Abyssal Awakening

"ARGH!!!" Waking up with a scream of pain, Rosalyn felt her world spin.

Her eyelids fluttered, pupils darting around in panic.

Cold, so very cold.

Straps locked against her wrists and ankles, preventing her from leaving.

Her skin on the verge of tearing from the straps, poison seeping into her flesh. Her regeneration failing her.

In front of her, a metal table could be seen with different vials of poisons, rotting flowers and needles.

"Awake at last." A voice mumbled as Leoric stepped into the room with a pair of gloves.

There were bangs under his eyes as Rosalyn wanted to step away but couldn't.

Her body was bound.

"Are you feeling more cooperative now? Or are you going to keep being stubborn? I see the cracks in your mind. I see your desire to walk away from this pain. So why not make it easier for the both of us?" Leoric asked, lifting a few vials of his poison and giving it a light shake.

He observed the reflection against the lights before putting it back down.

His fingers, gently caressing the different vials with such delicacy.

Rosalyn opened her mouth, hesitating but clamping her jaw shut in the end.

Despite her fear, her eyes glared at the Lord in front of her.

"Why must you force me so? But everyone talks in the end. It's simply a case of how much they can endure." Leoric picked up a needle and jabbed it into Rosalyn's neck.

Black veins bulged as she immediately began choking her own saliva. Her body convulsed as her bloodshot eyes glared at the man in front of her.

"Such a stubborn little bird. Let's just hope he's not the same." Leoric shook his head, stepping away from Rosalyn as he walked into the next room.

Jin's room.

He was chained to a chair that's secured to the floor.

There were countless incisions across his body, forced open with clamps and his blood being extracted one drop at a time.

Dark tendrils of corruption writhed in his body, trying their best to keep him alive.

Leoric's hand lifted Jin's head, his gaze hazy and blurred, unable to focus.

"He's very brave. Even after using the most effective poisons I had against Eldritch energy, he maintained his silence. So perhaps I must use a different approach when it comes to the two of you." Leoric scratched his chin.

Injecting a new vial into Jin's body to wake him up, Leoric melted the wall between them.

"How about I give you an offer? The first to tell me the answer I want to know will be spared from my most potent poison. It's a vial I'd rather not use against people as even for me, I'll pity your fate." He offered.

Instead of answering, Jin bit his tongue and spat corrupt blood at Leoric while Eldritch energy regenerated his wound.

He put on a forced smile.

No matter what, he won't tell Leoric about Alice.

After everything his master has done for him, helping him live with this body, he refused to sell her out.

The blood that came into contact with Leoric's body seeped into his pores. The skin darkening from corruption.

But it only lasted a moment before being neutralised by the power inside his body.

"And what about you? Are you of the same thought?" Leoric turned to Rosalyn who was still convulsing from the poison.

"F*ck… you… Kill me if you dare…" Rosalyn squeezed out.

*Sigh…

"Why must the two of you be so stubborn? Just because I can't kill you doesn't mean I can't make you suffer. And the tools I have at my disposal are numerous. Do you really think someone will be able to find you in Terminus?" Leoric asked as Rosalyn grinned.

"Yeah… My brother will."

Leoric scratched his chin.

"Then let's see if your brother can find you first before you break."

No matter what, he needed the information they're keeping from him.

If he finds out how to fuse people with Eldritch energy along with the other sources, he'll be able to conduct experiments on how to create a perfect vessel.

And when he does…

'Wait for me Marina.' Leoric sighed inwardly as he stepped towards Rosalyn.

###

Deep in Terminus, a pair hid within the depths of a cave.

A man and a woman.

The woman was heavily wounded with countless stitches across her body, haphazard but sufficient for now in an emergency situation.

The man, peered out of the cave, checking the beasts that ran past them.

"F*ck… there's no end to these things." He mumbled.

Both of them were exhausted and had a lack of sleep. Not that they could sleep in the first place.

With this miasma, their bodies struggled to properly adapt to the changes.

And in these depths, they couldn't drop their guard.

Climbing back into the cave, he checked out the woman's wounds.

They were beginning to fester from the mix of miasma and poison.

"I can hold out for now… We need to find the others first." The woman groaned, trying to stand up but he forced her to sit down.

"The others are fine for now. We need to sort out some help for you first." He shook his head.

"Ria has Astrelya with her it seems. Jin has Rosalyn. Both of them have Lords to cover for them while we're… I don't need to say more." He smiled bitterly.

He was already struggling with surviving even with others covering for him.

But now, they were stuck in the most dangerous part of the Abyss with no one else to rely on.

Isolde had already pushed herself to the limit in order for the two of them to escape a pack of beasts.

If they don't find some help soon…

Luke shook his head, forcing himself to think about something else instead.

In times like this, he shouldn't despair. He should be looking towards the different possibilities and actions he could be taking.

Every second he spent worrying about whether or not he'll die is another second that could be spent looking for a way out.

Isolde let out a soft sigh and nodded her head.

She rested against the cavern walls…

The feeling of blood slowly leaving her body.

Her eyelids were heavy and warmth faded from her fingertips.

'Is this where I die?' She asked herself.

Luke was trying his best but she looked at things realistically.

The odds of her surviving was low, especially with these wounds.

It didn't help that he was a supportive kind of fighter. If she's taken out of commission, he wouldn't be able to hold his own.

The chances of both of them surviving was probably lower than 5%.

And that's just surviving, it didn't include somehow getting out of this place.

Is this where her journey ends?

Falling short of her desires.

She wanted to kill Lumiria, to make her pay for everything that she has done.

To get revenge for the children that put their trust in her.

She had given up everything. She has even given up her own soul yet…

"It's not enough…" Isolde mumbled, tears appearing in the corner of her eyes.

What more does she need to give? What else does she have left to give?

Frustration.

That feeling dominated her heart.

A suffocating kind of sensation that made her want to cry out at the heavens.

To cry out at their unfairness.

She was even abandoned by the Outer God she had put her faith into.

Luke was silent.

He could see the light reflecting from her tears.

He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist.

He knew he wasn't reliable. Not in this situation. He wasn't unwavering like Alice, strong like Ria.

He was just there for support. Nothing more, nothing less.

Useless and a burden.

No matter what they might tell him, he knew that to be the truth.

What use is a buffer if the enemies can kill them immediately? What use is an ally if he can't carry his weight?

What right does he have to stand next to Ria if he couldn't even do the simple action of protecting himself?

How can he promise to keep her safe if he can't survive in this environment?

Luke glared at the cavern exit.

He could hear a slithering sound approaching them.

A beast had wandered in.

A Hunter's power is tied to their mindset.

That's the lesson Allura kept trying to teach him but he couldn't quite grasp it in the end.

What difference could it truly make? He tried thinking differently, he tried thinking logically.

But even so, even when he adjusted his approach for his powers, he found himself lacking.

He tried to copy Alice's strongest attack only for the rebound to destroy his arm when he tried to activate it.

He realised how much of a monster she is… And how much of a burden he had become.

Anger filled his veins.

Anger at himself.

Summoning his grimoire, he created a chess piece and applied it to himself.

A Hunter's power is tied to their mindset.

At this point, there was nothing else Luke could cling to.

Even if he wins, he still has to face the storm of terror that is Terminus.

And if he loses…

'Would Ria and Alice grieve for me?'

*Slap.

Luke slapped himself on the face, he couldn't believe he was already thinking of death.

He wanted to stand beside Ria not make her cry.

Yet in times of desperation, he was thinking about what she'll look like after he died?

"Pathetic." He mumbled.

Yeah, it was a pathetic sight.

How could he think of making her go through that.

A Hunter's power is tied to their mindset.

No matter what, Luke vowed to survive this ordeal. If he needs to change his mindset, then so be it. Even if he doesn't understand it properly, he'll force his body to learn!

Applying more chess pieces to himself, Luke dashed towards the beast blocking the entrance.

He'll learn it no matter what.

Or die trying.