Abyssal Awakening

"Momma? Are you tired?"

Isolde tried to focus but her vision was blurred.

This voice… she recognised it.

Alya…

The last child she sent into Lumiria's 'embrace'…

"Tired?..." Isolde muttered.

She could feel the weakness in her flesh.

But that wasn't all.

She was mentally tired.

Tired of it all.

Zal-Ka'Rith has left and Alice tried to help. Yet they were now split apart and she's stuck in the deepest depths of the Abyss.

Her wounds festering and miasma flowing through her body.

"Yeah… Momma is tired. But more than that… Momma is sorry." Isolde's throat tightened. Tears streaking down her face.

She couldn't do it.

She wasn't able to get the revenge she promised her children.

Even after giving up everything, she still couldn't do it.

"Is that the limit of your anger?"

Zal-Ka'Rith's voice.

Her Lord that abandoned her… Now questioning her desires?

How utterly humiliating.

"Of course it isn't… But what else can I do?" Isolde smiled bitterly.

She was at her limit. She stood atop a crumbling pillar waiting for her death.

What options are even open to her?

"Rage. Rage against your fate. Struggling until your last breath. Keep fighting until your body crumbles, until your spirit disperses. Let madness take root and guide your hand to Lumiria's throat.

"Was that not the tale you promised me? The tale of deicide written by your hands and sealed with divine blood?" Zal-Ka'Rith asked as Isolde clenched her fist.

"I had promised you support and power in return for the grandest of tales. Don't tell me your ambitions end here?" He asked.

The Outer God's shadow loomed over her and Isolde felt infinitely small.

Against a cosmic power like this, what could a mortal like herself do? Did she even have the right to choose? Or was she forced to be a puppet that danced to his tunes.

"Of course they don't…" Isolde gritted her teeth.

"Good, remember that."

###

"Oi… Are you okay?"

Isolde creased her brows, she felt a hand gently tapping her face.

Little by little, she opened her eyes despite feeling the exhaustion and pain across her body.

"Ah… So I'm still alive." Isolde muttered, causing Luke to let out a sigh.

"Were you expecting me to kick the bucket because of that thing over there?" He gestured behind him, the corpse of the beast now butchered and harvested for useful materials.

Isolde paused and let out a sigh.

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Instead, how do your arms and legs feel? Would be bad if your regeneration healed your wounds badly." Luke asked.

He had created a set of braces for Isolde's injuries.

A tip that he had learned from Gin.

Isolde moved her arms.

Painful but at least she could move them.

"Yeah it's good."

"Alright, we'll rest up for a day while I sort out some food then we'll keep moving. The smell of blood will attract more beasts so I need to sort that out too." Luke mumbled.

Now that Isolde was awake again, he continued to sort out the carcass.

The only reason why he woke her up in the first place was because she kept mumbling in her sleep.

Isolde glanced at Luke's back.

Something was different about him.

"You can probably leave me behind you know?" Isolde looked up at the ceiling.

Even though she told Zal-Ka'Rith her ambitions don't end here, desires and reality are two very different things.

Right now, she couldn't fight nor could she help in anything else.

A burden, nothing more.

"Are you still half asleep? Why would I abandon you in the Abyss?" Luke frowned while hacking away at the carcass.

"I'm not half asleep. Just looking at the realistic picture." Isolde shuffled a little to sit up.

But feeling a jolt of pain, she slumped back down.

"You should've just told me if you wanted to sit up. You're an injured person right now." Luke made his way over and helped her sit properly.

Even making sure her wounds wouldn't affect her too much.

Thoughts flashed through Isolde's mind.

Perhaps this is what it felt to be cared after. All this time, she was always the one doing the caring at the orphanage.

Then, when everything had happened, she was responsible for herself.

Zal-Ka'Rith didn't speak much, only occasional peeps to check in on her.

It was only recently that he spoke more, then… He left.

"But I won't abandon you. If I do, how would I face the others? And…" Luke paused, a small smile appeared on his face.f

"How would I face Ria if I were to abandon an ally in a dangerous situation?"

Hearing this, Isolde let out a small chuckle.

"I see… Humour me a little." She smiled.

"Can you tell me a little more about you two? You and Ria."

Isolde had to admit, she was curious. What pushes him to try so hard even when she's not present?

Perhaps it's due to her own history, or perhaps she gave Zal-Ka'Rith more than just her soul. But these… expressions and actions, she was unfamiliar with them.

Luke tilted his head, he wasn't sure what she meant.

"Care to clarify?"

"Hmm… what pushes someone to work so hard even when they're not here. Sorry if it comes out wrong, but can't you just hide it?" Isolde asked.

Surely it would be easy for him to hide the fact that he left her behind? Maybe she died in an ambush.

Or maybe they were separated and he couldn't find her.

No one would blame him yet… he was still trying.

Luke scratched his hair and sat down next to her.

"Why not. It'll be a good change of pace to talk about something else." He chuckled.

"You know about our history with the Eclipse right?" Luke asked as Isolde nodded.

"Just a little here and there."

"I see… Well, Ria was taken before me so I can't tell you much about the events before it. Let's se… I guess I'll start when we first met." Luke smiled.

Even though they were both stuck in the Eclipse, the memory of the two of them brought a sense of warmth to his heart.

###

"Argh!" A young boy let out a cry as he was tossed into a cell.

His small body slammed against the cold hard floor as the heavy metal doors shut behind him.

He turned around only to see his captor walking away.

"Ah! Let me go! I don't wa-" He cried after the man only to be held back by another pair of hands, one covering his mouth.

"Shh! If you keep shouting they'll beat you!" Another kid whispered, his voice trembling in fear.

Around them, the cell was crowded with different faces. Some pale, some calm. And some on the verge of tears.

They were all captives of the Eclipse Cult, every one of them caught and thrown into this cell waiting for the next ritual.

Some had been here for months, obeying the ritual and doing their best to survive. Some were new like him, fearful of what's to come.

And Luke was part of the new batch.

When the sound of footsteps finally faded away, the older boy withdrew his hands and let out a sigh of relief. He gave Luke a glare and walked back to where he was sitting a moment ago.

Luke crawled to a corner and sat down, hugging his knees. He could still remember what had happened before being dragged here…

The sight of his parents…

*Hick…

Luke began to sob but kept his cries quiet, scared of what might happen if he was to cry too loud.

What if that man earlier were to come back?

"Erm… Can you stop crying? It's annoying and I might tear my ears off." A young girl asked. She sat down next to him as he looked at her in confusion.

She had a smaller stature than most, even considering their age. She had deep bags under her eyes with rough and messy hair.

But most of all, her gaze was cold.

Almost inhuman.

Luke shivered.

"Are you cold? If you want a blanket, wait for tomorrow. I'm sure you can just grab one from one of them when the ritual finishes. If you survive I guess…" She spoke.

Her voice was quiet yet her words were harsh.

Luke wanted to speak but no words came out. He simply kept sobbing while the girl sat next to him.

Even though she was complaining about his crying earlier, she wasn't doing anything to stop it.

Opposite them, the boy who covered Luke's mouth a moment ago stood up in annoyance.

"Stop crying already!" He shouted in a hushed whisper. Not wanting to alert the guards, yet wishing to show his frustration.

But Luke didn't listen to him.

He continued to sob as the boy gritted his teeth in anger.

Raising his hand, he prepared to smack Luke on the head.

*Hick…

The girl next to him began to cry.

"It's… It's starting again tomorrow isn't it… I don't want to go…" She buried her face into her arms.

The boy who was about to smack Luke hesitated.

Indeed.

Who wouldn't be scared in this situation? Not to mention the new batch who only just arrived today. They don't know the hell they're about to walk into.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, he turned and walked away.

The girl lifted her head.

She wasn't crying at all. She had simply acted pitifully to make him go away.

Her eyes were the same as usual and she stuck out her tongue.

"If you make yourself stand out like you did, you'll be taken out early." She glanced over at Luke.

"Try your best to hide tomorrow." She reminded before closing her eyes to rest.

That was the first meeting between Luke and Ria.