Prince of The Abyss

"If you don’t mind me asking... how are you alive?" The woman asked. She knew such a question was not normally asked; it was both disrespectful and, most times, you never have a reason to ask.

But in this situation, there was a reason.

For everyone in the Withered, the fall of the Rebellion was very sudden; rumors of them taking down a Blue Rose camp had given a lot of them hope, only for it not to last long before their deaths also happened, at the hands of Freedom.

Lilith was someone known throughout the Withered, ever since he had come to take on the Vessel of Freedom, and while then, he might not seem that dangerous, only because the person he was facing was a monster, he was still known to be powerful, so people knew to believe the rumors, after all... they were used to loss.

And yet, here he was, the leader of the Second Rebellion, fully alive.

Aether tilted his head, putting his hands in his lap. The floor was cold, and his hands were getting cold from it. "Did not expect such a bold question, if I’m honest, but it’s not like I want it to be such a secret. I just entered by trial, and had the luck for there to be some sort of after-death world. Then I finished my trial, ascended to Seeker, and here I am."

The woman smiled, happy to have gotten her answer. "Oh. I see... so you’re a Seeker, sure makes me more confident that I could actually do this... the Trial is my only fear, since you can’t help with it.

Aether chuckled. He knew how she must be feeling; for someone in the Withered, becoming a Seeker, or just challenging your trial, were not normal things; they were things only a few were able to do, and only that few would ever dare to do it.

He knew she was scared; from what people said about Trials, they were very hard, and they were, for most, just like his had been. But for someone like her, who wouldn’t have to kill, it shouldn’t be that hard; she just had to be smart, since she would most likely have a trial that tested her thinking and puzzle-solving abilities, since it wouldn’t be able to give her powerful monsters, due to the low rank.

It was also why the Blue Rose could make Seekers so easily; they just got someone to help the Reader reach Enlightenment, then let them challenge their Fragment Trial alone, or with someone who had taken the same path.

This was probably the first time this happened in the Withered.

...

"Also, Maeve, right? Where are you going to keep your child when we’re inside a book?" The woman’s eyes widened; she hadn’t thought about it. She had been so caught up with this whole thing that she didn’t realize that her child would be alone for some time.

"I..." She tried to figure something out, but she couldn’t, so she just stared at him, seeing if he had any idea.

Aether sighed. "He can live in the Library if he wants; it’s been abandoned, and in my years living inside, no one has broken in. Plus, ever since it became the HQ of the second Rebellion, people had been avoiding it out of respect for us, and I think it’s still the case. Maybe not for the same reason, though."

... "And for food and water, I’ll buy some, probably enough for how long we will take."

"For each book." He added.

...

Maeve smiled, looking at him. "You truly are such a strange person, you know?... Truly... I thank you... "

Aether stared... unsure how to react; he was never good at it.

"I’ll go find a book and buy the supplies for your son. You can come back tomorrow, and we will start. I still have some things to do."

The woman nodded, waving, before leaving him.

He sighed, lying on his back.

"Now that I’m thinking of it, this time until summer, will it even be enough?" He chuckled.

Lifting himself to his feet, he dusted off his mantle... mostly for show, since it couldn’t get dirty.

"Better start now. I won’t have that much time."

...

...

...

He had forgotten how it was to just go around the Infinite Library and search for a book... neither had he done it that many times, only twice, since his master used to choose them when he was with her... kind of ironic, how now he was in her position, trying to pick an easy book that he could keep Maever alive in without any trouble.

But it was the truth: he was now a Seeker, helping a powerless Reader, just like she had been.

When it came to picking a book. It wasn’t necessarily that hard... Reader books were the easiest to find. And at his class and Rank, if he didn’t go beyond Demon, he probably wouldn’t have any issue; even if he did, he could still probably do something. He had cleared a Reader Godspawn as a Reader after all... but could you really use Frozen Crown as a norm?

He didn’t spend that much time picking the first Reader Echo book he saw. The book wasn’t anything serious. Just some sort of small farming village, trying its best to survive, but recently, there has been something that made their harvest fail.

Simple and easy, it was going to give her enough sync for the first story... the only thing he had in mind was how he was even going to change the ending, since it seemed pretty straightforward... he was probably going to have to take the villain path yet again...

Closing the book, Aether put it back where he had gotten it. It was good enough, so that part of his work was done. Only one remained.

’I’ll remember it... though, before going to get food and water... I think I still have something to check that I’ve been ignoring...

Let’s see just what creature came out."