would be to use my own laws. My own rules. To link it to my inner world." Alice mumbled as she took aim with the spear.

Crackles of energy rippled across its surface as she coated and infused the spear with Ruinous Void’s power while also using aspects of Void Fang on it.

She made sure not to use the ’damaged’ parts that Nyer had permanently inflicted upon it.

Sparks of Void power flickered on the tip of the spear but Alice quickly activated both Cayla and her powers of duality. To invert and cut it off before it fully tapped into the Void, leaving behind only the power to rupture space itself.

The power to breach realms.

But it wasn’t enough.

She needed to compress it more. Make it faster.

She needed to ensure that the techniques of Void Step weren’t lost while also maintaining the lethality of Void Axis.

Taking a deep breath, Alice exhaled softly.

She recalled Allura’s application of her own authority. The sight of her attacks shredding through everything.

She recalled Kaden’s casting control.

Power, Efficiency, and Speed.

Then, there’s also the further optimization of removing certain steps to achieve maximum results.

The form of a spear was... not good enough.

She needed something outside the box. Lifting the spear up slightly before letting go, Alice started to transform it using Void Fang.

A weapon to help her cast.

A weapon to help her move faster than simply using Void Step.

A weapon that can breach space.

Countless ideas flooded her mind as she recalled the sight of Sigurd forging his weapons and artifacts.

Void Fang was damaged. That part can’t be used as a clashing weapon, or it risks being completely destroyed.

However, she could still split the weapon into sections.

’The damaged portion will simply be responsible for carrying me.’ Alice narrowed her eyes.

Then there was Ruinous Void.

It had six forms, six abilities. Three for physical combat, three for casting.

Lance form guarantees a single hit. Three attacks before exhaustion.

Gauntlet form leaves behind a detonation zone similar to what Allura did. She can choose to detonate these zones whenever she wants, and these will ignore most armour.

Axe form. The slowest but most destructive. A form that Alyss rarely used, as it obstructs regeneration while also ensuring the next hit on the target does more damage.

Unbound form is capable of using the Void’s power to push or pull. Capable of opening pathways to the Void at will.

Fractured Form, one of Alice’s favourites. Unleashes the chaotic nature of the Void, fracturing the reality around her. Blocks realm based resonances, and Void based abilities gain a slight boost.

And finally, Singularity form. It transforms the weapon into a medium for her abilities, significantly increasing all aspects of casting while also improving efficiency.

Narrowing her eyes, Alice had a daring idea.

A risky one that could cost her the weapon if she wasn’t careful with how she handled it.

Ideally, something she should let Sigurd do, but with things as they are, she had no choice but to attempt it herself.

She’ll split the Void Fang into three sections while also fusing each section with two aspects of Ruinous Void.

*BANG!!!

Swapping out a few of her Sigils, flames converged around her location as Alice forcefully created a forge for the time being.

Strands of energy were exposed to her view.

Clasping her hands together, a single spark of radiance appeared as the flames around her danced in joy.

The flames of this forge shall be those of the Primordial Fire!

*RUMBLE!!!

Waving her hand, the spear broke apart as Ruinous Void was summoned in front of her.

She could see the different clusters of energy they were representative of. Clenching her teeth, Alice narrowed her eyes.

"Hold on for me. I’m going to reforge you into something better. Let’s get revenge on the Zenia family and Nyer." Alice spoke softly.

Her personal artifact was created through... heinous deeds that the Zenia family has done. Not only that, but it had a consciousness of its own to some degree.

Treating it as a tool was too cruel in Alice’s eyes.

So unless the artifact agrees, she’ll stop this process if she must.

However, the artifact started to shift through the different forms, making it easier for Alice to separate each of the authorities that it possessed.

A confident smile appeared on her face.

"Alright. Grit your teeth. I’ll make it as painless as possible."

*BANG!!!

Creating a blade, Alice swung up and split the different clusters of strands.

Almost immediately, the artifact shattered apart with countless pieces erupting from the inside.

The energy of the Void was going out of control with its vessel now broken but Alice wasn’t done.

Flicking her finger, Alice immediately started repairs using Void Fang.

Since she was breaking everything into three different weapons, Alice decided to focus most of her attention on the damaged portion first.

To ensure that it’s the most stable.

The two aspects of Ruinous Void she’ll apply will be Unbound Form and Gauntlet Form!

The ability to actively use the push and pull of the Void to serve as transport while also using the Gauntlet form to create pockets where she can detonate for an extra boost in speed.

The second weapon will be one for attack. The guaranteed hit of Lance Form and the ability to breach realms using the Fractured Form.

And finally, the third weapon.

The raw destructive power of Axe form while also using the Singularity Form to enhance her casting.

Thus ideally, it offsets the issue of the Axe form being slow.

Of course, the main issue with transforming her weapon into three is that recombining them might become an issue.

But when she recalls how Nyer was able to easily fracture this ’unbreakable’ weapon, this was a sacrifice that must be done.

If she needs a sword... she’ll simply ask Sigurd to make one when they next meet! He owes him a couple of artifacts after all.

With the blueprint now created, Alice needed to condense the form.

Tiamat!

*BANG!!!

Activating Tiamat’s wings, Alice started to absorb an obscene amount of energy in order to compress, condense, and solidify its final form.

Not only that, but she also started to shave away the aspects of the Void that she was so proud of.

She needed to transform these weapons into Realm Breaching weapons rather than Void based weapons!

However, as Alice carved away what she deemed unnecessary, another issue appeared.

All three weapons started to break apart!

Without Void acting as a foundation, they had nothing to latch onto! #

Clenching her teeth, Alice could feel panic settling in, but a hand touched her shoulder.

Cayla.

"Have you forgotten who you are? What else do you think can serve as a foundation?" She chuckled.

"The first weapon for movement shall be granted the Authority of the Crown. You will gain the ability of traversal." Cayla lifted her hand as a Sigil started to weave into existence, serving as the foundation for the weapon.

"For the weapon that pierces all defences and guarantees that it strikes true, you shall be granted the Authority of the Eye. I bestow upon you the ability to see the truth."

A second Sigil manifested as the weapon calmed down and started to stabilize.

And finally...

"For the weapon meant to destroy, you shall be granted the Authority of the Heart. Let all energy flow through your vessel. May you never break."

As the third Sigil condensed above the weapon, all three were linked as a new tether shot out, latching onto Alice’s soul.

These weapons were bound to her and her authority as Velouria’s successor.

Even if Nyer created a new vessel, unless the vessel had Alice’s soul as well as the three artifacts, it’ll never be used against her.

And because it was linked to her soul, the changes to her inner world would also be reflected on it.

"Velouria’s three artifacts are the Crown, Eyes and Heart. I suppose these three can be classified as yours. So go on, give them a good name." Cayla chuckled.

In this storm of spatial energy and primordial fire, three weapons were formed.

They hovered silently in the air, waiting for Alice to claim them.

At first glance, they resembled oversized swords. Yet upon closer inspection, they looked more akin to cannons rather than blades.

A shimmering black material made up their body, streaked with veins of silver that pulsed with a cluster of different energy sources. Yet much like Alice’s body, these new vessels were able to hold it without any issue.

Rings of light hovered around each weapon as the light was similar to the crown that used to hover around Alice’s head.

Looking at these weapons, Alice wondered what kind of name she should give them.

In the end, she could only think of one.

Aegis Array.