Garden Of The Abyss

--Ten months until Purgatory--

The valley seemed to experience a never ending spring, constantly flourishing with rich, vibrant green all-year round. Not a single patch of land experienced a drought of luscious emerald grass, even to a recluse like Ren, this land was truly majestic. It took awhile before the awe-inspiring beauty of the valley was realized by Ren, once he had truly acclimated to his new situation. The clouds shared the same sky with the colossal trees which reached for the heavens above, making him feel miniscule in comparison.

It seemed the normal-sized trees were unkillable though, regrowing within hours if cut down due to the high density of natural mana in the area--this made them perfect for target practice.

"Dunkel: Piercer!"

Ren shouted out, keeping his right arm steady with his left, his magical energy condensed into a thin, spear formed of darkness. Aiming carefully, it took all of his concentration to maintain the astral weapon as his bicep cramped up from the stress on his body. Every second spent holding the form of the spear, correcting the flow of mana through his arm, neared excruciation.

He had been told of this feeling, more so warned--the beginning days of mage training come with pain such as this, as the opening and usage of his mana pathways are as if a new set of veins had been opened in his body.

--Now!

He released his hold on the spell as he fixated on the center of his target.Colliding against the helpless tree in front of him, the spell-conjured spear left a hollow hole in the center of the tree trunk. In its wake, the spell had sprinkled through the bored tree residue of dark mana, corroding the bark, quickly leading to decay.

"Excellent. You managed to successfully control your output this time. Now try the other spell."

Donatien nodded his head a few times after watching the spell Ren had cast, standing next to the hollowed tree.

"Alright…"

Taking a few deep breaths to concentrate on his inner magical energy, it became harder to take hold of it as he was running on fumes by this point. Using a spell always felt as if every muscle in his body had tensed up as if experiencing the shock of a million volts, leaving his flesh exhausted the moment after releasing it.

"Dunkel: Veil…!"

Holding his palm out in front of him, a barrier formed of dark energy formed in front of his extended hand. Every second he kept the protective spell up, a dull pain rang through his bones, causing his legs to begin trembling beneath his tired body. All he could do was keep his eyes on the umbrella of darkness, hoping to coax his thoughts away from the ever-present pain shooting through his veins.

Testing the durability of the black shield, a simple flick from Donatien shattered it into nothingness.

"I think that marks the end of today's lesson. Take a break, Ren, you need it."

After hearing Donatien's words, all he could do was nod his head as he desperately tried to recoup his stamina.

Constantly unleashing even just beginner level spells for the past hour, Ren was beyond exhausted. If casting a single, simple spell was equivalent to a one-hundred meter dash, then he just ran an entire marathon.

Half of the day had already sailed past him, with his lesson with Donatien only being the first of the long day ahead of him. He now had thirty-minutes to himself to rest before his reinforcement and sword training with the lecherous Sora.

"Ren! Hey, Ren!"

A feminine voice called out from behind him as he took his break on the surprisingly comfortable bed of grass. His eardrums instantly recognized the angelic voice, causing him to sit up quickly. A refreshing breeze travelled up his sweat-stained tunic as he sat up, bringing a wave of rejuvenation to his sore muscles.

"Yo, Iris.What's on the menu today?"

She was a sight for sore eyes, carrying with her a basket which was a sight of growling stomachs. Ever since a few weeks ago, Iris had begun bringing him lunch during his breaks from training. Even a degenerate like himself felt bad for making the girl travel up and down the Grandfather tree, although her magic made it a walk in the park. It seemed their mutual goal with the upcoming trial brought about a new friendship, which led to him beginning to fantasize about the potential of what lies beyond friendship.

"Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches!"

Iris answered with a smile, adjusting her snowy skirt before sitting down on her knees, placing the basket down between the two. While he didn't exactly have some sort of gourmet taste, she on the other hand, had the palette and culinary skills of an elementary schooler.

"...great."

He forced a thankful smile onto his face--it was the third time this week she brought him "PB&J sandwiches''. Being picky wasn't on the menu for him, spending all day training and expending his mana reserves, he needed some nourishment.

--Hunger aside, how could I reject this precious time spent with such a cute girl?!

Of course, his true motivator was as shallow as a puddle. It was a bad habit of his, instantly becoming lovestruck by any girl that gave him the light of day. At this point, he was only thankful he didn't develop any long lasting trust issues--not that he knew of, anyway.

--This time it's different. I've known her for four months! That's the longest friendship I've held with a girl my age since I was in grade school!

"Known" for four months was being liberal. Before this preparation for the trial had begun, he had honestly only spoken to Iris every other day, usually just exchanging greetings as they passed one another.

Biting into the sandwich, the fluffiness of the bread filled his mouth as he began to chew it.

"Can I ask you something?'

Ren asked with his mouth full, bits and pieces of bread flying out from his open mouth. The sight of the sweat-clad young man almost plucked a chuckle from her lips, distracted by the crumbs of bread that clung to the corner of his mouth.

"...sure--swallow your food first, please."

Her cheerful gaze shifted into a disturbed look as a particle of bread landed on her pristine, silver skirt, causing him to nearly choke as he swallowed the chunk of food in his mouth.

"Why do you call Beatrice your "Mother"? I haven't seen anyone else call her that."

"Well…"

The question seemed to take her by surprise as she retracted the incoming sandwich from her lips. He watched her as she took her time preparing her answer, nibbling away at the sweet meal. The dryness of the bread would likely make him regret eating it when training resumed, but for now, his stomach gratefully accepted it into his bowels.

"I guess there's no reason not to tell you...I was summoned into this world by Beatrice when I was a child."

Hearing that answer, a chunk of the moistless yeast lodged itself in his throat, having to slap his chest to force it down. A simple but relieving "phew…" had left his lips, continuing on from the girl's answer as she held a worried look at his momentary asphyxiation.

"When you were eight, nine? How old are you now anyways?"

Ren asked, emphasizing the second question as that was a very important piece of information to him. Even in another world with likely different laws--he still very much retained his beliefs to that of his world.

--If she's under eighteen, I'm going to have a firm discussion with myself!

"I'm nineteen...when I came here, well--I don't exactly remember, but I was no older than five."

As soon as her current age left her glossy lips, he felt his heart let out a sight--having to stop himself from proclaiming victory outside of his own mind.

"Huh--? That young...wait, so you don't even remember Earth, do you?"

He spoke without thinking, noticing too late that his question struck a sensitive cord in the girl. Seeing the vibrancy in her azure jewels dim sparked a sinking feel in his stomach, the same feeling of guilt one feels when they step on the paw of their dog by accident.

"...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that."

"No, it's alright. I don't mind, really."

Iris smiled, brushing her aquatic hair behind her ear. That melancholic look in her lapis eyes made him want to squeeze her tightly and chase away whatever sadness she had, but the best he could do was move past that question.

"I think I get it. Beatrice is pretty much the only parent you really had, isn't she?"

--It's a miracle she turned out to be the nice girl she is, with Beatrice as her parent, that is. I can't picture that cold hag having even an ounce of maternal instincts within her.

He nodded to himself as if agreeing with his own thoughts, earning a raised eyebrow from Iris, who seemed to begin to acclimate to his eccentricities.

"Uh-huh," Iris nodded her head, "what about you?"

"Me?"

"It's only fair--you asked about me, so I want to know something about you!"

It caught him off guard, somehow he expected her to not take much interest in that sort of thing when it came to him. If there was one thing he could call a strength in terms of his limited arsenal in the realm of romance, it was that he could listen.

For years, nobody really asked him about his own life, not only due to his own negligence to enter the world beyond his cave of electronics and otaku gear, but anyone that knew him already knew how dull of a life he led.

"I don't know...I'm not that interesting."

Ren tried to evade her, but the cute pouting face she displayed with her puffed out, round, pink cheeks was too adorable to disappoint. In his eyes, only a villain could leave such heart-throbbing cuteness dissipate into gloom.

"Fine, fine, what do you want to know?"

"Good boy. Hmm…"

She tapped her index finger against her small chin as she thought of what she wanted to know.

"Ah, Iris, the way you said that awakened something in me, can you say it again?"

"You have a lewd look on your face, so I'll pass on that."

Ever since that heart-to-heart he had with Donatien, he decided to embrace who he was. Trying to wrap up all of the traits that made him "Ren Nakamura" just so that he could try and become some saint of a hero, he realized there was no point in that. Although, being more "Ren Nakamura" came with a bit more of a lecherous side.

Iris ignored his earlier question and continued to ponder before her face lit up with a smile.

"Tell me about the country you're from!"

"Well, I'm from Japan--more specifically the Kansai region, and even more specifically, the Kyoto prefecture."

Ren explained to her, noticing a glimmer in her eyes as she listened intently. It was an underrated aspect of a person, knowing that someone was so enamored in what you had to say--it was enlightening.

"Japan? That's where Sora is from too!"

The almost childlike wonder in her voice was contagious, giving him a smile of his own as he continued.

"Yeah but that giant oaf was from Osaka, he was too big for Japan so he went to America. Seriously, I've never seen another person in my country as big as Sora."

He paused his ramblings as the girl began to giggle, breaking into a genuine laughter as she attempted in vain to cover her mouth. A low self-esteem brought about the worst assumptions to the front of his mind, but one look at the authentic happiness on her divine face was enough to settle his own worries.

"Sorry...it's just, you seemed so excited to talk about your country. I wish I could see it for myself. "Japan", "Kyoto"--I'd like to hear more about it, please."

"How about we make this a fair deal? I'll tell you about Earth, and you tell me about Gaia."

"Hm...deal!"

--When I first came here, I was completely numb. After witnessing those horrors back at the estate, I didn't know if I would ever feel anything past the dark depths my mind had sunk into. I didn't realize a simple smile from a cute girl could help so much.

The two young adults came to an agreement, exchanging gleeful smiles as a new friendship came to fruition.

"Although, most of what I know is only from books…"

"Ah, Beatrice is pretty protective over you, huh?"

Her silence was easy enough confirmation for that idea. It was hard to imagine Beatrice of all people acting like a parent, if Iris thought so highly of her, Ren wasn't going to question it.

"First thing I'd like to know...oh! Are there any other human kingdoms, besides Mastorn and Lucrauv?"

"There are--Mastorn is the most powerful human kingdom, but also the least diverse. Demi-humans have close relations with humans, so they're fine, but other races…" Iris told him with a gloomy expression, "elves, demons, ancients, you name it...although not as prejudiced as otherworlders, Mastorn forbids them from entering its land."

"Why? Isn't it profitable to have healthy relations with other races? Going by the standard, elven kingdoms should be rich."

"Yeah...well, that's not how the King thinks. Reason, empathy, courage...all things the depraved King has lost. That's why...we have to be the ones to save Mastorn from his rule. Anyways, moving on--to the south, a kingdom called "Veradin" stands."

"Do they have the same, you know...views as Mastorn when it comes to otherworlders?"

"All human kingdoms hold the same laws when it comes to otherworlders, but only out of fear of Mastorn. However, all I can is...we aren't alone in this fight, Ren. Mastorn is mutually hatred, or more specifically--there are those who wish for the current ruler to be overthrown."

Engrossed in this new information, Ren didn't realize the presence of the towering man standing behind him.

"R-E-N--!"

In a high-pitched call, Sora slowly enunciated each letter of the unassuming young man's name--making his skin crawl over.

"Gah!"

Ren jumped up onto his feet with cat-like reflexes, spinning to face Sora, who was standing there with his trademark boisterous smile.

"It's training time, brother!"

"Bring it on, Bro! Today's the day this sword meets your nose!"

With the audience of a cute girl watching him, there was no way he could lose now. More precisely, there was no way he could afford to lose. Catching the training sword tossed to him by his mentor, Ren got into his stance--treating this as if it was a real battle.