Abyssal Awakening-Chapter 996: Astrelya’s Boredom

Ria collapsed onto the ground.

No strength left in her limbs. How many Lords was it now?

They didn’t hold freakish abilities like Mara but they weren’t easy to deal with either.

All of them had defences beyond ordinary levels. So much so that if Ria wanted to even scratch them, she needed to put her all into the battle.

"You’ve certainly matured. Quite adamant on not using the Eclipse huh?" Astrelya rested her chin on her palm. Hearing the mention of Eclipse, Ria gnashed her teeth in frustration.

"Please stop mentioning it since my answer will always be the same. No, I’m not using it!"

Astrelya stared at the girl in silence.

"Even if you’re about to die?"

Ria opened her mouth but paused. Lying to Astrelya didn’t work.

In the times they’ve been talking with one another, Ria understood that Astrelya could read people very well. Freakishly well.

It felt close to mind-reading but at the same time not quite.

In another sense, perhaps it’s telling whether or not someone is truthful to themselves or not.

"I don’t know. It depends on the situation. But what I do know is that it’s the last thing I’ll consider." Ria replied truthfully.

She stared at the Abyss Lord of Stars, already calculating ways to counter her arguments.

Yet Astrelya didn’t reply the way she thought she would.

Instead, she simply rolled over on her cloud.

"You’re boring. You’ve made me feel bored." Astrelya finally spoke as Ria raised an eyebrow.

"Me? I made you bored? Who the hell decided to kidnap me!?"

Why was it suddenly her fault now???

"You’re boring." Astrelya pouted in annoyance.

Ria couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

Astrelya, Lord of Stars, was pouting like a child because she felt...

Bored???

"If you’re bored then why don’t you let me go now? Surely you can do that right?" Ria’s smile twitched.

Astrelya flipped over one more and stared at Ria.

"No."

"Why not?!?!" Ria sat up in frustration before flinching from pain.

"You bored me. So you have to make things right again." Astrelya sighed in frustration.

How could she of all people lost her desire for chaos? How could she feel numbed by the sight of fighting?

It was impossible.

Yet it happened.

She found herself receiving no joy from such sights.

That along has left Astrelya more confused than anything in the world.

Ria wanted to counter but what could she say? Unless she could beat Astrelya, she could only play along with the Lord.

"Tch, what do you want to do then?" Ria asked.

Astrelya thought about it for a moment before shaking her head.

"I don’t know. You decide."

Now that she found no joy in seeing people fight, it felt as though she had just lost her path.

All she could do is stumble around in this darkness.

Ria scratched her hair.

"Then... Why don’t you help me track down a strong Lord for my seventh Sigil." She suggested.

"Will it be amusing?"

". . . I certainly hope so. Since you’ve been enjoying yourself with the sight of my struggles, this one will probably entertain you." Ria’s smile twitched.

She wasn’t sure what Astrelya was going through but this was the perfect opportunity for her to do a proper Hunt in the depths of the Abyss.

Thinking about it for a moment, Astrelya nodded her head.

Reaching down, she grabbed Ria by the back of the neck and tossed it onto the cloud.

For Ria to find something she wanted to Hunt, they needed a natural communion point.

With how many Lord’s she’s defeated till now, their target will surely be something impressive.

". . . Hm?" Astrelya frowned, clenching her fist a few times.

’So it’s begun...’ She thought to herself.

She could feel it... she was desynchronising with the Eclipse.

If she sought neither war nor famine, what else is left for her?

###

A garden stretched endlessly beneath a silent sky, untouched by time.

Every petal, every leaf, every blade of grass suspended in a single unchanging moment.

No wind stirred the branches. No insects hummed.

A perfect garden with no signs of life.

Above, a pale moon could be seen casting a soft, silvery glow that bathed the area in luminescence.

Threads of light drifted through the air like strands of silk, weaving lazily between trees and arching over pathways.

Beneath everything, a narrow river flowed through the garden. The ripples upon the surface frozen as with everything else in this place.

It reflected everything in the garden with perfect clarity. The moon. The drifting strands of light. The endless rows of flowers drinking in its glow as though time itself had forgotten to move forward.

And amidst all of this...

A single woman rested.

Her figure lay near the edge of the river, untouched by the world around her, as if even this frozen realm dared not disturb her slumber. Silver light pooled softly across her form, tracing the curves of her body.

Griselda approached slowly.

Lumiria had kept this place quiet.

A sanctuary untouched despite the chaos unravelling across the world beyond its borders.

The destabilization of the Sun had fractured what once stood as a unified force, splitting it cleanly into two opposing factions. Alliances that had held for generations were now brittle, strained by conflicting ideals.

Then there was the Eclipse.

A threat that once loomed over the world like an inevitable end now lay silent, its presence reduced to nothing more than a distant memory. What was meant to descend and terrorize the lands had instead fallen into a strange, unnatural slumber.

War died. Famine could not be found.

Even Enris, who once responded to the desperate calls of her followers, remained distant. Rituals were performed. Offerings were made. Prayers echoed into the void.

And yet... no one responded.

It’s as though the God themselves had turned their backs on the religion, on their followers.

If that was truly the case...

Then the Moon may not be any different.

Her eyes drifted back toward the resting figure.

She had chosen stagnation. No progression forward nor backward.

She simply remained suspended, watching everything as an observer.

Indulging herself in this garden with luxuries belonging to her. Rather than the world, her attention was focused on a single man and his sister.

"Are you... unsatisfied with my stance?" Lumiria suddenly spoke as Griselda felt a chill down her spine.

She quickly kneeled down as cold sweat rolled down the side of her face.

"I apolo-"

"No need. Your dissatisfaction are not uncommon. As the Goddess presiding over the Moon that governs immortality and spirituality, the expectations placed upon my shoulders are that of healing." Lumiria chuckled, waving her finger, dismissing Griselda’s disrespect.

"People see the chaos around the world and beg for me to heal the cancer that has taken root. But how I can heal something that’s not injured?" Lumiria chuckled ominously, causing Griselda to frown.

"The world is simply in its transition phase. A new blood moon will rise. That much is undeniable. That damn Nyer was a step ahead of us." She sighed.

Glancing back, she gestured for Griselda to take a seat.

But the Apostle didn’t dare.

Seeing this, Lumiria simply shrugged her shoulders.

"The new goddess is simply waiting for the right time to be born. Faith is already being gathered in that strange new realm of his. One of Nightmares. It functions similarly to the Abyss but far more forgiving.

"Only if you look on the surface that is. It’s no different to brainwashing people into becoming his supplicants." Lumiria chuckled.

Snapping her finger, a single stain of red appeared on the moon.

Against the white canvas, that tiny bit of red was extremely noticeable.

"By this point, even trying my best to completely wipe it away wouldn’t work. It’s rooted far too deeply."

Griselda stared at the moon.

"What are your orders?" Griselda exhaled slowly.

Lumiria smiled.

"Now now, let’s not be too hasty. If the birth of a new god is inevitable, why rush and waste effort? Instead, why don’t we focus on me getting into the right mood to ’save the world’?"

Appearing in front of Griselda, Lumiria lifted the girl’s chin.

Griselda closed her eyes.

"Good girl." Lumiria licked her lips as her left hand reached for Griselda’s chest.

Her fingers traced the Apostle’s skin before slowly digging in.

Griselda flinched, holding back a cry.

"Shh..."

Reaching deeper, Lumiria plucked out a faint strand connected to Griselda’s soul. She coiled her finger around the strand, tugging at it lightly as Griselda’s shoulder started to tremble.

Even when supressed, Griselda’s reactions caused Lumiria to grin as she gave her soul a vicious tug.

"ARGH!!!"

Unable to hold back a cry, Griselda stumbled backwards as her body began to spasm.

Before she could fall against the ground, Lumiria caught her.

"If you keep wiping your soul clean, this will only get more painful for you." Lumiria narrowed her eyes.

Seeing the tears forming in the corner of Griselda’s eyes, Lumiria leaned down and licked a droplet away.

"It hurts my heart to see my Apostle hiding secrets from me. I wonder what you saw that’ll cause such a reaction? Perhaps... something to do with the sun? You wouldn’t wipe your soul clean if it wouldn’t cause me to believe that you’ve turned traitor."

Letting go of the strand slightly, Lumiria allowed Griselda to recover before plunging her hand deep into Griselda’s soul, grasping at the core.

"!!!"

The pain so too much for Griselda. She couldn’t even let out a scream as her back arched upward.

"I’ll forgive you since you’ve done a lot for me. But with the world changing, I can’t allow such a thing to continue, do you understand?" Lumiria whispered, giving Griselda a light kiss on the neck.

There was a cruel light in her eyes as her fingers continued to violate the core of her soul.

"Go call Tristan over for me. I think it’s time for me to indulge myself a little before I correct this world back to its natural order."

Forcing herself to nod her head, Griselda panted heavily as Lumiria finally let go and allowed her to collapse on the ground.

Picking herself back up before giving Lumiria a bow, Griselda limped out of the garden while the Goddess of the Moon stared at her retreating back.

She looked down at her fingers before bringing up to her lips and gave it a lick.

"The taste of a traitor..."