Abyssal Awakening-Chapter 941: The City’s Hero

When the first Nightmare struck Grand Cathia, no one talked about it. Everyone thought it was just a one off. Unique to them.

A strange dream.

It was normal for the following days after all.

Then the second one appeared.

Then the third.

At that point, people started to talk. They realised this wasn’t normal and talked to the people around them, only to find out they too had this dream.

The power from the dreams transitioned to real life, they gained experiences they shouldn’t have gained before.

Knowledge on martial arts they never trained it.

Powers comparable to Sigils.

There was trouble at first. Bad actors who took advantage of their new powers and confusion, breaking the law and running away.

Her father dealt with that. He was responsible for the peace of the city.

She only had one task, help research what was happening with this shared dream.

Miki could still remember how her Nightmare began.

Corridors folding into staircases, staircases opening into the sky. Air where land should be, land where air should be. A world turned on its head with the gravity pointing towards the sun.

Bells that tolled, transforming the world around her with each ring.

Perhaps it was a vision, perhaps it was her hope. But she saw a silhouette. A man, shining, confident, cutting down all the beasts around him.

It was a brief view before she got swallowed by the Nightmare.

Surrounded by fog and monsters, seeking to survive at all costs.

She fought, she died, she killed.

She met a guide who didn’t give their name.

They simply introduced this game like realm to her, the rules she had to abide by.

Even with the Nightmare looming over their heads, they thought nothing of it.

All it seemed to achieve was to give power to the people.

But there was always this ominous feeling looming in her heart.

The first siege was the worst.

No one expected, no one was prepared.

No one understood why the monsters in their dreams bled into the waking world.

Their walls crumbled. Barricades meant to keep out men and beast did nothing against these monstrosities.

Civilians rooted in fear, doing nothing but watch as a nightmare beast lunged over the wall, crushing the guard’s head.

When the first guard died, the city finally screamed.

Panic erupted and people started to run.

Her father led the Hunters to defend the city.

Within the group of Hunters that he led, there was a certain man.

One the city named a hero long before the Nightmares began.

A successor for her father, a man talented in all aspects.

He swung his blade with confidence. Power blinding the people around him. Always standing ahead of the formation, the mark of a hero who puts themselves first.

Every strike he made left streaks of light in the fog. Each attack lethal against the beasts.

Each one carving hopes in the hearts of those that saw him.

There were casualties, there was grief. But people weren’t discourage for within this tragedy rose a hero.

The first siege was averted, the city roared with applause.

Hero, protector, Sword of Grand Cathia.

They gave him all kinds of titles to celebrate his power against the Nightmare.

Miki was one of them. She too saw him as a hero of this city. the disciple that her father treasured, someone whom she watched climb from zero to where he is today.

Her father trained his martial talents, taught him how to survey the battlefield while she made his equipment.

She saw him as part of their family, a cheerful younger brother who wanted to save the world.

He was even invited to the upper layer. The noble men and women praising him for his deeds. Some even seeking to have their daughters married off to him but he rejected.

Some even thought that he might be the key to unifying Grand Cathia.

The second siege arrived. They were more prepared this time. Walls were reinforced, weapons were made. People understood the danger and prepared accordingly.

The hero charged forth to battle and the siege was averted. This time, with no casualties. An improvement from the first.

The upper layer used sky ships to observe the fight, turning this battle into a spectacle.

They clapped when he carved a beast in half, gasp when a claw narrowly missed him.

Cheered when he countered with confidence, knowing that he was stronger.

The city’s morale rose to new heights.

And once the battle was over, he stood upon the walls and raised his blade.

The hero smiled and Miki remembered that smile.

Bright, confident, unburdened.

Her father would pat him on the shoulder, reminding him to rest.

The city saw him as a perfect hero.

Miki didn’t know it then, but this call for perfection wasn’t praise. It was a demand.

Once a hero achieves ’perfection’, it must be upheld.

Always.

The third siege arrived on a quiet afternoon. Without warning.

Rifts clawed open just outside of the city and people scrambled to the defend. It wasn’t as bad as the first siege but the signs of invasion were missing.

They couldn’t predict when the battle would break out thus they were taken by surprise.

The hero was in the upper layer during this time and rushed to the battlefield.

Like always, he was ahead of the formation and cut beasts down without issue.

Then an anomaly appeared. A beast larger than others. It scooped up the creatures around it and with a twist of the body...

It threw the beasts into the city.

With the hero being ahead of the formation, he couldn’t fall back in time. The beasts were keeping him occupied while the guards couldn’t reach him. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

He was separated from the city but thankfully, Miki’s father was there.

He diverted the Hunters to take down the monsters in the city while ordering the hero to kill the giant beast.

Miki remembered the shriek of a woman as a Nightmare beast tore its claws through her.

By the end of the siege...

Casualties had appeared once more. A boy lost his mother, a husband lost his wife.

Guards had died, civilians lost.

Perfection shattered.

The city still celebrated the victory but there were whispers beneath the cheers.

"If he hadn’t rushed ahead..."

"Had he stuck with the formation, they could’ve covered him."

"They died because of him."

Her father looked tired.

The hero didn’t respond to them.

And for the first time, Miki saw his smile falter briefly.

###

"!!!" Miki jolted awake on her chair.

Sweat covered her back as she glanced around her.

She had closed her eyes for a moment, only to breathe yet didn’t expect to fall asleep.

*Rumble...

Watching the glass of water ripple on her table, she let out a sigh and massaged her temple.

She had received a report that these tremors were a result of Alice forging Suyin’s weapon.

Miki stood up from her chair and made her way to the window.

The tremors continued, steadily. Almost rhythmic in a sense. She found herself counting the seconds between the tremors.

"Alice sure works fast..." Miki muttered under her breath.

The walls have been reinforced with new parts lining the edges.

New weapons hidden between the folds. Vehicles transporting new barricades and devices to act as nodes around the city.

She seemed to be preparing a new barrier.

There was a knock on her door.

"Report." Miki called out, it was her assistant.

"We have confirmed multiple clusters steadily approaching. At this pace, our repairs and upgrades should be done by the time they arrive. Everything is as predicted through our simulations."

"So the approach is the same... what about density?" She narrowed her eyes.

This was where her assistant hesitated.

"Density is rising faster than last projection. There will be more enemies than our original estimations."

Miki tightened her jaw.

The upper layer had their own methods of evacuation and defence. She didn’t need to care about them.

What she needed to care about were the civilians below.

"Raise the danger level. Move the civilians further from danger. Dismissed."

"Yes ma’am." He bowed and left the room.

Miki watched as the barrier hummed to life.

A multi layered defensive wall that’ll help keep the threats from the air a minimum. The defences were a little weaker around the main walls but that’s only to save power. Their weapons were concentrated around there after all.

Taking a deep breath, Miki calmed her nerves.

It doesn’t matter if Alice becomes a hero in their eyes. As long as she is there to keep the city controlled, a repeat of the tragedy shouldn’t occur.

Soon, the tremors stopped.

Giant portals started to appear across the city as newly improved cannons were mounted onto the walls, fitted with the latest parts.

The upgrades were finished just in time.

In the distant horizon, the enemies began to emerge.

"Outer watch confirms visual contact." The report echoed out through the radio.

"Cluster density, extreme. Composition, mixed. No titans detected yet."

’Good.’ Miki thought to herself. They were just large in numbers, no anomalies so far.

"Activate surface artillery. Allow Bai Suyin to control the weapons she wants, don’t displease our genius. Focus on doing what we can and not what we can’t." Miki ordered over the radio as she made her way to the door.

They had to take out as many of the beasts as they could before they reach the wall.

###

Alice stood on the wall. She had changed out of her smithing attire and allowed her hair to flow freely.

Seeing the giant wave of Nightmare energy, there was a frown on her face.

Most of this energy wasn’t connected to the horde. No, the horde only made up a small fraction of this energy.

Something else in there was the source of this unease.