Prince of The Abyss

When Orion awakened, he found himself lying on some hay, inside some sort of hut. Panicking, he tried to get up to his feet, but the moment he tried, his bones started to scream at him.

Groaning in pain, he lay back down, breathing heavily, as a man approached him. ”I really don’t think you should move; some advice.” It was an old man, one who could barely walk, using a stick to help himself, as he walked over to him.

”Where am I? What happened?” Orion asked, still not quite himself, in a state of shock.

The sound of his stick echoed as he rested it next to his head. ”While I can’t answer the second question, I can answer the first: this is my home. I found you nearby, close to death, and so I saved you. You’re quite lucky my old body still got it.” The old man said, trying to flex his other arm, shaking as he did.

Seeing this, Orion tried to relax himself, to remember what happened. With his arm shaking in pain, he moved it over his face, resting it on his forehead as he stared at the ceiling.

From what he remembered, they were fighting that giant monster; well, fight was a giant overstatement. He was trying to run away, but then he saw Aether frozen in place, and he knew he couldn’t leave him there, so he tried to wake him up, for nothing. Once he tried to drag him away, it was too late, as they were flung away.

He was surprised he wasn’t dead; after all, something of its strength could have easily killed him. Which is why he believed it didn’t intend to; it only wanted to separate them, not kill them. For what reason? He had no idea.

He also had no idea where he was. Aether didn’t seem to be around, so they had probably been flung in different directions, which wasn’t very nice. But still, he had to get back to his feet and try to find the others; after all, if the monsters in this place were like that, he wasn’t sure how long they were going to last by themselves.

”How much until I’m fit?” Orion turned his head towards the man, asking calmly.

The man scratched his forehead. ”Let’s say a week to get fully back; for everything to fully hit, you seem to have gotten hit bad.” Probably because he had tanked more of the hit when it happened, shielding Aether.

Also... a week... while it wasn’t that long, it still was beyond anything he wished to wait... way too long. Who knew how many people could die in that time... he couldn’t waste it.

”I don’t think I will wait that long.” He said, as he suddenly started moving. He raised his upper body first; he felt his heart beat through his body, pumping blood, as he shook violently, but in the end, he managed to raise himself.

Breathing heavily, he moved his legs slowly and barely, getting up to his feet. He didn’t have the best balance, almost falling over multiple times. But he was up; the bad part... was that he wasn’t good enough to handle all the pain and shock he had gone through, as it finally caught up to him, sending him back to the ground.

He could hear the old man laugh as he was barely still awake, on the fine line between falling and staying awake. ”Rest, you will need it.”

...

As much as he didn’t want to, he was going to accept it.

...

And he did. A full week had passed since he had entered the Wonderland, and his body felt much better now; he could actually move without any pain. Now on his feet, he stretched his body, testing to see just how well everything had healed, and to his surprise, it was completely healed. ”You’re quite the doctor... I have to say.”

The man smiled, waving it off. ”Me? I’m just an old man, nothing else... though I am grateful that I was able to help a Reader”

...

Orion’s eyes widened as he heard it. ”Huh?” He said, confused, unsure if he had heard the man correctly.

He burst into laughter at Orion’s confused reaction. ”What, isn’t it obvious you are a Reader, are you not? Your regeneration is faster than a normal human’s, as is the strength of your body. It’s fine; you don’t have to worry. I don’t have Readers like most; I actually am really fond of them.”

Orion tilted his head, still confused about what he was saying, and more importantly, how he knew what he was, how he knew that he was a Reader. ”What do you mean?” He asked, referring to how he had specifically pointed out that he was fond of Readers, unlike others... which had a pretty obvious meaning, but at the same time, maybe he was wrong, or just making stuff up.

”Oh? So you really don’t know anything. Well then, let me explain. This part of the Wonderland is filled with stories that have merged with it, and they all have a common enemy: your people, who enter books and change their endings. You are the ones hunted by them, so you will have to be careful.”

Orion’s eyes widened as his mouth opened for a second... this meant that in the time he was resting, other people were getting hunted? And he didn’t know? He had never thought that he would find himself in this position, where he would have a bounty just because he was a Reader; it was... insane.

It was already hard to believe that they were aware of their ability to enter books...

Well, at least he had to... he had noticed it, how he didn’t have access to the Codex anymore, and he figured it was what it meant when it gave them that warning, but he definitely hadn’t expected this.

...

It was horrible news, probably the worst you could hear; not only were they trapped in a place filled with powerful monsters, but they were also hunted by humans around the place, and they couldn’t go back. From what he saw, he could use his powers and relics, but he lacked the ability to leave the Wonderland or see his Codex.

It was a very dire situation... but he wasn’t going to lose hope. He had managed to survive a battle with a Breaker Titan; nothing scared him anymore, and definitely not some humans.

...

And he had stayed true to it... Building a small group of survivors in the next month and so, getting bounties for their heads... and they weren’t the only ones; he also noticed that Aether had a bounty, which was a relief.

Recently, he had gotten news of some Readers trapped in the dungeon of one of the biggest Kingdoms in all of the Wonderland, well, this part at least, so he and his team had come to it... However, the dungeon was like a maze, so they had split up... and instead of meeting up with one of them.

He had met with someone else.

...

”Well, hello there. My name is Merwin. May I ask what your name is?”

Orion clenched his blade, watching with the side of his eyes as people moved through the darkness behind him. This guy wasn’t alone; he was here with more people. This was a fight he could never take, so he had to be careful. ”Orion...”

Merwin smiled. ”Orion, well, what reason do you have to be here, huh? Perhaps you want to save a Reader... but if so, why would you do that... if you aren’t one yourself.” He leaned forward. ”Speaking of it, your face. I know it from somewhere, from a bounty... if I remember correctly.” He laughed. ”So you are a Reader.”

Orion nodded. ”I am, and what if? I’m here to rescue my innocent people. We Readers are getting killed for no reason. Your reasons are wrong. We may enter books, but we have our reasons too: our own survival, and plus, we don’t change the story, only for the book.

Merwin frowned. ”Does it look like I care? Doesn’t matter if in the original story everything is fine; what matters is that for the people inside those books, you guys enter and change everything, kill people, and destroy everything, the lives of those who were actually innocent, unlike the ones you put this title upon.”

Orion opened his mouth, trying to debate, but before he could, Merwin stopped him. ”I don’t care for what you are about to say; after all, you are a dead man.”

When he heard those words, his eyes instantly widened as he turned around, trying to block the incoming attack, but because of the shadows, he couldn’t see where it was coming from until it was already too late.

Orion watched in terror as a blade penetrated his chest, and blood started to pour from inside.

Merwin leaned forward, whispering into his ear.

...

”Every single Reader inside the Wonderland will die... mark my words, no matter who they are, or how strong they are.”