289 289: The last hallway [pt1]
With the team decided, they entered the dark room that was the last floor of the abyss. It was as dark and gloomy as one could have expected a prison cell to look.
This was not a place one would associate with the finality of the abyss. It did not look like anything could survive the darkness of this place.
“Are you sure this is the right place? Isn’t it too dark in here?”
Rita asked the only one who was in the mood to make observations right now. Her vigilant eyes were looking all around in an attempt to find an exit.
She was not the only one paying attention to her surroundings though. Everyone else was hyper-aware of where they were as well as they continued to walk through the wet prison-like space.
The whole space was giving off a depressing vibe. The further the group went in, the more they felt like the place was not welcoming them.
“Be careful. This place gives me the creeps.”
Rex warned as he felt the energy rushing through him. The abyss was seizing him up, trying to see if he was an intruder or not. It made Rex’s senses stand on the edge and he could not help but look back at his shoulder once or twice.
He was not the only one feeling the creeps right now. Clove was as tense as a spring ready to go off and even Rita was anxious.
The only one who seemed to be a little relaxed was Lucy (Karan) but it was because she was getting used to her new body.
“What are you people doing here? The fact that you are here means that Lady Dheva lost. What a tragedy it turned out to be for us.”
Clove hissed as soon as she realized who the speaker was. There was only one person in this world who could sound this disappointed and still be at an advantage.
“The last overlooker. Be careful with him since he is not someone we can mess with.”
Clove warned her party, knowing well that Horas was playing around with them. Had he wanted them dead, they all would not even have been able to take a step in this corridor.
The amount of influence Horas held on this abyss was tremendous. Some people would even call him the reincarnation of the abyss. He was just that strong.
And currently, he was rushing at them with his sword out.
Rex interrupted that attack with a sword, it clashes with the man and stopped him in his tracks. Horas pretended to play to Rex’s tune as he turned his sword and lost it.
“Oops, looks like I lost. What will I ever do now?”
Horas’s voice was flat but no one took his words seriously. He was not taking them all seriously and he had no reason to as well.
“What do you want from us? Are you here to kill us?”
Lucy (Karan) asked as she watched Rex being pushed back without even meeting swords with the overlooker.
Horas just stood at his place, his eyes looking over everyone who currently stood in front of him. His eyes held no care for anyone but his targets.
“Killing you? It’s quite the opposite. I want to help you people out so that this abyss can finally find rest. Aurora is also rebelling a little because she is worried for your safety. So I want to show her that you all are alright.”
The party tensed as soon as they realized they had been used. The overlooker had expected them all to come.
Clove decided to take a shot at Horas, not expecting her attack to have any effect on the overlooker.
And as she expected. Horas managed to not only side-step her attack but also retaliate with his own in time. Clove collapsed as she clutched her stomach. That punch had hurt her.
“Do not try to fight a battle with me. I am not your opponent or here to cause you trouble. If anything, I am here to help you out.”
Horas said that all so naturally that anyone would have doubted his intentions. But he stood tall and firm on his decision.
Rita was the one who decided to take the chance they were being given. She walked toward Horas and looked him in the eye.
To her, Horas looked a lot like Aurora. From those blue hair to those golden eyes, everything about him screamed familiar and Rita decided to take a gamble.
“I will go with you. If you say that you can show me where Aurora is then I am willing to take this chance.”
Since Rita was the only one who had stepped forward to take this chance, she was the one who should get it. She was ready to follow Horas into a trap if she needed to and Rita had her mind made up.
However, all her hopes were dashed by the one person who was expected to help her out.
“I want to take you with me but I have a feeling the lady behind you would be much better for this job. After all, she was the reason everything started in the first place. It is only right that she gets the final words as well.”
Rita turned around to stare at Clove. Once again, it was Clove that had been chosen and Rita had no idea why. What was it about Clove that made everyone choose her over Rita?
First Ava and now Horas, they had both pointed toward Clove as if she held all the answers to this mess.
“Why her? What does Clove has that I don’t? Why does it have to be Clove who talks to Aurora when it was I who-“
“It is not about who deserves it but who needs to finish it. The reason Aurora was pushed into this situation was because of Clove, or should I say Goddess Clara’s reincarnation? Anyway, you made this mess in your last timeline so you need to clear this up. The abyss also wants to meet you.”
Rita fell quiet after she heard those words. The more she heard, the more she realized that she might not know anything about what was happening here.
Talks about second life and reincarnation, but Rita did not get them. She did not want to get them.
“And if we refused to allow Clove to go alone? What will you do then? We all came here to drag Aurora out so we will all go to her together.”
Rex spat those words out as soon as he realized that he was about to be cast aside. Both he and Lucy (Karan) were ready to force their way through.
Rita was ready to fight as well, not wanting to be left behind as well. But she was sure that Clove would agree.
‘I guess Clove is an enemy as well now.’
Rita turned toward the other female, only to be surprised when Clove did not immediately agree or disagree with Horas. But she was standing on their side which meant that she was not going.
“I cannot accept what you are asking me to do. I do want to talk with Aurora again but it needs to be all of us together. I have no confidence that I will be able to drag Aurora back home alone.”
There was a time Clove’s one word would have made Aurora come running. But a lot had happened since then and both Aurora and Clove had changed.
Even the people around them both had changed so Clove no longer held the same importance she once did in Aurora’s life.
“I see. So this is your decision? You all leave me with no other choice now but to force the will of the abyss.”
Horas snapped his fingers and the world exploded. The hallway that had been empty before was suddenly full of moments.
A lot of monsters began to emerge from the depths of the abyss. Horas was standing in the middle of those monsters, his eyes looking toward the group with lazy eyes.
“Everyone, pay attention. You will need to get past Horas if we want to save Elysia.”
p-a- n-d-a-n-0-v-e-l、(c)om That was the plan and one final fight against the monsters began. It was them against the last of the abyss.
Rita banished her weapons, her entire being focused on getting past Horas and the monsters pressed against them.
Their gigantic claws came down to kill her but Rita managed to get past them easily. Her knife cut through the tough shell of these monsters like they were butter.
She was not the only one who was getting past these matters. At her side, both Rex and Lucy (Karan) were making good progress.
Clove was the only one having problems but it was because of the pain her stomach was in due to the injury she had suffered.
And on the other end of the prison hallway stood Horas whose eyes were blazing bright gold.