"My whole life has been a lie…"
Leslie sat down on the grass with her back on the wall, her face dark.
"You'll get over it, trust me."
Freya patted her shoulder, and Bob nodded his head in approval.
"So, where is it we are going?" Bob asked as Leslie stood to her feet whilst patting the dust off her robes. He spared a quick glance at the runes engraved on her chest then frowned, "What's the use of those markings on your neck?"
"I had them burned into my body when I was a child, because they had believed me to be the child of destiny or something like that." Leslie thought little of the question and gave Bob a honest reply, "I got them a long them ago, and they provide me with strength and health."
"Isn't that painful and why would anyone want to do something like that?" Freya asked, feeling her stomach churn thinking of what Leslie went through to get them. They pulsated in a soft gleam, and Freya guessed they had some sort of power, "But, was it worth it?"
"It burns to this day, but I had to do it. Facing annihilation from demons, they needed a hero to stand for them in the darkness. I could have avoided it, but I didn't…" Leslie's smile grew, "Because when I don't do it, they'll make someone else do it. Anyway, let's move to the next area."
"But, wh—" Freya wanted to say something, but Bob slapped her back, forcing Freya to freeze then turn to him with blood lusted eyes. Bob stared at her seriously, and she frowned, "What? Do you want to fight me? Come on, let's do it!"
"Why must you act so uncouth, Freya. She clearly does not want to relive her past because she feels that we are not good enough to be confided in." Bob flicked his hair, shifting his face from the frowning Freya and turning to the side, "It is best we leave her to shoulder this, alone."
"I have cleared this area, and you can sleep here if you want." Leslie ignored them, walking away with her hands balled into fists. She felt their gaze on her back, but Leslie only rolled her eyes as she opened the door at the end of the room and stepped inside, locking it behind her.
"She walks so fast." Bob praised, "I guess we pushed too far."
"At this rate, you'll never make any friends." Freya sighed, clicking her tongue and folding both arms across her chest, "We can clearly see that woman is not interested in making friends. Like, it should not be a problem ranting childhood miseries to a random stranger."
"Uh, I never stated I was interested in making friends. I am okay as I am. You are the one whose dreams are in trouble." Bob rolled his eyes and walked away, leaving Freya to stare with her brows knitted. Darius and crew walked past, and she just stood there in deep thought.
—It is said that Freya would have remained in deep thoughts till today if Bob did not call out to her.
——
"There are three tiers of the area known to man. Double Digits, Triple Digits and Limitless." Leslie began to explain as they walked through the ninth area, and Bob glanced around, frowning as he saw the numbers of doors here increased, "This prison as you see it, is one big deathtrap."
"I think we know that already." Bob flashed an awkward smile at Freya and she returned it, then he turned to Leslie seriously, "I guess double digits for 10 - 99. Triple for 100 - 999, but limitless? If that is what I think it means, then—"
"Beyond the 999th Area, lies the edge of the prisons. There, the shadow god had chained heroes and demon gods. We named it limitless, because even till now, after years of searching, no one found the end." Leslie sighed, "We lost contact with our team of heroes around Area 4395."
"Shit." Bob cursed, feeling his heart escape his body. Freya blinked dumbly, but she took less of a blow compared to our self proclaimed famous hero to be. Bob stood with the arrow of truth through his chest, "Does that mean we will get stuck here forever… until the corruption consumes us…"
"There was a rumour, of a hero who'd escaped the prisons through a room hidden away in these 'limitless' areas and ever since we'd been searching for it." Leslie sighed, "But, let's leave that. As you reach higher areas, their sizes begin to triple. This entire labyrinth is said to be as big as two worlds."
"Uh, what the fuck?" Bob frowned, glaring at Leslie's back. She turned around, and sighed again, lifting her hand and holding her face. Bob could sense a great weariness reveal itself for a second, so he decided to calm himself, "Explain how big of a trap this place is based on your experience."
"The areas of double digits can get as big as a football stadium, and the areas of triple digits can reach as big as ten footballs stadiums or worse. They'd be filled to the brim with monsters." Leslie's gaze turned sour, "I heard monster civilisations exist on higher areas which are as big as cities."
"Don't worry, Bob. The prisons are in a random manner, so not every area would be that big. I'd worry about the monsters, because the higher you go, the more strange monsters you'd meet." The light in Freya's eyes said a lot, "This place is massive, but things would be fine."
"There are classes of humans based on their proficiency with skills. There are the ⦏Heroes⦐ like me who battles the monsters with the power to revive a set time in their lives, the ⦏Healers ⦐ who're able to heal the heroes, the ⦏Peasants⦐ who fight with the heroes and the ⦏Nobles⦐ who leads them."
"You are a hero? It's no wonder that you are so strong! Haha! I feel better know that there is this strong hero on our team! With you, we'll reach great heights!" Bob praised Leslie starry eyed as she turned beet-red, averting her gaze, "You know, I am a hero too!"
Leslie paused mid-blush, "What?"