Prince of The Abyss

Aether took a long breath, only stopping when he was far away from the beasts. But he wasn’t expecting to be following the leader of this kind go group.

Either way, he was safe; he had survived their meeting, without dying that is. Since when does it come to without any small creature slipping on my car?

In the end, what mattered was that he was able to escape that; in the end, that thing wasn’t able to run after him... he remembered how terrifying it was, and he didn’t want to do it twice.

...

At first, when he had started to follow the hunters, he wasn’t planning to run, no matter what happened. His legs weren’t made to run after walking for such a while.

But in the end, with both his gut and the Abyss telling him to do so.

He ran.

At first, it didn’t even feel real. Just the familiar sound of his own footsteps, the uneven rhythm of broken stone under him, and the distant hum the creature gave off every time it changed direction. He didn’t dare look back. The memory alone was enough, that towering shape, smooth obsidian, arms too long, legs too silent, a blade unfolding from its arm as if it had always been there. No. He wasn’t turning around.

His breath hitched as he saw a fallen pillar in front of him. He swallowed, leaping over the pillar. The ground there was quite slick, since it was covered in a thin layer of mist that curled around his knees, like some hands... like the world was trying to slow him down. Every few steps, he stumbled, but he caught himself and pushed forward again, never giving up. His lungs had started to burn, as he wasn’t getting the right amount of oxygen, maybe his body was tired, or maybe because he wasn’t used to the air in this world.

Behind him, the mist shifted; it wassnt evident, but enough. Enough to tell him the sentinel was still following.

’Damn it.’ As he realized that thing was still tracking the echo of his emotions. Even without sensing it, he felt the pull of his anger and agony; he had to calm down his emotions... his fear, or he would never get away.

”Great.” He chuckled to himself ironically. ”Just perfect.”

He ducked under a random stone arch he randomly found, the ceiling crumbling slightly as he brushed it. The path in front of him narrowed, forcing him sideways. His shoulders slammed into the wall, the pain flashing through him, yet, like the rat he was, he continued going, trying his best to just survive another day.

He didn’t have the luxury to stop. Not here, not while the thing behind him didn’t need to breathe or think, and most importantly, it didn’t need to hesitate.

The mist thinned for a moment, revealing the long staircase he had passed earlier while following the hunters. Aether hadn’t paid it much attention before, but now, he practically threw himself down it, skipping the entire section with jumps that were definitely not safe, like he was inside a film. But really, at that certain moment, he did feel like he was inside a moment, and safety wasn’t really an option. He slipped once, yet with his reflexes, he was able to catch himself with the help of the rails. He clenched his teeth and kept going.

When he reached the bottom, he finally risked a look over his shoulder.

Nothing...

Just... the mist. Pale, silent... unmoving.

Yet, he wondered, was this supposed to comfort him, because... it wasn’t. At all.

He slowed, but only slightly, wiping sweat from his forehead with a shaking hand. Every shadow looked wrong now, every echo made him flinch. Even the ground didn’t feel stable; each step he took felt like he was walking on memory instead of stone.

Far ahead, the broken corridor widened into a large open platform. He sprinted toward it, then stopped only when his legs refused to move anymore. His breathing was ragged, heavy, the kind that hurt deep in his chest.

Aether stayed still for a long moment, waiting, listening.

Nothing followed.

No cold hum.No shifting mist.No click of obsidian limbs.

He took one final breath, long and shaky.

”…Okay,” he whispered. ”I’m alive. I’m alive. That’s… something.”

He straightened, wiping his hands on his clothes. He didn’t want to admit it, but the truth settled in anyway; he’d been terrified. And he definitely didn’t want to do that again.

Whatever that creature was, whatever those eyes were… one meeting had been more than enough.

He’d survived. Barely.And that had to be enough for now.

...

...

So that had happened... moral of the story.

’I’m never trusting this guy again.’

The Abyss was clearly offended, manifesting itself in front of him while crossing his arms, with a deep frown on his face. ”Excuse me? Because of me, you were able to run. I told you the perfect moment to do so. Plus, I was the one who saved you when you messed up and revealed yourself. And even after, you were lucky their emotion were... tastier.”

Aether scoffed, walking towards the Abyss... passing him, staring beyond him, as if it was nothing more than a servant. ”But you were also the one who had gotten me into that situation, weren’t you?”

The Abyss gasped at his attitude; the brat really thought that he was in control of everything. It turned its body to face him, yet Aether didn’t turn to him, looking in the distance in front of him. Looking inside the mist, staring at nothing, and yet taking in everything that was happening.

”There is something you don’t get, you brat. Even if you didn’t follow the hunters, you would have stumbled into the territory of another monster. And I couldn’t have known that they were heading in its direction. This world was created for you, for your trial; neither you nor I know anything about it. So you can’t rely on me to give your information. That’s what your god damn ability is for!”

Aether blinked twice.

He had completely forgotten about Shadow speech’s existence, with the rebellion not really needing it to get information, since they could get it from their people. And with it, more consisting of fighting, he had forgotten he had it.

And there were a lot of shadows in this place... a lot more than usual.

There weren’t as many places filled with to hide in as in the Withered. But... when it came to The Lost, there were a lot more. But why?

The first one that caught his eye was a lost knight. Or rather his shadow.

A tall, broad-shouldered, draped armor that wasn’t really armor. It was made out of a deeper shade of shadows, like it was part of his body, but trying to mimic what it used to be. Flat plates flickered across its chest, forming for a moment, then dissolving like smoke.

Its helmet was split down the middle, and inside was nothing, just darkness that pulsed faintly with every slow step it took.

It didn’t look back at him.

It simply stood there, its head bowed, and its hands resting on an invisible sword it no longer carried.

If he had to guess, it used to belong to a Knight.

..

Another he was was thinner, the edges of its form fraying like torn cloth. Its ”robes” fluttered without wind, covered in runes that could barely be seen, since they were just colored in a slightly darker color than the rest of him.

Its face was pitch black, like any shadow.

It held some sort of black staff, yet, it didn’t seem to be functional... not anymore.

If he had to guess.

’A mage...’

Those were all the shadows that caught his attention, that was... until his gaze saw another, just walking around aimlessly.

It was smaller than the others, its outline flickered widly, shifting between shapes like a glitch, a cloak, no cloak, long legs, short legs, mask, no mask.

It laughed, but the sound was empty.

Aether tensed immediately.

The shadow’s mask flickered into place for a moment, a wide grin and painted eyes, before melting again into smoke. It spun around in a little circle, wobbling around like a little child, as if dancing to a tune nobody could hear.

...

This one reminded him of someone... someone he used to know... and be.

’A fool.’

...

These three stood out the most, but there were many more, which was strange, why there could be so many different lost, all in one place.

What even was this place...

The Abyss walked to his side, also staring at the Fool.

”This place... is quite strange, isn’t it?”

Aether sighed, nodding his head.

”It is, I feel lost. I just started, and I don’t know what to do. I know this is a seeker book, but shouldn’t I at least be put in a better place? I don’t even know where I am.”

The Abyss turned his eyes towards him, almost chuckling at his oblivion.

”So you don’t remember?”

Aether’s eyes widened as he turned to the Abyss. What could he not remember?

”You were sent to a better place, at the gate of a city, but you were killed by some bandits, and then... came the weirdest part about this place... You woke up here.”

The Abyss looked away from him, glancing beyond them, at the horizon.

”Meaning that this world is the underworld.”