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Chapter 24: A Labyrinth Beneath [3]
As I plummeted into the darkness, the cool air rushed past me, and for a moment, I felt weightless.
The walls of the well blurred past me, and I braced myself for impact, but it didn't happen as I found myself floating, neither going upwards nor downwards.
"I knew it," a smile spread across my face as I stayed motionless.
[You could have died if you have fell down form that height.]
'But I didn't, that all that matters.' I replied as looked around the darkness, 'Now shut up for a while.'
[...Fine, I'll be quiet.]
As I floated in the darkness of the well, a sense of calm washed over me.
It was strangely peaceful, being suspended in the void, away from the chaos that I found myself in.
With a deep breath, I closed my eyes and focused on my surroundings, reaching out with my senses to detect any signs of movement or activity.
But there was nothing, just the steady hum of silence enveloping me.
I lay there, unmoving, letting my body float in the void.
Keeping my eyes closed, I waited for it to come towards me.
Time seemed to stretch on endlessly as I remained suspended in the void, moving aimlessly, lost in my thoughts and reflections.
With each passing moment, my sense of time started to become disoriented as I found it hard to pinpoint how long I had been floating in the void.
As I drifted aimlessly, time seemed to lose all meaning. Minutes turned to hours, and hours to several hours.
Growl.
As time stretched on, the hunger in my stomach grew more insistent, gnawing at me with increasing intensity. But still, I ignored it.
And just when I began to lose hope, a faint glimmer of light pierced the darkness.
'It's finally here,' I thought as I looked at the light. At first, it was barely noticeable, like a mere speck in the vast expanse.
But as I focused on the light, it grew brighter and brighter.
My heart pounded in my chest as I reached out towards the light. And then, as if in response to my touch, the light expanded, changing into a glowing branch.
Without hesitation, I allowed the branch to envelop my body as it began to guide me through the void.
And after a few minutes passed, I found myself in a different landscape.
I blinked a few times, adjusting my eyes to the light as I felt a gentle breeze caress my skin.
Opening my eyes, I found myself surrounded by lush greenery, towering trees stretching towards the sky above.
Amidst the verdant landscape, a single tree stood out, its branches reaching towards me, guiding me to this place.
Pushing the branch away, I surveyed the area and quickly noticed a well-like structure in the corner. Then, I returned my focus to the tree, which emitted a soft green light from its body.
[.....Is that—]
"No," I interjected before he could complete his words, "It's still a child, not even a hundred years old."
The illuminating branches of the tree moved around me like a child finding its toy, attempting to touch me or wrap themselves around me.
Ignoring them, I moved towards the tree while shielding my eyes from its light.
[.....What is this thing doing here?]
"I told you about it, didn't I?" I replied as I arrived at the trunk of the tree, its light still burning my eyes. "Every labyrinth in this world is interconnected."
[.....But it's a Yggdrasil.]
"Like I said, it's not the main one. It's a child that will take another thousand years to grow," I explained as I touched the tree's ash trunk, which was emanating a gentle green light.
[....So what are you doing here?]
"Do you know what nourishes Yggdrasil?" I asked as I walked towards the northern end of the tree.
[....You are not planning to—]
"Exactly, I am planning exactly what you are thinking," I affirmed as I stood in front of a misty ice-like place.
[...You are making an enemy out of an entire race, Azariah.]
"..... Things we do to live, buddy," I mumbled as I entered the place, and my body immediately shivered from the cold.
"Huff... Should have brought a sweater," I mumbled as I looked at the eternal and beautiful icy-mist.
Its otherworldly brilliance cast a soft, icy-blue glow that illuminated the surrounding landscape in an eerie, frosty light.
[....How are you planning to take this thing away from here?]
"You know, when you try to bond with this thing in the game, you die instantly, and an interface saying that your soul was frozen is the reason for the death," I replied as I looked at the icy mist flickering around the place.
[....So?]
"So the only way to bond this thing with yourself is by having a soulless body or....
[....or to a body with a broken soul.]
"Bingo," I replied with a grin as I took out a knife from my pocket.
[.....It's still risky, and you don't know if this will work or not.]
"Again, buddy," I mumbled as I cut my palm open right above it, "Things we do to live."
My blood quickly started to freeze as it touched the mist, but slowly but surely, the mist was also moving towards my injured hand, and I didn't try to stop it from touching my wound.
"AHHHH!" A primal cry of pain left my mouth as the mist started to enter my body through my hand, freezing it entirely.
The sensation was unlike anything I had ever experienced before.
It felt as though a thousand icy needles were piercing my skin, sending waves of searing pain coursing through my veins.
"Argh...."
My hand, already injured and vulnerable, was now being consumed by the freezing mist, turning numb as frost crept up my arm.
But amidst the agony, the icy mist began to merge with my blood.
Before it could harm my body further, the icy mist calmed down, settling inside me in a place that I couldn't feel but could sense.
"Huff...Huff....Just... one more time..." I grabbed my frozen hand, which was now defrosting, as I walked out of the now-dim place, heading towards the southern part of the tree.
And again, like a child, the tree tried to play with me, but I chose to ignore it.
As soon as I arrived in the place, my body immediately started to heat up as if I were being burned.
"Huff..Huff.." I huffed as I moved inside the place, looking at the otherworldly fire in front of me.
It appeared to be a mesmerizing blend of various colors, including shades of blue, purple, green, and silver, with hints of gold and copper flickering within its depths.
Once more, I placed my right hand above the fire before making a cut on it. Blood gushed out of the wound as it touched the fire.
The fire quickly moved towards my wound, entering my body.
"Urgh..." I groaned in pain as the fire started to burn my hand. Despite the searing pain, I forced myself to remain still, gritting my teeth.
And just like before, the pain subsided as I once again lost the presence of the fire.
"Huff... Huff...." Huffing, I got on my knees as I took deep breaths to calm myself.
[.....You are still alive.]
"Barely and I fucking need some rest or else I might die," I mumbled as I stood up, ignoring the pain, and moved towards a well-like structure that I saw before.
I looked at the place one more time before I jumped inside the well.
Darkness enveloped me once again, but it didn't take long before I found myself on the surface of the labyrinth.
"Whoa, did he just come out of the well?"
"I told you someone jumped inside it!"
"Fuck! I lost the bet!"
And just as I tried to balance myself, I found myself surrounded by a group of five people with shady-looking clothes.