Abyssal Awakening

With Feris now tapping into her authority, three tethers of energy stabbed into her back as her entire frame convulsed. Whether or not it was from pain couldn't be discerned but the Lord felt a rush of danger down his spine.

Quickly spinning around, he clashed his sword vertically as an arc of energy slashed through debris that had been teleported towards him.

Though his authority was not one that prioritised combat, his physical power and other abilities are more than enough to take care of most dangers.

However, with Feris tapping into an unknown power, he was starting to feel a sense of foreboding.

Through his experience, taught by a history of combat, he understood what must be done immediately without holding back.

Kill the woman before she can get any stronger.

He didn't have evidence but his soul was screaming at him to stop her at all cost.

A hunch.

One that he obeyed.

Taking a deep breath, the Lord closed his eyes.

"I offer my left arm. I offer my left leg. I offer two years of my life span. Offerings confirmed. Execute!"

*BANG!!!

"ARGH!!!" Letting out a cry, the Lord clenched his teeth as bloody jaws erupted from the ritualistic circle around him.

Flesh like appendages with jaws attached to the end bit down against his arm and leg, tearing them off and swallowing them.

Another stabbed through his chest as a strange shimmering energy was sucked away.

Sweat dripped from his forehead but he didn't care.

With the cost accepted, a flood of energy flowed through his body.

Bloody mist formed a cloud like texture, hovering just behind his back while black armour wrapped around his body.

Prosthetics covered his missing limbs as his golden eye erupted with a radiant flame.

His vision shifted.

Flames converged in certain spots, highlighting dangers while a path stretched before him.

A path of crimson and black flames.

The flames of death.

So long as he follows this path, Feris will die.

No doubt about it.

Exhaling softly, he rested the blade by his side.

*BANG!!!

Speed faster than before.

He breached the defensive layers that Feris had created an appeared before her instantly.

Yet…

"Heh."

A grin that stretched from one ear to another.

A forced grin that looked almost painful.

'This girl…'

Widening his eyes, the Lord's vision was suddenly filled with a flames.

Danger!

Compressing flames into a single orb, he detonated it between them as his body was flung back.

*BANG!!!

Where he was a moment ago, distorted pillars of air intersected.

If he was any slower in moving…

Those pillars would've warped his body. And doing so… Causing his death.

Sweat dripped from his forehead to his chin.

He could see the connection between the girl and the main fragment.

No doubt she was resonating with a different source of energy.

One that his master had been eyeing for a while.

Thankfully, she hadn't claimed the source of power yet. This was merely 'borrowing'.

"Offering. Disable Sigils one, three, four, five and seven. Retain usage of Two and six for the current battle."

Lights dimmed across his body but by disabling certain abilities, he was able to reinforce and enhance what he had left.

Bringing his sword up to eye level, he aimed at Feris's head.

*BANG!!!

Stabbing forward, the ground between them split apart.

This attack, when enhanced, should be far faster than anything she'll be able to react to. An attack that could bypass the defences she put in place.

Once it hits, her head should roll.

"!!!"

The world seemed to slow. Flames halted, debris froze in the air.

'What's going on? Why is everything slow?'

His eyes widened.

'Is it an attack? What's going on?'

He wanted to move his limbs but everything was slow.

'Wait… am I about to die?'

Realisation hit instantly as he noticed his attack was missing.

The stab he put everything into had been swallowed by a portal suspended in front of Feris's head.

If it was swallowed by the Abyss, where did it go?

And based on her previous habits…

'BEHIND!'

Clenching his teeth, the Lord twisted his body and raised his blade behind his head.

*CLANG!!!

He deflected his own attack, causing his blade to shatter.

But that was preferred over losing his own head as a result.

Tumbling across the ground, the Lord quickly jumped into the air and avoided a follow up attack that Feris had sent.

The golden flames flickered in his eyes.

Countless spots of fire filled his vision. All dangers as they were traps deployed by Feris.

'Troublesome!'

Even though his blade was broken, he could still use it as a medium for his attacks!

Holding his breath, countless 'paths' appeared as his blade traced the outline.

*RUMBLE!!!

Countless slashes appeared across space as Feris's smile froze momentarily.

All of her traps had been disarmed and destroyed.

"Feris! Get ready to retreat!" Noah shouted.

Different factions were making their move and the longer she's held up against this Lord, the harder it'll be for her to leave.

Just as she was about to turn around, the Lord came face to face with her.

"!!!"

She ducked under his horizontal slash as he countered with an uppercut.

Quickly creating a portal for his punch to be redirected towards his own rib, Feris tried to do the same.

*BANG!!!

Despite landing her upper cut, his head didn't move at all and instead, the pain was felt in her fist.

Holding back a curse, Feris snapped her finger.

The space between them was expanded as the distance between them grew. It wasn't simply a case of the ground being moved no. It was space itself.

The Lord found himself able to close the gap while Feris was still manipulating the realm.

This level of power…

Once a safe distance was created, she quickly created an exit portal and left the area.

With his prey leaving, the Lord clicked his tongue in frustration.

Unfortunately, there was nothing that could be done.

Tossing his blade away, he made his way back to his camp.

"And so the Lord of Sacrifice comes back emptyhanded. After using your arm and leg as offerings at that. Should we allocate more Lords to the matter?" A man asked with his arms behind his back.

He looked like a general with his uniform as the Lord of Sacrifice nodded his head.

"Though the girl shows little in terms of Abyssal energy, she is someone who has deeply resonated with the fragment hovering above the pit. Suffice to say, it's a fair assumption that she's a candidate for the seat of power.

"She is… weak in terms of experience in combat. But her instincts are frightening and one must be wary of the Void. I'm not sure how many Lords you are prepared to lose but ensure that if you do fight, it must be done so with absolute confidence."

"Hou?" The man raised an eyebrow. "For you to evaluate her in such a manner… seems like it is no easy target. Though I must ask… Did you hold back?"

The hooded man frowned before sitting down on a chair.

The armour around him slowly broke apart revealing his missing limbs.

"If you call two years of my life and missing limbs holding back then-"

"Pft, acting like we can't just reverse the damages done. If you're going to pretend to go all out, at least use twenty years of your life." The man interrupted. Framing the hooded Lord with his monocle, the man flipped a coin before spinning it with his finger.

"The fare has been paid."

Dropping the coin, the ground seemed to turn to liquid as it sunk deeper and deeper until it disappeared into nothingness.

At the same time, the hooded Lord's limbs were returned.

Giving his arms a stretch, he let out a sigh of frustration.

"Now then… I think a request for five Lords shouldn't be too much."

###

"Feris!" Noah called out as the group successfully retreated.

Feris collapsed onto the bed as her face was pale.

Even though she had successfully resonated with the Void Heart, the backlash of doing so wasn't something she had accounted for.

The stress of having her mind connected to an entire realm. The damage done to her body as her vessel wasn't quite ready to contain all of that power.

The only reason she was able to do half of what she did was because of the proximity to the Heart along with the status of the realm around them.

If the conditions weren't right…

"Hng!!!" Clenching her teeth, Feris twitched as purple cracks appeared around her body.

Her skin peeled back, revealing a shimmering Void instead of flesh.

Seeing the damage done to Feris's body and her pale face, Noah grew worried as did the others.

Just as he was about to say something, they noticed a purple energy stretching out from the Void heart.

The crystal in Feris's body reacted as her expression softened.

The wounds were mended and she fell asleep.

A complicated expression appeared across the group's face.

To stay or to leave…

There was one anchor left.

If they miss this chance, they doubt Feris would be able to 'reclaim' her missing half.

And more than that, the enemy will still come after her.

None of them could deny that Feris was special. Her connection to the Void goes beyond common sense.

Based on everything they've done so far, collecting fragments and bringing them here, Feris was a walking storage of power.

So there was only one option open to them.

They had to hold on long enough for Feris to claim all the power for herself.