Prince of The Abyss

After eating the steak, Aether and Sena finally entered their first book of the practice season.

...

...

The moment his eyes opened, the first thing Aether noticed was the wind.

It hit him so hard he almost took a step back. If he had thought that the wind in the Wonderland was rough, then he knew nothing, because this one was way worse.

His mantle snapped violently behind him, and if Sena hadn’t put all those clips in his hair some days ago, it would be getting all over the place, and it still was, some of it, but at least none of it got in his face. The wind forced him to narrow his eyes before he could even look around. The gust didn’t stop after a second. It kept blowing, roaring through the forest without pause, bending branches until they groaned under the strain.

It was as if the trees were dancing around, as if the forest was nothing but a big stage, filled with dancers; it was strange, and extremely hard to withstand.

"...Damn... how the heck...." Was this the condition he was going to have to fight all the way? This was too much. He could hardly keep his balance, and he was expected to fight? That must be a joke, since if it wasn’t, he really wasn’t in a good position. ’At least I’m not alone... Wonder how Sena is doing.’

Slowly turning his head, Aether looked at Sena, whose hair was just flying everywhere, while her face was like a stone, just enduring it. ’Yeah, she probably isn’t enjoying this.’

The trees surrounding them were unlike most he had seen, which also made the whole forest dancing thing even crazier and weird. Because these weren’t just any normal trees.

Tall, you could look up and almost not see the end.

Thin.

Dark bark climbed toward the sky before disappearing beneath a ceiling of tangled branches. Hardly any sunlight reached the ground. It wasn’t because the clouds blocked it. Those were already gray enough; funny, isn’t it, how a blue sky can be completely covered, but still, it was not the main reason. Rather, the trees themselves swallowed what little light remained, covering almost every opening above. As much as you tried to see the sun, you couldn’t

The forest wasn’t dark enough that he couldn’t see, which was slightly weird, but at the same time, not something impossible to happen; after all, the clouds were more hollow than normal, so light was able to get through, and while the trees blocked it, they were too thin to block it completely.

It was actually quite the opposite.

Everything remained perfectly visible.

Yet somehow...

Everything looked dull.

The colors had faded into different shades of gray and deep green, giving the entire place a heavy atmosphere. It almost seemed as if all the colors had lost their pride and glory, and just dimmed into darker colors, since they were the only thing here. He could see no warm ones, like red or yellow, and if he was to see one, they would probably be the darkened ones. Moss crawled across the trunks, while twisted roots broke through the earth like the fingers of something trying to climb out.

Made him wonder just how old this forest was, after all; the Wonderland had to be extremely old, even more if somehow it was the same Wonderland from Frozen Crown, and since this story hadn’t been cleared yet, it had to have existed for how long.

Leaves raced across the ground every time another gust swept through, circling around them before disappearing deeper between the trees. It was almost like they were racing; he could even see a number drawn on one, a twelve. Why or how it had it, he had no idea... ’Kimi?’

Not a single bird sang.

Not a single insect buzzed.

Did they even exist in this place? He doubted it. It looked nothing like an environment where anything could live; with this kind of wind, any animal would just get blown away.

Only the endless howl of the wind remained.

It almost sounded like whispers.

"...Cheerful place," Aether muttered... of course he was only joking; this was the exact opposite of what something happy and cheerful would look like. It was almost like the whole forest was depressed.

His eyes wandered farther ahead, looking between the many trees, where he finally saw something.

Something stood between the trees.

A cabin.

Small enough that it could barely fit two or three people, it leaned slightly to one side as though the wind had spent years trying to tear it from the earth. Dark wooden planks formed its walls, weathered until their original color had long disappeared. The roof sagged beneath old wooden shingles, patches of moss growing between them wherever rain had gathered over the years.

How old was it? It had to be old; it looked to have endured years of hardship, but how could anyone even build something like this in these conditions? And more importantly, why would anyone put themselves in such torture? Why not live in a village or something? Not only is building it hard, but you will also have to go to the village either way to get stuff; plus, he didn’t doubt that soon enough this cabin would definitely fall.

The chimney stood crooked, built from uneven stone, though no smoke rose from it. ’Which probably means this thing is abandoned; I doubt that the owner wouldn’t have lit up the fireplace if there was someone inside.’

A narrow porch stretched across the front, protected by a simple awning that creaked every time the wind pushed against it. One of the support beams had split near the bottom, yet somehow continued holding the roof above. ’That’s just... a hazard. That thing can fall any second, and the whole thing will go down with it... who even designed this thing? I have too many questions...’

The windows were small.

Clouded.

Too dirty to see through.

And I mean... what do you expect for something abandoned in this place for years?

And the wooden door...

Moved ever so slightly.

Not opening.

Not closing.

Simply trembling against its frame each time another powerful gust rushed through the forest.

He didn’t want to go inside of it, but at the same time, it had to be connected to the story, and while he knew that going by the story might not lead to them changing the ending that much, it could also be the opposite, and it was much safer than just wandering around all day.

’When the book gives you a clearly important thing near the place you get teleported to, you go to it.’

Turning to Sena, he pointed to the hut. "We should probably enter it; it will most likely have something to help us."

Sena rolled her eyes. "Then let’s just go already... this wind is annoying..." Then she smirked, looking at his face and how the wind played with him. "You look funny."

Aether slapped his face. ’Moron.’ Before heading to the cabin, with Fate following behind.

He was skeptical, so he made Sena get on the porch first; that way, if the beam broke, she would get crushed instead of him, but luckily, nothing happened. So Aether hesitantly followed Sena inside. Slowly and carefully opening the door.

Inside the cabin was exactly what you would expect from such a cabin: two small beds and a trapdoor on the floor.

...

Out of all three things, only one obviously stands out.

Aether walked over to the trapdoor. "Do you think we should open it?"

Sena chuckled, taking the lollipop out of her mouth. "I mean, I don’t doubt something is under there, but at the same time, why not?"

’What kind of thinking is that... and why has she corrupted me to have it too?’

Aether sighed. "Fine, let’s do it. It’s not like we have any other clue to see what we have to do."

Kneeling down, Aether quickly opened the trapdoor, backing off instantly.

... Yet nothing came out, which confused Aether.

Sena got closer, looking inside, but there was nothing, only darkness... Had they been wrong, and there was really nothing there...

But just as the girl was about to close it. A voice came out of it.

"My children... You have returned... Are you ready to start your quest, or do you still need to prepare?"

’So there is something... and it’s definitely important... so how do we get all the information out from this guy... even if it’s weird that it called us his children... I don’t think he’s lying... not biologically, but there might be a chance that the thing down there raised us.’

Aether approached, clearing his throat. "Haven’t we prepared enough already? I think we’ve been ready to depart for a long time... but before we do, I think you should repeat our goal; we know it already, but just to make sure."

Sena looked at him, confused, not understanding what he was saying, but he just waved her off; he was talking to the voice, not sure.

..."Ah... of course..."

...

"Killing the Twelve Guardians that have brought terror to the world, and sealed me away. Only then will I be able to get my body back,

and we will be reunited yet again."