Prince of The Abyss

He was alive; he had no idea how he had survived, but he did.

Really, the moment his body hit the ground, the thought that it was the end, never would he have thought that the wings really worked. They had slowed him down just enough, just enough for him not fall to his death.

And yet, his eye flinched as he gripped his chest tighter; his ribs were all messed up. The pain was almost unbearable, as if a boulder had fallen on him. So he quickly lay back on the bed, trying his best not to worsen his injury.

Taking the blanket off, he saw that his body was covered in bandages. Of course, the marks from using partial control were still there, the circles around his heart and soul, glowing under the bandages.

They could never be covered.

He looked to be inside the Inn again, so from what he expected happened, someone had found him, or maybe even the Inn owner herself, and brought him here, so that they could treat him.

What he didn’t understand was why.

If this happened in the Withered, no one would help; moreover, they would rob him, maybe even worse, he had heard stories from his master.

But then why, in the Tides, a worst place if he had to say, did the people have morality?

Was it that their fear of death and their anchor of denial, that makes them think they aren’t dead, is so strong that they insist on helping anyone who is close to dying?

He didn’t know if they did it out of fear or just because someone dying in front of them would shatter their anchor.

But coming from a merciless place like the Withred, it was a nice change.

Now... there was a lot he had to think about.

...

’Who in the hell is that guy...’

The being that had stepped in while he was starting the partial control, so had almost caused his death, who was he? And what kind of power did he have to be able to do something like this?

Why did they say that he had a power close to his. Was it another God? It was the only one who responded to what the Abyss had said, but who would it be? It was true he had never seen any other God. But he didn’t think they would look like that.

I mean, they were eaten by shadows...

At first, he had thought that he was the Demon of Dread, with the whole Demon Fallen from the whole name thing. But it itself had said that it wasn’t, which had twisted his whole world on him, just like the reveal that the Abyss hadn’t been to the desert, which was something he was going to have to figure out.

But if the being wasn’t the Demon of Dread, then who was he?

’And what did he mean by us meeting again when I learn to spread the truth?’

Spreading the truth isn’t hard to figure out, after all, you just have to know the meaning of each class.

A Harbinger, they are the ones who spread the truth.

So it says that they would meet when he becomes a Harbinger, but why then? Why so late? He was a reader, I mean, inside his trial, but a reader, he was not even a fraction away from becoming a Harbinger, so why did he want to wait so long until they would meet again?

And if so, why did he come to meet him now? What did he get out of it?

He had said he had no reason why he was here, but was that really true? He didn’t understand the motive of this meeting. Did he just want to say that they would meet when he was Harbinger? Was it a warning?

Did that Angel wish for him to be strong, since it was going to try and kill him when he became a Harbinger, or something like that? But why? Why would he do that?

Also, really important, this meant that he wasn’t a being from this world, but one that existed in the real world.

It wasn’t just a strong being created by the Codex, but someone who knew about it, who possessed it, and lived inside earth.

This was in no way good.

As he was dreading every moment, the door opened, and the woman behind the counter stepped inside.

Leaning against the frame of the door.

”You looked like piss rained on you.”

”What?” Aether asked, confused.

”Cheer up, you’re alive.” She walked over to him and slapped his chest, making him flinch in pain.

”What is genuinely wrong with you!”

She burst out laughing like a maniac.

”You know you are sure lucky if one of my people didn’t find you, that might have been the end for you, but they did, and I was able to take care of your wounds. You know, I wouldn’t have expected you to try to climb up the tower. Do you know how many have tried doing that, to try and get back their lives without entering?”

Aether gritted his teeth, still trying to deal with the pain from the slap from before. What was this lady even saying, climbing the tower, I mean, yeah, he had done so. But he had entered the tower... did she mean that some people had tried to climb it from the outside?

”I didn’t, dumbass! I challenged the trial. I didn’t try to climb up the tower. How is that even possible? The walls of the first floor don’t have anything for you to climb on.”

The woman chuckled between her words. ”Now you’re just spitting lies. If you had climbed up the tower by challenging it, you wouldn’t be here now. You can’t leave once you enter. Its not that embarrassing, I promise, even I tried one time to climb it that way.”

”I didn’t! I climbed up fair and square, until I reached the final floor, and I couldn’t get past it, so I just broke the wall and jumped down.”

The women frozen, turning serious, as she realized he wasn’t joking.

”... But how are you even alive!?’

Aether sighed.

”I’m not sure myself... The last floor is terrifying. The being on the last floor is truly a monster. I’m not even sure how you can touch him.

The woman nodded slowly.

”I know, Denial is very strong.”

...

”How do you know what’s on the last floor? You never challenged it!”

The women laughed at his reaction, hitting him on the stomach more times, and making him roll around in the bed from the pain.

She stuck her tongue out.

”I have connections.”

Aether stopped rolling, intrigued by what she had just said.

”Connections.”

The women nooded, knowing he was going to ask about it.

”Yes, connections with people who have been in contact with others who have successfully ascended, people who know the weaknesses. But don’t have the power to actually take advantage of them. Things like how to touch Denial-”

”How!” Aether burst up, but with his ribs raging inside him, he quickly lay back in the bed, trying his best not to make his wounds worse...

again.

”Don’t know, they asked for a lot of money in exchange for that information. So I never got to learn... but maybe they would tell it to you.”

Aether swallowed... would they? Did they really know how you can attack that bastard, how you can actually hurt him, I mean, he didn’t have any idea, and he had battled with those monsters many times while trying to get out of the illusion, and after he got out, when he was trying to escape.

But she said they got their information from people who have won against him, so they had to know how. But would they give it to him for free? It wasn’t plausible, but at the same time, maybe he could ask to do them a favour rather than money.

”Where can I find them?” Aether asked, determined to find them and get his answers.

”Well, thats were the problem arises. I don’t know... they used to roam around the Tides, outside of the city. But ive heard they found a spot to settle, but people don’t know where it is.”

’Damn it, that’s bad.’

Aether sighed, trying to get up. ”Then i better start searching.

But the women stopped him.

”Do you want a dead wish? Going to search for them like this, you can’t even walk. Do I have to remind you that it’s outside the city, you are bound to come across monsters much stronger than you? Do you really think you can survive like this?”

...

Aether looked at himself, badly hurt.

...

”No...”

As much as he wanted to say yes, if he did, he would just be killed by the first monster.

”Then you better be good and recover.” She said while leaving.

Now, he was alone.

Aether laid his head back on the pillow, sight.

”This is going to be a hassle.