Prince of The Abyss-Chapter 266: Hollow Grounds

You would never expect such a place to be dangerous.

A plain field, with only animals living inside it. Nothing that could kill you... that is, if you only knew what was on top, and not under.

Who would have thought that a giant and very strong worm was living just under them, ready to devour them whole?

He was hesitant, not really wanting to take this path. But the reason he decided against not trying to go around it was that.

...

Mystery scared him more.

He didn't know what they could mean if they tried to avoid it. After all, even if they knew the field was dangerous, they knew that the only thing that could harm them was the worm, but they didn't know what they could meet, what was ready to meet them if they decided against the field.

If he had made the right decision, he would have had to wait and see.

But at the same time, he couldn't lie and say he wasn't scared, affected by the thought of that worm's existence. After all, he was only alive because it decided to spare him.

And he wasn't the only one who was scared. Kade looked terrified, constantly looking around. If he were to compare the boy to how he acted the first time they were in the field, there was a big difference.

He wasn't that lively anymore.

And he definitely didn't want to get close to an animal.

The family also looked quite on edge. He didn't know their story; he only had a vague idea about what had happened based on some logical deduction from the context.

A rich family needed people to help them get back to a harbor so they could leave.

It wasn't that hard to put the pieces together. Something had happened, and he had a feeling it had happened here, their guide, or whoever they hired to help them on this trip, had probably been killed in some way by the worm, leaving the family to have to run for their life until they reached the city.

That was his theory, of course, he could ask to confirm it, but neither was it the right time to do so, and neither did he care that much about them; all he needed to do was get them to the harbor, and what happened to them after, he didn't care.

He didn't like them either way; they were cocky and egoistic, I mean, they overworked their carry boy; the guy was hardly getting through before their break.

The grass had not changed one bit; it was the same as it remembered, strangely alive, weirdly, because under it, most of the soil was gone, so it made him wonder just what actual feed it and helped it survive, for it to look so healthy and newlyborn.

There was, of course, still the hollow feeling when he took a step, but now he actually knew why, because there really wasn't anything under them.

If he were to thrust Voidpiercer into the ground, the blade would go through it and find a giant hole.

Speaking of the blade, there was something that would be really helpful right now,

That being [Grief of The Promise], a powerful skill that gave the blade poison, and with that poison, he was able to kill any powerful enemies. But the thing was that... it only worked for gods, and people with a very strong connection to the gods.

If the ability worked on everyone, it would have been a cheat code; it would have made things so easy. He just had to pierce someone and then run away until the poison hit them. But sadly, this wasn't the case.

Of course, it was still a good ability; it had proved itself in Frozen Crown. If he were ever to fight another vessel, he could kill them easily

...

Well, in theory, the last time he had to do it in practice, he badly lost, without even being able to touch the guy once.

In the end, he only got a taste of what Freedom was made out of.

'Damn it, don't think of that guy.'

Aether sighed.

Turning to Kade, he noticed the boy was trembling, so he put his hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down.

The boy turned to him and smiled, yet he knew it was fake, and it wasn't hard to figure it out. But Kade still tried his best to keep his composure, because if they showed fear to the family, they would lose their trust even more.

After a while of walking through the field, he had to make a decision, as something came up.

Cassian stepped forward.

"Um, Aether, may we take a break? My wife, you see, got a little blister..."

'A blister?' Aether looked dumbfounded at the man.

At the same time, he would get it. After all, while a single blister wasn't that bad, it would slow them down, and maybe cause more to come, and not only was it painful, but it would slow them down even more.

But at the same time, a break wasn't possible at the moment.

Or rather, it was very dangerous.

They could be eaten whole at any moment if their guard wasn't up, taking a break? Was suicidal.

And yet... if they continued, it was only going to get worse.

They needed to get out of the place fast.

So was he going to sacrifice time now, and then fasten up along the way? Or continue and let the blister aggravate, slow them down.

Plus, if one had gotten them, the others would soon also get some.

'Why do I have to be the leader?'

...

"Fine, well, take a break. But not for long."

The man sighed in relief as he heard that, happy that they got a break, a part of him also probably wanted it. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Kade, though, didn't seem so happy about it. After all, they were just wasting time.

They sat on the grass, letting their bodies rest.

Normally, he would have scouted for a place to hide, something to make them harder to be spotted, but in an open field, one that didn't even have tress what would you expect to find? It would just be a waste, so they just decided to rest where they were at the moment.

Kade sat down next to him, laying his head down in his lap.

"Do you mind if I sleep? I didn't get that many hours because of the training, and plus, we aren't doing anything."

Aether nodded and let the boy get his rest.

Now, the reason why he wasn't using one of their sleeping bags was that the children had taken it. Or rather, he gave it to the little girl, and Kade followed him on this decision.

It was a moral decision.

And sadly for him, he wasn't the only one who decided to take a nap right then, so he couldn't use any of the sleeping bags.

Though, for him to use him as a pillow.

...

It meant he trusted him.

Surprisingly... he was the person who killed his brother after all.

And yet here he was.

This just goes to show how much things have changed in the past few days, how much they have changed.

The boy had grown a while in their time together.

And while he still couldn't fight, he could handle his emotion better, and keep his guard up, something he had only been taught once, and that he learned to do from the first try.

He had known that deep burning passion in his eyes was not for nothing.

Making progress at a fast pace, he had great things in store for himself.

...

He was glad to be his teacher.

...

...

...

After a while, everyone had gone to sleep, leaving him the only one awake.

He hadn't expected this... he wasn't tired at all.

Maybe because he had gone to sleep early last night, and they didn't walk for that much, after all, it was still daytime.

Or maybe it was just his bigger stamina as an Echo rank.

...

And yet it was a good thing he was awake, since something started shaking slowly under the ground.

And something happening under the ground was definitely not good.

He slowly sat up, resting Kade's head on the ground gently, as he went to see what was up.

Summoning Voidpiercer, he pierces the ground to make a small hole.

Looking through it, he noticed a large hole.

Even if he had known this was the case, seeing it with his own eyes was strange; he didn't understand how the ground still held them. If this was what was under it, it was just a thin layer; everything under it was hollow.

But at the same time... there was something a lot more important.

Something... there was something moving under the ground.

And he knew quite well what it was.