Abyss
It means a deep pit without a bottom.
In the Empire, this place was also referred to as the “Blackhole.”
It was influenced by the creation myth of the Azhibita religion.
According to the creation myth, the world was originally a dark and massive communal void where wicked demons devoured each other’s flesh and blood, engaging in endless and eternal slaughter.
One day, the god of Azhibita, who found this sight disheartening, raised land on top of it, planted seeds, and sprinkled his tears to make vegetation grow.
The sea is said to be where the god’s tears collected, and the land erected on the void became the ground we live on.
The Abyss was considered a hole that even God couldn’t fill, named for its deep pit leading to the dark and massive communal void.
The abyss was discovered everywhere, not only in the Empire but also in all corners of the world. Countries influenced by the Azhibita religion, even on the Eastern Continent and the unknown lands, universally recognized the Abyss as passages leading to the communal void.
A place leading to the underworld where demons reside.
It was considered fascinating when learning about the history of the world.
Certainly, there was something about the Abyss that transcended borders and cultures, causing a common fear. Therefore, nobody wanted to venture into the Abyss.
Among the rumors circulating about the Abyss was that deep within the pits, there were undoubtedly treasures. However, some demons lured people with treasures and devoured them.
Before the Great War broke out, there was an investigation into the Abyss of the Empire by the royal family.
Although the Abyss was investigated, the aftermath led to a war involving demons and beings from other continents and the Ain People, making it a place not easily explored even by the power of a nation.
“I’m not going.”
Yet, those guys insist on going.
It’s a place I should never go, especially with those demons.
I was resolute.
My life was at stake.
I couldn’t back down this time.
“Have you forgotten the oath?”
But, as always, the world favored the strong.
“We swore that we would work together in order to find the truth,” Ranista said.
He flashed his eyes.
Four years ago, he looked at me as if he wanted to devour me while making a solemn oath among themselves. It was like a lion growling.
“Do you want me to show you what happens if you break the oath?”
I looked at the other two. My second sister laughed and said she could confirm it, and my third sister urged me to hurry up and change clothes as time was running out.
Damn it.
Going to where demons live with demons.
Let’s think positively.
Even if there are demons in the Abyss… It’s 1 against 3, right?
Among the clothes I had, the most usable was a cloth shirt with added leather.
Damn it, even if I wore full-plate armor, it would still probably not be enough.
“I’ll report to Mom…”
But pulling out the last card was useless.
“We’re going right now.”
As Melissa opened the door, a different scene unfolded beyond it.
* * *
Just crossing out of my room’s door, I ended up on an unknown beach. I, who was just on the bed a moment ago, am now stepping on a sandy beach of pure white.
The soft and fine sand tickled between my toes. I could see turtles laying eggs.
The vast sea had a bright and clear color.
It was a dazzling sea, sprinkled with glitter, as if the god’s tears had collected there.
This land was nothing like the coastal villages of the Quilz Territory.
Moreover, it’s night at the Quilz Castle, but it’s clearly daytime here.
Where the hell am I?
“I didn’t wear shoes.”
“The door closed.”
I suddenly realized that I hadn’t put on shoes, too distracted by the current bizarre situation.
Stupidly, even the simplest things were forgotten because the situation was too absurd.
I told Melissa, but my siblings had already crossed over. The closed door was nowhere to be found.
I tried waving my hand toward the place I had crossed over, but there was nothing but space. For now, I left the shoes and asked the most curious question.
“Melissa, can you teleport?”
Teleportation.
It’s not common, but it’s not an impossible ability either. In fact, there were one or two individuals with teleportation abilities in the Defense Headquarters. However, they could only move short distances, and it was a solo activity. Even that was considered a special ability, treated as a national asset.
Melissa, in an instant, moved, and probably over an unimaginable distance, so easily, and not just herself but multiple people. She corrected my words.
“No, you fool. This is spatial regression.”
Although Melissa corrected me, whether it was regression or movement, it seemed the same to me.
Her spatial magic displayed just now was undoubtedly extraordinary and precious in a world teeming with countless magics.
However, except for me, my other siblings were not surprised.
Everyone seemed to take it for granted that opening a door and crossing through space was natural.
So, my show of surprise became ridiculous.
In the end, I accepted the situation silently, realizing that I had no say in this matter.
“Can you feel it? A deep resentment.”
“Ha! It’s over there. It smells nasty.”
“It’s going to be fun. A first encounter with the true demon lord. Will it be threatening? It’s an interesting specimen. The crimson thread to the existence of the Abyss, will it continue?”
Indeed, I was the only one bewildered.
My siblings were excited. I could clearly see their tumultuous emotions. While Wooshas stayed composed, her white bones gleamed, and Ranista had already drawn his sword.
Melissa continuously muttered to herself, reveling in the pleasure.
Since my siblings were preoccupied, I clenched my fist tightly in the background.
Suddenly, my siblings each began to fly towards the sea.
Ranista kicked the air with his foot, leaping through the void. Was that what they call a martial artist’s void jump?
My third sister, who had wings of bones unfold from her back unnoticed, flew like a demon from hell. My second sister, seemingly floating in the air, glided through as if swimming.
Get lost, demons.
It was better to be left alone to face the enemies than be together with them.
Please don’t look back.
I stepped back slowly.
I even hid behind the shell of a passing turtle.
Whizzing!
“Damn it.”
A blue light enveloped my body.
Probably magic.
Although I grabbed the turtle shell, my levitating body didn’t stop.
I let go of the poor turtle’s shell, and my body floated in the air, not flying freely but more like being caught by the sky.
It was a strange experience to navigate the sky without a safety belt like riding a roller coaster. I was reckless.
Greeting passing seagulls and observing salt skippers hopping on the water, I realized how different this world was from Earth.
***
Over the vast, endless sea where the mainland is nowhere in sight, a sense of fear begins to surpass its limits.
“There’s the entrance.”
My siblings came to a halt as Melissa pointed to a certain place.
The entrance to the Abyss was indeed strange.
A section as wide as a football field, near seawater much darker than the surrounding sea, appeared like a deep cave filled with blue water.
A sea blue hole?
I thought such things were only in the shallow seas of the inner oceans, not in this vast and endless abyss.
If that was truly the entrance to the Abyss, it was in a remarkably remote location.
How on earth did they find such a place?
I took a deep breath, mentally preparing myself.
Once they made up their minds, I would have no choice but to enter the Abyss, even into its deep, dark, and terrifying depths.
“The barrier is blocking the way.”
I remembered hearing those words in my room.
There’s a barrier in Azhibita Church.
The nobles fear the Priests not just because they hold religious power. The priests’ strength is real, and they possess mysterious powers like barriers.
Swinsh!
So, when Ranista drew his sword and took a stance, it was undoubtedly to break the barrier. I gazed at the deep sea.
There was definitely something there. An area where the water currents broke unnaturally, like a transparent glass wall surrounding the blue hole.
“Benda.”
In situations like these, you don’t usually say “Benda” to swing your sword.
But Ranista, as if it were the most natural thing, took a stance to swing his sword.
I knew he possessed considerable strength.
From this distance, I could tell that he might be able to break the barrier with his sword.
Still, I couldn’t easily imagine it.
How could he swing a sword and break the barrier?
Then it happened.
Ranista swung his sword lightning-fast, and all my assumptions seemed trivial compared to reality.
He didn’t do anything particularly special. Just swinging his sword from top to bottom.
A simple swing. I had seen it often when he taught me martial arts and trained the knights. But this time, the result was different.
Truly terrifying.
Kwaaaang!
In a single swing, Ranista destroyed the barrier.
At first, an enormous explosion echoed, making the air feel dense.
Then the barrier split in half and gradually disappeared.
The scene I could barely see before the barrier broke was that, just before it shattered, there was a reddish glow.
How could a single sword handle such a feat?
The true power of the Great Abyss, the real power of the Demon Lord, the true force behind the apocalypse.
As the barrier crumbled, a great upheaval occurred.
The seawater surged into the sky dozens of times, and the surrounding seawater was sucked in, revealing an endlessly deep and massive cave.
Kuo-oh-oh!
It was a natural cataclysm, a breathtaking sight that resembled a toilet bowl of the sea. Truly, the water was draining away.
Finally, from the depths of the abyss, the entrance to the Abyss was revealed.
The common cave looked horrifying, like the mouth of a monster.
It was eerie. I deliberately turned my eyes away.
If I kept watching, I felt like I might see something I shouldn’t.
No need to peer deep into the abyss.
“Haha!”
It all began with Ranista’s hearty laughter.
Without hesitation, he charged toward the Abyss.
The sisters followed, entering the Abyss.
Unlike me, they showed no signs of fear.
“Wait, give me some time to prepare myself.”
No need to look into the abyss.
Of course, it was forbidden to enter there.
Closing my eyes tightly, I surrendered myself.
Deeply, deeply.
Against my will, I descended into the abyss.
