Call of the Abyss [Book 2 Complete]

Julia became aware of a crackling fire, her mind slow to process, as though waking from a deep sleep. She felt a comfortable pressure beneath her—she seemed to be lying on her back. Was she on a bed? A couch, maybe?

She struggled through the fog in her mind, only remembering bits and pieces from the last…how long had it been? Her memories felt…distant, like they both were, and somehow weren't, her own.

She recalled clawed hands, a long and floating body, and sharp teeth. She recalled summoning lightning from the sky—natural lightning that the world lent in her time of need.

Her time of need? No, it wasn't just her; there was someone else. The memories felt distant and disconnected because they were shared—with Trixy.

That's what it was. She'd fused with Trixy fully, a feat that shouldn't be too surprising to her conceptually—it was a logical extension of their prior Skills and abilities—but was jarring in practice. How did she even think of something like that?

That form they took was a combination of…what? Their essences? That didn't feel right—there was no part of her essence that had that sort of shape, she was sure.

Regardless, she definitely recalled consuming—yuck—the Wight's core. The purple gemstone was undoubtedly the anchor both for the Wight as a summoned being, and for its soul—souls, rather, as there were many bound up within it. Julia shuddered remembering the horrible wailing, the distorted faces of pain and rage.

"Planning to sleep all day?" a voice asked facetiously from beside her.

She knew that voice.

She opened her eyes and blinked both the crust and blinding light away—the fire was bright to her unadjusted eyes. Though the realization that it was a fire crackling in a fireplace was surprising.

She looked around, recognizing her home in Rockyknoll. The fireplace was lit and crackling, the couch beneath her was just as plush as she remembered—an odd relic in such a small, rural town—and the windows had bright morning light shining through.

Sitting on the chair beside her was Braden, exactly as she remembered him. Long, raven-black hair, combed straight and hanging behind his head. Beard trimmed neatly until it was "just so." Raggedy-as-ever blue robe. Everything about him, and the house, seemed to suggest that she'd traveled back in time.

"Is…this a dream?" she asked hesitantly, her voice scratchy with sleep.

"Well, that's an interesting question. I suppose a dream wouldn't be an inaccurate way to describe this, though it's not yours," he said with good cheer.

"Not mine? Whose dream would it be, then?" Julia asked in confusion.

"This is The Promontory—my realm. You might think of it as my dream, and me a lucid dreamer. It's a dangerous place for my enemies, and the safest place in all of existence for my dear, sweet daughter," he explained with a warm smile.

Julia slowly sat up, making note of her body's lack of pain. She expected some negative repercussions for that fusion stunt, but she felt fine—great, actually.

"Your entire realm is our house in Rockyknoll?" she asked with playful disappointment.

"It is right now—to make you feel comfortable. It can be whatever I want. Look," he said, pointing out the window behind her.

Glancing back, she saw that the window—previously pouring in a bright morning light—had shifted into a shimmering glass portal. The image beyond it shifted from a bright morning on a hill to deep beneath a sea, blue light filtering down in shafts and just barely reaching the sea floor. It shifted again to a deep sort of empty space, though it seemed only empty in the close range.

Far off in the distance—so far that Julia couldn't quite tell the exact distance—great clouds of a myriad colors lingered, casting light back through the window that made it seem like another world entirely.

"Those are nebulae. They're the clouds of dust from which stars form. Or, they do, where I'm from. I suppose stars don't really exist in Ërune. The sun is, after all, just a great big portal to the Ether," Braden mused from beside her.

She shifted back to sit facing the fireplace, too overwhelmed to even think about what was beyond the window.

"How am I here? What happened?" she asked, looking over at Braden.

In reply, he simply held up his right hand, which had a sapphire ring around the pinky. Julia glanced down at her own hand to see that her ring was missing—had he taken it off her while she was sleeping?

"Do you remember when Rofocale gave this to you?" he asked.

"Yeah, it was to keep my mind from wandering to the Abyss while I slept," she nodded.

"Quite. Its function is to prevent your mind from subconsciously tracing its connection to the Abyss. It prevents subconscious Abyssal contact.

"However, should you desire contact with the Abyss, it will yield to your will. You needn't want to contact the Abyss specifically; it will yield to any of your conscious intent—even if that conscious intent is as general as looking for help everywhere.

"When you were in the Rift, you were as physically close to the Abyss as it's possible to get without actually stepping foot in it. You were standing on the beach, the waves just barely missing your toes.

"When you sensed your imminent death, you reached outward—everywhere, anywhere—for something to save you. And the Abyss answered. You channeled more of the Abyss this time than you ever have—so much that the ring physically dropped from your finger, lest its proximity interfere with your ability to harness and control the Abyss's power.

"Once the fight ended, your connection did not. You brought a tiny stream of the Abyss with you into reality, but you cannot simply sever that stream when you're finished with it, Jules. It will follow you and feed you and become you, if you let it.

"I know you've heard this many times, and I don't intend to harp on it much further today—it's not like you had much choice. However, as a parent, it is my duty to warn you when you do dangerous things.

"Do not reach for the Abyss. You channeled it successfully this time, but I severed your connection to it when I brought you here. Had I not, and you were unable to yourself, you would have been…changed. Do not underestimate the insidious darkness, the ideas, the whispers.

"Do not stand in the safety of the shallows and assume the depths won't crush you," he finished with a serious expression and a gravitas she didn't hear from him often.

"...okay," she said, unsure how to respond to that kind of warning.

Braden smiled at her, getting up and walking in front of her. He bent down so they were eye level and put both hands on her shoulders.

"Now that that's out of the way, let me say this: I am very proud of you, Julia. I'm proud of your bravery in facing overwhelming odds. I'm proud of your kindness toward those around you. I'm proud of your persistence to keep going no matter how bleak things look.

I'm proud of your intelligence, and how you've continued growing, even in the face of adversity. I'm proud of your wisdom to use the calm moments to rest and recover, to make connections with others.

"I'm so proud of everything you've done, of who you've become, and who you're still becoming. And you know what? All that stuff I just mentioned—all your growth—comes from when we were separated.

"In other words, it's all you, Jules. All that you've grown, all the friends you've made, all the strength you've obtained—all of it is thanks to your own efforts, and the support of those around you.

"I'm really proud of all that you are, and all that you've accomplished, Jules, and I hope you're as proud of yourself as I am of you," he said with a wide, warm smile.

Julia wiped the tears running down her cheeks with her sleeve. She nodded and gave him a small smile, but it broke after just a couple seconds. Memories of what she'd lost and the suffering bubbled up as if to drown her pride.

"I'm so tired, Dad," she whispered.

Braden released her shoulders and sat down next to her, putting his arm around her and hugging her close.

"I know," he said softly.

They sat close together, Braden hugging her from the side, for several minutes in silence, enjoying each other's company. Julia was also feeling all the emotions from the war, built up throughout the battle, falling away. It was as though each anxiety that fell away from her took a part of her energy with it, leaving her drained.

"Does it ever stop?" she asked quietly.

"No, it doesn't," Braden answered quickly, surprising her.

She looked up at him, and he gave her a small smile.

"It does get easier, though," he said. "Do you know how a moth is born?"

"A…moth? Uh…I think a worm like…eats a lot until it becomes a pod, right? Then the moth breaks out of the pod?" she said with uncertainty, bewildered by the sudden question.

"Yup. There are several kinds of moths, but mostly they start as larvae—worms. They eat a bunch of whatever they eat, probably leaves and stuff, and once they've eaten enough, they form a chrysalis—the pod you mentioned.

"What you might not know is that the chrysalis stage is extremely violent," he explained.

"Violent? Don't they just sorta…hang there?" Julia questioned.

"That's right—that's what happens on the outside. On the inside, the larva is completely dissolved. Its body is melted into a goo, and it's this goo that reforms into the moth shape.

"The larva must literally destroy itself to become a moth," he lectured, staring into the fire with a distant look.

"That's…hardcore, I guess. Sounds like something Ravina would like," Julia said, which made Braden chuckle.

"Yeah, it's pretty metal. It's also similar to your story," he said, suddenly turning to look at her.

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"...I've never dissolved myself," Julia deadpanned.

"Ha! You've evolved inside a white ball of energy, so who's to say whether you've dissolved yourself or not? That's not exactly what I meant, though.

"You, my dear moth, have been in the chrysalis for the past several months. You've been facing challenge after challenge, threat after threat, and you've finally emerged victorious.

"You ask if it ever stops; I don't think so. Sure, you could become a baker in some peaceful village—live a quiet life, and maybe most of the struggle would stop. However, I've seen you chase the light, over and over again.

"I've watched the whole time, Jules. I watched you constantly struggle and fight, despite having several opportunities to flee—to turn around and seek safety. You've been chasing the light this entire time, and it's been hard, and it'll continue to be hard.

"But you know what? All that chasing you did, it was as a larva, and eventually, a chrysalis. Now, you've finally emerged from your chrysalis with wings of your own, wings that will help you in your never-ending pursuit.

"So no, the challenges, the struggles—they won't end. However, they will become easier, for now you have wings with which to fly, allies to help you, and the will to see any challenge through. You'll keep overcoming those challenges, and though they won't end, each one will get a little easier.

"You've suffered in the chrysalis, but you've emerged with a fearsome strength—the kind that can face any challenge and overcome it. You're strong, and you've earned that strength," he said firmly.

Julia nodded, looking at the fire and trying to keep the tears from coming again—she'd cried enough already. They sat again in silence, watching the flames crackle.

"Why don't the challenges end? Are you saying that's what life is? Constant challenges?" she asked.

"Not always, but I think the best-lived lives are," he answered without hesitation.

Julia looked up at him, waiting for him to explain further.

"You're someone who is going to change the world, Jules. I don't say that to influence you or put pressure on you, nor is it a prophecy. I can say that confidently just from watching what you've already done.

"The most influential people's lives, in my experience, look more like a stormy sea than the calm, placid waters of a peaceful lake. They are marked by huge waves, with glorious, triumphant hills and devastating, despairing valleys.

"When you're down in one of those deep valleys, it can seem to be all there is: the misery, the suffering, the hardship. You're down at the bottom, and all you can see are the enormously steep walls around you. It will end, though. All things end: the good and the bad.

"And when you find yourself atop the huge, triumphant hill next, you might look beyond it—toward the hills you haven't yet climbed, for they're easiest to see from the top of another.

"And when you see them, you'll realize that every deep valley must necessarily end, and even though the hills must as well, there are always others just past the next valley. The bad will never end; it'll keep coming forever, but so will the good," he finished, putting his head on top of hers and squeezing her tightly.

After a few minutes of quiet contemplation, Julia had a sudden realization.

"Where's Trixy?" she asked.

"Out here," Braden said, standing up and heading for the front door.

Julia followed, stepping outside onto the porch, and it was decidedly not Rockyknoll—the town, at least. They seemed to be at the top of a large hill within a dense forest. The hill occupied a clearing that resembled Rockyknoll before the town's founding—was this what it looked like before being settled?

She followed Braden around the side of the house and stopped short at the sight of a massive white cocoon of energy.

"…Whoa." The word escaped before she could catch it.

"She was already close to evolution, but you went and ate that Wight's core, remember? Obviously she'd evolve after something like that. I can't believe you let her eat Etherium! That by itself will make this evolution interesting," Braden said with amusement.

"How long has she been in there? Actually, how long have I been here?" she asked.

"Oh, you know. Time is relative and all that…oh! Here we go!" he exclaimed, pointing to the energy cocoon, which seemed to be dimming slightly.

Julia's mouth fell agape as the light receded, leaving a huge, snakelike creature in its place.

Trixy seemed to be more reptile than mammal now. She had a snout like that of a crocodile mixed with a large cat—shorter than a crocodile, but with a similar shape. The teeth were a mixture between the fangs of a cat and a crocodile's sharp, triangular teeth.

She had white scales that glimmered with a golden yellow when the light reflected off them. The reflections were bright enough that Julia had to squint her eyes, which were used to the lower light inside the house.

She was huge. She looked like she could wrap around the entire house from head to tail, and her head was almost as big as Julia's entire body.

She had a mane of fur that was white near the scales and transitioned along a gradient to golden yellow. Lightning crackled within the fur periodically, seemingly a feature of her body rather than something she was doing consciously.

Her long, slender body had a ridge of large spikes along her spine, like spikes from a porcupine, and each spike had a ring of the same fur as her mane around it. Her body ended in a furry tail of a color similar to the mane, also crackling with lightning.

Her arms and legs—for that was what she had now, rather than four ferret legs—were some cross between cat and reptile on the limb and a bird of prey on the hands. The limbs were muscular, visible even under the scales, and had tufts of the same fur sprouting from the bends (elbows?). Her eagle-like hands and feet had four fingers that ended in sharp, talon-like claws.

One finger seemed to be opposable based on its position on her hands—did she…have thumbs now?

Her eyes opened slowly, blinking rapidly to clear the evolution fog. She had bright, golden irises with slit pupils like a reptile, the pupils shrinking rapidly as they adjusted to the light. Julia thought her eyes might be visibly glowing were it not already so bright outside.

Trixy suddenly shot into the air with speed that Julia could barely track. She flew around the space in an undulating, serpentine manner and bellowed a mighty roar.

She flew down, wrapped around the house, and perched her head atop the roof, looking at Julia.

"...Trixy?" Julia asked.

"That was my name once. However, I am Lumenfall, Spirit of Revelation, for I have earned my own identity," she declared with pride.

Her voice was a deep baritone, though with a decidedly feminine lilt, Julia thought. It sounded dramatic, like she was reading from a script whenever she spoke.

Julia felt both excitement and dread. She was so proud of Trixy—of Lumenfall, but what did it mean to obtain an identity? Would they have to separate? Would Julia be on her own now?

Before she could fret too much, a blue box appeared in front of her.

Those terms were…simple. She couldn't recall the terms of their original pact, and being proposed a new one suggested it had been severed anyway, but Julia recalled something about Trixy having to obey her in the original terms. This one firmly placed them as equals; Julia liked it.

The box disappeared when she accepted it, and she called up Lumenfall's Status just like she had Trixy's.

Julia was marveling at the oddities in Lumenfall's Status when she suddenly felt a horribly invasive sensation, as though someone had just pried her skin off and looked at all her organs. She looked up to see Lumenfall's eyes scanning something Julia couldn't see.

"Ah—you're looking at my Status!" Julia accused.

"You're looking at mine," Lumenfall deadpanned before going back to reading the screen.

"...Fair enough," Julia muttered, returning to Lumenfall's Status. "Why is her age unknown? Also, her Skills and Magic have disappeared—replaced by these 'Revelations.'"

"Dragons have ancestral memories encoded in their very being. That's likely why her age isn't listed—she has memories from generations of other dragon ancestors, so it would be difficult to determine an accurate age," Braden explained.

"Dragon? She's a dragon now?" Julia questioned, looking at Lumenfall with a raised brow.

"...what?" Lumenfall asked, likely feeling Julia's skeptical gaze upon her.

"You don't…uh…how do I say this…the image I have of dragons is a little…different from you," Julia said carefully.

"There are as many species of dragons as there are any other being. I am unsurprised to learn you have not personally seen every single one," Lumenfall said, waving a claw dismissively before going back to reading Julia's Status.

She's sassy now.

"Her 'Revelations' are the abilities specific to her nature. She's ascended beyond baser magic and Skills. She's still capable of them, but they're no longer defining features of who she is, so they're not listed.

"It's sort of like why the System doesn't list your ability to walk or breathe, Julia. Those are things that are inherent to your species, not you as a person.

"Although, you're a spirit…so…maybe that was a bad example," Braden said, trailing off on what Julia recognized as one of his trademark mumbling fits.

Julia knew him well enough to know that she had to interrupt him, else his runaway thoughts would keep him occupied for quite a while.

"How exactly are we going to get around, Lumenfall? I'm sure that form is great, but we can't exactly walk through a city, can we? Are you going to fly above the buildings whenever we're near civilization?" she asked.

Lumenfall snorted a cloud of golden smoke before vanishing into a bright yellow light. A small weight landed on Julia's back when the light disappeared, and she recognized the familiar weight of Trixy around her neck.

She glanced over to find it was indeed Trixy, the ferret, around her neck. Gone completely was anything resembling her previous form. She looked just like the ferret Julia had summoned all those years ago.

"This will suffice, yes?" Lumenfall asked, and Julia couldn't help the huge smile on her face as she nodded in confirmation.

"Anyway." Braden clapped, drawing their attention, his mumbling fit ended."Our time is about up, so let me give you this."

He held out a box with wrapping paper and a bow around it.

"A present? What for?" Julia asked, taking the box and turning it over in her hands.

"Check your Status, Jules," he said with amusement.

Julia pulled up her Status, ignoring the notifications for now and focusing on her basic information.

"Oh, my birth—wait, how much time has passed?!" she asked, befuddled.

"It was two days ago. I'd love to keep our tradition and impart you with a magical technique in addition to the gift, but our time is up. You have a choice to make, Jules. A choice that will affect what you do in the future, as well as who you'll become.

"Remember this: the System will never force you to do anything. If you take the plunge it offers, it must be of your own free will. Any benefits of that decision—as well as consequences—will be yours to own," he said seriously before his face broke into a mischievous smile. "Also, Sith has your best interest at heart, but don't let her bully you."

Julia's vision blurred, her sense suddenly feeling distant. It felt similar to passing out, though she didn't feel the visceral discomfort that came from physically fainting.

"What? What decision—what are you talking about? How am I a full year older than when the battle start—" she started, but before she could even get the question out fully, her world went dark.

END OF BOOK 2