Abyssal Awakening - Chapter 917

Capítulo 917: World Of Cogs

“I came to give you a little prophecy.” Monika grinned while Alice pulled a face of annoyance.

“What is it with you and prophecies. Can’t you just be normal?” Alice groaned.

Every time Monika appeared it was always followed by a giant headache.

Not to mention the fact that she’s a guide so there’s no doubt she’s connected to the Zenia family. If so, what was her goal in all of this?

“Now now, don’t be like that. Prophecies are usually spoken because they help steer people towards a better future, don’t you agree? Though sometimes speaking it aloud could also influence the wrong cogs to set into place, leading the participant to ruin instead.” Monika waved her hand lazily.

“You telling me that doesn’t exactly scream confidence you know?”

“I’m aware. But you’re a doubtful one towards anything tied to the Zenia family aren’t you? Which is why I’m laying as many cards as I can on the table. So that you can see the dealer has her hands free and won’t pull any tricks.” Monika winked and stuck out her tongue playfully.

“Putting that much effort into convincing me just makes you more suspicious.” Alice prepared to stand up but Monika was going to do the same.

Immediately, Alice understood that even if she was to walk around and Hunt, Monika would follow and do the same.

Letting out an annoyed sigh, she sat back down.

“Tea?” Monika offered.

“No thanks.”

“Shame. Since you don’t like freebies, why don’t we play a game?” Monika intertwined her fingers and stared at Alice with a calm smile.

In that moment, Alice felt a sense of déjà vu.

“A game?”

“Indeed. A game where you can get some information me and in return, I can some information from you. We’ll take turns asking two questions, you decide when to stop but you can only stop when both of us have asked and answered an equal number of questions.

“For the questions, you are allowed one lie and one truth. It’s up to you to determine what’s truth and what’s false. I don’t recommend lying twice in a row.” Monika explained with an ominous chuckle.

“So, do you want to play?” She held out her hands.

Alice froze.

Her mind snapped back to a certain Immortal Lord she met a while ago. Rosalyn’s brother. He proposed the same game, offered her free information and almost tried to kill her when he realised she had interacted with beings at the pinnacle of their world.

An action she still didn’t understand to this day.

And now, Monika was proposing the same game with the same rules?

“How do you know about this game?” Alice furrowed her brows.

“I wonder~ maybe I read it from your memories, maybe it’s a common game. Maybe I made it up just now. If you’re that curious, why don’t you ask that as a question? So, would you like to play?” Monika offered.

Alice hesitated.

She recalled the tips that Caelan taught her before.

Truth, when mixed with a few lies, still count as false. But lies can’t become truth. So in this game, you can make them think an answer is true but it’s actually false should you mix in the lies.

But that also works for Monika.

And right now, Monika had the upper hand when it comes to information.

While playing this might help Alice to some degree, there’s too much for her to lose.

Monika mentioned that she was involved with the Zenia but won’t tell them about Alice’s movements.

Was that true or false?

“I’ll pass. I can’t trust the kind of questions you’ll ask.” Alice shook her head while Monika shrugged.

Tapping her staff, she created a tea table next to her and sipped some tea.

“What a shame. And here I thought it was the perfect moment to swap some information with you.”

“Maybe so, but the kind of questions you can ask and the kind that I can aren’t equal in importance. What I ask you can probably be found later. But what you ask will probably be secrets I don’t want to share.” Alice countered as Monika narrowed her eyes.

“Was it so obvious? Well I wasn’t actually intending to hide that fact in the first place. I simply wanted to see, understand and observe this anomaly before me. I suppose I won’t tell you the full prophecy that I saw in the cogs then. How about a slight hint instead?

“Certain people have now become victims of the Nightmare.” Flicking her finger, Monika created two objects in front of her.

The first was a raven feather, the second a silver blade with Ayr’s marking on the guard along with white flames crackling along the edge of the blade.

Seeing this, Alice’s pupils constricted as she already knew what this meant.

Allura and Kaden were in Extalia!

Why were they in Extalia? Wasn’t Kaden looking for Famine?

‘No, not necessarily. She never mentioned Extalia specifically but rather that the nightmare got to them. We haven’t checked the range of the Nightmare on the surface yet. We just know we’re safe in the Abyss. So there’s a chance that Kaden was caught elsewhere.’ Alice calmed herself down as she stared at Monika who simply gathered some snow using her staff.

Snapping her fingers, the snow transformed into a tiny snowman.

Monika giggled while tapping its head with her finger.

“Do you want to hear the rest of the prophecy now?” She offered but Alice still shook her head.

Prophecies rub her the wrong way.

Sometimes, people on their way to defy the prophecy only fulfil it in the end. The strings of fate that shouldn’t be observed.

Once observed, it sets them into place.

Alice disliked that idea.

“Leave it be. I don’t care what fate has in store for me, I’ll just keep doing the things I’ve been doing.” Alice prepared to leave but Monika smiled.

“Even if it meant losing someone precious? The fate that’s laid out before you is one painted in blood. Are you sure you don’t want to know? Perhaps you can save a life or two.” Monika asked, her voice slowly turning into a whisper that planted ideas into Alice’s mind.

Alice clenched her fist.

Was she curious? Yes, yes she was. She wanted to know who this person was.

Who would die? Can she stop it?

However…

“I’ll do what I can to overturn that fate when it happens in front of me. Having someone dictate my actions through what they choose to reveal to me… I hate it. If you’re only here to tell me what some invisible force wants to decide for me, then leave.” Alice glared while Monika flicked her finger, removing the snowman’s head.

“Hm~ that’s a good choice. Observing fate has always been the action of the foolish. Paranoid people who disguise their fear as wanting to know everything. They simply wish to control every aspect of their life.” Monika stood up, dusting the snow off her skirt.

“I knew of a woman once. Foolish to the extreme. She sought to overturn fate after witnessing what’s in store for her. She wished to dictate the movement of the world, to set down the seeds that could overturn the very foundation of this world.

“In the end, in her fear, she was punished for her actions. A punishment that she’s still suffering to this day. What do you think? Foolish isn’t it.” Monika asked, skipping over to Alice’s side.

“Isn’t that the same as you? Aren’t you observing fate right now?” Alice asked.

If Monika could give her prophecies, then there’s no doubt she’s doing the same thing.

“That’s just my nature. Just like how you have a special eye that lets you see things that normally shouldn’t be seen, I have eyes that transform the world differently in my view.” Monika chuckled, leaning towards Alice who wanted to back off but her movements were frozen.

“Even if I want to avoid it, I see the cogs that spin with each ticking second. The movement of the world, the actions of fate.

“I see the cogs locking into place with each choice, the crossroads where men make a decision. What do you think I see right now?” She asked.

Without giving Alice a chance to reply, Monika tapped her staff and Alice found the Nightmare around her shifting.

All colours disappeared, outlines faded. There was only an endless expanse of cogs. Some turned faster than others, some waited for a connection.

Even Monika’s appearance changed. A being made up of cogs that spun ever so slightly.

“Take this wall for example. You see this cog that’s not moving? If I were to interact with it ever so slightly…” Monika trailed off.

Pulling Alice over, she gently tapped the cog with her finger.

The instant her cogs connected with the wall, a series of connections were formed. Each cog helping the other to turn then finally, the wall collapsed and the cogs broke.

“Every action is tied to a cog that you don’t see. There are times when my view transforms into this world of fate. It’s all I can see. But sometimes, it returns to normal like this. A fluctuation.” Monika snapped her finger and Alice’s view turned back to normal.

Before them was the crumbled wall.

Alice stumbled back.

Seeing energy was similar. Those with lots of energy have countless strands connected to them, sometimes these strands obscure her view. However, Alice could at least choose when to focus on this view or when to filter it out from her sight.

But if what Monika said was true… She had no control over this power of hers.

This world of Cogs chooses when to reveal itself to her.

Living like that…

Alice couldn’t help but feel pity for this woman. Even if they may be enemies at the end of the day.