"A-Austria? Is that you?"
Wherever he turns his head, all he could see was darkness. Darkness extended further than how far his eyes could see.
"My baby, where are you?"
Invictus' lower half was submerged in the dark matter he was standing in. He won't barge no matter how much he struggled. Crawling his way out was futile too.
"I'm right here," Austria exclaimed in the dark void.
"Where? I can't see you! Please, please take my hand if you can see me. Please, my baby, please!"
If Invictus has to cut his arm off and hold it with another just to reach longer than he can actually do, he would do it without hesitation just to hold his daughter once more.
Tears began flowing down his face and thousands of emotions flooded his mind and heart when he felt Austria's tiny fingers hold his.
"Oh, my baby, will you hold me? Please, I beg of you."
But that was how as far as the strange encounter goes. He had woken up when the king's servants dumped another liquid waste in The Oubliette, raising the waste up to his waist.
The servants were talking if Invictus was still alive or not.
"Hey, do you think the former hero already bit off the dust?"
"Why don't you check if he's already dead or not?"
"Hell no! His Highness will surely punish me if he catches wind of it."
The conversation between the two went on for a few minutes until one of them brought up the news.
"To think that such a wonderful person and as beautiful as Uria would be the witch leader of that wicked group, it was such a shame. I refuse to believe that."
"Lower your voice! We don't know who might be listening to us right now."
"I'm just saying that it was quite inhumane and unfair to even burn the
child to death."
"There is nothing we can do about it. It's not like it's any of our problems. That family had it coming."
Gradually, their footsteps fade away. And again, all Invictus could hear was his regrets and atonements, and their voice dying out as they agonized in the wild flames of fate.
His heartbeat was like a ticking bomb, and he was waiting, not for it to explode, but for it to finally stop pumping. By that time, he will be freed of all the grief and pain he was in, and all of the regrets and sins that were destroying him mentally will soon disappear.
"I just need to bear with it a little longer. Then I will be finally devoid of this world. The hellhole that I am in."
Falling asleep again after waking up became Invictus' goal, because maybe... maybe, in his sleep, he will see, not only Austria but also Uria...
"I can't fall asleep! Why?! Is even my brain forbidding me from meeting my family again?! How much do I have to suffer?! I have had enough of this! Just kill me already!"
The three days of hell were a torment to Invictus. The fact that he could not drink nor eat even the tiniest bit of food was tormenting him. And the liquid waste made his condition worse.
Inhaling the rotten smell was affecting his health. It feels like his whole respiratory system was slowly corroding to the disgusting smell. He was cold and uncomfortable in The Oubliette.
In the morning, the smell of freshly baked loaves of bread would travel across the castle. Invictus would catch a whiff of the appetizing scent and would feel extremely hungry every time. He needed to endure the stomach pain induced by the aromatic smell coming from the kitchen. In the morning, at lunchtime, and at dinner time, Invictus would suffer from hallucinations.
Two more days had passed, the same scenario repeating itself, however, his famine just got worse than before.
"My stomach's eating itself."
All of his words remained in his head. Dehydration took away his voice. He could not put strength into speaking. And every time he tries to speak, he would cough his lungs out and tiny spots of blood will come out of his mouth.
"This is the worst. My head is spinning, and I'm hearing things."
For Invictus, hallucinating is not that bad because he would be given the opportunity to talk to Austria. He had encountered his daughter in his sleep three times now, but never had Uria appeared in his dreams.
Invictus had few speculations as to why Uria hasn't appeared in his dreams. He does not need to force himself to sleep because he would just suddenly fall asleep without him knowing. The second he fell into a slumber, he would find himself back in the same darkness, the void that was filled with nothing but dullness.
Unconsciously, again, Invictus fell asleep. He was sound asleep with his head leaning on the greasy wall and his hands hanging.
"Huh?"
For the first time, Invictus found himself standing on top of the sea, so serene and calming. The water was so clear he could see his reflection when he looked down on his feet.
Unlike the first few encounters with Austria in the void where his lower half was submerged in the darkness, Invictus could freely move in the vast blue yonder.
Invictus bent over to drink some water. He became extremely thirsty after seeing the crystal clear liquid in its perfectly calm state.
Using both of his hands put together, he scooped up some water and helped himself to it. At first, he thought that the water would be salty, but when he got a taste of it, the water was actually fine and had a sweet taste to it.
And Invictus soon realized that he became full after drinking continuously as though it was the last time that he would be able to drink.
"I didn't know that water would taste this delicious."
He burped loudly. At the side of his vision, he noticed a long table with a single chair. On the table were different tasty dishes Invictus had eaten before.
Hastily, even though he was feeling full earlier, Invictus became greatly famished. His growling stomach urges him to sit down already and munch down on every food he could get his hands on.
"Uwah! This chunk of meat is telling me to munch on it already!"
With one large bite off the huge chunk of meaty beef, it brought Invictus back to reality.
"H-Huh? What happened?!"