Prince of The Abyss

That damn worm had found them; it knew where they were.

And it was ready to eat them at any moment.

...

But then why wasn’t it doing it?

It hadn’t seemed like a monster who liked toying with his food, but maybe he had been wrong?

Or maybe it was something else that stopped it from eating them, or that made it not want to do it, yet.

...

Did it recognize them?

A monster of its caliber could it have the capacity to remember things, to hold a memory? If so, then it should know each one of their faces.

It should know the family, the fact that it had been able to run away after it had battled with their bodyguard. Maybe it was even angered with seeing them... but if that was the case, it made things even more confusing, since it just added more questions to why it had not attacked yet.

If it remembered Kade, just like the family, he would know him as someone who was able to run away from it, someone who had seen it face to face, and was able to survive. So again, it would more likely fuel his anger.

...

So was it because of him?

He had been the only one from the group who had not run away from the beast.

Well, he had done so at first, but then he had to fight the beast to let Kade run.

So in its eyes, he was someone whom it had fought, and not killed.

You could say it might fear it, but it wouldn’t make sense. He survived not because he had been strong, but rather because the beast just decided he wasn’t worth hunting after he had activated its protection mechanism and torn some of its flesh.

So then what was he for the beast? Since it couldn’t be a warrior.

...

...

A rat.

...

Someone who isn’t worth killing, because it would take more to kill him than the reward he would get from doing so. The worm wanted food, but if he had to waste more energy than he got, what was the point, after all there were animals that wouldn’t fight back, so why attack him?

So basically, the only reason they haven’t been attacked yet is because it considered him a nuisance.

But then why was it here? What did it want?

Well... maybe because while it wasn’t after him, it was after the others. They were praying in his eyes, just like any beast they had faced, running away for their life. None have fought back, none have shown determination and a Will.

So was it maybe waiting for him to leave and let the others alone?

Or maybe it hadn’t made him decide yet.

If he tried eating them, he was going to have to deal with them, and maybe because of him, the other would also fight back, and it would become a hassle for the beast, a waste of energy.

...

Or was it?

That was what the beast was trying to figure out: whether he would gain more than he lost from this fight.

He had no idea how to decide for himself.

But he really hoped it wasn’t worth it.

...

...

...

They awakened early the next day, not only because the day before they had gone to bed early, but because Aether wanted them to be out of this place as fast as possible.

Knowing they were probably only alive because the worm was both lazy and undecisive was frightening to think about, since what if it just decided to make the effort, what were they going to do then?

They couldn’t wait to see what the decision was. If they did, there was a big chance they would just be eaten.

The family was not happy with his decision; they wished to have slept more.

The mother even scolded him a bit, but he ignored it.

His mind was focused on getting out as soon as possible.

Really... it was so nerve-racking.

They have been on the verge of death for some hours now, and they will continue to be.

It was not a great feeling, knowing your life could end at any second, and the more you waited, the bigger the chance got.

Kade, however, had been quite pleased with his decision, even if the extra hours would have also helped him quite a lot; he knew that they could die at any second, so he also wanted to get out as fast as possible.

It seemed as if the boy had developed a good survival instinct alongside his newly formed fighting instinct.

But with how many things have happened until now, from surviving a storm together, to having to navigate through the Harbor and its complicated marketplace. To then having to deal with the bandits after getting out of the Harbor, only to have to run for their life from the very same worm that was circling around them now, ready to feast, it was impossible for the boy not to grow.

But he hadn’t expected this much improvement so fast, and it wasn’t just for his physical strength, or even his instincts, but his ability to act calm...

The boy was human; he was affected by fear, even now he was.

Yet if you were to look at him, you wouldn’t see any emotions on his face.

That was because he understood just how important it was to seem confident in front of the family.

Plus, he wasn’t going to stop growing anytime soon... with what was driving him forward, it was impossible.

Born in a poor family, barely struggling to get through, he must have loved his family above most, his siblings. He must have also been one, if not the oldest, to see another one of his brothers risk his life for them and lose it.

He must have been crushed... and yet, he used it to rebuild himself.

Into what he is now.

And what he will become in the future.

...

He was proud, he really was.

...

...

...

”How long do you think we still have?” Kade calmly asked, but he knew the boy was waiting with his whole being for this to finally be over, of course they would still have to go back, but at least then they could run. Now, they had to walk.

The family got tired from walking, but if they were to run.

”We still have a good length remaining, but that is all I know. I can’t give you the specific time of our arrival.”

Stealing a glance at the boy, he looked visibly displeased, looking at the ground.

It made him wonder just what was going on inside his head.

...

Regret?

...

Fear?

...

Who knew? He didn’t have the ability to read minds.

Did he wish to have one... definitely, it would be extremely helpful to know what people want, what they are really thinking.

But he didn’t.

Heck, he didn’t even know what was going on inside his mind most of the time.

And he was supposed to know what another was thinking?

He should take care of his own first.

Aether put his hand on Kade’s shoulder.

”Well, survive, alright? Trust me, have I ever lied to you?”

The boy squinted his eyes at him, which made Aether laugh.

”What don’t you consider me a sincere person?”

...

”No.”

...

”Well, I guess you aren’t wrong... but this time I’m not lying.”

If his Bane had made him not be able to lie, he would have been dead a long time ago. Most of his time as a Reader, he has lied, so he wasn’t the most truthful person.

Luckily, his Bane only made him weaker when he worked with others... ’Still horrible...’

It was, he just hadn’t seen its true potential yet, since he wasn’t that strong to begin with.

When he got strong, if he did, it would be a lot more noticeable.

...

...

...

The Great Harbor was closer than ever; they were on the last stretch, by his assumption, of course.

Though there was one bad thing, that being that night was slowly approaching, he knew it was going to be hard at night, dangerous too, but at the same time, sleeping was suicidal if the worm was going to attack, it was when they were sleeping.

...

Really, he hadn’t even told Kade about this, but he hasn’t slept in a while.

He stayed awake last time they rested, because of the same reason; if it had to make a decision, then killing them in their sleep when they couldn’t fight back was the best possible answer for it.

Night was dangerous.

But sleeping and staying here any longer was even more dangerous.

So they pushed forward, to the horror of the family, who were desperately asking for a break.

...

It was times like this where he regretted being in charge... having his decisions affect others, it messed with his nerves, to be responsible for the lives of all the others.

One mistake from him... and it was over-

...

...

Well, this time, his decision wouldn’t matter, since someone had decided for them.

Aether cursed under his breath as the ground started to shake under them.