Abyssal Awakening

After the initial ambush by the beast, the caravan resumed its journey rather uneventfully as they approached the first camping site.

All of the food and tents were already prepared and Alice ate her food in silence.

The others were a little curious about her as all they could see was her eye since she changed her outfit before joining.

In case the Zenia family was still around, she wanted to hide her appearance.

Rather than opting for the Jester Sigil since she already replaced her Sigil twice today and any more would hinder her fighting potential, she chose an outfit that covered her hair and body.

She wore a large white hooded robe with silver highlights, a turtle neck white shirt, a pair of grey gloves, a skirt, tights and long boots that reached her knees.

Even though she wanted to hide herself, she still needed to look fashionable to some extent after all.

The only thing that the others could see were strands of white and black hair along with a single visible eye.

Nothing else.

Receiving the food that was assigned to her along with her tent, Alice watched as they sat around a fire and joked about the previous fight. Normally, she would've sat around and listened to them, to hear about their experiences and take parts which she may find useful for herself.

But not right now.

'Still contemplating? At this rate, I might mistake you for a philosopher.' Alice asked with a smirk as she took a seat next to Alyss's throne.

'F*ck off.' Alyss rolled her eyes but there was a small smile on her face.

'I've been thinking…' Alyss began.

'Which you don't do much of.'

'. . .' Glaring at her twin, Alyss rolled her eyes seeing Alice give her a grin and urged her to continue.

'As I was saying. I've been thinking about Albert. About the family. And… about what he said when we confronted him. At that moment, I was too angry to listen to him. The feeling when he turned me… well, us, at the time is still pretty fresh in my mind.

'But I can also see his guilt now. He… really didn't expect it to be me in there. Maybe if he knew, things might've been different.' Alyss hugged her knees while playing with a strand of her hair.

Glancing at her twin, Alice leaned back for a moment.

They both had the habit of hugging their knees when their emotions overwhelmed them.

Alice recently when Selen showed signs of drifting away due to her rapid improvement.

And now, Alyss as she is facing a decision of what she should do when it comes to her brother.

Alyss was always the more 'stable' one between the two when it came to emotions. She was straightforward and rarely found herself doubting what she should do. A strong front for all the years of hardship.

However, seeing Albert was like being hit by a hammer. Her strong exterior shell broke apart and revealed the fragile 'Alice' underneath. The one who loved her family and felt betrayed when they turned her away. The fragile Alyss who built a wall together with Alice as the two relied on each other to face the Zenia family.

The two of them were different yet also the same. They hold the same memories, went through the same torture and felt the same betrayals. But where they differ was that Alice understood she was not the original.

She's the byproduct of Nyer's intervention.

Even though the Original Alice is now called 'Alyss', it should be the other way around. Alyss was only given that name at the time because they weren't quite sure of their roles yet. Who was the hijacker and who was the 'prisoner'.

After their roles became clear, it was far easier for Alice to separate herself from the Zenia family as she did so during the banquet in the Inverted World.

There are only feelings of anger and hatred for the family.

If Alyss was to ask her if she would forgive Albert, Alice would reply with a quick no. The two of them were essentially strangers.

To Alice, there is only someone who wanted to harm her, and she who felt the brunt of his hatred.

But Alyss was different.

As she is the original, she still felt a connection with her family that was hard to forget. A bitter connection.

Should she love or should she hate? It was complicated and Alyss was in turmoil.

She thought it would've been so easy to just forget the past and hate. But after seeing Albert's mournful gaze, his panic realising what he had done, his bitterness and regret that cut his heart in two, Alyss felt doubt sprout in her mind.

Should she see things from his perspective? To understand his reasoning and why he did what he did?

Was it really true that he only went that far because he perceived them as his mortal foe? The one who ate his sister and wore her skin? Or was it all a lie?

A delicate lie that the Doctor and Albert constructed together to fool her.

To make her bring down the walls that she's built up so that they could stab her in the heart again.

'Say… Twinnie… What do you think I should do? Is it right that I asked you to let him go for now?' Alyss asked.

The final point that sealed the deal for Alice letting Albert go was Alyss's suggestion. No matter how Eryn saved her life, if Alyss wanted Albert dead, Alice would've agreed. But she didn't and so she let him go.

'Hmm… Dunno. Only time will tell. Maybe he stabs us in the back again, maybe he doesn't. It's not like we have a Sigil to read his mind.' Alice shrugged.

It really didn't matter to her. Now that the decision was made, she'll live with the choice and embrace the consequences. If he decides to stab them in the back, hell will swing wide its gates for his arrival.

But if he doesn't… Well, Alice will let Alyss decide when the time comes.

He's not her brother after all, even if Alice has the 'memories' of them being together. She could separate her memories and split it into Alice and Alyss.

From the time of her 'birth', to the time when Kaden freed her, to her new family with Allura protecting her.

It was a strange situation. She was both the original due to the memories yet also not due to her soul being 'artificial'. At this point, Alice had to wonder. Was it the memories that made the identity or was it the soul?

If it was the soul... should the person lose their memories then are they the same person? They think differently and have different habits yet the soul is the same.

And if it was the memories… If someone were to die and another takes over, inheriting the memories, are they then the same person as the one who died? And if they are, then are the crimes of the original theirs to bear?

She could go back and forth with this for hours on end and it's something she had never quite figured out.

It's why they decided to call each other twins.

Two sides of the same coin, sharing the same body. It's a simple solution that ultimately leaves the questions unanswered.

Hearing Alice's answer, Alyss was silent. She stared at her own feet and kicked her legs back and forth.

'Don't think about it too much. Just follow your heart when the decision arrives again. I'm always here for you just like how you are here for me. We're twins after all, we have to rely on one another.' Alice gave Alyss's arm a gentle hit, causing Alyss to chuckle before nodding.

'That's right, we're twins. Since that's the case then my mistakes are also your mistakes. If he stabs us in the back we'll just have to deal with it by giving him the most brutal send off we can imagine.' Alyss cracked her knuckles with a forced grin.

Alice understood that her twin was trying to reassure her despite her uncertainty and she wasn't about to pop that bubble.

'Sure, when the time comes I'll let you choose how we should send him off. But that's future talk, let's think about now. I need to figure out how the hell I'm supposed to use Void Steps since I succeeded in doing it against the Doctor.' Alice stood up and gave her body a stretch.

'True. That might've been luck but we need to turn that luck into consistency. Only then, can it be another tool for us to rely on.' Alyss nodded before pausing.

'Thinking back, it was pretty f*cking reckless of you to use it against the Doctor of all bloody people. If you threw your body at him haphazardly we might be cut open on an operation table right now.' Alyss's smile twitched, understanding exactly what Alice did back there.

Realising her mistake, Alice coughed and tried to run but Alyss had already grabbed onto her jacket.

'Deperate times desperate measures! I just needed something to close that gap ya know?!' Alice cried out, trying to escape.

She was akin to a baby kitten grabbed by the back of her neck, flailing her limbs and trying to break free but to no avail.

'As if! You had other methods to use if that was the case! That reckless brain of yours wanted to experiment with the skill because you were in the flow you damn maniac!' Alyss lectured, pushing her finger against Alice's forehead.

While the twins were arguing, Cayla only gave them a side glance before returning back to her books.

'Idiots.'

But despite this, there was a smile on her face. They may be idiots but Cayla enjoyed her time with them.