Chapter 1135: Swapping Authority

"So... What do you think about changing your profession to something like ’Lady of the Surface’? This Authority has to go somewhere after all."

What could Feris even say? Just when she thought she could catch a small break, Alice comes and tells her to become the Realm Ruler of the Surface.

An authority that her greatest enemy wielded.

However, she also understood that power and the person are two separate things. Just because an evil person used the power, didn’t make the power inherently evil.

Even so...

This left a somewhat sour taste in her mouth.

Hesitating for a moment, Feris sighed.

"Is the situation that bad?"

"No necessarily. It’s more so to prevent the power from reaching Nyer’s hands. He’s already extracted the Authority of the Void from you. I wouldn’t want him to get the Surface as well otherwise we’re truly doomed." Alice shook her head.

Feris pursed her lips.

She initially expected to leave the stage now that her role is over. To simply pass off the troubles to someone else now that she found Noah again.

But it couldn’t be further from the truth.

Alice still needed her to play her part.

*Sigh~

Letting out a deep sigh, Feris rested her cheeks on her palm.

"I suppose it’s the least I can do after all the help you gave me. But transferring Authority will take a while. My body was synchronised with the Void since I was a child. Forgoing all of that for the Surface Authority isn’t as simple as just making a decision. A reconstruction needs to be done." Feris explained.

"And even if a reconstruction isn’t needed, I think you know the state of my body on the outside right?"

Alice paused.

Indeed, the grim sight of Feris’s body outside of the Nightmare was still fresh in her mind.

Suffice to say, unless something is done, her current vessel is ruined.

"I can do something about the corruption. As for everything else... the reconstruction will need to be done by you." Alice folded her arms.

"That I can handle." Feris nodded. "You just need me to claim the authority right? I’m not sure how much help I can be since I’m not familiar with the power bestowed by being a Realm Ruler of the surface.

"And with Ciel being absent for so long, what’s to say the surface hadn’t changed during that period? Maybe her old powers don’t work anymore. So if you’re relying on me to fight, it’ll be a bit of a gamble." She warned.

"I know don’t worry. As long as we can get the power away from Nyer, I’m happy."

Since their plans have been confirmed, Alice stood up and gave her body a good stretch.

It was about time for her to leave the Nightmare and rejoin everyone else.

As for the corruption...

Alice took a deep breath. Power converged around her location.

With her tasting what the Authority of a Realm Ruler brought, her understanding of casting and manipulation had undergone a slight change.

But despite it being ’slight’, it had fundamentally changed the way she perceived certain skills.

Snapping her finger, a small purple flame lit up above her finger.

She glanced at Feris.

"Take this. It’ll serve as a catalyst for you to borrow my power. If you inject your energy through this and then cleanse your body, this flame will act as a lens that’ll shift the nature of your energy. Essentially, you can purge corruption or anything unwanted with this without me being there." Alice flicked the fire towards Feris, having it stop in front of her.

Feris was about to touch the flame when it turned into a wisp of energy that floated into her body.

"What the-"

"It won’t do anything harmful to you nor is it a contract. It’s a gift, use it however you wish. If you don’t like it, you can extinguish it inside of your body." Alice smiled.

Glancing at Alice, Feris hesitated for a moment before nodding her head.

Giving Feris a wave, Alice’s body slowly broke apart into bands of light that left the Nightmare Realm.

Now that she was left alone, Feris sighed and glanced at the souls of Noah and the others.

The reunion had been short but sweet. Like a fleeting dream, it too must end.

But unlike before, her heart didn’t feel empty.

Because Noah was still here.

A small smile appeared on her face as she gave each of her friends a hug.

"It might take a while... but I’ll definitely find everyone again." She muttered.

Even if their relationship may not be the same as before, even if things may change, she would still love them all the same.

After reincarnation, one could argue that they aren’t the same people anymore.

She agreed.

But that didn’t stop her from keeping them safe and wishing them a good life.

Just watching them from afar satisfied her. And once her role is over... She’ll join them by their side in a new life.

However, right now, she had a job to do.

Letting go of the souls, she gently lifted them into the air as they slowly rejoined the rivers of reincarnation.

Noah’s soul lingered on her fingertip.

"Don’t worry, I can handle myself now. I won’t let you down." Feris reassured.

Only after this did the soul finally let go.

Tears welled up in Feris’s eyes once more but she wiped it away, sending them all off with the most beautiful smile she could muster.

And once they were gone, there was only one soul left.

Ciel.

A complicated expression appeared on Feris’s face.

To kill or not to kill.

She had already taken her revenge. But in her rampage, rather than letting Ciel get destroyed by Oblivion, she had been suspended with everyone else.

There was still a consciousness inside the soul though it was different to the Ciel she knew.

With Noah back by her side to some extent, her initial rage she felt had diminished by a significant degree.

Therefore, the hostility she felt towards this newborn soul could only be called a slight grievance rather than anger.

*Sigh~

"Forget it. The new you holds no crime. I’ll simply take your authority and leave you be." Feris decided to forgive the newly born conscious as she reached out with her finger.

It might take a while but for now, she needed to reconstruct her body to be a suitable hot for the Authority.

###

Nyer stopped his movements. His fingers gently closed the book in his hands.

A strange light flicked in his eyes as a small smile hung on his face.

"So in the end, she didn’t choose to kill Feris." He mumbled.

Fate had laid out two paths for Alice. One was to kill Feris, split the Void in two and claim her seventh Sigil through the Realm Ruler.

Once this was done, the Void would forever be split into two. The Nightmare that he controlled and the Void that she governed.

She would gain immunity to certain laws due to the world she resonated with at the simple cost of her friend’s life.

Once that she had already sought to abandon.

The other option would be to save Feris.

To relinquish their grasp on the Void, essentially surrendering it to him.

However, choosing this path had its own... uncertainties.

Would Feris truly accept such an arrangement? If she does...

Then Alice must’ve discovered Noah and the others somehow.

Even after searching every nook and cranny, neither Feris nor himself could find them.

So how did Alice?

Regardless, it was not something he was going to dwell on.

The fact that Alice had essentially given up on the Void was not something he had expected himself.

There must’ve been an equally enticing reward than control over half the Void. But what was it?

Rubbing his chin, Nyer shook his head.

He has already controlled the things he can control. Moved the Cogs to his advantage. What he can do, he has already done.

Anything else was now beyond his control. To ensure that the final arena was set up exactly the way he wished it would be, there were some things he had to give up.

One such would be the monitoring of Alice’s actions.

He could sense certain movements, certain choices. But he had to give up clarity.

Without this, the experiment would’ve been a failure.

But it was fine. There was something else to take his attention away during this period after all.

"Nyer~ Nyer~ Did you feel that? Did you? Did you?" The young girl’s excited voice echoed out as her bare feet tapped against the cold ground.

She rushed to his side, pulling at his sleeve.

"Sister’s given up on the Void. Does that mean she is giving it to me as a gift? Mnm... she’s pampering me right?" The girl smiled cheerfully, as though unaware of what their fate was going to be.

But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

This girl knew exactly what would happen should she and Alice meet. Whether that be ahead of schedule or exactly on time as he had hoped. One would die, the other would live.

But her own twisted mind perceived it as something else.

"She did. She gave up the Void as well as an early Lordship to save a friend. I’m not sure what kind of reward she hopes to get from that. It could also simply be sentimental emotions. She is someone who values her friendships after all. Just as much as she does with family." Nyer nodded, explaining the situation.

The girl brought her finger to her lips. Her eyes blinked with curiosity.

"Heh~ Does that mean I can take the Void for myself now?"

Nyer smiled and patted her head.

"Yes, you don’t need to hold back anymore."

With his permission, smile appeared on her face as the tendrils of Nightmare advanced through the Void.