Abyssal Awakening

Gwen was immediately on guard.

Something about this… 'person' was ringing all kinds of warning bells in her mind.

Every fibre of her being told her to get away, to avoid him at any cost.

But in this vast landscape of emptiness, where could she even go? She tried to circulate her energy, she tried to summon her flames but nothing.

It was just him and her, with no one else to come help.

"Why the cautiousness? I don't believe I've said anything to warrant your aggression or wariness. Yet." The Will chuckled, sitting on an invisible chair with his legs crossed.

Gwen was like a frightened animal right now, her fur standing on end.

But even so…

So what? The Will couldn't care less about what she was about to try and do. That is if she even had the courage to do so in the first place.

"Who are you?"

"Did Alice not tell you? Well then again, I suppose why would she? You can call me the Will of the Abyss. I'm the operator of this realm." The Will laughed, snapping his fingers.

In that moment, Gwen felt an invisible force grab her and force her to sit down on an invisible seat.

No matter how she tried to move her body, it wouldn't listen to her.

"Now then. With you completing your bounty, here are the selection of skills you can choose from. Of course, you can even choose to inherit a portion of his title of Wrath but I don't think you have the heart for that." The Will chuckled, creating seven cards for her to choose from.

He placed them on an invisible table and gestured for her to take her pick.

"If you're the operator, how come I've never seen you before?" Gwen asked with a slight frown.

The Will tilted his head.

"Does a peasant have the authority to meet with a king in private? No right? So why would you?"

Gwen ignored his blatant insult.

"Then why now? Why are you letting me meet you now?"

"Why wouldn't I? You opened the doors to your own potential. You've become more than a peasant." The Will laughed, leaning back before snapping his fingers.

The options floated in front of Gwen, forcing her to stare at her choices.

"Go on, make your choice. I must remind you that there is still the case of bestowing a title to you. And I must say, if you choose to take too much time, I may lose interest."

Furrowing her brows, Gwen let out a sigh before turning her eyes towards the Sigils presented to her.

The… Sigil of Wrath looked to be a powerful one. However.

That's only if she keeps the fire of wrath burning brighter than any sun in her heart.

Gwen knew that she didn't have that kind of rage. At least not yet. She doubted she'll be able to make full use of this Sigil.

Therefore, she chose the Sigil she had originally intended to get.

The Bladeweaver's Arsenal.

The power to summon up to six weapons forged by fusing artifacts. Then, as the fight progresses, she'll be able to access the crucible to forge the seventh blade. A blade crafted to directly counter her opponent.

"As expected, you're going after this one in the end. What a shame, and here I thought the Lord of Wrath will finally get a user." The Will shook his head with a small smile.

A Lord title associated with the seven sins.

Pride, Greed, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Wrath and Sloth.

It was difficult to find the right inheritor for these titles. But so long as they live by that sin, the power they can exhibit was far greater than most.

If Syrion had fully lost himself in his wrath, if he had given up his sense of self for power, he would've become a weapon like no other.

"What a shame."

With Gwen making her choice, the Will recalled the other pieces to his side.

Flicking his wrist, they disappeared.

"What did you mean when you said I was more than a peasant? What door did I open?" Gwen asked with a frown.

The Will glanced over and scratched his chin.

He was currently imbuing the card with threads of energy, pieces of the contract.

Thinking about it, he curved his lips into a smile.

What's the harm in telling her?

"Long ago, I had what you could call a daughter of sorts. Mortal but gifted in all the ways. A bundle of potential and she achieved something no one else had before her. She created her own divine throne. A self ascending goddess, that's what she was.

"In her veins ran my power. Power beyond mortals, beyond Lords. Beyond Apostles. When you discarded the blessings of Solaris, what did you feel inside?" The Will turned to Gwen, finger tapping against the centre of her chest.

In an instant, fire erupted from her body and golden markings appeared across her skin.

On her forehead, the crest of the golden sun.

"I doubt even Solaris expected this outcome. That you would usurp his power in such a manner." The Will laughed.

Like how he was forced to share his authority with Velouria, Gwen now had the seed of divinity within her. Waiting for the perfect chance to blossom into a new throne.

One that destroys the old order.

"Congratulations girl. You may rejoice. You have become one of the few that have broken out the cage of the divine thrones." The Will spread his arms out before clasping it together.

Beneath Gwen, the realm opened to reveal a yawning chasm. An infinite darkness where she began to fall.

"I hope your title is one that benefits your goals."

With that, the entrance sealed her shut.

Gwen was forced to close her eyes.

The miasma of the Abyss invading her body from all sides.

The temperature dropped. She could feel a coldness settling in. Tips of her fingers losing sensation, her ears frost bitten. Gwen felt like she was plunged in the deep northern waters.

But strangely… Deep within, a warmth began to appear.

A small pulsing heart beat.

Each beat would invigorate the ember in her chest, the warmth that spread across her body. Her lungs, her muscles, her limbs.

Her entire body.

Words flashed through her mind, disconnected sentences with no start or end.

"…before the stars, there was silence…"

"…a flare without origin, a path without a map…"

The feeling of falling disappeared and Gwen was on her own two feet. Her eyes yet still refused to open.

She was standing on a silent path, a choice to be made before her.

She could feel several sources of warmth leading to multiple directions. Some strong, some weak.

Some hot, some cold.

Her heart was telling her to seek the hottest flame.

She navigated the maze of darkness, avoiding the flames that tried to persuade her mind.

The further she travelled, the louder the words became.

"…the dawn does not ask to be born…"

"…from stillness, a flare…"

Gwen could feel it clearly. This fire burning away at her body.

Like a moth to a flame, she couldn't help but reach out.

She felt a pain searing through her flesh but she endured.

She could feel her bones melting but she endured.

Gwen felt her entire existence faltering in front of this fire but she endured!

She couldn't back out.

Every part of her, her mind, her soul, cried out for her to endure. To keep pushing on, to claim this fire as her own.

"…all things return to ash. And from that ash the first ember is found…"

Gwen felt an overwhelming blade of light slashing through the darkness, erasing the veil placed over her eyes. She could feel the pain slowly disappearing before transforming into a gentle warmth that filled her body.

The world had gone quite and Gwen opened her eyes.

Before her stretched an infinite horizon in every direction. Not land not sea. Not the cosmic map that stretched overhead.

But a strange, endless field of fire. Fire that burned without source.

Not fires of destruction.

Rather it was strangely… comforting for Gwen. Serene and peaceful.

A garden of fire for her to enjoy.

And at the very centre of this field, there was a single bundle of fire that waited for her approach.

A coil of red and blue blending together in harmony, pulsing in synchronisation with her heartbeat.

It flickered, it steadied.

A dance of elegance in the form of a fire.

Gwen found herself walking towards that fire subconsciously. Her hands reached out towards the hearth.

"…I bow before the promethean goddess…"

She felt the fire around her bowing to her presence. They were submitting themselves to her control.

And the fire in front of her… the first spark.

The first ember.

The very first flame.

Life, death, light and darkness. Polarising characteristics fused into one, the origin of all.

Unable to hold herself back, Gwen reached out.

The flames coiling around her hands then plunging into her heart. A merger.

She felt her soul shifted to accommodate the fire, the golden markings across her body shifting to a pulsing red and blue.

Gone was the influence of Solaris's order. Her body had been purified.

Clenching her fist, six blades erupted from pillars of fire.

Each an extension of her will, each waiting for an artifact to be reforged by the fires of genesis.

Then, in her heart, Gwen could feel the presence of the seventh. The crucible of her heart blood, the blade that will reach god.

As the fires slowly disappeared, Gwen found herself back in the pristine realm that was the Will's home.

In front of her, he clapped his hands.

"My my, would you look at that. Aren't you something? To dig through all the possibilities and end up with… this." He praised.

Snapping his fingers, fire coiled into words that hovered between them.

Gwen's title.

Abyss Lord of the First Flame.