Prince of The Abyss

There were twelve regions in the world, or at least that was what he learned from a map he had stolen from one of the dead bodies. Each holding one guardian, and each... big. ’We’re going to have to walk for a while; hope there are interesting things along the way.’

To get to the next region... sadly enough, they were going to have to walk through the damn forest again, but luckily it was going to be the last time, so he wasn’t that salty about it. But it had gotten annoying, seeing it so much.

’I can’t wait to finally escape these leaves and trees...’

...Aether glanced at Sena, who looked unbothered, just sucking on her lollipop as always... it was the first time he had seen her use her powers... and they were scary, but that relic proved that it was also dangerous for her.

If it wasn’t for that lollipop, could she lose her mind?

Sena glanced at him, then elbowed him in the stomach. "What are you staring at?" She smirked.

Aether groaned, holding his side. "Nothing..." He said, smiling, veins almost popping in his forehead.

...

"Do you regret killing them?" Sena asked, but Aether didn’t sense any mocking inside her tone or eyes. But what reason did she have to ask such a question?

"I... don’t." He walked past her, pacing faster... "They are just characters in a story." But Sena noticed his tone... it had changed; it was different from normal.

...

...

Aether looked at the map, scratching his forehead. "We shouldn’t have that much left until we’re out of the forest, but... it’s the second day of walking, and night is coming. And I’m not sleeping on the ground again."

He moved the map toward Sena so she could see, and pointed to a watchtower. "There, we will sleep there. If there are humans inside...

...

We’ll just kill them. Plus it’s close; in around five minutes we should see it."

Yet as he raised his eyes, he saw Sena look weird at him. "What?" He asked, confused.

Sena grabbed the map and threw it at him. "Why do you explain so much? You don’t always need to give me reasons, you know. It’s stupid."

Aether stared at her, his eyes widened... But... that’s just how I am...’

He sighed. "Alright..."

...

...

Reaching the tower... he was a bit... let’s say, disappointed.

It wasn’t nearly as impressive as he had imagined.

From far away, he had thought it would be one of those giant watchtowers from the stories his father used to tell him, stretching high enough to overlook an entire kingdom.

Instead...

It barely reached above the treetops.

The whole thing leaned ever so slightly to one side, making him wonder how it hadn’t collapsed already. ’If the cabin had been a safety hazard, then what do you call this thing?’ Large cracks climbed through the old stone like vines, splitting blocks that had probably not been replaced in decades. Some had already fallen away completely, leaving small holes where the wind slipped through with a low whistle. ’The house where the voice was now this, what is my luck in this forest... like come on why can’t I find something that isn’t about to fall?"

He turned to Sena, putting on a smile.

"...Well... at least it still stands."

Moss had claimed almost the entire lower half of the tower, creeping between the stones until it was difficult to tell where the wall ended and nature began.

’I have to say... I’m a bit scared... if this falls with us, we might get injured, maybe even die if too much falls on us...’ Thick vines wrapped around it from every direction, climbing all the way to the top before disappearing over the edge.

’Nature really did its work... though while I guess it’s pretty, I’ve gotten too used to it. I’m not enjoying seeing it anymore; I would have liked it way more if it was fully standing and brand new..."

Even the wooden platform near the entrance looked exhausted.

Several planks had broken clean through, leaving gaps large enough for someone careless to step straight into. The railing wasn’t much better. Half of it had collapsed, while the rest looked one strong gust away from following.

’What if I have to go and take care of my needs at night? Do I have to be careful not to fall? He frowned.

The door itself was still attached somehow.

Barely.

’It’s that bad that this is a good thing to note...’

One hinge had almost torn away, making the whole thing hang crookedly. Every time the wind pushed against it, it let out a long, tired creak, like it had been complaining for years but nobody had come to listen.

’It’s almost scary...’

Aether looked up.

The roof wasn’t much of a roof anymore.

Parts of it had caved in long ago, allowing patches of grey sky to peek through the broken beams. Birds had nested inside the openings, flying in and out whenever the wind shook the tower hard enough.

...’ And let’s hope it doesn’t rain... whatever, It’s just one night."

"So..." Aether muttered, folding the map before putting it away.

"I guess whoever lives here either doesn’t care about repairs..."

His eyes drifted back to the tower.

"...or they’ve been dead for a very long time."

Sena chuckled. "Probably the latter."

Aether shrugged before taking a step forward, but the moment he did, an arrow landed just behind where his head had been before...

His eyes widened, and his brain froze for a moment, but his instinct didn’t. His eyes instantly looked up to see a human... if you could even call it that. He was heavily dismembered, to the point that parts of its body were missing, holding a bow, and ready to shoot it again.

’What the heck... what is that... is there something else outside of guardians in this world?’

...

’Rather, is there something else the guardians were protecting the humans from outside the voice...’