Garden Of The Abyss

"Is this supposed to be a welcome? I feel more like pissing my pants…"

Ren chuckled to himself as paranoia now made itself a home within his mind. It was a tough question for himself whether he feared encountering Asterius once again. Right now, he felt the answer would be "No", but he also knew that this was because the bull wasn't standing in front of him right now.

A reluctance to leave the warmly lit room halted him for a moment before he ushered forward into the next corridor, once again surrounded by an ever-present solitude-the one, major difference now was that the walls no longer attempted to hug him with their narrow width.

The corridor was grand in size, stretching a half dozen meters in size as pillars held the walls. In fact, this new size made no sense to him. It was impossible for the labyrinth to have grown this large from one room to the next. Symbols were etched into the obsidian of the walls, with built in lanterns giving a scarlet hue to the maze he found himself in. Matching the light that inhabited the abode of Asterius, red, velvet curtains draped down from the peak of these pillars.

"--"

There wasn't any part of him that wanted to crack a joke to delude the bleak atmosphere, finding himself at a loss as he looked on towards the impossible scenery before him. The chance had confirmed one thing for him.

--This labyrinth isn't normal. Nothing about it is. Trying to find reason or an explanation for how a place like this functions is pointless. It is an abode of the divine, a place beyond humanity.

This is the true nature of this floor, isn't it? Everything else...was just the path to this place. Galaggher...Why didn't you tell me?

Knowing this, he began to feel as if every choice he made was predetermined--that everything he did led to this one point. No matter which path he took, how hard he tried--the labyrinth of Asterius was his destination.

--Those times I encountered it, was it trying to kill me to set in motion the pathway to this labyrinth? I don't like the idea of that monster actually possessing intelligence, but it's starting to feel that way.

Moving through the wide corridor, befit for royalty in its size and splendor, there seemed to be a new path displayed to him past every pillar.

Making a choice on where to turn next didn't come easy when a constant unease lingered in the air, waiting in anticipation for the minotaur that lived in these dreadful walls to make its appearance. Even the sturdy walls that towered over him didn't provide any feeling of safety, as at any moment, he imagined Asterius barging through those walls as if they were made of cardboard.

--"Innate Ability", if I just had mine...maybe I could handle Asterius, or at least close the obvious gap in power. I just don't understand what I need to do to unlock it--from all accounts, it seems completely random.

He spun around at the sublest of noises, having his sword halfway out of its scabbard as he stayed alert. The memories of agony burned into his being, gored, crushed, and cut by the merciless beast, these kept him from ever letting his guard down. It was the first true enemy he had been faced with after his year of training, and the nature of the beast itself did away with such things as "sword technique" or "martial arts"--only superior power could inflict harm onto Asterius.

Continuing down the daunting corridor of the labyrinth, the curtains that clung to the tall poles of stone were gently tugged on by wind that shouldn't exist in these depths. Even these minute movements caught the corner of his anxious vision, feeling his blood rush through his veins at every unnatural, sudden movement.

Inhabiting these vast, somber walls were circular gates, blocked off with silver bars. Ren kept his eyes on these, not knowing what sat behind those bars, waiting for him to let his guard down. At the end of this singular hall within the grandiose lair of Asterius, there were three large doors formed of dusty, tan stone carved with drawings of warriors.

In the center of this ending section, there were six levers, seeming to do with the doors that sat in front of him. The only noticeable difference planted on the stone levers were a series of symbols that varied between each.

"I've never been good at puzzle games…"

He had no inkling of what any of these choices meant, grabbing hold of the rightmost lever and taking a deep breath before finally pulling it. A click followed the pulling of the device, but the noise that followed didn't belong to any of the three doors opening. It was the unmistakable sound of metal grating, scratching at his eardrums--without a doubt in his mind, it came from the gates built into the walls.

As he had feared, hisses and groans echoed from the series of newly opened gates as creatures of all kind began to pour out. His skin crawled at the sight of the man-sized arachnid, covered in brown fur as its curved, conicals secreted a purple substance. Following the oversized spider was a creature that resembled a bloodshot eyeball, wrapped in a hide, crawling with dozens of tendrils carrying it, as well as hollow, decomposed goblins wielding grimy weapons.

However, a yell resounded from one of these newly opened cages, completely different from the inhumane sounds releasing front he creatures. It was without a doubt, a human.

"Finally! Free at least!"

The unknown man's voice was rough as if he had been a prolific smoker all of his life, yet a certain eccentricity wrapped itself around his tone.

Like a blur, the figure evacuated the hole propped several meters onto the wall, leaving feet first in a flying kick. His appearance was obscured by the dirty, holey, olive cape that was wrapped around his shoulders, hanging over his head like a hoodie.

Ren wasn't the only one who had his attention stolen as the creatures turned to face the man as he crashed down against the ground with a superhero landing executed so well that Ren became a bit jealous. The tattered cape that clung to the man's shoulders fluttered upwards from the fall, revealing a stockpile of blades strapped to his torso, hips, and legs. It was only for a moment, but the man's black leather armor could be seen along with his bronze trousers clad in the same leather armor.

He didn't waste any time reaching with his tanned gloves to the two handles sitting at his sides, unsheathing two long, curved sabers, thirsting for blood. Standing straight with both blades in his hands, all that could be seen under the obscuring hood of the man was a wide, unnerving smile as he unleashed a laugh before beginning his carnage against the creatures.

Ren had frozen in place at the surreal sight before him. He watched as the unknown man spun around like a tornado of blades, cutting apart the helpless monsters without any trouble as the smile never left his face.

--I think...I released someone more troublesome than the monsters.

There wasn't any magic being used from what Ren could see, the man was simply carving apart the foes before him with raw physical strength, freeing the arachnid from all eight of its limbs in a flash before finishing it with a slash through its head.

It didn't take more than twenty seconds for the creatures to all be dealt with, leaving the man covered in purple, black and crimson blood. As he began to walk over towards Ren, the young man placed his hand on the handle of Belus--ready to fight the monstrous man.

"Ah, you really did me a solid there. I was stuck in that damned musky cell for weeks. Got any grub?"

To his relief and surprise, the man had no intention of treating him like the disemboweled creatures strewn about the corridor, sheathing his dual sabers back into their sheaths.

"--Uh, yeah. Here."

Ren paused for a moment before reaching into one of his pockets and retrieving a half of stale bread, handing it off to the man. He had never seen someone so fervently devour hardened bread as if it were cooked by a five-star chef.

"Goldheve. That's my name."

The man extended his blood-soaked hand towards Ren, removing his hood with his other hand. He had shaggy, black hair that covered his eyebrows, with a scar that nicked the edge of his lip. His light brown complexion was something Ren hadn't seen from natives of Gaia yet. Although he held a slight smile, his dark, obsidian irises seemed devoid of life or care--the true eyes of a killer.