Abyssal Awakening - Chapter 872

Chapter 872: Obsession and Death

“I’m guessing that’s a pretty bad thing… Well, dying once is bad but you know what I mean.” Elias scratched his hair with a sight.

Some of the deaths were… unavoidable as he didn’t expect the ground to give out under him.

Not to mention the fact that he didn’t have any of his powers, making combat difficult.

He was already struggling with fighting when he had healing powers never mind without.

“Hmm… It’s hard to say. Did you meet a woman called Monika?” Alice asked as Elias furrowed his brows.

“I met a woman but they weren’t called Monika. She was rather stoic and told me the bare minimum before leaving. She did NOT want to stay an extra second.”

Alice folded her arms.

‘What about you two? Did you meet a woman called Monika?’

[Nope. For me I got a guy who called himself the Scribe. Like Elias, I was told the bare minimum before he left.] Cayla shook her head.

‘I got a woman who called herself Vene. I wouldn’t even say she told me the bare minimum. Said I had myself handled and only told me how to use the Embryos and left.’

Hearing this, Alice frowned.

Based on the information, she was the only one that was told to be careful of death. The others weren’t told anything aside from the basic information.

What made Monika different?

Shaking her head, she explained her interaction with Monika.

Her tips, her warnings.

What resonating with the camps do, the fact that the ‘realm’ was a land weaved by the dreams of many.

The butterflies that guide you to where you NEED to go and lastly, how the generosity of the land is false.

How one should avoid death as much as possible.

Hearing all of the tips that Alice received as well as the information, the group was silent.

What she learned was far more than what they discovered.

They only knew the basic mechanics of the realm in regards to the branch. The rest, they had to find out by themselves.

“Do you think the informant might know about Monika? She was also the one that told you to experience the nightmare before asking her for more information right?” Elias asked as Alice nodded her head.

“Most likely. To be fair, she wasn’t wrong. Had she told us about the laws to this realm, I doubt we’ll believe it.” Alice sighed.

The rules were simply too different. An entirely new world.

If she was to tell them directly, how would she even be able to wrap her mind around it?

Embryos? Camps? Losing Sigils?

She might’ve made a note of it but definitely wouldn’t take it too seriously.

It sounded too outlandish especially with Sigils being so ingrained into their society.

Yet after experiencing it for herself, she couldn’t help but accept that this was the truth and that a new realm with new rules was being birthed in this country.

“Let’s get some food first. I’m feeling pretty hungry after all of that. I didn’t feel it while I was in the realm but fighting there definitely takes a toll out of you.” Alice sighed, standing up.

Nodding his head in agreement, Elias led the way.

There was a restaurant he saw during his scouting that sold breakfast.

Seemed to be a rather interesting place.

Following behind Elias, Alice was about to say something when she froze.

“Elias.” She called out hesitantly.

“Hm?”

“Don’t be alarmed when I say this. But…” Alice pointed at his shadow.

“Is your shadow supposed to be missing a bit of your finger?”

Elias glanced down.

As she said, his finger was missing a bit of his shadow. Not a lot but once you stare at it long enough, you’ll notice a little bit taken from the finger tip.

Alice quickly checked her own shadow.

But unlike Elias, nothing was missing.

“You don’t think… it’s because of the deaths do you?” Elias’s smile twitched.

If that was the case then… either he stops progressing in the realm completely or he gets used to fighting without powers. There’s no other way of going around it.

“Let’s… skip breakfast and go straight to the informant.” Alice suggested.

She turned to the table and glanced at the head of the Hybrid. Her eyes were slowly blinking while drool dripped from her mouth.

She was still in the state of ‘dreaming’ that Alice had put her in. Thinking about it for a moment, she decided to take it with her for now.

Making a portal to the Void, Alice set the head down and placed several security measures around the head in case anything was to try and steal it away.

Of course, leaving her in the Void for an extended period wasn’t recommended but she was only going for a quick trip to the informant’s place.

It shouldn’t take that long.

Packing their stuff, the duo made their way out of the tavern and placed their ‘order’.

###

“With how many times you’ve come to my, shall I start calling you my regulars?” The informant smiled seeing Alice and Elias approach.

There was a knowing light in her eyes as she gestured for them to sit.

“It seems like your venture in the Realm of Nightmares was rather… rough. Especially for your friend.” She chuckled.

Leaning back, she reached into her mouth and began to regurgitate a package, causing both Alice and Elias to recoil in disgust.

Wiping away her saliva, she placed the package on the table.

“A little gift. Inside holds medicine that should help you recover the soul that you ‘lost’ while dying inside the realm.” She grinned.

Elias hesitantly pinched the package between his thumb and index finger. The surface still wet with saliva.

“I knew it. So that’s why she told me to avoid dying as much as possible.” Alice grumbled with a sigh.

She could’ve said more but that didn’t matter anymore.

What mattered was the fact that the informant knew what’s going on and even had medicine to counteract it.

“Oh? A guide actually told you that much?” The informant blinked her eyes in surprise.

“Yep. A woman named Monika. Had a strange addiction to names.” Alice nodded.

The informant’s smile froze for a moment.

“Ah~ So you met her of all people. How unfortunate.” She glanced at Alice with pity.

Alice creased her brows.

“Unfortunate? How come?”

The informant leaned back, folding her arms and clearly contemplating how much she wanted to tell Alice.

Alice took this as a sign that she needed to produce some payment but the informant shook her head.

“Monika is a strange one. Even amongst the guides. She’s someone who places too much importance on the meaning of names and on fate. If you have a name she does not like, she may even go out of her way to sabotage you.

“She observes, she catalogues. She watches as they walk down their fated path within the realm. So to gain her attention, enough where she has told you this much, I don’t know if I should call you lucky or unlucky.” The informant sighed.

“Right now, you are being watched by her. Your actions, your thoughts will all be analysed while you are inside the realm. She won’t let you rest easy, she’ll be the invisible hand urging you forward.”

Hearing this, Alice frowned.

Was the person who pushed her into the arena… Monika?

No, she doubted that.

Thinking about it for a moment, Alice used a combination of her Sigils to create an illusion within a blood mirror.

“Do you know who this is?” She pointed at the reflection of the beast that pushed her.

The informant tapped the table and made a gesture for coin.

Rolling her eyes, Alice produced the payment she wanted.

“They are called Lurkers. Humans turned nightmares having lost their way in the dream for too long. They form… relationships with the bosses scattered throughout the realm. Keep track of where humans are and stalks from behind.

“Killing them isn’t difficult but the troublesome part is finding them in the fog.” The informant explained with a small smile.

“And what about this one?” Alice projected an image of Sister Adela and the strange casket along with the beast within.

“The land of nightmares is one woven from the dreams of many, how would I know information about every boss that is scatted across the lands?” The informant shrugged her shoulders.

“Monika knew. She called this woman Sister Adela. Said she was part of the Blood Choir, even told me to put her out of her misery.” Alice cut her off.

Once more, the informant’s gestures froze.

Her smile that she was maintaining began to falter.

*Sigh…

Letting out a deep sigh, she rested her forehead on her hand, massaging her eyebrows.

“Monika seems to like you. A lot. Enough where she’s even telling you things you shouldn’t be knowing. She’s taking her job as a guide a little ‘too’ well.” The informant complained, staring at Alice through the gaps of her finger.

This time, her eyes were serious as Alice felt a chill.

She immediately prepared to counter attack if needed.

“The realm of nightmares is one woven from the thoughts of those across this country. Nobles, normal civilians. The history of this land, forgotten figures. Everything is woven in some form, even if their shape has changed.

“And… As the realm of nightmares, manifestations of desires, dreams of the future will naturally be included. Sister Adela is one of those manifestations. A person who was consumed by their desires to the point it warps them into a guardian of the realm.”

“So… obsession?” Alice narrowed her eyes.

“Indeed. Obsession is another thing you must avoid if you wish to survive in that realm. Death consumes the soul, Obsession consumes the mind. The realm of nightmare is one that will continuously take pieces of you away until nothing is left behind.

“And…” The informant trailed off.

She leaned forward, her movements faster than what Alice had anticipated. Before she could even move back, she had already lifted Alice’s chin and stared deep into her eyes.

“That includes shaving away at the two souls tethered inside your body.”