Chapter 22- Death Paths (Part 1)
The prisoners were dragged inside another section of the prison that was hidden from the eyes of the insane inmates. However, the shocking sight is still engraved into Akio's and the other's minds, as vividly as ever.
In a moment, the despair and the heavy atmosphere of the group increased exponentially. All of them, except for Akio, were well-trained, strong individuals that had most likely gone through rigorous training just to get ready for Holem.
Their mental strength was also quite splendid for normal humans, untouched by the realm of dreams and nightmares. However, a mere look at one of Holem's cursed places had turned their excitement and determination into a silent fear and muffled despair.
'Am I really going to be able to get out of this place alive?'
'Is this where my journey will end? Before it even started?'
'They know me… they know my face…'
Such thoughts ran through everyone's mind and messed with their will to become stronger and get out of the spiral prison. Some of them even started regretting not trying to escape when they were still outside.
"Hahahaha!" As they were like that, one of them started chuckling loudly.
It was none other than the scarred man himself. Looking to his side, Akio could see the man's wide grin from up close. The deep amusement in his eyes was difficult to hide. Even the scars on his face didn't ruin his above-average looks. Instead, it added a layer of intimidation to his demeanor.
"How fun! This is the least I expect from this nightmare of a world! You lot sure are very optimistic, aren't you? To hell with that! This is reality! Hahahahah!" He said with a last laugh.
His words were harsh and considering the vulnerable mental state everyone else was in at the moment, he garnered more than one glare filled with animosity. No one liked his words… except Akio.
He merely squinted his eyes as he repeated the man's words in his head again and again. The more he thought about them, the more he found them to be quite logical. What is this place? It's Holem. What's known about Holem? It's the most chaotic, bizarre, and unexpected realm to ever be seen by humans. Nothing inside this place can be predicted.
So, why should Akio be shocked by everything that happens? It was indeed quite naive of him to think that nothing worse than what he already saw could happen anymore. This is the realm of dreams and nightmares for the gods' sake!
'If I don't adapt quickly, I will only end up dead.' He thought as he seriously frowned.
This world was unforgiving and Akio was at the bottom of it. If his desire to live was truly as intense as he assumed it to be, then he won't let the horrible things that happen here stop him. It was either survival or death, with no third choice.
"You shut up!"
One of the guards shouted at the scarred man.
"Sure, Mr. guard. Wait till I get my hands on you. I will rip your throat out of your mouth." The latter replied with a grin.
"W-What did you just say?!"
"Stop! We don't have time for this banter! Get them to the Serenity Abyss quickly." The leader of the guards reprimanded his subordinate.
"Yes, sir…"
After walking for a while, the group ended up in a dark section of the prison that has no source of light in it. It was so dark in fact that Akio couldn't even see his hands let alone anything around him. All he could do was walk carefully and try to sense his way. This, however, didn't stop him from stumbling a few times.
Eventually, they stopped somewhere. Every prisoner was tense with anticipation and fear. They couldn't see or hear anything at all. This was added to the word they heard 'Serenity Abyss'.
The place most known in the spiral prison and also the main reason for the huge amount of casualties that happen inside this place.
The Serenity Abyss was an underground world that existed ever since the emergence of Holem. It's a natural environment created for many nocturnal species of plants, animals, and monsters. All of these creatures created an oddly scary yet also mesmerizingly intricate natural habitat under the prison where they flourished and extended in the hundred years that passed since the discovery of Holem.
When The Spiral prison was built, this place became of good use because of its traits. Every single thing inside the Serenity Abyss was dangerous, lethal, or a mix of both. If a weak human was thrown in there, they would be almost certainly eliminated. That gives room for the actual strong prisoners to be able to get even stronger and show their worth.
In and out of itself, the Serenity Abyss became a form of test for the prisoners before they are pulled outside to the actual prison for what was to come.
However, strong crusaders don't simply exist in every batch that enters the spiral prison. So, most of the time, weeks could pass with not even a single soul getting out of the hellhole alive.
"Get the torches." The guard said to his subordinates.
A few seconds passed in silence before a sudden light was ignited in the dark. Multiple torches appeared in the hands of the guards with their embers flames raging and dancing.
"These are the only things we will provide you. It's not fair for you to be completely in the dark, is it? However, these torches will only stay ignited for more or less a day. You will have to deal with darkness alone after that."
'Such great benevolence.' Akio rolled his eyes as he got handed one of the torches.
Even though Akio lacked any of the information the others had, he was still way more mentally ready than they were. Maybe it was his desire to live that was keeping him calm and composed or maybe merely because he grew numb to the concept of death after facing it countless times in his life. Either way, he was now as calm as he could ever be.
Whatever he will see or face, he was ready for it.
After that, the guard pointed at the place behind him. There, everyone could see a huge hole the size of a small field dug into the ground. It was completely engulfed by darkness as an ominous feeling loomed over its edge, pushing away anyone from approaching it. Its bottomless aspect made it even more unnerving than it already was.
"Who is going to go first?" He asked.
However, no one answered instantly moved. They weren't crazy or dumb enough to step up and be the first to enter that place. Well, 'most' of them were like that.
"Hahaha! I will go first!" The scarred man stepped out and grinned.
The guard stared at him coldly before he nodded his head and let him approach the hole.
"The moment you jump, your shackles will be released. Whether you can survive for 3 days or not is up to you."
The man merely blinked before he crouched until his thighs were flexed as hard as they could be. Then, without even a second thought, he made a huge leap in the air. His silhouette reached a few meters high, shocking the whole group with his physical capabilities.
Then, his body slowly descended inside the hole.
"Later, morons!" Were his last words before he vanished, leaving only the echo of his voice to keep repeating the message again and again.
"Who's next? Hurry or we will have to start pushing you down by for-"
"Me."
The guard's words were cut off by one of the prisoners. A young man, shorter than everyone there and with a noticeably weaker build came forward.
"Hmm?"
Assessing him up and down, the man didn't know what to think. In his eyes, Akio was merely a very horribly weak and unhealthy child. It was rare to see malnourished crusaders since most of them are coming from wealthy or at least middle-class families that invested huge sums of money into their children for this moment.
'He won't stay for long. There is no need to think about it.'
"Go ahead."
Getting the acceptance, Akio moved forward, under everyone's strong gazes before he stood right in front of the edge of the hole. His eyes instinctively stared down at the abyss. He would be lying if he said that he wasn't feeling scared. But, his fear wasn't consuming his mind and altering his rational thinking.
Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath before he jumped in the air and into the hole. Quickly, the darkness consumed his body. His only guidance as he fell down was the light coming from the red flames.
(A//N: Thank you everyone for supporting the book with power stones and comments. I'm deeply grateful. Let's all keep it up :) )