As Noble exited the office, Cor's gruff voice carried from behind the desk. "Master Yosh!"
In the stone hall, a man with a clean-cut beard and bald head reacted to the call.
He looked at Noble, and a smile came to his lips. "Ascended Noble?"
"Master Yosh?" Noble repeated the name she had just heard.
"Very perceptive." The man's smile grew. "That was quite a feat you pulled off: conquering a Nightmare and making a gateway. People will certainly praise you and the others for your efforts. But I have found that it means more coming from a peer who has been through the same ordeal. So, from the bottom of my heart, I want to say: well done." The older gentleman placed his hand on his heart as a sign of solidarity.
"Thank you, Master Yosh. That means more than I can say." Noble was touched by the man's kindness.
"Master Yosh!" Wake of Ruin's voice grew impatient.
Yosh dipped his head before slipping into the office. The door shut behind him.
'His emotions were all so calm. It's rare to meet anyone so placid.'
Noble's thoughts about the serene Master flew out of her mind as soon as she locked on to Sarai's emotions.
'I'll be right there.' Noble quickened her pace.
The beautiful baker was waiting for her companion on the pathway along the edge of the citadel. She was pacing, alternately looking down into the abyss and then at the passage toward the Saint's office.
Hearing the words of her friend through the Memory, Sarai's shoulders relaxed. The redhead ran forward and embraced Noble as she exited the tunnel.
"I was worried!"
"You are too sweet. There was no need to be concerned; everything is fine." Noble felt her friend's care warming her heart.
"What did Saint Cor want?" Sarai's eyes opened wide. "Did he change his mind about our demands?"
"No, nothing like that. He gave me a version of the recruitment speech." Noble tugged her friend's hand. "Don't worry, I'm not about to go galivanting back into battle."
'I think he also wanted closure,' the professor added through the Other's Voice. 'We lived two parts of the same Nightmare, after all.'
"I see. That makes sense," Sarai responded.
"Where's Nickel?" Noble instinctively searched for the third member of their cohort. He wasn't close by.
"He left with Venster to get some supplies. I think he plans to leave sooner than later." Sarai was sad to have the cohort break up so soon. The group had formed to accomplish a goal, and now that it was done, it was time to part ways. That was the way things worked.
"We can always find him in the Waking World. I know one of the places he works," Noble teased to bring Sarai from her sad thoughts.
"That's true," the redhead felt some relief.
But it was short-lived. Her face tensed as she realized Noble was leading her toward the edge. "Are we going somewhere?"
"Maybe," the small amount of mischief in Noble's voice gave Sarai pause.
She pulled her hand back. "Noble…"
The professor chuckled lightly. "Fine, fine. I'll give you the choice. Do you want to go up or down?"
Pursing her lips, Sarai narrowed her gaze. "I need more information than that."
With a small sigh, Noble stopped short of the edge. "It's simple. I can either float you back to the surface and our gateway or I can take you into the abyss. Wake of Ruin insinuated that there might be something down there worth seeing."
"Like that flower you talked about?" Sarai peered over the edge warily.
Was it her imagination or was there a strange sense of foreboding emanating from below?
"I doubt it, otherwise I think Wake of Ruin would have warned me." Noble had felt no ill will from the Saint. He had only vaguely asked her to take care of anything she found.
If Cor had wanted to see her dead, there were more efficient ways than hoping she gave in to her curiosity.
"If you are going down there, I am too." Sarai decided. "I don't want you to face the deep alone a second time."
Noble smiled at her friend. "This is a fact-finding mission. Let's hope there is nothing to face down there at all."
"Just the same, I would feel better if we communicated by Memory. I see no reason to attract the attention of anyone with ears." The redhead tapped the ornate piece of metal tucked behind her ear.
'Fair enough,' Noble switched silently. 'Are you ready?'
Both ladies looked around. A few Awakened were going about their daily tasks, but none of them were paying either of them any attention.
Still…
'Let's climb down to the lowest level and go from there.' Noble didn't want to start rumors. Two Awakened suddenly falling into the depths would be likely to raise more than a few questions.
'Agreed.' Sarai stepped back from the edge. The leveled system of Ender's system was varied but not complex.
Instead of flights of stairs, runged ladders led Awakened up and down. Taking them made the trek less conspicuous, but also slower. At least Noble was able to float down them without any problems.
'Almost to the base.'
No one lived at the bottom of Ender's Deep where the caverns met the solid onyx stone. The original people must have found it too warm and cramped, and the Awakened in the citadel were of the same mind.
Only a few caves used for storage were this low, so the two women were able to slip over the edge unnoticed.
'I prefer flying to falling.' Sarai swallowed, trying not to give in to her fear. The air whizzed past her at a frightening speed.
A small bit of calm pressed on her consciousness along with Noble's words.
'Falling is much easier than flying for most people. You have control over how you descend, but I can slow you down if you want."
Both ladies slowed to a less drastic pace. It was safer since it allowed Noble to sweep the darkness below for any sign of life.
When no immediate danger leapt out from the walls of the wide chasm, Noble settled in for the long trek down.
'What do you think we will find at the bottom?' Sarai asked to distract herself from the wind.
The redhead could no longer penetrate the growing darkness with her eyes, and she wasn't willing to create a light. So there wasn't much left for her to do but think about falling.
'There may be nothing to see at all. I suppose that would be the best outcome.'
Noble wasn't sure what to hope for. Finding nothing would be anticlimactic, but also a relief. If there was still something in the depths, what exactly would Noble and Sarai need to do to take care of it?
Noble's heart raced with anticipation of the unknown. She scanned as low as her special vision would let her, but still the world was quiet.
'So far, so good.'
The air was growing warmer, but Noble wasn't too concerned. Her Ascended body was not nearly as affected as her Awakened one. Still, she called forth her fire charm and tucked it into her armor just to be safe.
Soon, a familiar noxious scent entered her nostrils.
'What is that?' Sarai smelled the unpleasant change at the same moment.
'I think it is gasses from the mountains. This is much better than it was before though, even taking into account that I am stronger. I wonder if the Bloom was causing part of the stench…' Noble remembered the people she had saved from the depths. Even they would not struggle to breathe right now.
Noble slowed their fall as they reached the final depths.
The original base of the crevice was still present, meaning that no one had set off an eruption like she had.
Not that Noble had meant to do that! It was just a natural side effect of the poison that Ender had made.
Searching fervently, Noble stopped, hovering both herself and Sarai just above the surface.
'We're here,' the professor pressed her lips together nervously.
'Well? What do you see?' Having overcome her fear of being attacked, Sarai was anxious to know what lay at the bottom of the chasm.
Noble hesitated. "As Saint Cor said to me…I think you'll want to see for yourself.'
Calling forth the Aching Ember, Sarai lit the spearhead with a brilliant red flame. The world that had lived only in darkness for thousands of years was suddenly revealed.
Noble immediately summoned her sword.