Chapter 1075: Desire, Resolve And Willpower
"Weak!" Nyer shouted, closing the distance in an instant.
Alice wanted to dodge and use her abilities, but for a brief moment, it felt as though her motor functions were usurped from her control.
His fist connected with her face as though it had been magnetised to it.
Stumbling back from the hit, Alice wanted to counter with the Primordial Flames.
"Weak!" Nyer interrupted once more.
Pulling his arm back, Alice’s body was sucked in as he slammed his heel into her stomach.
"!!!"
Holding back her cough, Alice glared at Nyer and grabbed onto his leg.
"Weak!" A third reminder as Nyer kicked his leg up. A sudden repulsion force dragged Alice away, but he quickly grabbed his ankle.
"Feel it in your bones. Understand it with your mind. You. Are. Weak!"
*BANG!!!
Slamming Alice against the ground, he used the pull of gravity to make his hit stronger as the realm cracked under his hit.
"Desire, Resolve, and Willpower. You are sorely lacking in all three!" Pulling Alice up by the ankles, Nyer glared at her before stomping down and tossing her away.
"Can your desires compare to mine? I desire the liberation of this world from its shackles. A new era beneath a God who actually cares for them. You’ve seen the state of our world, do you think the three Gods will lead humanity towards prosperity?!" Nyer clapped his hands together.
Even though it’s Alice’s Personal Realm, the space began to warp as she was brought before him once more.
"Resolve! I am willing to give up everything, to burn myself to the ground in order to achieve my desires. What is the level of your resolve?! You who cling onto safety. Even when the enemy that butchered your friend stands before you, is your rage so weak that you take the easy way out?!"
Grabbing her by the throat, Nyer snapped his finger as Alice’s limbs were restrained.
She tried to use her flames to cancel out his ability, but before she could, Nyer slammed her repeatedly into the ground.
Dragging her across the floor, he threw her into the air.
"Willpower! Do you have what it takes to impose your will onto the world? I have been planning, I have been trying, I have done everything I can since the fall of Ayr. Since Velouria’s death.
"Every second, every minute, every day. I have spent it working towards my goal. Can you say the same? Who are you to deny me of my purpose? Who are you to challenge my will? Who are you to refute my resolve?!"
Flicking his finger, space shifted around Alice’s waist as her pupils constricted.
A deep cut appeared across her stomach. Had it not been for her regeneration, she would’ve been severed in half!
"Everything you have, I designed. That regeneration, that fire. The tools you so readily rely upon to survive to this day are a result of my work, my efforts. The fruits of my purpose! Who are you to deny me when all that you are comes from me!"
Nyer wasn’t impatient. Far from it.
But with Alice showing him hope only to deny it in front of him, for the first time in centuries, Nyer felt an annoyance bubbling from the depths of his soul that bordered on anger.
He couldn’t accept the fact that he was so close only to fall short.
Gasping for air, Alice clutched her stomach, trying her best to hold everything in while her regeneration took place.
Glaring at Nyer, she activated another gravestone as four spectral blades hovered behind her.
Imbuing each one with a different Sigil, she sent them towards Nyer.
A vein bulged on his neck seeing her fight so... crudely.
Velouria wasn’t like this.
She was perfect in every way.
And yet... With all the gifts she was given, this was the best she could come up with?
A strange energy covered Nyer’s arms as he punched the first blade, shattering it on impact.
He reached for the second, launching a jab at the face of the blade and breaking it in half.
The third tried to aim for his neck, but he grabbed the handle and threw it towards the fourth.
"This is nothing different from a child throwing a tantrum. You don’t care what the abilities do, you’re simply throwing anything and everything you can." Nyer walked towards Alice slowly.
By this point, he had already locked the space so that it was just the two of them.
"Is that the best you can do? Is that what everything has amounted to? Simply throwing everything and seeing what works?" Nyer stopped in front of Alice.
In that moment, he reached out with his finger and caught an invisible blade before launching a punch that struck Alice in the guts.
Another illusion dispelled.
Kneeling down, he lifted Alice’s head by her hair and leaned in close.
"Are you that afraid of me?" He asked, eyes unblinking.
The insanity that carried him through the years was now on full display. The fervent desire of bringing back Velouria now converted into rage as he saw his most successful product walk down the wrong path.
Another failed experiment.
Even when things were out of his hands, it still failed to reach the stage he had hoped it would.
Since that was the case... what use was it to keep this ’thing’ around?
Pushing Alice’s head against the dirt, Nyer exhaled.
There wasn’t much time left for a new experiment.
At least her ’sister’ was at a closer stage. Rather than hoping Alice would become the vessel, perhaps it’s time to adjust his plans.
To make Alice the nutrients needed for her sister to become that vessel instead.
Though... he wanted to avoid such a late modification, he didn’t really have much of a choice at this point.
"Are you sure..." Alice groaned, a smile still on her face.
"Are you sure you should be this close to me?"
Confusion rippled across Nyer’s face before that confusion quickly turned into a frown.
"My desires might not be as strong as yours. I’m basically a newborn compared to you after all. The only thing I care about is my family, my friends, and Mead." Alice slowly stood up, revealing a bloodied smile.
"My resolve might be weaker. I still walk every day filled with doubts about what I want to do. What I want to live my life for. Living with Allura and the others, having a mundane life is good. But I’ve yet to understand what I want to fill those days with. Do I want to go shopping? Do I want to go out and eat?
"I’m still learning how to be a person. And naturally, that comes with plenty of doubts. So, yeah, my resolve might be a little weaker." Alice chuckled helplessly.
She stumbled back a little but managed to catch herself from falling.
"However..."
Alice slowly lost her smile as killing intent seeped out.
"Willpower. That I got plenty of. What I want to achieve, what I want to accomplish. I’ll do it no matter what. Even if I die trying. Sacrificing everything? That’s a coward’s way out. If your willpower is truly strong...
"You won’t be so ready to sacrifice those that stand beside you." Pulling back her arm, the final illusion faded away.
The very first weapon she got from Allura.
A single Glove and Thread.
Replacing the thread with Void Fang for durability, Alice reinforced it with her Sigils.
The harder Nyer struggled, the tighter the threads will bind!
A combination of Tiamat’s power along with various other Sigils.
Not only that, but whatever she binds will find themselves struggling to use their abilities thanks to her violet flames.
Cracking her neck, Alice brushed her hair back and revealed Cayla.
The scars that should’ve been present were now gone.
When Alice combined the authorities, divinities, and the three relics, she temporarily created a miniature recreation of the Abyss within her own body.
That sudden flood of energy, their rampage within her core, rushed through her veins and shattered what little was left of Kaden’s original seal.
In this moment, Cayla was fully unsealed and her functionality returned to full!
"So let me return your question back to you!" Alice shouted, pulling back on the threads as Nyer was dragged down to her level.
"Who the f*ck are you to deny me of all that I am?!"
Energy converged towards her fist as she formed a knife hand and jammed it into Nyer’s stomach.
Without care about her own wellbeing, she detonated the violent energy coursing inside her own body.
This burden, she’ll share it!
She’ll share it with Nyer and destroy his body so that she can save her own!
Black tendrils burst out from Nyer’s skin as he could feel the Eldritch energy invading his system.
If nothing was done, all of this energy would travel through the link he had between his original body and all of the different vessels.
And if that was to happen...
"Fine. I’ll admit I got a little impatient. So keep struggling. Struggle and don’t die before you become a prime vessel for Velouria." Nyer narrowed his eyes right as the energy shredded his vessel apart.
Eldritch corrupted his flesh, Divinity burned, Void lashed out, and Abyss mutated. Not only that, but when paired with the other new sources she introduced, such as the primordial fire, Alice had essentially set off a compressed nuke within Nyer’s body.
This vessel that he created, even if it could fight Lords easily, could not handle such chaos!
*KRK!!!
His flesh and bones were torn apart, and the vessel was destroyed. But the destruction wasn’t done.
Alice’s arm mutated along with the vessel as she gave up on controlling this mass.
In order to force Nyer away for the moment, she had to gamble!
And now, there was only one thing left to do if she wanted to stop this rampage from taking her life as well.
Deactivate her Personal Realm! Once that happens, her energy will empty out and she’ll be forced into a state of no combat. It’ll stop this chaos from happening, but... it’ll also give the others a way out.
Shifting the realm, Alice glared at the Doctor.
"Wash your neck for me. I’ll personally rip it right the f*ck off."
Widening his grin, the Doctor simply bowed as Alice deactivated her realm.
The dome shattered, and glass-like fragments fell from the sky...
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