No one dared to say a word about what happened, maybe because there were no words to be said... Both knew nothing of what happened. Well, he knew that it was the Abyss, but on what had happened here, he didn't know

Walking through the many corpses, he felt a weird sensation inside his chest. He saw the shadows of the dead bodies, now without a master, they were left to wander. He had tried to ask them what had happened, but none replied.

He didn't have the power to make them respond, especially not now, when he was affected by his bane.

The blood that had accumulated on the floor wet his feet, getting past his worn boots, but to whom did it belong? The blood was darker than any others, maybe since it wasn't just from one body, but from all of them, merged together into one.

He tried not to look down, to see the faces of those he had killed... or rather that the Abyss had killed. But he couldn't help himself. Sneaking in some glances, he was caught off guard by the pure brutality of their deaths, limbs scattered across, guts torn out, organs missing, cut, bitten maybe. It was a sorry sight, nothing like he had ever seen.

This was the Abyss.

...

It seemed to be endless, the sea of bodies. They were all someone at a time, before this happened. Or maybe, they never had the chance to see the real world in the first place. What if they were also part of the illusion?

In one of his sneaked glances, Aether was able to notice a pendant on the neck of a guard, inside was a picture of him and his daughter. Or rather, he thought that it was him; his head was cut off and smashed to the point that it was unrecognizable, but it was probably him.

He would have felt bad if this... was more than just a book. Nothing that happened here was real; none of the characters were real. As real as they looked, they only existed because he had decided to enter this book. If he hadn't, they would just be words, living in the imagination of others.

There was a second, where the bodies stopped allowing them to walk free, yet staining the floor with the blood that clung to their feet. But it wasn't over; he couldn't see it at first, but in front of him rested a bunch of bodies all piled up in one place, explaining why the path before them had none.

They stop for a second. If he didn't know that it had been the Abyss, he would have been scared for his life this second. Or... was it even the Abyss? If so, why did he find himself at the start of the bodies, had the Abyss run back?

He squinted his eyes, glancing at Jay, and he at him, before walking around the pile of corpses.

It was the worst sight for him and Jay. While they could both see the corpses, only he... could see their shadows.

He has already said that after the master of a shadow dies, it would become without a master. Those shadows are cold. The Lost, he learned this from Voidpercer. A Lost can try to live a life of endless wander, or accept its fate, that without a master, it has no purpose.

The Lost are shadows forgotten by the world, hence why only he was able to see them. Only someone like them could see them.

Which meant... he was also a Lost.

But it wasn't the same, he had become a lost because of his affinity, and had a physical form, he was a human, not a shadow. He could see them, and they could see him. But while others couldn't see them. Everyone could see him.

It made sense why the Abyss was the one to create shadows. After all, Shadows are always forgotten by people. Whenever a human dies, no one ever talks about their shadow again. They try to cling to masters for existence, but only grasp enough to be noticed.

Voidpercer said that Lost tend to act more like their masters, trying to remind themselves of them, that they aren't fully forgotten. That way, they don't become one with the mass of shadows.

With that, many hierarchies have formed inside the Lost system, many groups and alliances. All forgotten by the world, things only he could see.

It makes him rethink the times he used to talk to them. These shadows were in endless sorrow, as humans get over deaths, learning to move on with their lives, even a little. There isn't another way for them to do. They never forget their dead masters.

...

He hoped that one day, when he was strong enough, he could offer a home to all of them, a home where they didn't need a master to be seen and remembered, where everyone could see them, and live together with them.

But that was a big dream when he couldn't even make them answer his question.

As he passed down the hallway, he could feel their gaze rest on him, some curious, some crossed their arms with pride, while some were cowardly. They all had different personalities, like they were all a different person with emotions and memories.

It was times like these when he realized how close humans and shadows were.

The only thing that differed was that they had a physical body, with organs and needs, while they didnt have a physical body, and didn't need anything to live.

...

Aether looked in front of him, his eyes widening, as the many hallways they had walked through, all filled with corpses, led them to a big room. With a big and shiny crystal inside it.

'The Heartforge!'

He looked at Jay, who nodded.

Aether summoned his blade, walking towards the crystal. Looking around, they could see thousands of strings of light coming from outside, all belonging to people who lived under the illusion. This thing was feeding on them. Making them do good deeds so they could get their power.

This thing was in no way paradise. He tried to grab one of them, to break it so the owner of the crest was free. But it had not worked.

'Well then... I'll just break the crystal.

He gripped the hilt of his blade, bringing it up above him, and slashing down.

...

Yet, as the blade was about to break the crystal, the ground disappeared under them. Finding himself falling into the darkness, he didnt know what to do. Quickly waving his arms around, trying to get a hold of something.

But for nothing, he had been in the middle of the room while it had happened; there was nothing. He closed his eyes, letting himself fall. He didnt know if this was going to be where he died, but he didn't want to see when it happened.

Or did he?

Many debated whether they would want to know when they died. This was one of those times. And he... has decided against it, it was better not to know when it happens, that way, you don't panic as the clock ticks down, and rather, it just happens out of nowhe-

...

...

Aether jumped forward, clenching his chest as he tried to catch his breath. His eyes shook violently. He had thought he was dead, he was talking about something, and then everything stopped... Had he died, then how was he back? Or was this the afterworld?

He pinched his cheek.

"Nope, still alive."

Then what had happened?

'And... where am I?'

Looking around, there was only stone. The ground was hard and cold, and around them stood many tall concrete walls, forming many walkways. The walls were like three hundred meters tall, to the point where you couldn't see anything looking up.

He frowned, biting his lip.

Everyone could recognize what this was.

...

"A maze."

Aether ran his hands through his hair. He was never good at mazes, as when he was a kid, he was always getting lost. Heck, he sometimes got lost in his castle, but in a maze of this size.

If the walls were this tall, who knew how big the maze itself was? They stood in this square where there were no walls, but it was covered in them. Meaning they had more than one access point. But it was easier to have one option than a thousand in this case.

Looking at Jay, who was still sleeping, he slapped him, but the boy wouldn't wake up.

Meaning he was probably going to have to wait for him to wake up. He was going to have to waste time, and time was precious; who knew how much this was going to take them?

"Come on, wake up!"

He shouted, slapping him.

But there was no response. Aether rolled his eyes, annoyed.

"At least we don't have to hurry."

...

Suddenly, Aether heard a roar from behind him, as the steps of a beast sounded to come towards him.

Aether panicked quickly, putting Jay over his shoulder and starting to run. Whatever the beast was, he didn't want to meet it.

"Damn it, why can't I shut up!"

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