Feeling the ground beneath his feet collapse, Cairens felt extreme terror. Below the earth was darkness where he couldn’t see even an inch ahead.
As terrible sounds roared in his ears, eerie fear crept up his spine. He couldn’t even imagine what kinds of things might be down there.
Kkigigiigeuk—!
Trembling with instinctive fear at the cold rising from below, he unconsciously stepped backward.
At the same time, Abrisius came into his view. More precisely, the sight of him embracing Seianes and falling into the deep abyss was clearly captured in Cairens’s eyes.
Only then did the thought that he had to stop Abrisius flash through like lightning. Though he was the culprit who had caused this situation, Cairens didn’t want him to disappear into the darkness.
“Abrisius!”
Cairens quickly reached out his hand toward Abrisius.
But an invisible wall blocked him, and once again collapsing in place, Cairens had to stumble uselessly like someone bound to that spot.
His hand reaching for Abrisius also wandered through empty air.
In the end, unable to do anything, he could only quietly watch the scene of Abrisius falling into the abyss with Seianes.
The acrid smell of the underworld stabbed his nose, and thick smoke blocked his vision. Even in that moment when he couldn’t see properly ahead, Cairens moved his hand toward where Abrisius had been until the very end.
Finally, the land of the underworld swallowed the two. As Abrisius and Seianes disappeared into the endless darkness, the thick dark fog also slowly lifted.
“Ahh…”
Soon after, at the scene unfolding before his eyes, Cairens couldn’t close his mouth.
One step directly ahead, the field that had withered blackly had collapsed, creating a massive pit.
Blankly watching the land mass that only left debris of soil, Cairens swallowed dry saliva. When he carefully stepped forward, surprisingly, unlike just before when he’d been blocked by some power, he could easily enter inside.
Had the invisible wall disappeared?
Though he didn’t know the reason, he carefully entered the place he couldn’t go before, blocked by an invisible wall, and slowly looked down into the massive pit below.
“Good heavens…”
Inside the pit was a tangle of dirt piles and all kinds of debris. And the entrance to the underworld that had been opening its mouth there was completely closed. As if savoring the Seianes and Abrisius it had swallowed, black smoke rose from within before slowly disappearing.
Kuuuu—!
Making an incomprehensible roar, the entrance churning below the ground was sucked further down and completely disappeared from view.
“…”
At the scene beyond words, Cairens could only stare blankly, lost in a daze.
Where had Abrisius gone?
Though curiosity arose, unable to step into the place he’d entered, Cairens just stood there endlessly, staring only at the ground.
* * *
The underworld.
There lay the realm of the dead where deceased humans gathered to rest.
Going even further down from there, a place older than the land where the dead lived was situated.
Its entrance was surrounded by dense darkness and invisible, and inside it held pitch-black fog with no visible end and a cold chill like thin ice. If a living person entered this place, their heart would freeze on the spot from the massive cold and they would collapse, and the dead couldn’t even set foot at the entrance of this place.
Ahh… Yes, that place was where the heart of the goddess of the abyss, called the end of the underworld, swirled, and was the underground kingdom ruled by Ircadeon. Confined there were giants and monsters who had once stood shoulder to shoulder with the gods of the surface.
“Ahh, ahh…”
Having lost in the war long ago, they had fallen to the state of gnawing on the nutrients coming from the root ends of Zeyaom deeply embedded beneath the underworld.
All they could do was helplessly wait only for the time of revenge on the cold, icy ground. Counting the days until they could claim the surface again someday, they waited for the prince prophesied by Alphera, the witch of the underworld.
And finally, that day came.
The piled layers of dirt and acrid darkness lifted, and their hero, sent far to the surface long ago, returned.
“Ahh, our Lord Abrisius.”
The one and only prince appeared, opening the gate of the underworld.
“He has come.”
Black hair, brilliant eyes mixed with red and black. His skin tinged with a slightly dark light was exactly like Ircadeon’s.
Eyes glistening with tears, Emosus, a monster with a giant serpent tail, murmured.
Carrying desire like endless darkness, revealing the same red desire as themselves, he descended upon the surface. With ecstatic expressions, they watched the prince they had waited for over long years descend upon this land.
Even amid everyone’s welcome, Abrisius said nothing.
Seianes, who had fainted from the shock of descending to the underworld, was nestled in his arms in a form embracing Abrisius.
Finally reaching the end of the long darkness and landing on the ground, Abrisius stood in the center before the underground castle like thin ice. And he set down Seianes, fallen into a sleep from which no one knew when he would awaken.
His appearance sleeping with eyes beautifully closed looked more noble than ever. Even the people of the underworld held their breath at that beautiful form.
“That, that’s… isn’t that Seianes?”
But as soon as they recognized his identity, their eyes turned sharp.
Seianes, why had a god of the surface appeared on this land? Their reaction, which had been welcoming Abrisius until just moments ago, was extremely cold.
“Why is Seianes here…?”
“Did he come to kill us? That one must be a servant of the filthy Henelion.”
The surrounding air froze coldly. Souls abandoned to this barren and cold land by the gods of the surface. Their past glory had crumbled, and all the people of this land hated Henelion, the cause of it.
Arrows filled with tremendous resentment all aimed at Seianes.
“…”
However, even before the people of the underworld who looked ready to kill the Seianes before them at any moment, Abrisius was quiet. Silently looking down at Seianes, he quietly stroked the face of the one he loved.
‘Even sleeping is beautiful.’
With such carefree thoughts, Abrisius cleanly ignored the killing intent of the underground divine race before him.
“…Your Highness?”
Seeing his gentle gaze toward Seianes, one giant approached Abrisius.
Their savior and hero—if the surface had someone called Cairens, the underworld had Abrisius. The people of the underworld believed without doubt that Abrisius would stand on their side and fight.
But why…
“Why do you… protect something from the surface like that?”
Kiiiiik—!
But before Abrisius could answer the giant’s question, the massive underground castle gate opened.
Through the opened massive gate, two giants with heights as massive and tall as mountain ridges barely revealed themselves.
Looking twice as large as ordinary giants, they displayed overwhelming size and an intimidating aura even though they hadn’t revealed even half their forms. While everyone was mesmerized by the giants’ size, from far inside the underground castle, a red light was brilliantly shining and approaching closer.
Everyone held their breath at the procession of the king who bore the grievances of the people driven to the underworld.
‘Ircadeon.’
Feeling the changed air, Abrisius could tell who the main character in the back was without even looking.
“My son, you’ve come.”
Finally, Ircadeon’s voice, revealing himself before Abrisius, quietly settled in the underworld. At his appearance, the people of the underworld held their breath.
In the eyes of those looking at Ircadeon were awe, longing, fear… so many mixed emotions they were indescribable.
“I’ve waited far too long.”
Whether knowing or not knowing their reaction, Ircadeon, with a slight smile, spread both arms wide toward Abrisius and welcomed him.
It was an attitude that looked happier and more dignified than ever.
“…”
But Abrisius showed no reaction at all. With an expressionless face, he gazed at Ircadeon for a moment, then slowly turned his gaze back to Seianes.
