Abyssal Awakening-Chapter 999: Exiled To Thalmyra

There comes a point in life when things begin to go astray.

You rarely notice it when it happens. In the moment, it feels small. Ordinary, even. A choice made under pressure. A path taken because it seems no worse than the others.

The world does not stop to warn you. No voice announces that you have stepped onto the wrong road. The sky does not darken. The ground does not split open beneath your feet. Life simply continues.

And so you keep going.

A day passes. Then a week. Then months. Consequences do not arrive all at once. It gathers. Stacking themselves one over another. Subtle at first, then harder to ignore.

A compromise leads to another. One failure forces a second. One wound festers beneath the next.

By the time you understand that something has gone terribly wrong, there is already too much blood behind you to pretend otherwise.

Only then do you look back.

Only then do you trace the events in reverse, past all the choices that seemed necessary until you remember that exact point and say:

"There. That is where it started."

The first mistake.

For her, it was that mission in the Abyss.

Issued by the King himself, at the urging of a family that had grown too powerful to ignore.

Too important to refuse. Too grand to question.

A women clenched her fist in frustration recalling that mission.

Even now, she could still hear the words in her ear.

A collaborative effort between three nations. A search for knowledge. A study of a possible cure for the blight staining their world. It had been presented as duty wrapped in glory, the sort of purpose young knights were taught to crave.

And she accepted it gladly.

With the mission accepted, she departed for the Abyss She had leapt into those depths in search of that hidden possibility, believing she was marching toward salvation.

The wind swept across the upper balcony of one of Thalmyra’s watchtowers, catching her hair and drawing it back from her face in long strands of pale gold, exposing the fine line of her jaw, the sharp point of her ears, and her azure eyes that reflected the sky.

She stood with one hand resting against the pale stone rail, looking out over the city below.

Vines had climbed the tower over the years, curling around the balcony’s edge and threading between the stonework with quiet persistence. A few had crept close enough to brush her fingers, their leaves dyed with the hue of the resplendent sun.

She looked almost gentle standing there.

Naturally, this was helped by what she wore.

Usually, she would be adorned by silver armour, an appearance befitting her station.

But she was not on duty right now. Not in the traditional sense.

Instead, she wore a dress.

Her dress was a deep forest green, elegant without excess, the fabric fitted cleanly around the torso, exposing her collar bone and shoulders. Delicate chains decorated with jewellery hung along the edges like solidified raindrops.

A gold sash wrapped around her thin waist, making her seem more delicate than normal.

This was not the attire that most would expect from an Abyss Lord.

One of the King’s guard at that.

But that had little to do with why she was here.

Her posting in Thalmyra was decided due to her failures. The mistakes happening one after another.

The official explanation had been courteous.

Thalmyra was too important to be left in careless hands. The convergence of the World Tree’s roots made it a sacred ground to the elves, while its position near several Abyssal gateways made it strategically vital.

It was a place where one had to be strong and diplomatic in order to survive. To ensure the other factions didn’t take it over.

Someone of proven ability had to remain stationed there to watch that balance.

And so she was chosen.

That was the version spoken aloud.

The truth beneath it was far less flattering.

She had failed in the Abyss.

Not in the simple ways failure could be excused. Not the kind that could be softened by circumstance or buried beneath the usual lies, losing a skirmish, misreading the battlefield, returning with fewer soldiers than expected. Those failures could be forgiven, provided the explanation was elegant enough.

No, her failure had been far worse.

She had been sent to help seize the Inverted World.

Instead, it slipped through her fingers.

The entire effort collapsed inward on itself, all that planning wasted in an instant. What should have been contained, claimed, and brought under control had instead been lost.

And worse still, Rosalyn had risen from that failure.

She had absorbed the power released in the collapse and ascended to Lordship, taking hold of strength she had never been meant to touch.

Had the Inverted World merely been lost, the court might have forgiven her in time. A failed operation, however costly, could be endured.

What they could not tolerate was Rosalyn’s ascension.

She had never been meant to rise that far. At most, she should have remained a Six Sigil Hunter. Dangerous, useful, but still within the reach of their influence. Still someone who could be pressured, directed, controlled.

But that possibility was gone now.

Because of that failure, the Lord of Scarlet Ruin had been born beyond their grasp.

And she had been the one who let it happen.

Clenching her teeth, she reached out for the bottle next to her and drank a large mouthful of alcohol.

With her dismissal into this city, there’s rarely been cases where she actually needed to move.

Below, the city moved as usual. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Even with the Nightmare hanging over it, Thalmyra carried on beneath a false balance, every faction gathering strength behind closed doors while pretending restraint in the open. Merchants moved coin and supplies. Brokers traded whispers faster than gold. Elves maintained their shrines and watch posts with the same cold dignity they applied to everything else. Hunters came and went with fresh weapons, old scars, and the kind of eyes that suggested they had already decided what could be sacrificed next.

Everyone behaved as though the city was still stable.

An absurd arrangement.

She lifted the bottle again, only to find it lighter than she expected.

Her eyes narrowed for a moment before she set it down beside the others strewn across the balcony floor.

She was reaching for the next one when footsteps approached from the stairwell behind her.

The woman didn’t turn around when the new arrival reached the top.

"If you are already up here, then speak. Stop wasting my time."

There was a brief pause. She could tell the new arrival saw the bottles around her.

A silent judgement.

The guard stepped forward at last and performed a formal salute. A young elf wearing silver armour along with a short cloak hanging from on shoulder.

She would’ve been dressed similarly had it not been for this ’exile’.

"Lady Renna." He called out.

To his credit, he did not let the sight of her in a dress, surrounded by empty bottles, loosen his discipline.

He knew how scary Renna was when drunk. Especially with a shorter fuse than usual.

Renna finally turned her head, just enough for one blue eye to settle on him.

"Well?"

The guard swallowed his saliva nervously.

"There is a situation at the gates, my lady."

"What happened this time?" Renna asked lazily. "Are the merchants trying to smuggle something and making a spectacle of themselves? Did a pack of Hunters get offended because someone bumped into their shoulders? Or are the Brokers once again unhappy with arrangements they themselves proposed?"

"No, my lady." He shook his head. "It is none of those."

That drew a little more of her attention.

Renna shifted, one shoulder easing back against the stone railing as she studied him properly now.

"Then tell me. You climbed all the way up here so make it worth the effort."

The guard took a deep breath.

"A new party has arrived at the gates. Three in total." He hesitated for only a moment before continuing. "Our watchers believe one of them is a Lord."

Renna furrowed her brows.

Holding up a hand, he stopped him from continuing further.

Then, with a flick of her wrist, emerald energy washed over her body.

Her eyes focused on the guard.

"Alright, tell me the details." Renna asked, no longer tipsy.

Now she looked like what she was.

An Abyss Lord.

One of the King’s guard.

"Yes, my lady. The party arrived at the gate a short while ago. Three individuals in total. One of which is suspected to be a Lord level being. But rather than being the one in the lead, it seems as though she is serving a split haired girl with visible side effects."

Renna’s eyes narrowed.

"Suspected?" She repeated. "So we are unsure."

"We are... reluctant to press further without your approval. The suspected Lord appears to have ties to the Brokers. The Underground, specifically. That is why I came to you first, Lady Renna."

Renna exhaled softly through her nose.

She didn’t like it.

The balance of Lords has always been kept carefully in this city. Elves, humans, brokers... none of them could afford to let the other side gain too much ground without risking the entire arrangement collapsing into open conflict.

And now a possible new Lord had arrived.

Not only that, but one connected to the Underground.

People who reached the level of Lord did not ’serve’ lightly.

"Alright, I’ll go greet them." Renna made up her mind. "Have the others maintain watch on the other factions. Make sure none of them tries to take advantage of this before I know what I’m dealing with."

"Yes, my lady."