CHAPTER 784: INVERSION OF EXILE

In order to achieve Vision, there were certain requirements that Alice wanted to hit regardless of the method.

As Gwen mentioned, it was a harmonization of herself to her surroundings.

The second requirement was for her to become a receptacle of information.

When using Void Flux as an inspiration, Alice wasn’t necessarily thinking about the destructive potential.

Rather, it was the process in which she first constructed this attack.

To gather all energy from her surroundings.

One of her greatest benefits right now was how she could ’read’ the strands of energy that other’s couldn’t.

As for the first method... There was something she tried in the past, something that Cayla warned her against.

Something unique to her.

[Oh no no, you are NOT doing that.] Cayla widened her eyes.

’Why not? I just gotta be careful right?’ Alice grinned.

[Hell no! careful doesn’t even come close to the risks associated with it!]

What Alice was planning, what she wanted to make use of, was the Inversion of her fifth Sigil!

By turning Exile into harmonisation, she’ll be able to fulfil the first requirement.

’Yeah no, I agree with Cayla here. That’s a little too dangerous, even for you.’ Alyss frowned.

If they were to fail when using the inversion, they would become fused with the world. Essentially dying in the process.

’Which is why we put fail safes in case that does happen. I’m not going to just try it without planning don’t worry, there are still things I need to do before I attempt the first experiment.’ Alice reassured.

In order to make this as safe as possible, she needed several triggered casts in place. A balancing act between exile and harmonisation.

Simply put, her triggered casts will be walking a tightrope, ensuring that Alice doesn’t fall to either side.

"Seems like you got an idea on how to achieve Vision." Gwen smiled, noticing Alice chuckling to herself.

"Oh just a little one. A tad bit risky since it’s not a Sigil I use often. But I think I can achieve something on the level of Vision." Alice sat up.

"Oh now you got me interested."

Gwen noticed that Alice or rather, Kaia, didn’t talk about herself much. Even when asking about her Sigils, she was mostly evasive. Thus far, she’s only demonstrated around 4 Sigils worth of power with the rest being made up for by her fighting experience.

Hearing Kaia speak about a Sigil she didn’t use often, Gwen found herself filled with a burning curiosity.

Scratching her hair, Kaia sighed.

"My fifth Sigil allows me to... put myself in an enhanced state. While in this state, I get a lot of power but also risk being exiled from this realm the longer I stay in it. Meaning I’ll be expelled to the Abyss or the Void with no way back." Kaia stuck out her tongue.

Gwen’s smile twitched.

What kind of Sigil did Kaia get?!?!

"Inversely, I can also change it to harmonise with my surroundings instead. I anchor my existence to this realm. However, the issue with this is that if I anchor myself for too long, I’ll turn myself into energy pretty much and die."

"What kind of double edged blade is this??? Why did you take it?!?!"

"You don’t have to shout... But it’s why I said it’s not a Sigil I use often. But I’m thinking if I keep alternating between the two, I should be able to strike a balance between exile and anchoring. And if I can do that, I get a bunch of information plugged into my brain." Kaia pointed at her own head.

Seeing this, Gwen only had one thing to say.

"Are you crazy!?"

Vision was a strong technique. Very strong with few being able to use it. And by few, she meant that the amount of people that can use Vision could probably be counted on one hand.

But while it was a strong technique, it didn’t mean she should risk her life constantly to use it! And more shocking than that, was Kaia’s willingness to put herself at risk without a single care.

Looking at her expression, Gwen could tell that this was something that happened often. Enough where she didn’t even find anything wrong with her.

Kaia believed that this was an acceptable price!

Gwen couldn’t find the words she wanted to say. In the end, she let out a deep fatigued sigh and sat back down.

"I swear... Do you see me risking my life to achieve Vision? It shouldn’t be a technique that warranted risking your life otherwise Aunty wouldn’t make it. The reason why she adjusted the Zone in the first place was because of the harmful side effects." Gwen massaged her eyes.

"If Aunty heard what you said she would’ve beaten you a new one and taught you again from the ground up."

"You know, that doesn’t sound too bad. But I doubt they have time for that considering... well the north." Kaia shrugged.

"True... It’s not just the north either. So many gateways are being formed between the realms that people are starting to call it the end. The approaching ruin far in the horizon. There were even a few who are saying that the world will end in a year at this rate.

"Calculations based on how fast the barriers between our world was collapsing." Gwen explained.

It was a headache to deal with especially since she received a few reports asking her to help. But with her on the hunt for her seventh Sigil, she was spared.

She did not envy those that had to deal with people trying to spread the word that the world was ending on the streets.

You can’t exactly silence them through death either since it wasn’t heretical in the sense that they had corrupt powers. They were simply people fearing for what’s to come.

"What is the Moon doing about all of this? It feels like it’s mostly the Sun resolving these issues with your Dad and Aunty being the busiest of all of them." Kaia asked curiously.

Their world was ’governed’ by the three Religions. Sun, Moon and Eclipse. There’s no need to talk about what the Eclipse was doing seeing as how this chaos is exactly what they want.

But the Moon felt the most passive. They mostly worked in the background with Abyss Blood and made small movements here and there.

Even when seeing a Cardinal of the Moon, Tristan, he was mostly at the port for holiday. To spend time with his sister rather than doing something for the Moon.

"Well it’s kind of to be expected. The Moon doesn’t care much about the casualties since they believe in longevity through the soul rather than the body. But for us, the Sun, we preach about protection and preservation.

"Even if it’s sometimes just for show, we still need to demonstrate to the people that we can protect them otherwise belief in the order will falter. As lazy as Solaris is, I will admit that this is something he does well." Gwen grumbled.

"Even if it’s because of the work that my Dad does rather than him."

True to their doctrine, the Sun church acted as the first bastion, the shield of humanity. No matter the issue, they are there to protect the people while the Moon grants relief and healing in the back.

If the Sun was the shield, the Moon the healer, the Eclipse would be the sword.

Though when the sword is pointing towards humanity, it wasn’t exactly something to be happy about.

Folding her arms, Kaia thought about it for a moment before opening her mouth.

"Say your dad wasn’t part of the Sun and you had no connections to any of the Religions, which doctrine would you follow?"

A question that Gwen never really thought about. She loved her dad, where he went she would probably follow. They were family after all and they only had each other in this world.

But if he was taken out of the equation...

"First of all, definitely not the Eclipse. They revel in chaos and bloodshed and the world they envision is not a good one at all. So absolutely not.

"The Moon I don’t like either. The words they preach are nice to the ears but what they do are anything but nice. Following them basically means you’re dying anyways.

"The Sun... Well, from the outside perspective it’s probably the best of the three. But after being inside, it’s all appearance and no substance. The only reason why this order even works is because of the people inside rather than the God." Gwen analysed.

"So if I really had to choose one, it would be none of them. I’ll probably just be a freelancer working and helping where I can. I don’t have to be a Cardinal to help people, it just helps." She shrugged.

If Alice was being honest, she was of the same mindset.

Unfortunately, because Gwen’s Dad was in the Sun, separating her from this Order was probably going to be hard.

Ignoring the fact that they could be enemies in the future, Alice focused on setting up the right trigger casts needed to balance things out. And soon, they reached the gateway leading to the Abyss.

But it was a little... different to her initial expectations.

Rolling storm clouds hovered above the cavity leading into the depths, lightning that struck down from above.

And this pungent Abyssal miasma...

"Are you SURE this leads to Syrion?" Alice’s smile twitched.

Rather than Syrion, it felt like this gateway would lead to the depths, perhaps even Terminus.

And if they were to land there, it would be VERY bad news.

"Yep, it says Syrion is past this gateway." Gwen was a little unsure but the compass didn’t falter. It pointed directly at the gate.

Scratching her hair, Alice sighed and nodded towards Gwen.

The two of them jumped down.