Abyssal Awakening - Chapter 926

Capítulo 926: Strange Route Through The Nightmare

With Monika rejecting her from the Nightmare, Alice felt as though she was plunged into the deep sea.

The coldness invaded her body, seizing her limbs. Invisible pressure crushing her from all sides.

Gritting her teeth, Alice wanted to break out but found herself helpless against the currents.

One moment she was drowning, the next she was standing in a maze of stairs.

Up was down, down was up.

She glanced back and saw a giant figure of herself looking back into a recurring infinity. Subsequent versions of her getting bigger with each variation.

Looking down, she saw herself from above. The countless versions of her following through with the same motion.

She blinked.

She was in a standoff.

Strapped to her waist was a gun and opposite her, an inverted mirror of herself was stood in the same posture.

Only difference was that ‘she’ was ready to fire.

*CLICK!

She drew her weapon in a flash and the bullet tore through Alice’s forehead.

She fell backwards and the ground collapsed like a blanket, wrapping her in darkness.

Alice pushed her arms out, trying to break free.

‘Huh?’ A frown appeared on her face.

The blanket was wet? Warm…

Skin.

Her pupils constricted as her fingers poked and prodded against the skin of a human.

She wanted to break free but a groan echoed out from all sides.

A deafening cry of pain.

Before Alice could do anything else, she was pushed forward with an unholy amount of force. Water crashing against her back and forcing her out.

Shielding her head, Alice was pushed out of the darkness as wind howled in her ears.

She felt her hair being pulled upwards and quickly opened her eyes.

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?!?” She cried out in disbelief.

Falling from the sky, Alice tried to orient herself but the wind was too strong. No matter how she tried to position herself, a freak gust would always make sure she was falling in the most chaotic way possible.

Turning her head to the side, she could see the ground rapidly approaching but she couldn’t do anything to protect herself.

With no other choice, she forced her eyes shut and braced for the pain that was about to hit.

“!!!”

Her entire body jolted but the pain never arrived.

She simply thought she crashed into the ground but that had never occurred.

Clutching her head, Alice let out a slight groan.

“Did she eject me out of the Nightmare of send me deeper? What the f*ck is happening.” She complained, looking around her in confusion.

She wanted to make heads or tails of where she was but…

“. . .”

“. . .”

“. . .”

“. . .”

There were several figures staring at her in confusion.

Some with horns, some with fox tails. Others have mechanical parts sticking out of their bodies.

*CRACK

All of them snapped their heads 90 degrees as their eyes were completely focused on Alice.

“I also like to crack my neck but I think you overdid it a little…” Alice joked but sweat dripped from her back.

She wasn’t out of the Nightmare yet.

She couldn’t quite feel the flow of Abyssal energy.

Without hesitation, Alice slammed her hand down.

Pale Lance!

. . .

*Tss….

Her lance fizzled before it could even manifest in its entirety.

“F*ck.”

The floor beneath her gave out just as the figures lunged towards her.

Their bodies cracking open to reveal myriad layers of teeth with long whip like tongues trying to split her in half.

Crossing her arms and legs, Alice fell through the air in deep contemplation.

If it wasn’t for her hair, she wouldn’t even know which direction she was facing.

It was a strange sensation. Seeing the world fly by her but not feeling any of the wind.

Her hair and clothes were being affected.

But… she was numb to that sensation.

She was beginning to feel a disconnect between her and the Nightmare.

This ‘body’ that the Nightmare provided was struggling to synch up properly.

“Hm?” Alice felt a tingle in her fingertips.

A sudden jolt so fast she almost thought it was her hallucination at first.

*Pomf…

Her world shifted once more.

She landed on… a pillow?

A strange but large room.

It was surrounded on all sides by walls that seemed to stretch on infinitely with no roof. A checkered pattern illuminated by the flickering lights of countless screens lay haphazardly across the walls.

Some of the screens showed viewpoints from butterflies that watched Hunters walk through the Nightmare.

Some showed first person perspectives of them desperately running away.

Others even showed Hunters abusing the system and gathering lots of beasts at once in order to kill them.

‘Surveillance?’ Alice furrowed her brows.

If Monika wanted her to leave the Nightmare, why send her here?

“Hng…”

Alice’s gaze snapped over.

A voice from under the covers. A lump hidden under a blanket that started to wriggle.

“Monikaaa… I told you already… Stop using this route *yawn*.” The lump muttered, clearly tired.

“I know this counts as a backdoor but if you randomly send stuff here I have to deal with them. Urg… I dun wanna… If the boss comes again… *shiver*.”

Alice watched as a hand veiled in shadow reached out from the blanket and started to rub the eyes.

“He’s scary… I don’t know how to deal with him. Plus, aren’t I supposed to make sure things are running fine in this zone? Why am I responsible for the guide’s job too? Ah~ I wanna sleepppppp.

“I don’t want to workkk~ Can’t we make a clone of me? Ah I guess it won’t work. My clone will also be lazy.”

The lump started to toss and turn, rolling in a circular motion around the room.

“Actually… If I play dead do you think the boss will throw me out? Hehe~ I get to rest then. Ah wait… if he discards me, I’ll be erased rather than thrown out. Urg… I guess death does mean I don’t have to work…

“But it also defeats the purpose. I don’t want to work because I want to be lazy. But if I’m dead I can’t be lazy! I wanna be lazy of my own choice! Say, Monika, you’re being understanding today. Shall I share my super secret, super duper warm super fluffy blanket with you?

“It’s a one time limited offer since you’re not scolding me today hehe~”

Finally, the figure sat up and opened her blanket.

She stared at Alice.

Alice started at her.

Alice didn’t have a chance to speak considering how much she was talking.

The figure turned pale, not expecting another person to be in her private space. A hunter at that.

And Alice… Didn’t expect to see a woman like her in a place like this.

The girl was barely taller than Alice and had light blue hair. A pair of elongated elf ears that pointed downwards and shining emerald eyes in the darkness.

Under the blanket, she only wore two pieces of clothing.

A thin strap loose tank top with one strap hanging off her shoulder while the other strap was barely hanging on.

And lastly…

Male underwear.

Clearly a size too large but at the same time, did look rather comfy to wear.

The girl’s face turned red, her ears slowly pointed up as she slowly covered herself with her blanket once more, making sure not to alert Alice with fast movements.

As for Alice… She wanted to speak but that earlier performance…

She found it hard to make the first move.

“A-A-H-B-U-B-H-A-” The girl started to stutter, struggling to get a single word out as she became a trembling mess. Tears began to form in the corner of her eyes as Alice began to feel slightly guilty.

Even though she did nothing, it almost felt like she had just bullied this poor girl.

“Erm… Can you show me to the exit? Monika told me to leave the Nightmare.” Alice massaged her eyes.

With Alice making the first move, the girl’s ears shot up as she was visibly happy at the mention of a familiar name.

“A-ah, Monika t-told you to exit? Erm- I-I can make you a d-door! She must’ve… Been in a hurry since you s-shouldn’t have appeared here.” The girl replied while shuffling under her sheets.

Even without looking, Alice could tell she was getting dressed.

“Yes please. And… can I ask about these screens? Or is that not allowed?” Alice pointed at the displays around the room.

Depending on how this girl is, there was a chance that she could find out where Elias, Alyss and Cayla are located in the Nightmare.

The girl’s eyes darted back and forth between Alice and the displays.

On one hand, a Hunter shouldn’t know. But on the other… She must be close with Monika.

After all, Monika was using this route in order to send the girl out of the Nightmare.

So if that was the case, it shouldn’t be bad right?

“T-these are the different dreams h-Hunters are having. W-we don’t monitor things closely. Just making sure no rules are b-broken. The guides like Monika are erm… responsible for the detailed stuff.” She pulled her best smile but it could only be described as wonky at best.

“I see… Are the dreams connected like the layers I jumped through to get there, or are they attached via one large collection of zones?”

“Ah erm… It depends on the zone. S-some are close. But others m-might be impossible for you to a-access since some dreams aren’t connected.” She explained.

Hearing this, Alice furrowed her brows.

She swept her eyes across the countless screens and began to note down the information.

Meanwhile, the girl opposite Alice found herself unable to sit still.

After all…

‘I’m having a conversation with someone other than Monika!’

Her mind was cheering at her groundbreaking achievement today.