Abyssal Awakening-Chapter 953: Nursing Arax

Gwen paced around the front of the door.

She adjusted her hair, making sure she looked good enough.

She glanced at her own body, checking for marks or bruises that would cause her father to worry.

After a long pause, she raised her hand to knock... then stopped.

She hesitated before closing her eyes.

’Get a grip Gwen. You wanted time with dad and now you’ve got it. So what are you hesitating for?’ She questioned herself before lowering her hand.

"Do you plan on just standing there?" Shiera’s voice echoed out from within as Gwen scratched her cheek and opened the door.

"I was wondering if dad was asleep or not." Gwen entered, closing the door behind her.

Her usual serious shell crumbled to pieces as the nervous little girl she kept hidden inside revealed herself in front of the Apostles.

"Even if I was asleep, I won’t reject you coming in." Arax’s chuckled loudly while Shiera rolled her eyes and smacked him on the head.

"Keep laughing like that and your wounds will reopen. I swear, can’t you laugh quietly?" She grumbled while Arax flinched in pain.

The room smelled heavily of medicine and burnt incense. Stuff that Shiera prepared to help Arax recover from his wounds faster.

"Hey dad, hey aunty." Gwen took a seat next to Shiera.

"Hm... is it me or do you look taller?" Arax scratched his chin, causing Gwen to laugh.

"That’s because you’re laying down dad. I’ve stopped growing a long time ago."

"Really? Because it seems like just yesterday that my little girl was small as a feather. Now look at you, a Lord." Arax’s gaze softened while Shiera nodded her head.

He raised his hand, wanting to pat Gwen’s head but couldn’t reach due to his injuries.

Instead, Gwen leaned down to make it easier for him, a happy smile on her face.

"Are the other Cardinals making things hard for you?" Shiera asked, grabbing an apple and peeling it with a knife.

With her martial prowess, such mundane tasks were done swiftly as she even used her knife to carve a small character using the fruit.

"You know how they are. They’re certainly trying. But it doesn’t matter, does it?" Gwen shrugged.

"Of course it doesn’t. There will always be people against them. So long as you walk with your back straight and heart clear, you will reach the end with no regrets." Arax reassured as Gwen nodded her head.

"Have you gotten used to your powers yet?" Shiera asked, stuffing a piece of apple into Arax’s mouth while gently feeding Gwen.

"Somewhat. Though it’s harder than I thought." Gwen nodded, holding out her hand as primordial flickers of fire danced around her fingers.

She wanted to use this power to help her father but...

Her control was still lacking and she didn’t want to try something so risky.

Not when her father was the target.

Once when she was sure of her capabilities was she willing to give it a try.

"That’s the difference between a Hunter and a Lord. You’re connected to something bigger. You realise that every time you use your power, there is a funnel attached to you, supplying you for some of the cost. Weird right?" Shiera smiled.

"Mnm. Even though the authority is in my chest, my soul, I can feel the contact I’ve signed when I first got my Sigils. It’s a bit icky." Gwen admitted with a helpless sigh.

"That’s because the one in control of the Abyss is someone different." Shiera shrugged.

"The faceless man?"

"Indeed. Back then, the Abyss was governed by two sides. On one side, you have Velouria, Kaden and Allura. One Goddess and her Apostles. On the other, you have the Will of the Abyss." Shiera split an apple in two.

"When you became a Lord back then, you had a connection to two sources. One was Velouria, the other is the Abyss. But now that she is no longer here, the only thing you have a connection to is the realm itself."

Pausing for a second, Shiera tossed an apple slice into her mouth.

"But with the weird stuff certain individuals are doing to the Abyss, it’s no wonder that the connection feels a little vile right now.

"Even as an Apostle, I still receive some of my powers through the Sigil system.

"There’s a slight conflict but probably nothing as major as yours considering your authority." She shrugged,

Lord of the First Flame.

The origin and the beginning of everything.

Even Solaris bowed to the first flame as his legend proclaimed.

So, now that Gwen has appeared with such authority, the people in the Church were getting worried.

Divided into two factions.

One that supported the rising authority of the first flame, a potential Goddess born from man. The one that’ll bring them to the new age.

The other supported Solaris and the old order. To seek a power beyond god was heretical, to try and usurp the ’love’ he has given.

Pure heresy.

Both sides were at odds yet despite claiming to be supporting her, Gwen found herself rather annoyed with the side wanting the new order.

They were just doing whatever benefitted them without consulting with her. Not that she intervened much to begin with.

All she wanted to do was help people like her father.

So long as there are people crying out for help in this world, she’ll run over and help as fast as she can.

She can’t save everyone, but the important fact is that she had to try.

So it didn’t matter what the factions were trying to pull in the church.

"Just keep your wits about you okay? Even the ones supporting you might try push a dagger into your back." Shiera warned while Arax frowned.

"They dare!? Ow-!"

He tried to sit up only to be hit on the head by an angry Shiera.

"It was a f*cking warning for Gwenny you idiot. Not something for you to hurt yourself over again!"

"I’m an injured patient over here." Arax complained.

"If some stupid idiot didn’t try to kill himself, he wouldn’t be in this situation now would he? He wouldn’t need to wait for reports day in day out wondering how his darling little girl is handling the Church." Shiera exposed Arax’s worries as he coughed awkwardly.

Despite being an Apostle, the wounds he sustained this time were enough to kill him if he wasn’t lucky.

Had Gwen not arrived, he would’ve sacrificed all of his life force to sustain the barriers around the people.

"It’s fine dad, I can handle myself. Plus... If things go wrong I can always get some help right?" Gwen chuckled.

"Speaking of help, have you made more friends or is that stray cat still your only friend?" Shiera asked, hitting where it hurt as Gwen felt as though she was about to cough up blood.

She was already struggling to make friends when she was a Cardinal never mind now.

She is a Lord hailed as the second sun. The successor to Solaris.

Trying to make friends with this kind of background felt impossible for her.

Not to mention, where would she even find the time to do so?

But she didn’t want to worry her father so...

"I got plenty of friends you know?" Gwen forced a smile.

"Actual friends, not subordinates." Shiera cut her off brutally.

Another critical hit as Gwen took direct damage from her words.

"But having a friend like that stray cat is better than 100 normal friends. So in that aspect, you did well." Shiera stopped teasing her girl with a chuckle.

"Have you heard any news from her?" Arax asked curiously.

For a girl who was responsible for the death of Kazira and the chaos in other churches, she was being awfully well behaved.

"Nothing much yet. She’s exploring Extalia right now and there seems to be a bit of chaos happening over there. Something about Nightmares. If you want, I can call her again to confirm a few things." Gwen offered but Arax shook her head.

"Don’t worry about it. I was just asking because I see you two working hard on two sides." Arax smiled.

It was a different feeling, an unfamiliar one.

Being stuck in this bed, unable to move properly.

He wasn’t given orders, he wasn’t asked to give his assistance.

This boredom, this peace.

He rarely got a moment like this when he wasn’t injured.

There was always somewhere that needed his help.

Always a battlefield lacking a proper shield.

He wanted to help people so he didn’t mind. Even as the years passed by, he continued his duty, his routine.

This hardly changed even when Gwen entered his life, a part he was guilty for.

But too many people were reliant on him.

Yet as Shiera said now that he was injured, it was perhaps arrogance and ego. Because now that he couldn’t help, the world continued to push onwards without waiting.

The battlefields may not have him around but there were others to fill the gap.

If one person wasn’t enough, two will rise to the challenge.

If two wasn’t enough, three will gather.

In this sense, the future generation was now carrying their own burdens rather than relying on him.

So when he said Gwen has grown... it wasn’t her physical body.

But her mind, her shadow. She had become reliable, far more than he had ever expected.

After talking with Shiera for a little longer, Gwen had to leave since she received a report of an incident.

Watching his daughter say goodbye reluctantly, Arax let out a soft sigh.

"She’s grown up so fast..." He mumbled.

"Children often do. Things us long living people can’t properly comprehend." Shiera chuckled.

She could still remember wanting to make a sweater for Gwen when she was younger.

But after all the missions, when she finally got the chance to give it to her, years passed and it was far too small.

"For us, days, weeks, months just fly by when we don’t notice. But for her, each second matters." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Staying silent, Arax revealed a bitter smile.

"I wasn’t a good father to her was I?"

"You only just realised? And you wonder why I keep calling you stupid. However." Shiera paused, a smile appearing on her face.

"You’re the father she loves and the family she cherishes. It’s not too late for you to do better." She fed him a slice of the apple.

"And the first step is to stop laughing so loud. The walls can’t handle that kind of boisterous noise and neither can your body." She huffed as Arax was about to laugh when he held himself back.

Letting out a small forced chuckle than a full on laugh.