About a week passed by and for Ran and the others, it was quite slow.
A few days into the week, a white dog covered the entire area in front of the ship. According to what Queenie had said before she was separated, this was a sign they were close to reaching their destination: The middle layer—a port town by the name of Angleford.
In fact, the atmosphere was filled with so much anticipation that even Pis'patria, the world itself, seemed to have sensed it and Ran was not summoned there.
But on this day, and even the one after that, a story would be told. And it won't be by me; well, I'm the author but you get it.
There they were; after eating, they all huddled around a bonfire as the night sky glittered overhead. The fog had carried with it a freezing air, and since the ship didn't have heating, they gathered and made a fire. It was a nice way to bond as well, so none of them were in disagreement.
Ran, Bob, and Ann all sat on some cushions around the fire while Fluffys entire body was slumped over Rans lap; he would stroke her blackish-purple fur continuously as she closed her eyes in contentment.
All was silent, they were all just waiting to arrive at this point and the chilling fog had sapped them of their usual teen energy. They would acclimate to it soon enough though. After all, two of them are from the desert, which gets cold during the night; one of them is from a cave, and the other used to live on a snow-capped mountain.
Then, out of nowhere, Bob spoke after sighing; it seemed he had been ruminating on it for a while now.
This was definitely unexpected since Bob wasn't much of a talker. Even Fluffy talked more than him as she would often speak to herself in a low voice—maybe she was plotting something? Bob would usually only speak when spoken to, though, so him taking the initiative meant something. This caused everyone to turn their attention towards him.
"Is… is what you said earlier, true?"
Though everyone was looking at him, he was just looking at Ran. Ran was momentarily taken aback by this sudden question—what could he mean, he thought.
He circled around his memories and only found one point of interest that would suggest Bob displaying this behavior. Thereafter, he responded:
"Of course I meant what I said! look, no matter the problem, and no matter my strength, as long as I can help I will. That – my friend – is a guarantee."
Yet, before Bob could sigh in relief and express his appreciation, Ran continued.
"Plus, as long as you're with me, you'll definitely grow much stronger as well!"
Ran wasn't the type to boast, but he couldn't help it in front of his friends; plus, everything he said was true.
"I… I believe you." Bob once again sighed in relief.
"Then, would you like to hear a story?" Bob was going to say things he never thought he was going to say.
"By story do you mean… an origin story!?" Rans eyes were glistening. Which child did not like story time?
Bob could smile wryly before nodding.
"Have you guys heard of the Southern Pit?"
"The Southern Pit?" Ann shook her head and Fluffy didn't know as well.
Ran, on the other hand, came to a realization after rummaging through his memories.
One day, when Ran was still a child, his father was out with his mother and he had snuck into his office. Of course, the reason he was able to get in there in the first place was because his father had left it open by accident (?) as he seemed to be in a hurry. And Ran was even more curious as a child, so he wouldn't miss this chance.
Now, once he entered inside, the first thing Ran saw was a regular old wooden desk. The black leather chair behind it was misaligned and on the desk lay an unfinished book, a bunch of papers strewn about, and a pen that used soul juice to make ink.
Except, behind the desk was a wide bookshelf that reached the roof. The bookshelf was filled with handwritten books, leaving no crack unfilled. But the strange thing about the place wasn't the bookshelf, it was the one behind it, and the one behind that one, and behind that one, and the one behind that one and… you get the idea.
The office was more like a library than an office, which made it look like a really long hallway.
He eagerly strode past the desk as he went to a book on the shelf and opened it. It was fascinating; it was complete with drawings and descriptions. He picked up another, which was equally as amazing as the first. The more he picked up books and skimmed through them, the more he realized how fantastical they all were. They were all about the history of this world. Many of them included legends of people and their rise to power, while some others were about the various mysterious ruins scattered throughout the world. Many others, though, were about the various races that live on this planet.
All had depictions drawn on their covers; this only amazed the child Ran even more. Then he stopped, for he noticed one book in particular.
After all, even without the books, who hadn't heard of the golden serpent? In fact, you can see it from just about any place in the world. And this was what he saw depicted on a book; a golden serpent.
On the cover read "The Northern & Southern Pits".
He opened the book and read the prologue:
"Ten thousand years ago, a world serpent appeared and coiled around it. With its size, a simple sneeze would have wiped out everyone on this planet. Though it lays dormant, the world's people can only hope that it never awakens, for it shall mean the death of every last soul that claims this land home."
"Fortunately, the geography it landed on had the least people, though of course, it has no people now. Yet, one place its body covered up was most interesting. The Northern Pit. At the north most land of this world lay a hole that stretched over a hundred miles in circumference. coincidentally, it was at that exact spot that the serpent's head rested on."
"Not only that, at the southernmost land, there was another hole of the exact same size. No one knows how they were formed, or created, and their potential purpose if they have one. They had been here long before any of us can remember, so it is assumed they are naturally made."
"While the Northern Pit is closed off by the serpent's head, the Southern Pit itself is of great importance. The dark and foggy place was rife with life, many of whom had evolved to live in such an environment."
"Except, all of that is irrelevant… we've found an anomaly there."
…
"Yeah, I've heard of it."
"Oh? I suppose it makes sense coming from you." Bob was saying this in accordance to Rans previous status.
He then explained to the other two.
"Well, I'm from there; that's my home."
At that moment, everyone was shocked, then they understood. That would explain his pale skin and various fears of the water and the local stars—he had just never experienced them before.
So, it turns out that Bob was from what was basically a giant cave.
"Yep. I gotta say, it's quite different from… this place."
Bob started describing the place like how the only light they had was very lazy and would come out for a few hours to find food before returning to their nest. Or how they had small rivers of underground water to drink from. He even said that many plants lived there as well and described one of them as "helical trees on fire".
He went into even more detail and at this point, it was clear he was just beating around the bush and avoiding certain topics.
"Let me tell you, some animals even glow in the da-"
"Okay we get it! Look, dude, I know you're hiding something from us; you really don't have to tell us, but don't worm around it if you were planning on saying it."
Ran was starting to lose focus; either tell us, or don't. He preferred for him to open up though. How else could he help?
Bob could only sigh as he reluctantly opened up.
"Alright, alright. I suppose I can tell you guys. Actually, it's... about my family."
"Much like you two, my family also has their own enemies. And we've been fighting them, and losing, for the past five…"
He paused for a second, as if to accept the reality he was in before continuing:
"Millenia."