Abyssal Awakening-Chapter 975: The Cog’s Vision

Miki jumped through the air.

Alyss kept the statue staggered, shattering one arm and then another in explosions of molten stone.

For any attacks coming from above, Alice intercepted them with her arrows.

The three of them focused on the boss while the others kept the extra monsters away from the group.

With the caster acting as the core, the two tanks pushed the beasts back while the healers kept them alive.

With this setup, they progressed quickly through the fight.

The boss was getting desperate, but Miki continued to shout commands. She kept an eye on both sides. Whenever the tanks started to struggle, she would throw a spear or two to assist, and Alice did the same.

Then finally, an opportunity revealed itself.

Without hesitation, Miki jammed her spear into the statue’s core.

Light erupted outward as the statue reached toward the moon.

Cracks raced across its figure.

As a precaution, Alyss continued striking the statue, making sure to erase every part of it.

Alice pulled back her bow, ready to strike if needed.

Yet the anticipated counterattack never came.

The boss simply crumbled away along with the rest of the fanatics.

Silence.

The group didn’t know what to say.

The tanks slowly lowered their shields while the healers exhaled in relief.

After seeing the vision before the fight, they had expected something abnormal to happen, especially with the strange voice speaking in their minds.

The things it spoke about.

Even for Miki, it sent a chill down her spine. It felt almost as if it were proclaiming a shift in the natural order of their world.

Was the boss simply a prophet?

Either way, with the boss dead, the arena slowly returned to normal.

Alyss massaged her shoulder, a slight frown on her face.

"If this is the boss then... I’m somewhat disappointed, I have to admit."

Alice didn’t answer. She swept her gaze across the arena, searching for irregularities.

Lingering hints of what might be moving in the dark.

But she found nothing of the sort.

And yet the vision still lingered in her mind.

Miki let out a small breath. "We’ll review that vision later."

They collected the loot while Alice stepped toward the ash.

There was potential for a new skill, and based on what the boss had been doing, manipulating gravity shouldn’t have been impossible.

But just as she was about to make the connection, she stopped.

Something was hidden in the ash.

Something the others hadn’t noticed.

Why?

How had they missed this?

A frown formed on Alice’s face.

A fragment of the boss that hadn’t dissolved with the rest.

It was a mask of sorts, half-buried in the ash, the edges already crumbling to dust.

But that wasn’t the important part.

Alice crouched and lifted the mask slowly from the ash.

Smooth. Pale. Almost as though it had been crafted from porcelain.

A face.

Not blurred like at the start of the fight.

Not faceless.

It had obtained a shape.

From one angle, the features...

Resembled her own.

The curve of the jaw. The shape of the eyes.

That smile.

She shifted the mask slightly.

The resemblance changed.

The cheeks, lips, and gaze now looked like...

Alice’s fingers tightened.

Velouria.

It wasn’t a perfect match.

But the mask in her hands looked like a merger of the two of them.

From one side, Alice.

From another, Velouria.

She couldn’t resist.

Alice brushed her fingers along the curve of the mask.

Crack...

The mask fractured.

Thin cracks spread rapidly across its surface before it collapsed into powder, slipping through her fingers.

"Did you find something?" Alyss asked, noticing that Alice was taking longer than usual.

"Hmm... somewhat." Alice frowned.

Was it simply a coincidence?

Or something more?

Shaking her head, Alice let out a sigh and focused on acquiring the boss’s skill.

###

The Witch of the Nightmare sat atop a tall clock tower, watching Alice’s fight.

"If you were going to come here, boss, you should’ve told me earlier. I would’ve prepared a tea party for the little princess," Monika chuckled without turning around, her eyes fixed on Alice.

She had set up a few triggers, but...

She hadn’t expected the cogs to respond in such a manner.

"I don’t want your stinky tea." The girl in Nyer’s hand stuck out her tongue while Monika feigned hurt.

"So what brings you here, boss? Or are you wondering what I’m up to again?" Monika finally turned around with a grin.

She snapped her fingers, and a table and chairs appeared.

Nyer didn’t refuse. He sat down and placed the girl in a seat beside him.

Rather than letting her drink the tea, he extended his arm. She licked her lips and began drinking his blood.

"My~ how indecent." Monika took a sip of her own tea.

"Have I told you that you resemble Yvael more and more with each passing day?" Nyer finally spoke.

Monika laughed.

"That’s to be expected. Or rather, you expected as much, didn’t you? As her fragment, the more I play with the cogs, the more likely I am to walk the same path as her." She traced the rim of her teacup idly.

"And don’t lie to me. You’re interested too, aren’t you? You’ve always been a sucker for her prophecies." Monika closed one eye playfully. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Nyer didn’t deny it.

"But since you’ve come this far, I suppose I can tell you a bit of what I saw." Monika leaned back.

As she opened her eye, Nyer glimpsed a world of turning cogs behind her vision.

"Are you aware of the two types of prophecies in this world?" she asked.

"The first is prediction. An answer derived from extrapolating information from the world of cogs, the variables and likelihoods of certain actions.

"This kind of prophecy is crafted from a multitude of smaller cogs forming one result. With enough preparation, one can alter certain triggers and adjust the outcome."

She tapped her finger lightly against the table.

"The second kind are those etched into the cogs themselves. A sequence of actions leading to a singular, immovable moment. A cog so large it cannot be shifted, no matter how many smaller triggers you manipulate."

"The kind that led to Yvael being sealed?" Nyer asked.

Monika nodded.

"Exactly. Yvael’s shattering. The death of Velouria. Those were cogs that could not be changed. You can delay them. You can fight them. But in the end, what is written will come to pass."

Nyer exhaled slowly.

"Then what about the vision she saw?"

"Me? Show her? PFT! AHAHA!" Monika burst into laughter, nearly falling off her chair. She clutched her stomach before slowly calming down.

"That’s where you’re wrong, boss. I didn’t show her anything." She wiped away her tears. "I said I’d tell you what I saw. Not what I decided to show."

Nyer frowned.

"So it was the choice of the cogs?"

"Not really. More like... a convergence of triggers assembling into one moment." Monika shook her head.

She hadn’t expected it either.

For Alice to receive that kind of vision.

"Assuming what you say is true, how much of what she saw is prediction, and how much is set in stone?" Nyer asked.

"It’s a mix of both. There are fates already locked into place. Your role included."

Nyer’s eye twitched.

"Dreamweaver. Unweave the fantasies the gods bestow upon mortal minds. Let destiny no longer be a script etched with divine hands, but a blade placed in mortal palms."

After reciting the line, Monika gestured to the world around them.

"There are already victims of fate walking their paths, and you are no different. Dreamweaver. The Primordial Flame. The Priestess. The Avenger. And... the Final Arbitrator. There are also those yet unnamed. Their roles uncertain. But the key players are already on the board."

Monika grinned.

"The new era is coming. So congratulations, you’ve won the battle. But the war’s outcome is yet to be determined." She clapped her hands lightly.

"As for the fates that cannot be changed... I can only tell you one. And even then, I risk black chains clasping my wrists. Do you have the heart to do that to a maiden like me?" She held out her hands dramatically.

Nyer’s brows furrowed.

"The final refusal. What kind of fate is it?"

The moment he spoke, a faint shimmer appeared around Monika’s wrists—chains waiting to manifest should she say too much.

"There’s your answer. No can do, boss." Monika forced a smile as cold sweat rolled down her back.

But this kind of danger...

It made her heart race with excitement.

Nyer exhaled deeply.

"Then let it play out. I will continue as I always have."

The girl finished feeding. He picked her up and left the clock tower.

Once he was gone, the chains faded.

Monika leaned back with a sigh of relief, glancing up at the Nightmare sky.

Even as a fragment of Yvael, she couldn’t perceive the full scope of the cogs’ vision.

If she wanted to see it all, she could force it.

But if she did...

Her fate would seal itself.

Just like the prophecy.

What was spoken would no doubt come to pass.

No matter how they struggled against it.

"Let her eyes be the mirror in which false divinity beholds its end. Through her eyes, let truth pour like molten iron and be forged into chains to pull down the gods."

Monika paused.

"An age of suffering..."

She smiled faintly.

"Oh, Alice... what kind of future are you bringing to this world?"