Morning came early in the tribe and everyone had roles to keep the hierarchy going. It had been around a month since I had become a member of the tribe. I was even assigned to gather for food provision by Lilith, together with some other Nymphs. But today, it was different since I was told to go deeper in the Abyss.
"Enna, can I ask you something?"
"Hmm? What is it?"
Accompanied by only Gia, I was wandering in the 23rd floor, trying to find something to hunt. And yes, we got closer right after our duel. She even called me Enna, a new nickname and that was quite refreshing to hear. Maybe it was true that fighting could bring you closer to your opponent, no?
"What are those chains? I always forgot to ask you whenever I had the time…"
Gia bent her body slightly as she stared at the chain stuck in my right hand.
"Ah, this is some kind of seal, or so I heard.", I replied honestly. "Remember when I said I lost my memories? I found myself buried alive in the 6th floor apparently."
Yes, that was the setting Dea had suggested to me. I was a Nymph who had her memories lost and was somehow buried in the Abyss. Dea kept insisting that I shouldn't expose my real identity to Gia and the others. Lilith was an exception, though.
"Heeeh… Can you take it off?", she poked the chain curiously and it made a soft clanking sound. "Wait, how is it even attached to your right hand anyway?"
"Didn't I tell you it is a seal? I don't know the details but my instinct told me something bad would happen if I took it off.", I explained, trying to make it sound convincing. "And I don't know why, the moment I came to, this thing was already attached to my hand."
Man, why did I have to keep lying like this? I gradually became aware of how hard it was to spout lies and deceits. Was there any difference for lies? Was it really true that there was a good lie and a bad lie? The more I thought of it, the more disgusted I became to mankind.
"You've had it rough…", Gia voiced her mind as she stared upward blankly.
I was blinded by my own foolishness, to the point I didn't even realize how kind this girl was. Her feelings were genuine. She wasn't stupid, she was just stupidly honest to her own feelings. Even compared to all the tribe members, she was probably the kindest one.
"Nah, don't mind it. I'm over with it already.", I grinned slightly.
"Is that so? That's good then…"
Hearing her reply, I smiled at her and she responded back with a wide smile, showing her white teeth and a pair of fangs on each side. Seeing that, my heart pounded so hard. I wasn't stupid to not know what kind of feeling it was, but at that time, I just couldn't comprehend it completely.
I was still lost in my own thoughts when Gia suddenly spoke to me.
"Stop, Enna…"
Her words startled me.
"Huh?"
Gia raised her hand, preventing me from stepping further forward. She turned her gaze to the ground in front of us and suddenly, her face turned pale. I then looked at the direction she was staring at. And there, I found traces. Familiar traces belonged to particular intelligent creatures. Humans' footprints.
"Humans…", Gia whispered in a soft voice. "We gotta tell the others! Let's head back!"
She pulled my hand with all her might. This scene reminded me of the time when a certain someone was pulling my hand as we tried to flee from something.
"Hey, why are we running? It would take 2 days to travel back to the camp."
I stopped my legs and it made Gia stop as well. She turned her head to me and started yelling.
"Don't you know how dangerous humans are!? If they are this deep in the Abyss, they should at least be strong enough to kill mid-ranked asuras!"
Cold sweat ran through her palm. I knew it since we were still holding our hands tightly. Signs of fear and anxiety were reflected through her eyes. Her usual bright and smiley face now looked so frightened.
"It's just a matter of time until they find the camp…", she added. "Or maybe they already found it, and now are planning to invade…"
She lowered her head and turned her body back, letting my hand slip from her palm. I had seen this kind of scene so many times, so it wasn't hard for me to understand what kind of emotion she was feeling now.
"Let's think positively. Everyone in the camp is strong…", I placed my hand on her shoulder gently. "They won't fall that easily."
I wrapped my arms around her neck, and embraced her from behind. I studied this kind of thing from Lilith, though. I could feel the warmness of Gia's body. The touch of her skin, her smell, even the silkiness of her hair, I felt it all.
"Why are you so calm? Aren't you afraid of humans?", Gia opened her mouth as she placed her hands on mine.
"Who said I'm not? I'm afraid of them…", I closed my eyes. "It's okay to be afraid of something, but don't let it take control of yourself."
Wait, how did I become this wise? I let go of my embrace slowly and turned her body around so that she was facing me. The fear on her face wasn't completely gone, but she looked better than before.
"We need to rest before heading back. Otherwise, we won't be able to do anything when needed.", I added.
She only nodded her head.
***
"Dea…", I whispered in a soft voice.
[Yes, what is it?]
I was sitting inside a small crevice, together with Gia who was already asleep on my lap. We had been walking for almost a day without rest, so it was quite tiring for her.
"Can you tell me how deep mankind has dived into the Abyss in this life?"
[I do not have the definite answer to that question.]
"I see…"
[But I have several speculations that might match the current situation. Do you want to hear it?]
Hearing that, my eyes widened.
"You're the best, Dea."
[Thank you for the compliment.]
She paused for a brief moment. I didn't know for sure but I kinda knew Dea was quite happy to be praised like that.
[Judging from the traces you have found earlier, they were mostly from the scouts, since the footprints were not deep in the ground and there were no traces of any fights whatsoever.]
I placed my hand on my chin and started racking up my brain as well.
"So you're saying the scouts didn't bring any heavy loads with them?"
[Correct.]
It was suspicious. No matter how efficient they were, those scouts were still humans. They should also have provisions to keep them going. It would be different if they hunted monsters and ate them.
"No, scouts aren't that strong in terms of raw fighting power. And you said they didn't fight against anything. Damn, this is confusing!", I almost screamed while scratching my head.
"Uh… Enna?", Gia woke up from her sleep while rubbing her eyes.
"Ah, sorry for waking you up. You can continue sleeping if you're still tired."
"Uh-huh… I'll sleep a little bit more then…", she smiled and rested her head on my lap again.
Seeing that scene melted my heart.
[You have succumbed to your racial instinct.]
Shut it!
[No, I did not say that it was a bad thing.]
Huh?
[It is a good thing. You become more aware of your surroundings. Especially people around you.]
My face felt really hot after hearing Dea spout those weird shit.
[Anyway, let us proceed to the conclusion.]
"Okay…", I replied in a soft voice, trying not to wake up Gia again.
[Ignoring the fact that they did not bring any provision with them, it is probably safe to assume that those scouts dived into the 23rd floor only recently.]
"Hmm…"
[And if my speculation is not mistaken, they probably have built some kind of temporary base in the Abyss.]
That very answer made me shudder. I could feel cold sweat run through my face.
"Impossible… Even in all of my past lives mankind wasn't able to stay in the Abyss for too long. That was one of the main reasons why we couldn't dive deeper after reaching the 58th floor…"
I felt chills down my spine.
[This has to be related to the rumor.]
"What rumor?"
[Have you really forgotten? The Norse has made its move.]
It all fell into places. The reason why mankind developed so fast in this timeline, why Surtr was sealed in that island, why everything became different from what I had experienced in my past lives, and so on. Every single piece of the riddle has been placed into its right place.
[It is probably also safe to assume that the Divers are aiming to invade the Blood Nymph Tribe.]
I felt a painful sting in my chest.
"Just by the time I thought I found a home…", I covered my eyes with my hand. "Why is it always like this?"
[Calm down, Farenna. After all, it was all just speculation. Whether it is true or not, it is still not definite. You mus—]
"Dea… Please be honest…"
I cut Dea's words. All these feelings I felt got me real good.
[... Yes?]
I stared at Gia's sleeping face before continuing asking.
"Is it possible for me to protect the tribe? Am I strong enough to do that?"
[I cannot say for sure…]
"So I can't?"
[...]
Dea went silent right after, leaving me in despair.